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[Ryan Hegarty]

I'm going to remove the ecu today - after taking out the screws does it just slide out and is there any advice you would give? When out can the unit be opened, was reading on another site that it's usually a bad connection from the mainboard to the connector - has anyone any experience of this?

[Jimbob]

yes, can be awkward to open, as glued shut, its connectors on a very fine ribbon that let go.

[amba]

Ryan....I would be curious to hear how you got on removing the old ABS ecu and how long it took and any further advise to be added to Kevin,s very informative guide.
I have what appears to be an identical problem whereby sometimes the abs/tc light both come on and then the speedo stops.Other times the lights come on but speedo works and others all works fine as normal,so expect it is the last dying gasps of the ecu.
As I live within walking distance of BBA reman,I gave them a call and wa advised that they operate a stricked policy of receipt/repair and have quoted me 4 working days upon receipt to check out and advise of potential repair costs.Was told that if fault is electrical would be £100 + carriage(not required in my case) +vat.
I intend to remove old unit at some point next week dependant on my available time and guidance of expected work time to remove,and then put back together for period of repair,and cover over with foam as again advised by Kevin.
Hopefully mine and yours will only be electrical faults and can be repaired within the time and cost as advised by BBA.

[Ryan Hegarty]

Removed the Ecu (only needed to remove the rad hose and battery to get screws out) with the help of a flexi extension - bottom hose clip is a curse, pulled out ecu and removed the little black cover which is glued on checked connections there and all was ok give it a good spray with contact cleaner, refitted cover and sealed it shut. Out of curiosity I refitted it to the car with just two screws connected all up and started car - was delighted to see abs and tc lights going out so I turned off ignition and restarted it all still ok - so turned it off again guckly (didn't have rad hose connected so just a few seconds at a time).
So I decided  to put in the other screws and connect rad hose and battery - restarted engine and (you guessed it) abs and tc lights back on.
I have tried putting leverage on the main connector and while doing so the lights go out again, let go and they come back on, so have come to conclusion that it's a bad connection at the main connector.
So only thing for it is to send it off or try and source a second hand one somewhere.
All in it took me about 3 hours to remove and refit including the time fiddling about with it, and I feel that it's a job that most mechanically minded people could do.

[amba]

Looks like I will be following your lead sometime next week then.Did you find it easier to get at the 4 invisible screws with a flexible screw extention or the angled driver head as shown in Kevin,s write-up.
Also out of curiosity did your abs/tc light stay on permenantly or do they come on and off as the mood takes them?

[Ryan Hegarty]

Used the flexi extension for them all (couldn't have done it without it), Lights were on all the time.

[amba]

Think I will get a flexy extention as well from screwfix...I bought the angled jobbie in Kevin,s post but might be good to have the additional bit of kit "just in case".

[Ryan Hegarty]

Took old one off again took me about twenty minutes this time (has to be a record - LOL), local scrappy has one for me says he'll take about a £100 for the unit complete with the pump(i'll try him at £75) should take no more than thirty mins or so to refit, collecting it tomorrow so i'll update you then on my progress.
The one from the scrappy is off a v6 auto, he's not sure if it's a 2.5 or a 3.0 but says it will fit for sure (he checked his computer) he also thinks I won't need to reprogramme it - is this right?

[Kevin Wood]

For £100 I would get yours refurbed, TBH. :-/ Then you know it won't fail again and no worries about compatibility.

IIRC, they do have a setting for engine size. Unlikely to make a huge difference if it's wrong though.

Kevin

[Ryan Hegarty]

My ecu is part number 0273 004 206, can any other ecu's be used (eg. a 0273 004 207) in it's place?

[Platinum1]

Your experience is not typical and points to something else being wrong. You nave a working ECU now, so the next step would be to get the codes read from it and find out what it's not happy with IMO.

Kevin,

Point taken mate but this is costing me more than the car is worth now so can understand the frustration!. Latest update is that the unit is back from Remann who said that they found no faults at all after they repaired it the first time. The garage has got it to fit today. I just hope that when they fit it back on the t/c light does not come on, I don't know why I am hoping for that as all the has happened is that the unit has been removed again sent to reman "again" and re-fitted again!

I don't know what to do if the light is still on, let's asume that the abs unit is repaired and all ok, does anyone know why the t/c light is still on, that first garage that looked at it before the unit went to Remann tested the sensors and all was ok, what is let to check if the light is still on? (Remann said and I quote " it may be a fuse that is blown"       oh, Pleeeeeeeeasssssssssssse!

I did do a paper clip test the day before it went in but wrote the fault on a bit of paper and "can I find that now". I will see if this third garage can get any codes come up if the t/c light is still on. If not I think a can of petrol and a match will be my cheapest option tbh , shame that a light on a dashboard can effectively write a car off, anyone want a mint 2000, 2.5 Elite with a t/c light on. 

[Kevin Wood]

OK. If the ABS ECU is OK the next step is to check it for fault codes. You can't do that with a paperclip test but I would expect the garage to have a code reader that can. See if they'll read the codes and post them up here and we'll see if we can help.

Kevin

[Platinum1]

Thanks Kevin, will do, if they can read anything off it that is! 

[Ryan Hegarty]

Hi there Platinum1 could it be possible that your ABS ECU was sent back to you with it's programming for the car erased - I understand from a previous post by Jimbob (http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1152729807/2#2) that if your ECU is not programmed with the engine and gearbox settings the TC light will remain on but your ABS light will go out - just a thought.

Just an update about my own car I went this morning to the scrappy to pick up the ABS ECU that they had and it was exactly the part I needed, he supplied it complete with pump and we did the deal for £60 all in, with a 6 month warranty (bit of negotiating required), got home and fitted the ECU to the car, took 20 mins top (had the old one removed to be fair), started car and happy days ABS & TC lights went off.
All in this ended up costing me £60 and I expect to sell the pump for around £30 on ebay as it wasn't needed.
Goes to show this problem can be repaired very cheaply with minimal mechanical experience and of course the help of other members from this site, also I would recommend that you buy a flexi extension if you haven't got one.

I only needed to remove the battery and the rad hose to gain access to the ECU and it took me about an hour or so to do the repair (took me longer to go and get the part from scrappy - LOL), it was the flexi extension that made it a lot easier.
I  would also add that I have very little mechanical experience (although I am a fully trained spark), so I would suggest that if you can service your own car, you should be able to change an ECU.
If anyone ever needs any help with this repair just mail me and if you can come to me i'll change it for you.

Many thanks to all who replied. 

[amba]

Ryan...thats great news and I am pleased you got it all working with the minimum of cost.
Several questions I would appreciate your comments on:
1).what sort of flexy drive did you find best.
2).I assume it is the year and model of car that is important for buying a second hand ECU,as apposed to the part number on your existing unit..reason I ask is looks like part number is on a sticker on reverse side of cover and can only be read with existing removed..so that way you could buy a second hand unit prior to removing yours sure in the knowledge it will fit(and hopefully work)..that way its an easier take to bits and put back together again in one go.

Finally you said earlier that both your abs/tc lights were on all the time?..mine is intermitent ,sometimes not at all for a day or so.  I am wondering if this could be a loose connection in the wiring plug.

Thanks alot