The Devil

HI everyone. I've got an ABZ 4.2L v8 engine and i'm stuffing it into my coupe quattro. I've got most of the mechanical problems figured out(radiator,oil cooler,fuel lines, power steering, etc.) I'm starting to debate the electrical stuff now. I can't remember the reason why most people go standalone with the A8 engine swap but I figured I'd ask here why I couldn't use the stock A8 ECU? I remember slightly that a member on this forum did a 6 speed swap from auto to manual and that the ecu ignored the fact that it's not talking to the auto tranny any more?

Besides the auto tranny, what else would prevent me from running the stock ECU setup? Is there an ignition lock or something like so on the ecu?

Thanks
Josh

P.S. How well informed is the bentley manuals for these particular cars?

PaulW

If not, skip.

If so, maybe you could make it work, but Gabor has a six speed manual in his car and still has all the wires hooked up to the transmission control solenoids and gets a check engine light above 55 MPH or so because there is an improper speed signal.

You will also have multiple errors in that you won't have an instrument cluster hooked up and the IC has a lot of connections from the engine CAN bus.

Personally, I would skip and get an aftermarket ECU and wiring harness that would be very simple.

There have been a few people who have posted over the years that have done exactly that.<ul><li><a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/a8/msgs/46336.phtml">Pics of an audi 80 with ABZ, hit refresh if it doesn't come up first time</a></li></ul>

PsYcHe UK

Have a look at this thread.

He's also been through a lot of the mechanical issues, and he's created a custom ECU, so might be able to help you sort one of those for yourself.

http://www.motorgeek.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9648

The Devil

Worse case senario i'm going to install an aftermarket ecu.

The Devil

Hi,

I'm not sure why everyone who has done the swap has frowned away from using the OEM ecu. I've been reading for a while now the A8 schematics and plugging this harness into my coupe quattro is rather easy in my opinion (i've done a few different engine swaps). I've read around and found some information on how to get the ecu to ignore the automatic transmission. Also I've looked into the A8 and 95+ audi cabriolets and I think I can get the ignition to work with the immobilizier setup too. I have a few friends at the dealership too. I think I might be able to con them into messing with the ecu too to have them shut off the immobilizer. As far annoying things.. Well my coupe doesn't have OBD functions on the instrument cluster. I'm also swapping over to cable change heat and air instead of climate control. The only OBD function will be the ecu. Also I probably could get away with adapting it to work with the early style audi plugs too vs the OBD plug found on 95+ cars. I've got vagcom too. As far as running the engine I'm sticking with Oem right now. I'm too curious to not want to check it.

The Devil

i figured out how to do it. nevermind. :-)