48 replies to this topic

[NEU]

I have a spare ECU that I want to have a clone made for my ME7 '00R ECU. Anyone have a ballpark $$ how much that would run me at the dealer or elsewhere? I'd rather do it local to me vs shipping it, just incase there is an issue (like it getting "lost" in the post) and then being screwed without a car. I'm just trying to figure if it's worth it or not.

Any advice or other ideas? Anyone know if Speedtuning in MD can do this?

[Honeyman]

Hey Man,
I shot an e-mail to the guys at C'Ville V. Will let you know how they respond...

[Ihatespeedbumps]

At time of writing, an ECU cannot be "cloned"

Meaning, an ECU taken from another car cannot be re-programmed to work in your car. Volvo dealers have no such software. That being said Lucky is working on being able to re-program ECU's, but I don't know where he's at in the process.

Read through this thread and some of your questions may be answered.
http://volvospeed.co...46780-ard-tune/

[ARD - Lucky]

Boils down to this, I have to have the original ECU in my hands so I can read off the IMMO pin code from the immobilizer chip. Once I have that I can program as many ECU's for your car as you like.

The only other option is to purchase a new ECU from Volvo and have it programmed or get a used ME7 ECU and see if someone with VIDA/DICE can reload it for you, again will have to be in same place as the car.

[NEU]

Yes this would be for Luckys tune, without me shipping both ECU cross country. In one of his PM to me he asked me if my spare ECU was cloned, so I assumed others could do that, like the dealer or possibly Speedtuning which is 30min from me. LIke I stated I'd prefer not to ship my original ECU "just in case" something happens to it. And if something did happen what would I have to do to get another ECU programed to my immobilizer?

And this is Luckys ME7 thread.

AJ, thanks for your help it's appreciated! I'll buy ya a beer at the Mad Fox..

ARD - Lucky, on 26 January 2012 - 12:45 AM, said:

get a used ME7 ECU and see if someone with VIDA/DICE can reload it for you, again will have to be in same place as the car.

I have the used ECU, my spare... I guess I shouldn't be calling it spare since I can't use it at the moment. So can you go into deal what this VIDA/DICE process is?

[ARD - Lucky]

VIDA/DICE is the OEm diagnostic software used at the Volvo dealer. the DICE is the hardware interface cable (USB to OBDII)

I have one that I use for reading/programming cars but you have to have the car in posession to be able to program any of the modules through this method. There's a way to get the IMMO pin code that is easier but I haven't worked it out yet. I may be able to get the CEM to spit the Immo code out on the dash instrument cluster (data center) in which case cloning ME7 becomes a cake walk... for now though ME7 decoding has taken the majority of my attention.

[Ihatespeedbumps]

ARD - Lucky, on 26 January 2012 - 12:45 AM, said:

used ME7 ECU and see if someone with VIDA/DICE can reload it for you, again will have to be in same place as the car.

Personally tried this when I worked at the dealer, absolutely does not work. Only the FTS has the "special" software needed to do this, and good luck trying to get that done.

[ARD - Lucky]

I have the 'special' software you mentioned... perhaps something I can provide to those who need it.

Ultimately I want Me7 ECU's to be as interchangeable as M4.x ECU's... I'm working on it now... few tricks up my sleeve

[Ihatespeedbumps]

ARD - Lucky, on 26 January 2012 - 03:53 AM, said:

I have the 'special' software you mentioned... perhaps something I can provide to those who need it.

Ultimately I want Me7 ECU's to be as interchangeable as M4.x ECU's... I'm working on it now... few tricks up my sleeve

Fantastic news! Anyway you can provide the software to users with VIDA? The software I witnessed in action (FTS supplied) was able to re-program every module except the CEM, which I was told was engineer level. Any chance you can do this with a variety of modules?

[NEU]

So other then shipping my ECUs across country to Lucky and get cloned and tuned. I'd have to find someone with "special" version of VIDA/DICE who can do it. Or maybe some dealers can do it. No other way? This doesn't sound like it's going to be cheap or easy...

[ARD - Lucky]

No other way at the moment... but I'm working on it.

[Volvo5.0]

Ihatespeedbumps, on 26 January 2012 - 04:49 AM, said:

Fantastic news! Anyway you can provide the software to users with VIDA?

That would be sweet! I've got Vida and am very interested. Might even be able to help out NEU, since he is close by.

[ARD - Lucky]

I would not provide that software however I might rewrite the loading sequences if we determine module loading to be of value...

I do have one other way we could read out the immo code but it's not terribly DIY friendly.
Involves me sending the equipment to read out the ECU to someone and guide them through the process. It's not terrible hard but requires removing the ECU from the car, snapping an in circuit reader in place and installing some software to read it out.

Would look something like this:

[Ihatespeedbumps]

NEU, on 26 January 2012 - 06:10 PM, said:

So other then shipping my ECUs across country to Lucky and get cloned and tuned. I'd have to find someone with "special" version of VIDA/DICE who can do it. Or maybe some dealers can do it. No other way? This doesn't sound like it's going to be cheap or easy...

The only people that have the "special" version are Volvo Field Technical Specialist (FTS) who work in different regions around the country, they don't operate out of a single dealer. They are dispatched to dealers when a very complicated issue arises (usually warranty work) to get help resolve issues. The FTS has is own laptop with a special version of VIDA that is not available to the dealers. With this he can go much more in depth into control modules, and even has the abilty to re-program every module in the car except the CEM.

What I'm saying is, no dealer is going to help you out with this. Best of luck.

[ARD - Lucky]

He's right, the only thing the dealer would do is sell you a new ECU and program it to your car. Likely a $800 job at best.

[andyb5]

Dumb question, but the immo code is different than the key code, correct?

[ARD - Lucky]

andyb5, on 26 January 2012 - 08:58 PM, said:

Dumb question, but the immo code is different than the key code, correct?

They are the same thing

Edited by ARD - Lucky, 26 January 2012 - 10:57 PM.

[andyb5]

The Volvo warranty reports for my car lists the key code as a 6 digit number/letter combo. Am I correct in saying that if someone gets a warranty report (all dealers can run them) this means that they have their immo code, which means you should be able to clone them an ECU?

[Honeyman]

Hey Neubar, just to follow up, the Volvo guys suggested to go aftermarket in this case- as you are already aware.... Maybe you should send it off while working down south? That way you got zero down time!

[NEU]

Thanks AJ. Yeah that would have been the plan to do it while on travel, since I couldn't afford to have my car down for more then a long weekend. Unfortunately I leave at the end of Feb. and don't see a solution happening in the next couple weeks... But really my main worry is shipping out the ECU and having something happen in transit and really being up "The Creek". I've shipped out too much electronics in padded boxes to Pelican cases and seen them damaged. I guess it's also knowing too many guys that worked at UPS who would see how far they could drop kick packages... So I think my ECU will stay put in my car unless someone has another idea or Lucky is able to get the IMMO without me shipping it too him.

BTW I owe you a couple rounds for that...