diesel engine chip

Just read all the posts on this subject my brains hurting Oh for the good old days when all you had to do was set the gap on your points and spark plugs. Sigh.

Johno wrote:Just read all the posts on this subject my brains hurting Oh for the good old days when all you had to do was set the gap on your points and spark plugs. Sigh.

Oh God no! Don't bring those days back! In those days my cars always a had a puddle of water in the footwell, a chronic misfire, apalling road holding and a strong smell of rotting carpet in the boot...

Tony

I was trained as a Vehicle mech back in my army days in the 50s which included diesels, though having been out of it for many years I wouldnt do more than change the oil and check the tyre pressures now, but with that bit of knowledge I would assume that the ECU also controls the injection timing as well as the amount of fuel injected per power stroke, and I did assume at the time I had the 2.8 done, that this would be retarded (moved later) at low revs to ease the strain on the engine.


Brian

Tony F wrote:

Johno wrote:Just read all the posts on this subject my brains hurting Oh for the good old days when all you had to do was set the gap on your points and spark plugs. Sigh.

Oh God no! Don't bring those days back! In those days my cars always a had a puddle of water in the footwell, a chronic misfire, apalling road holding and a strong smell of rotting carpet in the boot...

Tony

Once had a Mini that used to squirt a jet of water up my left leg every time I drove through a puddle.

Happy days I think

John.

P.S.

Not to mention the pinch bolt that used to come loose where the steering column connected to the steering box spline that used to be quite interesting.

Thanks for the explanations!

I still feel that all of the modern changes they have made aren't necessarily a good thing!

Best regards,

Dutto wrote:Thanks for the explanations!

I still feel that all of the modern changes they have made aren't necessarily a good thing!

Best regards,

Having driven many a Di Tranny I know what engine I'd rather be driving (and no offence meant) - I just dislike the noise and torquelessness (is that a word?) of a di Ford engine.

groundhog wrote:You will save much more fuel by cutting down the weight that is being carried around , get rid of te unnecessary bits and don't carry a full tank of water with you and the fuel consumption will go up. Sounds as though you are doing pretty well anyway.

I never carry water! bit pointless when you can fill up at whatever site you stay on! we just carry enough in a pop bottle for brew ups on the road, and as you say"a water tank full is a lot of weight".

Hi All,
When we had our 2.8 Fiat remapped about 3 years ago they showed us their record of the vehicles they had done, and 2.8s Fiat/Peugeot engines were by far the most popular for remapping. Incidentally this was done by simply connecting a computer to the diagnostic port under the dashboard and inserting the new map rather than doing anything inside the ECU under the bonnet, this is the difference between remapping and rechipping, the latter I believe requires unsoldering and replacing an electronic chip or chips in the ECU (electronic control unit.) The remap certainly made ours much more pleasant to drive, and we did get about 3mpg (10%) improvement as promised.

Brian2

I have had both types of modifications done in the past:

1) Re-map of my old van (2.0JTD) from 84 to 110 BHP and a big increase in torque made it much easier to drive though did not affect the economy either way. The proper way is to plug into the OBD socket by the drivers side fuse box, and then read the map. The map is then looked at by an expert and individually adjusted for the required parameters. It is then re-loaded to the vehicle and a copy of the original map kept. Best possible result and smoothest running. Sometimes the expert is remote and the map file (about 250kb) is simply mailed off and sent back. Most expensive but also most reliable.

2) Lower price option is to simply overwrite the standard map with another generic map for that particular engine. Same as above but simply a download and an upload. Cheaper and quicker.

3) Third option is the tuning box which can be relatively cheap and is quick to install and remove. It works by effectively fooling the system. Some can be quite good, others aren't worth the money - you tend to get what you pay for. I have had one and would never do so again. It was a supposedly premium product but simply kept giving engine warning lights at regular intervals despite going back to the manufacturer several times. gave up in the end. Would never buy one again.

Thanks Dux,
You have updated my knowledge of what to expect from the cheaper remaps, so it is esential to ask whether it is detectable from a dealers diagnostic computer or not, obviously if the old map has been completely removed the dealers computer would detect it and probably indicate a fault. I personally would want to avoid this scenario.


Brian2

Perceived wisdom is that the dealer would need to unload the map and look to see if it is standard or not, which is not at all likely. However, newer vehicles have a diagnostic function (so I am told by my Mercedes dealer) that will inform the date of the engine map and when changes were made. Supposedly. I'm not at all sure if Fiat do the same.

So, apart from insurance, there are two issues: 1) Warranty invalidation. 2) the dealership doing a software upgrade as a part of the service which will overwrite everything and you lose the map. (2) isn't a problem as a reputable company will simply put the map back on for you at little or no charge ( they should keep both the old and new files)

Hi Dux,
Obviously a tecnician on road test, used to driving that sort of vehicle with a standard map, would recognise a remap if it was as different as our 2.8 Fiat was, though a mild remap may not be so obvious.

Brian2

Very true

I fitted a bluespark chip to my Auto-Sleeper Luxor 3850 kg motorhome, fuel increase 3 mpg but the power increase makes it more enjoyable to drive.
David