'03 wagons electronics swap

Heya all,

I've a question for you knowledgeable folk.

I've two '03 auto wagons; one, a late year model, one a early year model I drive. I suspect from recollection of performance the late year (i no longer drive) model had a tune but I'm told there is no way of knowing if a tune has been done to an ecu.

I've just removed and replaced the exhaust manifold on the driver '03 (it all started with a flex pipe), cleaned the intake and egr, and am in the process of reassembling.

my question is, can I test my suspicion that the one I no longer drive had a tune by swapping ECU, TCM, and cluster and feeling the drive?

Thanks in advance, and happy monday.

If it has a tune most likely you can switch the ecu no problem. The immobilized was probably wiped from it. Not 100% on that but is a very good possibility. Also reading the boost pressure would be a give away.

Tuners don't necessarily disable the immobilizer. Mine aren't on the cars that have them. However, if you put the ECU in the car you have you could use VCDS to look and see if the tuner has left info on the Engine screen indicating it was tuned. Some tuners do this.

Thanks, you both. But am I right I would need to swap all three items to successfully switch to the other ECU if immobility was not wiped? if it gets 'immobilized' is it bricked? And by switching back to the original the car functions normally again?

The ecu and cluster share a PIN number. So unless it has wiped from the ecu, the cluster and ecu have to stay together. It’s not hard to switch the cluster and ecu. There is a guy locally to me that charges $25 to get rid of it from the ecu. Future reference you cannot get the pin from the dealer nor retrieve it using VCDS. I guess a good lock smith can get them but that’s about the only way.

The car key is matched to the cluster too, FYI.

weelsey said:

if it gets 'immobilized' is it bricked?

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nah, just starts then shuts off a second later
no problem, just crank it again and it'll do it again until you get the right combo of parts

Keys are programmed to the immobilized and comfort control module(if they have one). Ecu and cluster are synced with their pins.

All though you might have to change the key barrel. I just thought of that. I think it communicates between the ecu and cluster.

Don't try to start too many times. Too many no starts will lock up Immobilizer. Also, its possible that if you switch it all back it may need a reset to work again (not a full re-program, just reset).

I have had too many car lots and lock smiths Eff up a car trying to do swaps (ECM, Cluster, keys) and new a/m keys before bringing them to us. A couple of older cars even locked the Immobilizer up so we had to send it out to fix (in our case that means order a replacement from VW).

Who would have tuned it? Jeff did my '04 and there was no change in ECM info at all. He knew it was still in warranty at the time and I think he even reset the reflash counter. Only way to tell was to drive it and watch torque request (higher than stock). Can you stick a battery in the late model and read the ECM? Maybe it says if it has been tuned.

BTW - you can get 4 digit PINs from a log, but you need to know where. Only place I know is to try key program and then read the log for it. Maybe if you make nice with a dealer tech he will get it for you.

Jason

Thanks everyone for the learnings. I'm thinking the thing to do is pay for a tune when I can afford it. I'm not messing with keys. I don't know what became of old ones. I think I pirated the bits for the fob part anyway, swapping circuitry.

SilverGhost said:

Who would have tuned it? J

Jason

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A previous owner. I'm basing my inquiry on the understanding the car had been 'tamed down' (i.e. it had had its big wheels/tires removed), and my recollections of how much better it cruised. I'll see if the latter impression remains after the stealth pipe mod and intake clean are done and the car reassembled.

Gotta figure out how to remove the protruding end of the valve shaft in the EGR sticking out from the diaphram... sculpted out most of the aluminum but I didn't get the SMALL hacksaw to it. Any ideas, those of you who know what I mean?

weelsey said:

Gotta figure out how to remove the protruding end of the valve shaft in the EGR sticking out from the diaphram... sculpted out most of the aluminum but I didn't get the SMALL hacksaw to it. Any ideas, those of you who know what I mean?

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why? you don't gain any flow, the restriction is the bend into the ports and the horrible charge distribution

[486] said:

the restriction is the bend into the ports and the horrible charge distribution

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I get it there's no flow benefit. still consider I did port match the manifold and have figured out how to adapt the bigger bew intercooler and cooler pipe and am installing a catch can.

noticeable improvement will be the manifold clean and exhaust vane adjustments I imagine for the most part.

If these don't do it there would have to be some fault somewhere maybe plugged cat due to considerable mileage on limp by the PO.

Yeah, the asv/egr pipe can be fiddled with later I've two others to try out and perhaps leave intact.

To add: there's a replacement down pipe including cat now installed

And... it was a MAF sensor that had been crippling the car. One manifold clean-up, and one stealth pipe, and it's all performance.

no performance tune to explain the difference, it runs the way I recall the old one did and better.

Thanks for all the contributions. I've got a better sense now of how the parts interact.

But.... MAF sensors kept burning... Perhaps it was the bad alternator sending AC thru the electronics that destroyed them. I've no clue, really. Pissed I used up all my good MAF sensors.

But here's where its's at. I've a '03 sedan now to add to the collection (because I needed an alternator) and, guess what, It's a manual tranny!

Ahem, so, I wanna swap out the O1moan for the bits outa the sedan. All the bits, I mean, do I need to swap them all? Wiring harness'? K-member with struts and all? air freshener and smoke potentiometer?

Serious, can this all just happen with a swap of components? I'd hate to have the odometer shrink from 450000 doown to like 233000 because I had to swap the cluster. Seriously.