Seicento (For Sale) Seicento Sporting 2000. Immaculate but ECU failed.

[NOACINQ1]

NOACINQ1 submitted a new listing:

Seicento Sporting 2000. Immaculate but ECU failed. - Seicento Sporting 2000. Immaculate but ECU failed.

Sadly my immaculate 43,000 mile Seicento Sporting in Silver has blown its ECU. I'm told repair is not possible and second hand replacements are 'dodgy' and may not be successful.

The car is totally standard, in exceptional condition with the only faults being rusty fog light lenses. Engine/ gearbox were perfect prior to it blowing the ECU (on the MOT ramp!) so it is spares (loads of them and immaculate) or repair (if you know what you're doing and happen to have access to a good ECU and all...

Learn more about this listing...

 

[porta]

You can still get new ones from Poland, Lithuania, Rumania and Hungary, most used to advertise on eBay, those that still do still export to UK

 

[NOACINQ1]

You can still get new ones from Poland, Lithuania, Rumania and Hungary, most used to advertise on eBay, those that still do still export to UK

Thanks. I've been looking on Ebay but can't find one of the corresponding part number. The ECU specialist who have told me the existing unit is unrepairable told me that the Sporting ECU is different from others, even though all the 1100cc units are 54hp apparently. The ECU on my car is a Magnetti Marelli unit but has very limited info on it - (see picture)(much less than on others I've seen advertised). The local Fiat agent told me the original part number(46817822) has been superseded by a later number (46820325), but that neither is available from Fiat now. As far as I can see, none of the parts currently on ebay have either of these numbers. There are plenty of second hand and 'virginised' ones advertised but with different numbers. Chat on here seems to imply they are more interchangeable than I've been told but frankly, I can't afford to risk the costs of a part/repair that doesn't work.

My problem is that I haven't anywhere to store the car off road and can't tax it without an MOT so it looks like an otherwise perfect car is going to the crusher.

 

[porta]

First one, and link, from UK, second one from Hungary but for SA market, both are different numbers to yours!

Fiat SEICENTO 600 1.1 SPORTING ECU 73501878 46817816 IAW4AF.M1 New Genuine | eBay

<p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">This is a brand new, genuine Fiat SEICENTO 600 1.1 SPORTING ECU MY2000 EOBD</p> <p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;"> Manufacturer part numbers 73501878 and 46817816</p> <p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">OE/OEM...

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[NOACINQ1]

Thanks. Yes these are a different type altogether. Mine is like a flat rectangular unit with two plug ports the same size.

I've just had another look on ebay with part numbers and can see a few used ones for sale with matching part numbers but the ECU specialist here says it's 50/50 whether a used unit can be successfully installed - I believe the issue is getting round the immobiliser and getting the ECU to talk to the engine, dashboard, ignition/keys. I guess there would also be an issue trying to correct the mileage. I imagine if I buy one from abroad there will be a problem with miles and kilometres

 

[icheatatscrabble]

I imagine you would would have to get a complete kit - so keys, the transponder receiver ring that sits around the ignition lock barrel and the ECU.
I have a spare set like this for my Cinquecento Sporting. The other thing I could suggest is that you buy one of those ECUs with matching part numbers to yours and then drop the user on @mckcrich (i think) a message, as he offers a service which remaps the ecu, but also removes the imobiliser.
Therefore removing the need to replace keys, transponder receiver.
Think he charges under £100 for this.

 

[icheatatscrabble]

https://www.fiatforum.com/members/mckcrich.3226/ This is him.

This is a page I bookmarked a while back, as I probably will send my spare ecu to him one day:

BBR or Mckrich Chip still available? | FIAT Cinquecento / Seicento

Hello all, I have been scouring the fiat forum for a while now looking for ways to make my Seicento Sporting SPI faster. I have come across a lot of threads talking about the BBR and the Mckrich chip. Sins all these threads are from 10+ years ago i hope to get information this way. I was...

www.fiatforum.com

 

[varesecrazy]

Not sure if @blackbox
Or @blu73 could be tempted..

Seems a shame for it to end over this problem

 

[Prawny12009]

FIAT SEICENTO ECU & IMMOBILISER | eBay

<p>FIAT SEICENTO ECU & IMMOBILISER. </p><p>All questions welcome </p>

www.ebay.co.uk

doesn't seem to state engine size but i'm pretty sure any seicento with this style ecu will be 1.1

From what i've read these micro ecu's can suffer with ignition coil driver circuit failure.

