Relocating ecu

17th February 2011, 19:52

I know there are plenty of people on here who have moved their ecus out of the engine bay into the car.

Whats the best way to do this?
Best way to route cables?
Any cables need extending/chopping/altering?

Any other major points or issues with this?

My car is a 3plug btw incase it makes any diff to the single plug guys

17th February 2011, 19:59

i imagine ALL of the wires will need extending. i want to put mine behind the dash and put my battery in the boot but it seems like such a fuck about

17th February 2011, 20:03

My mate looked into it, apparently the standard ecu works using the resistance of the cables, so if you extend them it will fuck everything up. Dont know how true this is mind

17th February 2011, 20:04

ive not done a 3 plug sadly but on the single plug only the map sensor wires needed extending, when you strip back the loom it goes back as far as the starter motor junction of wiring which gives plenty ti go into the cabin. then extend map to its original position . simples. but cant say for 3 plug but would have thought it be similaa as the sensors are all in the sme place......

17th February 2011, 20:08

i want to run the ecu into the glove box or somethin, gonna strip down a loom at some point and see what i can do

17th February 2011, 20:11

Interesting stuff, it would appear my mate was lied to lol. Anyone got pics of a standard ecu relocated?

17th February 2011, 20:15

yeh i would like to no this as well?

17th February 2011, 20:18

no pics as yet as the cars mid spring rebuild but you wouldnt see it anyway as its bolted under the dash lol. the bay looks far better withoit it and battery. plus when my predator arrives itl be easier to map.
as to the resistance ive been told its rubbish as the engine bay temp woild effect the readings, resistance drops as temp increases. however the classic minis have a resistor wire but thats another story

17th February 2011, 20:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by wicked-vtr

Interesting stuff, it would appear my mate was lied to lol. Anyone got pics of a standard ecu relocated?

In what way bud?

I thought wires would be long enough with all the routes they travel, but you never know.

3 plug is beginning to be the pain of my life!

In my S, I don't have a glove box, so would i just put it behind the dash of the passenger side (behind airbag/glovebox) location

17th February 2011, 20:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by tillygti6

no pics as yet as the cars mid spring rebuild but you wouldnt see it anyway as its bolted under the dash lol. the bay looks far better withoit it and battery. plus when my predator arrives itl be easier to map.
as to the resistance ive been told its rubbish as the engine bay temp woild effect the readings, resistance drops as temp increases. however the classic minis have a resistor wire but thats another story

Pics of the bay was more what i meant, would be helpful to see how all the wires are routed. You got a progress thread bud?

17th February 2011, 20:27

I would be interested too if you have pics of this relocation

17th February 2011, 20:32

not really a computer person so not much of a build thread. but got some pics of it over the years. il see what i can find. i mite have a picture of my currnt loom somewhere, just redid a spare about a fortnight ago.

17th February 2011, 20:41

Someone fancy doing mine???

17th February 2011, 20:46

if its single plug il get some pics of my spare loom. youl be amazed how easy it is,

17th February 2011, 20:50

wat would be the difference between the single plug and 3 plug

17th February 2011, 20:58

I been thinking about this for some time, what size hole did you cut?

17th February 2011, 21:04

didnt on my gti theres already one there under the servo, where the wires comethrough for the maxi fusebox and wipers, but il prob have to for my new shell, il most probly reuse the gromit from the gti and cut a hole to suit, the most important thing is to make sure the wires cant get damaged going through the bulk head, wouldnt wana earth some of th lives lol..........

17th February 2011, 21:08

Yer I know that, would be well protected if I did it, dnt know if it really worth the hassle though, I'll have to make a decision about it.

17th February 2011, 21:16

if the loom is off the car its a half hour to prep it and tidy it all up and possibly a hole to cut, so not really a masive job in the scheme of things.

17th February 2011, 21:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndySAXO

Yer I know that, would be well protected if I did it, dnt know if it really worth the hassle though, I'll have to make a decision about it.

Im thinking same as you Andy, seems like alot of work. But makes the bay look much more tidy and clean

Noticed how no one with a 3 plug has done this yet i dont think. Single plug FTW it seems

17th February 2011, 22:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by wicked-vtr

Interesting stuff, it would appear my mate was lied to lol. Anyone got pics of a standard ecu relocated?

canbus uses resistance, saxos dont use canbus so its not really a lie, more a misunderstanding