tozoM8

<ul><li><a href="http://artswork.asu.edu/cec/CEC_big/2-Two-Hen's-eggs.jpg">http://artswork.asu.edu/cec/CEC_big/2-Two-Hen's-eggs.jpg</a</li></ul>

Mr. Z

As I mentioned in the earlier post, you can overnight it to Micro-Tech-Auto.com, they'll work on it for a couple of days (bench test before repairing, etc.) and can overnight it back to you.

In my case, the ECU *was* good and it cost me around $100 for the bench testing and the overnight shipping back.

As long as the ECU is in good condition overall, there shouldn't be any reason it couldn't be R&amp;R'd.

Mr. Z

The ECU is just a metal box that is solid on 5 sides and has a faceplate/circuit board holder that is attached firmly with four Torx bolts. Inside, it is literally a (roughly) 4" x 6" circuit board with a couple of chips and some other small circuits. Damage/burns should be pretty obvious. You should also check the connector pins on the outside of the ECU case.

What do you have to lose?

PaulW

The suffix is a different letter, both work fine in my car

sullyj

Morning Mr. Z. Contacted microtech and they said I'm dead in the water (pardon the pun) if the ECU becomes waterlogged. I surely appreciated Paul W's offer, but it took me wayyyy too long to even locate a used unit, so I figured "a bird in the hand...". The car's been down for a month now at my mechanic's shop. He's fixing the oil cooler and coolant leak as well as doing some suspension work on the infamous front end. I've never had the car down for this long, so I guess I got anxious about getting the ECU. Let's just hope this is the fix so I can get that baby back on the road.

Mr. Z

The only reason I pushed to have it checked first was that a shop SWORE up and down that my ECU was bad. Turned out to be a totally different problem.

Once you get the old one out, you might consider sending it to MicroTech for bench testing anyway. If it turns out to be good, you might be able to sell it (eBay?) and recoup some of your expenses...

sullyj

Great suggestion (sending damaged ECU for bench testing). I'm really hoping the problem is with the ECU. I do know that two different mechanics tried to get readings from it to no avail. I know one thing. I still can't believe Audi would
locate an item like this under the hood in an area where water could seep to the unit. It seems so much more prudent to place the unit near the footwell, or some other location less prone to damage from the the elements. Go figure...

Thanks again for the tip!

sullyj

By the way, if your problem wasn't with the ECU, what was it? Who knows - I may be faced with the same situation one day. Thanks.

PaulW

So you are buying a used ECU for $600 instead of just having me send you mine for test?

It will work.....then you could buy the 98 ECU and send me mine back.

BTW, you need to clean your cowl drains to prevent this from happening again. That's what happened, they clogged up.<ul><li><a href="http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articles/heatac/exaporatordrains.html">Look at the last 1/3 of this procedure</a></li></ul>

sullyj

Paul, believe me, I wanted to take you up on your offer, but I got concerned about the availbility of the unit. I spent two hours on the internet and nearly as much time on phone calls trying to locate the darn thing. Seems I found the only used one on the planet and felt I'd better get it while I could. I guess I just got impatient given that I haven't had the car for over a month. It didn't help the matter any that my mechanic kept harping at me that he tried using a unit from a '97, but it wouldn't work. He says the plugs don't match up (???). If the car had only been down for a few days, I probably would have gone the route you suggested, but I really got concerned that I would not find a unit anytime in the near future. If I find that the used ECU doesn't work, I can return it/sell it on eBay. Again, I truly appreciate your gesture and in hindsight it was the the smarter route to take.