I'm a bit of a noob in this area so bear with me.

My runabout Escort has a faulty ecu and I eventually found a replacement on eBay (for £2.71) but after plugging it in the car will not even turn over on the starter. Replacing the old ecu everything is fine again.

What am I missing here? Is tyhe ECU coded to the car?

Is the ECU for the right engine/size?

How did you know the ECU was faulty?

Hi,

Yes, the ECU is programed to the car.

If memory serves me right you have an Escort.

The ECU is matched to the cars security module behind the dash & the key

You might have to have the ECU reprogramed.

The only work arround i know is to change the following parts as a set.

ECU & Imobiliser Unit behind the dash. Ignition lock&Key. All from the same car as a matched set.

The last two cars i had re-coded were.
Corsa £37, Vauxhall dealer
Rover 400. £35. Rover dealer.


Ronnie

The ecu was diagnosed as faulty by my local spanner monkey - apparently the KAM (keep alive memory) was corrupted and the ecu was in constant 'learn' mode.

As it happens I managed to fix the old ecu (a pin had literally fallen out of the socket so I soldered a strap wire from pcb to loom) and all is well now. Good job that I managed a locost fix too if I needed to replace all of that kit

I was just curious as to why the car was completely imobilised - now I know (ta Bonzo)

These new fangled cars are complicated aren't they

Yes, cars are now a world away from when i started out.

Nothing is simle on todays modern cars.
Pitty really, simple suited me just fine.

Ronnie

What escort is it? What year?

it will depend on whether its got build in PATS.

sounds like the pats has kicked in and not allowing the starter motor to run.

give us a bit more inform on the year and model of escort.

also, if its constantly in learn mode, check the KAM fuse. it might have blown, which means that you start in learn mode everytime you turn the the car on.

its pretty hard to fry a ford ecu - i have welded a car with it still attached and it was fine. i have even kick a ECU across the garage, down the road and plugged it back in and it was fine.

sorry, went in woth guns blazing before i read the whole thread....

ignore my last two posts - i did not realise it was all sorted !!!

No probs saigonij - it is a 1995 Escort Mk6 btw.

The ecu itself seems quite tough but I attacked it with my soldering iron and everything seems to be ok now - I certainly hope so coz swmbo has borrowed it today to cart some large canvasses to a dealer today (she's an artist)
If it breaks down today my life will not be worth a spit

Thanks for all the help guys