 

[NOACINQ1]

Not sure if @blackbox
Or @blu73 could be tempted..

Seems a shame for it to end over this problem

It certainly does. Getting desperate now!

 

[NOACINQ1]

FIAT SEICENTO ECU & IMMOBILISER | eBay

<p>FIAT SEICENTO ECU & IMMOBILISER. </p><p>All questions welcome </p>

www.ebay.co.uk

doesn't seem to state engine size but i'm pretty sure any seicento with this style ecu will be 1.1

From what i've read these micro ecu's can suffer with ignition coil driver circuit failure.

Thanks. I've contacted the seller to see if the part numbers match.

The Fiat dealer and the ECU specialist local to me have both said it has to be either 46817822 or 46820325 otherwise it won't work. I don't know if anyone else knows if this is true? It seems strange because, as far as I know, all 1108cc models have the same 54 bhp output so it seems odd that the sporting should have a unique ECU. Maybe the torque curve is differently tuned to the shorter gearing or something.

 

[NOACINQ1]

FIAT SEICENTO ECU & IMMOBILISER | eBay

<p>FIAT SEICENTO ECU & IMMOBILISER. </p><p>All questions welcome </p>

www.ebay.co.uk

doesn't seem to state engine size but i'm pretty sure any seicento with this style ecu will be 1.1

From what i've read these micro ecu's can suffer with ignition coil driver circuit failure.

Yes, that seems to be the common fault. The existing unit failed during the MOT. The car drove there with no issues and then whilst on the ramp awaiting the emissions test, it suddenly overheated. The engine fan didn't cut in. It did the same at test the previous year but re-started after. I'd noticed the fan wasn't coming on and the temperature light did come on briefly once in traffic but went off as soon as we were moving. Several times through the summer I was caught in heavy traffic and stationary for ages with no light coming on or any sin of over heating. There's no indication of a head gasket issue so I'm thinking the coil driver issue has blown the whole ECU and hence the fan control, leading to the overheat. I also wonder if the garage jump started the car (as they didn't get round to it immediately and the battery was very weak) and that may have done for the ECU.

 

[blu73]

Yes, that seems to be the common fault. The existing unit failed during the MOT. The car drove there with no issues and then whilst on the ramp awaiting the emissions test, it suddenly overheated. The engine fan didn't cut in. It did the same at test the previous year but re-started after. I'd noticed the fan wasn't coming on and the temperature light did come on briefly once in traffic but went off as soon as we were moving. Several times through the summer I was caught in heavy traffic and stationary for ages with no light coming on or any sin of over heating. There's no indication of a head gasket issue so I'm thinking the coil driver issue has blown the whole ECU and hence the fan control, leading to the overheat. I also wonder if the garage jump started the car (as they didn't get round to it immediately and the battery was very weak) and that may have done for the ECU.

yes, being a 2000 it will be a very early mpi engine - and they had so many issues with them. The ecu was replaced pretty quickly with one that doesnt just randomly blow up.

I don't really have much experience with the mpi engines in general tbh, i was in cinqs and really early spi seicentos. But the right and proper way to fix this would really be to put the later style ecu on it then there would be chance one day the ecu just dying and being where you are now.

Not something I have ever looked into doing having never owned a mpi cento. And we are into the realms of if you can't do yourself its gonna cost a lot of money to pay someone to do it. Both styles of ecu are running the same engine with all the same sensors so it should be possible to make the harness plug into the newer style ecu but i dont think the plugs are even the same so its no easy 5 min job.

Tricky one to solve when you have nowhere off road to leave it thats for sure. Your saving grace here might just be how many people have actually had this issue. Have a search for 'micro ecu' in the section and loads of posts from back in the day with people with your exact issue will come up. But its a really short run of seicento's that are affected. Most 2000 seicentos are still spi pre-facelift and by 2001 all the seicentos are facelift mpi with the new ecu (which is basically bulletproof).

