V8 50 Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 I've been having problems with high idle speeds on my defender. I've had the stepper motor changed, that worked for about two weeks. The problem then returned, back to the dealership, they fitted a new coolant temp sensor and the problem went away for another couple of weeks. Guess what? A couple of weeks later its idling at about 2k rpm again (not helpful in an auto!!). So back to the dealer it goes they reckon that they may not have set all the "adjustables" correctly which they then do and give it back to me. Lo and behold on sunday it starts misbehaving again so back to the dealer, they are stumped so they call the factory, who helpfully say check as per a NAS spec car which they do and still can't find a problem, the problem apparently is that the brain is forgetting it's base settings, The fix is a new brain, a snip at a mere £1,335 Which I don't want to pay! So I have a few questions to the wise and helpful..... Can I fit one from a P38 Rangie and get it coded to my alarm? Does any one refurbish these things? Any ideas greatfully received Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 Speak to the guru of all things ECU Mark Adams Phamhouse marketing, numbers in LRO, PM if you can't find him. GHe will fix ECU and knows more about them than most other people will forget Nige Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 P38 ecu is a no-no I am afraid, and would be a right pain in the arse if you could anyway. As per Nige's post contact Mark. Worst case he can do a full re-map and upgrade for about 850ukp and you get a better engine out of it. You can install the new chips yourself, takes about 15-20mins. His contact details are.. MARK ADAMS V8 Engine Management Specialist PHARMHOUSE MARKETING Land Line - +44 (0)1694 720144 Fax - +44 (0)1694 720143 Mobile - +44 (0)7798 582390 Email - mark.adams@pharmhouse.co.uk If you call best to try between 9am and 11am Cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 What is it a GEMS ECU or the new Thor one? not sure what sort of central heating plant is in a 50th... if a Thor one you are stuffed as I tried to find out about upgraded ones and all the answers I got said that the security on the Thor ECU was too much of a PITA to make it worth trying to tweak and that the base settings were about as good as could be expected anyway, without doing mechanical stuff like changing the cam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwriyadh Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 Do you have a battery isolator or cut the battery off in any other way? jw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted September 30, 2005 Share Posted September 30, 2005 Defender had GEMS. Change over to Thor on P38 RR was sometime in 99 I think. Cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8 50 Posted September 30, 2005 Author Share Posted September 30, 2005 Cheers for the replies. Yeah it's a GEMS jobbie on the defender, I'm starting to think there must be a few in there the price they want for one!! I'll give Mr Adams a call and see if he's got any ideas. I can't help but think that it could be better placed than about 12" from the exhaust manifold. I used to have a 300tdi, It was slow, stinky, rattled and I only managed 20mpg......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 £1300 I'll build it, fit it, gold plate it, tune it, and make the tea Seriously though - £200 buys you an ECU, another £200 buys a sexercisey Wideband Lambda sensor, £450 change buys a very nice laptop to tune it with so you need never pay others to do it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted October 3, 2005 Share Posted October 3, 2005 I've often wondered how much is the training, in how to understand what the engine is telling you. You don't have to buy the ECU from the dealer you may find its less than half that price for a new one or see if there is a breaker around with one in it 50th 90's are rare but somone must have smashed one or try Bearmach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8 50 Posted October 31, 2005 Author Share Posted October 31, 2005 Well after a couple of lenghty discussions with Mark Adams (who was very helpful and incredibly knowledgeable) it turns out that it's nothing more sinister than an intermittant fault with the throttle position sensor that gave a very low figure from time to time and the ECU was adjusting it's settings down to that. Which is a relif as the cost of a TPS is about £40 compared to the £1300 they wanted for the ECU on it's own!! Thanks for your help Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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