So as you may remember I had electrical trouble with my car, it wouldn’t turn off, lights all over the place, brake lights on etc etc. Some kind of major electrical confusion.

I got the mobile mechanic in, he couldn’t get any sense from the ECU so took it to a mystery company of “electrical specialists” in Pontypridd. They straight away said they had opened it up and seen water ingress, and were rebuilding it. So several days later, turns out that they were just giving me a refurb unit not my original unit. Which makes me wonder, if they were not working on the original unit, how did they know there was water ingress?

Anyway, finally got a replacement unit for £750, plug it in and there was some improvement but it’s still basically buggered. But as I sit in the drive trying to figure out what’s going on it’s intermittently better and worse and sometimes ends up not stopping just as before.

So it wasn’t the ECU, really. And since they claimed water ingress which WOULD have really messed it up, it makes me doubt that there was any ingress and I feel like they may have just taken my £750.

Now. The mechanic won’t tell me who the company in Ponty is, which I guess is understandable to an extent, because he doesn’t want me to bypass him. He’s been helpful, approachable and seems to care. He hasn’t charged me for his time so far which either means a) he’s a great guy or b) he’s added a margin onto the £750. Not that I mind particularly, but there’s a chance he’s just given me back the same unit spray painted silver and some sealant gobbed around the edge.

Speaking of which, the sealant job on the ECU looked really pathetic and why have they spray painted it?

Now. The mechanic won’t tell me who the company in Ponty is, which I guess is understandable to an extent, because he doesn’t want me to bypass him

Demand the money back off him then?

its not a renault is it.

Do I have a right to my money back? I asked for a new ECU, and on the face of it I got one. Unless I can prove it’s the same one…?

Not a Renault, a VW.

I asked for a new ECU,

Did you? as long as you got one, I don’t think you’ll get far

Find yourself a good auto electrics place and take it there for a check over to see what’s up and if the ECU is new or not

So if its not fixed, why have you paid him?

If you’ve paid for a refurb, ask for your original back. If not forthcoming, you’ve been done.

Actually, I think you’ve been done anyway. I’d suspect the bloke who hasn’t charged you of doing the whole thing himself, including the sray painting.

Want to buy an A4? 😉

He has taken the job on and subbied out the work. He has not fixed the car.Your problem is with him. (this is why I fix my own car)

Take it to a reputable garage to get it sorted by someone who knows what they’re doing rather than someone who’s going to swap expensive components until they stumble across the fault.
The other option of course is to leave it with the nice man that’s fitted £750 worth of ECU but is still nofurtherforward with it!
I know which option I’d go with.

When I had miss fire problems with my Golf, VW couldn’t diagnose nor fix it at all (even after about 10 attempts by their ‘specialist’). In the end I took it to an independent tuning specialist who diagnosed and fixed it in 5 minutes.

Did you? as long as you got one, I don’t think you’ll get far

I didn’t specifically ask for one, the mechanic indicated that I needed one.

I should’ve said no then and taken it to the specialist myself… If the mechanic is genuine and the specialist really is the company that all the other garages and dealers go to then it should be fine.

Take it to a reputable garage

Is there any such thing?

He has not fixed the car.Your problem is with him

The contract is not a fixed price to fix the car though, is it? He’s charging me for materials. Or supposedly is.

For electrical problems do as footflaps says and take it to the people who play with the electrics to get more power out of the things. Think of it like asking who knows more about computer stuff – hackers or the people who write windows software.

http://www.stevensvwspares.com/vw-ecu-engines/64 not many of those are anywhere near £750

For electrical problems do as footflaps says and take it to the people who play with the electrics to get more power out of the things.

Remappers know how to map engines. I seem to have a wiring fault somewhere in the car, I don’t think that’s got anything to do with the engine map… unless the remappers also happen to be car wiring specialists?

MAybe, maybe not, but they’d certainly be able to tell you if your ECU was gubbed or not.

My stab in the dark suggestion for your problem would be the brake light switch which sits behind the brake pedal and that you need to instal a brake stop to prevent it blowing through switched. That’s what caused a similar problem on my old passat.

Which ECU have they “replaced”? I am a VW tech, the ECU that controls lights etc is under dash,engine ECU under wipers, immobiliser/convenience ECU is behind glove box, then there’s the steering column ECU,its the 3C model Passat if I remember correctly from your original post? If the original fault is still there its money back time or give it him back, sprayed ECU with sealant on it sounds a bit rough to me.

Surely he owes you a 100% refund. You asked him to fix a fault, he charged you £750. Fault not fixed, no payment. Simples.

Yes

If I remember you’re South Wales based? If you can get it over to me (Chepstow area) I’ll do a full scan of the controllers (ECUs) on the vehicle for you. At least this way you’ll have a base to proceed from.

No money will be required or asked for.
PM me
Marko

Which ECU have they “replaced”?

The one under the windscreen next to the wipers and whatnot.

I’ll investigate money back. I have no idea where I stand legally to be honest. It IS a new ECU which is what was agreed, but it’s no different. Which means the fault isn’t with the ECU I think… as I remember it, they did say they’d tested the old ECU and found it borked. Now I only have their word for that, don’t I? In fact, I only have the mobile mechanic’s word for it….

Marko – thanks. I’m in Cardiff. I think as it stands the car’s probably driveable if I put it back together. Wipers don’t work though and brake lights are stuck on!

The mechanic connected his portable widget to the car and showed me loads and loads of random errors in all sorts of things, which to me (and him) points to either an ECU fault or a wiring fault…

either an ECU fault or a wiring fault

Which is about as specific as saying it’s electrical.

Did you ask for a new ECU or for the actual fault to be fixed?

If he advised a new ECU would fix it and it hasn;t then I’d be having stern words.

and as above – you sure it’s not a £40 scrapper that’s been sprayed up to look ‘refurbished’?

If I remember you’re South Wales based? If you can get it over to me (Chepstow area) I’ll do a full scan of the controllers (ECUs) on the vehicle for you. At least this way you’ll have a base to proceed from.

No money will be required or asked for.
PM me
Marko

Ah, the beauty of STW 🙂