 

[blu73]

and just as a side point, try looking on polish and italian ebay if you want to just find replacements - I've had great success sourcing ecu's and engine looms etc from them in the past. Actually have a loom for a mk1 punto sporting here from italy and a ecu, lockset, immobilser etc from a polish dude so i can put a 1.2 16v in a cinq. Theres a lot of cool cento people in facebook groups as well, as much as i loathe facebook groups

 

[NOACINQ1]

and just as a side point, try looking on polish and italian ebay if you want to just find replacements - I've had great success sourcing ecu's and engine looms etc from them in the past. Actually have a loom for a mk1 punto sporting here from italy and a ecu, lockset, immobilser etc from a polish dude so i can put a 1.2 16v in a cinq. Theres a lot of cool cento people in facebook groups as well, as much as i loathe facebook groups

Thanks. I contacted the uk seller on EBay who had an ecu/instrument cluster and ignition barrel for sale to ask what the part number was. All that came back was 'sorry we cannot help'. I don't know if this means the item is not the right part number, they don't know or can't be bothered to look, suspect the latter!

Found one with the later part number (46820325) on ebay in Italy. (I'm guessing this later part number is what replaced the original ones which fail). My caution is that I will have to get round the immobiliser and the local ECU guy says its 50/50 whether this can be done) and also wondering how/whether an ECU configured for a European market in kph will work here in a car set up for mph.

I have a friend travelling to Italy tomorrow who has a big Fiat dealership behind her house and her husband's company has a polish office so he's going to cast about in case someone there can help. Trouble is, time is very short.

 

[blu73]

No both part numbers will both be the "micro eco" that fails, they will have done a firmware update or something.

I don't know the ultimate can do and can't do when it comes to immobiliser stuff - what i do know of this era of fiats is the ecu, immobilizer and key all have to match, you can't use the codebox and key you have with a different ecu. You can copy seicento keys, but i don't know if you can read the ecu and then code a new key to it - best call a local car key specialist on that front.

What i have alwasy tried to do is get a ecu, codebox and key from the same donor car - if you can get ignition barrel and door locks as well then you can swap them and only have a single key still. Without the ignition barrel you need to tape the matching key to the codebox antenna and not have the antenna round the ignition barrel so it picks up the right key - can stuff this up behind the dash then, but in turn means you don't really have an immobiliser anymore.

this isnt an option but had you got a new ecu from fiat how this works is it has no immobilser until you plug one in and it codes to that - known as a virgin ecu. very unlikely you will find a new virgin micro ecu but thats how this would have worked had the car been new still.

speedo wise, this is fine, the difference is the fascia not the clocks or ecu, the ecu records km in a uk car if i remember correctly.

 

[NOACINQ1]

No both part numbers will both be the "micro eco" that fails, they will have done a firmware update or something.

I don't know the ultimate can do and can't do when it comes to immobiliser stuff - what i do know of this era of fiats is the ecu, immobilizer and key all have to match, you can't use the codebox and key you have with a different ecu. You can copy seicento keys, but i don't know if you can read the ecu and then code a new key to it - best call a local car key specialist on that front.

What i have alwasy tried to do is get a ecu, codebox and key from the same donor car - if you can get ignition barrel and door locks as well then you can swap them and only have a single key still. Without the ignition barrel you need to tape the matching key to the codebox antenna and not have the antenna round the ignition barrel so it picks up the right key - can stuff this up behind the dash then, but in turn means you don't really have an immobiliser anymore.

this isnt an option but had you got a new ecu from fiat how this works is it has no immobilser until you plug one in and it codes to that - known as a virgin ecu. very unlikely you will find a new virgin micro ecu but thats how this would have worked had the car been new still.

speedo wise, this is fine, the difference is the fascia not the clocks or ecu, the ecu records km in a uk car if i remember correctly.

That's interesting. Nobody (except the unhelpful UK ebay seller) is advertising the ECU with the locks/instruments but there are loads of sellers offering just the ECU itself(used). This seems strange if a used unit is effectively paired to the car it came from and can't be reprogrammed to another car's keys/instruments. There are some Polish companies that still advertise the new part but when you look they say 'no stock'. I've seen a couple described as 'virginised' which presumably means the link to the donor vehicle has been erased and it should pair to my car, but my local ECU guy says i't only 50/50 whether this will work. All a bit of a gamble. I was hoping someone on here might want the car for the scrap price (it's in such good condition) and try to repair it, but if not, it looks like it will have to be scrapped.

 

[blu73]

like i say, for someone with time and space its a cheap fix..

join this and post in here and i'm sure someone will come get it if thats what you wish, it would be a shame to crush it indeed https://www.facebook.com/groups/1719638074789456

 

[blu73]

my mate is interested, i'll private message you

 

[WornOut Racing]

That's me