Rover45 ECU issue

RockyRoad · 2 Jan 2023 at 16:18

My 2000 1.4 Rover 45 broke down recently, long story short, my question is: Could i just buy an ECU, fit it, plug it in and be on my way kind-of-job or is it a clock, ignition barrel, ECU, coding keys kind-of-a-job? I have seen just ECU'S for sale on ebay, some say 'plug-and-play' which is confusing me which lead me to write this.
If anyone has had to replace the ECU on a 45, your help would be greatly appreciated!

Full story:
The AA guy came out to get it moving.
He did some checks, swapped out a fuse and put in a coilpack. It was turning over but not starting, it melted the pack he put in. He advised it was a short somwhere between the battery and ECU.
He ended up taking out 2 packs and starting it up on two cylinders just so to get it to the garage a couple of hundred yards down the road.
Once looked over at the garage and 2 melted packs later they told me it's definitely an ECU problem and it would cost £300 roughly to fix.

gc123 · 2 Jan 2023 at 17:15

blimey going back..... in the days when we used to repair them you could buy a ecu with a loop of wire connected inside and coming out of the ecu. point being with wire connected it was immobilser free. when cut we had to program the immobilser to it .
if they are being sold plug and play i suspect the loop is probably inside or the immobilser has been programmed out, may leave the light on the dash ,may not if it does then insulation tape is your friend

RockyRoad · 2 Jan 2023 at 17:27

It's a bit of a workhorse so I'm not worried about dashboard lights thankfully so that's good news, if I buy one with a couple of key fobs, you think it's worth a shot? I'm not even worried about the immobiliser, car was only 500 quid, if she was nicked I'd never claim on my insurance, costs me 700 quid to insure anyway, can you believe that ****? I'm 40, driven since i was 17, only ever claimed once for my insurance when i was 19 and still pay over 700 bucks on a 2000 1.4 rover!

gc123 · 2 Jan 2023 at 17:44

yeah should be ok , the fact that you say you get 2 keyfobs should mean that they are pre programmed to the immobiliser in the ecu so may net get any lights problem

agw_01 · 2 Jan 2023 at 17:57

I'm much familiar with the old 'R8' Rover 200/400 than I am with the 25/45 but on the 200/400, the ECU was paired to a seperate immobiliser unit. If you replaced the ECU, you'd have to fit a matching immobiliser, or have the ECU decoded.

With the 25/45, I think they ditched the standalone immobiliser and replaced it with a combined body control module (BCM). Same thing applies though, if you replace the ECU, you'll need the matching BCM. Or get your original BCM coded to the new ECU.

You could get the immobiliser deactivated on the ECU and then cut one of the wires on the ECU multiplug (this could be what gc123 is referring to) to stop the immobiliser re-arming the ECU.

Since the closure of Rover, many of the original dealership diagnostic computers (known as the T4 Testbook) are now in the hands of enthusiasts rather than ££££££ dealers. A quick post on mg-rover.org or many of the Facebook groups should point you in the direction of somebody who can provide you with a matching ECU/BCM.

nlel1975 · 2 Jan 2023 at 18:12

I guess if you can’t fix it very cheaply it’ll be heading for the scrap yard.

gc123 · 2 Jan 2023 at 18:50

having had a quick look on ebay there seem to be loads of rover 25/45 ecu parts. from plug and play ecus ...that appear to require you to send your ecu to have the data swapped to the new one, to complete key,ecu,steering lock immobiliser,and clocks. depends what size engine etc.

it looks like if its plug and play by there standards it means you send them your ecu for your data to be swapped to a replacement (secondhand)unit. this means time off the road for your car while it is posted and returned. if you are ok with the delay then crack on. otherwise it seems replacing the complete kit is a better option. by modern standards the prices are not that dear at all .you must choose the best way forward.