ECU Check
ECU Check is a platform designed for technicians to analyse the status of a vehicle’s engine ECU calibration.
Many cars have had their engine mapping altered with the aim of enhancing performance. But problematic emissions systems such as Adblue, EGR, or DPF, are often disabled along with their related fault codes. This makes the diagnosis and repair of such vehicles much more difficult than if the ECU calibration is in its original state.
With ECU Check you can quickly and efficiently verify what has been altered and present a detailed report.
USED CAR DEALERS
Ensure that your trade-in vehicles are
in a standard condition, assess their genuine value, and pay the
right amount for them
VEHICLE SERVICING AND REPAIRS
Avoid chasing problems that
make no sense and are
strangely undiagnosable
VEHICLE INSPECTIONS,
forensics, WARRANTIES
ECU status check for forensic investigation, lease returns,
and warranty claims
Attempting to diagnose an untraceable fault due to ECU calibration changes is not only immensely frustrating, it can also be a considerable drain on resources. In such a condition, you may be trying to fix an unfixable car.
A vehicle that has been electronically altered – for tuning, emissions-system deletion, and fault code removal – needs to be put back to standard before it can be properly repaired. Using our service, you can ascertain what modifications have been made.
The process eradicates confusion and saves hours of misdiagnosis.
ECU Check doesn’t just save you valuable time when carrying out vehicle diagnosis (and we all know that time is money), it can also save you from having to deal with considerable problems and unhappy – or potentially litigious – customers.
For example – consider these circumstances: you take car in part exchange and sell it on. At first the car drives and operates as it should, but a month later the customer returns with it having some serious faults in the Adblue system, which hadn’t been flagged as problematic whilst in your possession.
They want their money back, because you have, albeit unwittingly, sold a car not as described. It has hidden modifications with a serious implication on its continued service life. It has been modified – poorly – by one of the growing number of inexperienced and untrained “ECU Tuners” who have little or no knowledge of the changes they are making.
In the engine remapping world this kind of operator is known as a “Flash and Dash” or “Driveway Tuner”. Operating on a mobile basis, they modify cars cheaply with little to no comeback if the data they have reprogrammed is wholly unsuitable, and likely to cause issues with the vehicle in future.
This kind of situation is entirely avoidable when you use ECU Check. Cars that you accept as trade-in, or that you wish to acquire as part of your stock, can be examined prior to any negotiations. It gives you the knowledge to ensure you are only accepting unmodified vehicles, or ones that are at least a known quantity to bring back to standard. It means you can more accurately assess their true value.
ECU Analysis and Reporting
We can tell you if the ECU calibration is standard or modified, and what changes have been made.
A read of the engine ECU produces a file that is a copy of the calibration currently running the vehicle’s engine.
The analysis that is then performed on that file gives you an insight into what, if anything, has been changed.
If it is modified, a detailed report then becomes available.
The ECU Check Process
Firstly, a car’s ECU calibration is obtained with a tool most commonly used in the vehicle remapping industry (see “Hardware” description below).
The file is read either via OBD, or by removing the ECU and connecting directly to it (known as bench or Service Mode). You can see several examples of the process on our YouTube channel. Subsequently it is uploaded and compared to the hundreds of thousands of stock files within our database.
When a match is found, we analyse the file and give you the information you need. Initially, whether the file is modified or original. If it has been altered, a report becomes available to download which details the modifications that have been made.
ECU Check has been in development for over three years, and is completely automated. As a result, response times are instant, with file analysis and reporting available immediately.
We have an ever increasing database of stock files which are used for comparison – no other service like this exists.
How Our System Works
ECU Check requires the use of a remapping tool to extract engine ECU calibration files. The tool can be a master from Alientech, Autotuner, CMD, Dimsport, or Magic. However, we can also supply a slaved Alientech KESS3 – see below.
We operate a pay-per-file or subscription service, with the cost per upload being reduced should you opt for a credit package.
Also included for UK customers is a VRM vehicle lookup. This provides vehicle data and whether the ECU can be read through OBD, or needs to be done on the bench.
The Hardware
We provide the Alientech KESS3 to our ECU Check dealers, unquestionably the latest technology in ECU programming.
The KESS3 is capable of reading a vast array of engine control units in cars, trucks, bikes, boats, and HGVs.
We supply the tool with standard car communication protocols, with additional protocols available for agricultural and heavy freight vehicles also available on request.
The tool is linked to our master unit which decodes the files that you read and send to us for analysis, and we offer support and training once you have signed up.
Master tool users can access the service immediately. We accept files from all the main manufacturers (Alientech, Autotuner, CMD, Magic Motorsport, bFlash, Dimsport, etc).
