My Td5 Installation - Fun With ECUs

So Smiley (Martin) came over with a T4 handheld programmer, and a full Rover TestBook system. We had a play around with the ECU, but we still couldn't get it to work. One odd thing we noticed was that the ECU thought it was a Discovery Td5 ECU, not a Defender one.

We tried the other ECU (NNN000120), but TestBook failed to program this correctly, probably as the ECU was too new.

However, whilst trying the NNN000120, I have a look at the other ECU. I noticed it had "LT MAN" printed on the label. I had a nasty hunch... a quick check of the RAVE CDs and I was proved right. LT was the VIN code for the Discovery. We'd been sold a Discovery Td5 Manual ECU by the dealers. Which is why the ECU thought it was Discovery. It was never going to work. All that time wasted.

A visit to the dealership the next morning, and the 'problem' was explained to them. Then came another shock. The older 1999-2001 ECUs (MSB000080) were no longer available, they were superceded by NNN000120. This meant that it was likely that there were no MSB000080's available any more. However, Guy Salmon did a ring round of other parts departments of Land Rover dealers in the ECU, asking them to check whether they had a 1999 ECU sitting on the shelf. They found one in Yeovil, Somerset, and it was rapidly couriered to Stratford.

With the (hopefully) correct ECU in our hands, and the Discovery ECU returned, Smiley returned and programmed the ECU and Alarm up with no problems.

With a bit of encouragement, the engine started, and we were away. Big smiles all round, it was finally running!

A couple more days of re-assembly of the interior, fixing fuel pipes and fabricating shields, and my Land Rover was finally back on the road.

But then, disaster struck.