File Analysis
ECU Check analyses the file that you have read from the vehicle and presents the results in real time
When the ECU tuning industry was in its infancy, the code required to run an engine was tiny in comparison to the vastly complex and greatly increased quantity needed today. As manufacturers have kept up with emissions regulations and made their cars ever more refined and capable, so the scale of calibration coding has increased.
We have an extensive knowledge of these areas within an ECU, and can analyse them in comparison to our database of original files to determine two important factors: whether the “Data Area” (the code that runs the engine and its associated emissions systems) within its calibration has been altered; and which of the Diagnostic Trouble Codes have been deleted.
The Process
Using the Alientech KESS3, the vehicle’s calibration file can be obtained from the engine ECU using either bench or OBD reading methods.
This isn’t the same as using a diagnostic unit: the KESS3 is the market leading electronic tuning tool, and as such it is the perfect equipment for our purposes – it has the greatest vehicle coverage and is reliable and consistent in operation.
The reading method is first determined by entering the vehicle registration, then connecting to the ECU and selecting the relevant communication protocols. These videos demonstrate and describe the process for both OBD and bench methods.
Step 1
Once you have the calibration file, our system is incredibly simple to use, and you will know within minutes whether or not it has been modified.
Take the example in these screenshots. Before taking a read it is worth using our vehicle lookup system, by entering its registration: we supply the vehicle information, engine code, type of read required, and where to find the ECU or the OBD port.
The next part of the process is to take a read from the engine ECU. This will either be done through the OBD port, or by removing the control unit from the car and connecting to it directly (otherwise known as a bench read). This generates the file that is subsequently uploaded to the ECU Check website.
Step 2
Logging in to your account reveals the “Upload File” link in the main menu, and the next step can commence.
Analysis begins as soon as you have browsed your PC for the file and clicked the Upload button, with a binary result of “Modified” or “Original” displayed upon the use of one file credit, or an immediate payment. Credits are available to purchase from the store, but a more cost-effective subscription is also available.
In this example, the results indicate that that ECU is indeed modified.
Using a further credit gains access to the full analysis, presented as you see here, along with a downloadable report in PDF format.
In this example 67 DTCs have been deleted, relating to the Adblue system. This means that it has been effectively disabled, and in all likelihood the control unit disconnected.
The vehicle itself is quite possibly running normally, with no illuminated dashboard warnings.
A modification such as this is routinely carried out on diesel vehicles whose Adblue systems are notoriously unreliable. This, compounded by a sluggish supply chain of vital spare parts, often leaves owners feeling that they have no choice but to simply delete it.
Adblue is one of the emissions systems most commonly disabled, with DPF and EGR deletion also routinely carried out on passenger cars and light commercial vehicles.
What next?
In the example above, you have discovered that the Adblue system has been disabled and, in all likelihood, been physically unplugged; and that the ECU calibration has been adapted so that the car still runs correctly with no illuminated warning lamps on the dashboard. So how do you return this car to standard condition..?
Fortunately, we can provide you with a stock calibration file. Once this has been programmed into the ECU, a diagnostic scan will reveal the same DTCs you have seen listed in our analysis, allowing you to carry out the necessary repairs to missing or altered hardware, should this be the route that you wish to take. Or you might, at this juncture, decide that dealing with this particular vehicle is not economically viable, and so reject it as a trade-in.
In the event that the file you have uploaded produces a result that is inconclusive (see example on the left), it will be necessary to have it analysed manually.
Sending it for further investigation means that it will be looked over by a human, whose expertise lies in examining ECU calibration data. They will be able to make manual comparisons with files taken from the same type of vehicle and ECU, but with a variation in software.
It is this variation which has stopped it from being matched within our database; or that the alterations that have been carried out are enough to flag it as modified, but they have been done in such a way that automatic analysis has not been possible.
