zetec cams and ECU

[Nic Day]

I have been playing over the winter and the project of upgrading the cams is close to finishing - all going back together tomorrow night.

 

Now I have just been thinking about the ECU. I have a dunnell one and following a conversation just now with Northampton Motorsports who will be rolling roading my car to set the carbs up etc I have found out that the ECU is locked by Dunnell, so I cannot change any maps etc. 😔

 

My question is - can I still run the car with the same map or am I now stuck with sending the ECU back to Dunnell and them "guessing" the map to my specs etc and charging me £150 for the pleasure?

 

I know now I need a proper ECU but I dont have the funds - any good suggestions please

 

cheers

Nic

 

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[ChrisHawkins]

Hi Nic, what cams did you put in?

 

Chris

 

K93 AMJ

[I.Mupferit]

A friend of mine has a Zetec with a Dunnell ECU and he has been trying without success to get them to agree to give him the code for some years now. He has a standard 2L engine which has had a few issues but all he can do is play with the carb jetting etc. which isn't very satisfactory.

 

If you have changed the cams, it really does need setting up properly on the rolling road to see any real benefit and although I guess Dunnell can probably make a stab at changing the map to suit, it isn't going to be as good as it could be. I know it doesn't help if you don't have the funds available but I really would try to get an alternative ECU that can be re-mapped properly by someone who knows what he is doing.

 

How about trying to get a Megajolt (or whatever it's called) from Bill Shurvington. They are relatively inexpensive and could solve your problem. Steve Motts of Se7en-Up fame has one on his Zetec and could advise.

 

Brent

(aka Arfur Nayo)

 

2.3 DURATEC SV You know when you've been AMMO'd 😬

R470.69 😬

[Molecular--Bob]

Megajolt is your friend. Which sensors do you have on the car? i'm guessing TPS and a crank sensor, in which case megajolt a ford EDIS and a little wiring should have you sorted and a safe map installed. if you can solder then you can build one for about £55.00 and you should be able to use most of the dunnell loom as well.

[Big Brother]

As Bob said

 

Cheap as chips (excuse the pun) and very simple to fit, especially as you already have all the required wiring.

The PC software is also a breeze to use.

 

Steve

 

 

SE7EN-UP!

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_{If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.}

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[millsn]

emerald is quite ubiquitous, I have MBE myself. Either would be good for you being vaguely in Stev Greenauld's neck of the woods , that's where I would go. just this side ofo the tunnel. If youo live anywhere near norwich I'd go emerald as you can go to Dave thingumy's which is nearby. I think ECU is as much about the mapper you choose as it is about spec

[philwaters]

Yep, that's the way I would go - sell the Dunnell on Ebay and it'll probably pay for the Mjolt.

 

But a Mappable ECU should be just that, mappable by everyone and anyone. It makes me angry in the same way as the Weber Alpha does. If you are going to charge the same amount of money as the other 'accessible' ECU's out there, then you really are taking the pi$$ locking it. If you are worried about your IP of the map, then just charge more for the ECU+Map - they'd only have to sell 10 maps @ £50 to pay for 'their' time on a dyno or RR.

personal Opinion> & rant over

 

Phil Waters

[I.Mupferit]

I agree with Phil re the non accessible ECU's which is why I dumped the Weber Alpha unit I had on my car last year for an Emerald. I'm sure the likes of Dunnell and Weber would sell far more of their kit if they only opened their eyes and looked at the rest of the market. Their attitude is very short sighted in my view but hey ho it's their loss.

 

By choice I would always go Emerald but if funds are limited as Nic suggests then Megajolt is certainly a viable alternative I would have thought.

 

Brent

(aka Arfur Nayo)

 

2.3 DURATEC SV You know when you've been AMMO'd 😬

R470.69 😬

[ChrisHawkins]

I do agree that locking these ECU's is short sighted and a pain in the ar$e when you want to go outside their levels of engine built.

 

However I recently contacted Paul Dunnell about remapping mine as I will be changing cams from 115PS to 130PS I was told that I would not need to send the ECU back as the map on it will be ok, as mine is running 40 DCOE's it will need re-jetting. Also in the past if it did need changing I way told this would be done free of charge, this is why I asked what cams had been fitted.

 

However as soon as funds allow and as soon as I move outside the "norm" in terms of engine build then I will change the ECU

 

Chris

 

K93 AMJ

[Nic Day]

evening everyone and thanks for the replys.

 

Yes I am so pi$$ed off with them. But this is what I have and as funds are not there for a new ECU I am a bit stuffed. The megajolts I am in 2 minds about - 1 sounds great and I like the sounds of easy mapping etc BUT - 2 I am a electronic numpty and the thought of wiring etc is a bit scary. For something like this I need off the shelf with plug and play. Can you get a megajolt ready built ?

 

I am gone for pipercams and their ultimate road ones.

 

Cheers

Nic

 

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