NefMoto

Ok So heres the story.I have a Mbox tune but my car has a abox ecu.Anyone know or can confirm if I can can reflash my abox ecu with a mbox tune????Just Curious if anyone has done this or can either confirm or deny wether this is possible.

All 2.7T ECUs from 2000 to 2002 are identical.

The 1999 2.7T ECU is different, and in 2003 some 2.7T ECUs added an immobilizer.

It is 100% safe to flash your ABox ECU with MBox software.

My car has a late 1999 production date. says 2000 on the title.Im guessing its safe to flash??

If it works with the 800BB memory layout it is safe.

Attempting to flash a 1999 C Box Euro S4 ECU will just fail because it reports flash programming is not supported.

Make sure you re-code your instrument cluster if you switch from A to M, otherwise it won't start.

Do you mean this is this because of current limitations in the flashing tool?
C-Box is different (uses 512kB flash instead of 1MB, probably different addressing
and secacc), but supports flashing via the K-Line in principle.

The C-Box only supports flashing via the older KWP1281 protocol. The NefMoto flashing software only supports the newer KWP2000 protocol.

Is the euro 1999 C-box this one: http://www.nefariousmotorsports.com/forum/index.php?topic=7.msg7#msg7 ?
I'm just wondering if I look into the right image, because in my simulation this image can be flashed via KWP2000.

I have not tested it myself personally. Rick said he attempted to flash his C box and was unable to.

So your saying as long as each ecu has a 800BB chip in it it should work no problem???Any difference between 800BB and BT??

Should work. If you try to flash the ECU with the wrong memory layout it will fail, but it should fail before changing anything in the ECU.

ok thanks

does anyone have instructions on recording the instrument cluster?

also - is it necessary to have the Hitachi MAF?    i reflashed my ecu with a stock A-box for my early 2000 car, and I'm looking into tuning matters for a pending stage 3 swap...


any help would be greatly appreciated.... :)

Yes, you need the hitachi MAF which means changing the connector too. 

M box coding is 1025 on channel 60  (instruments/adaptation) with the vagcom.


For the MAF swap this is the info you are looking for:

http://s4wiki.com/wiki/MAF

Look at the bosch vs hitachi section.

Jason - Very insightful.  Thanks alot...  I found this link dealing with the explicit recoding from the same site:

http://s4wiki.com/wiki/Cluster_recode

(It's exactly what you'd expect, but all information for all years is here, which is helpful for other -box's)


While I'm on the subject of changing to a different box than stock, is there a most preferred box to have?  I've seen M-box thrown around all the time - so I'm guessing this is the preferred....  

Yeah, the S4 wiki is a good resource.

Back in the day, the reason for M box being choice was because the Hitachi MAF is more reliable than the failure prone Bosch MAF.  Before I went M, I changed the Bosch MAF 3 times, or about once every 30,000 miles - no joke.

It is also rumored that the M-box code was faster and performed better, but since I switched from A to M when I went stage 3, I really have no data to support it either way.

Cool...  I'm pretty certain I'll do the swap, if not tuning myself, then definitely pre-K04 install.

I remember reading something about also needing to turn off ESP in VAG-COM.  A-box cars, correct me if I'm wrong, were the only ones without ESP...  Does anyone know details about this?  I'll search QW and see if I can find any information so we can keep this all in one location.

http://s4wiki.com/wiki/Engine_recode

Deals with ESP / ABS when swapping ECU's.

Its not 100% clear to me, but with certain cars, disabling ESP means ABS is off as well.


Does anyone know, if I do the M-box swap, when I go to recode this, will I lose my ABS?

I never changed my coding IIRC, and my ABS still works.  I will double-check later tonight so you have a definitive answer.  I know for a fact ESP doesn't work... lol...

Ok, I am still running 06611...

My car is one of the first US models built, so I was obviously A box with no ESP, and then converted to M.

I know my ABS works, so if you are A, you can keep the A coding but run M code.

Hi Jason - Thanks for the info.  The problem manifests in cars which are M-box but have A-box retrofits.  That's at least what my searching discovered on QW.

This actually brings up another question.  Where is this "coding" stored?  Is it a part of the 1MB bin-rom?  Or is it stored elsewhere?

Coding is stored in the serial eeprom. This is also where the error codes, adaptation channels, and immobilizer info is stored.

For the ABS module, I wonder if it's as easy as swapping in an early model ABS controller?  The ETKA lists the following part numbers for my non-ESP car:

8E0 614 111 E   (note this is compatible with 8E0 614 111 A)

With ESP:

8E0 614 111 AT  (also listed: T, AS and AA)


With ESP you also get the following components:

8D0 907 389 A (also listed: E and one with no trailing letter) - control unit

4D0 907 651 - acceleration sensor
4D0 907 657 - yaw sensor
4B0 907 637 A - combi sensor for acceleration and RPM
8D0 927 133 B - dash switch
8D1 971 279 S - ABS harness


While the ABS harnesses are different for non-ESP (8D1 971 279 AB) and ESP (8d1 971 279 S), they both have a 31 pin connector (8D0 971 977), which makes me think you can put a non-ESP module on the ABS pump, and perhaps just disconnect the control unit and get your ABS back.

Now, as far as KEEPING ESP, that's a whole 'nother can of worms... Perhaps you need to code the A-box as M-box?

What  would you do to code an a as an m?  I'm not clear on how or what I would modify in the eeprom to change this.  I guess I will hold out and buy an m or h coded ecu since I would like to keep my esp.

To do this you just need to connect with VAG-COM and change the coding of the ECU.

thanks, i will give it a whirl.

Hey there, I have a 2000 s4 with no traction control

I purchased a 605 setup with a tuned t box ecu.  I am trying to recode the t box ecu to disable ESP, and I cannot get VAG COM to do this.  When I go to ENGINE > LOGIN> and enter the codes as stated in wiki, nothing happens.  The vag com just sits there and does nothing.  Any ideas?

am I supposed to go to ENGINE> CODING?

am I changing 11463 or 13737  to 06611 for no ESP

or am I loging into 11463 or 13737 and then changing the value to 06611 for no ESP?

Started just fine for me no issues