Have any of you heard about the Unichip Connecters allowing moisture into the ecu and rotting out the factory ECU pins. My car would not start so after much searching I took the Unichip connectors off my car and noticed enormous amounts of electrolosis that rotted off three of my pins. Anyone heard of this?. Now I have to replace my ECU and if I want the unichip I have to hard wire the harness into the stock harness.

 

It just gets better and better with those things....

Story #324,534,654,353 on why NOT to buy a UniChip

 

yes, those things are about as desirable to play with as Goa'uld symbiotes...

 

That sucks. This is the first case I've heard of but given most of the other Unichip complaints are harness related, I can't say I'm surprised.

If the only problem is destroyed connectors, there are many ECU repair companies out there that could probably repair your ECU for a fraction of the cost of a new one.

 

How come UNICHIP didn't just hard wire the wires in the 1st place?

 

It's called Unichip PNP for plug and play. Makes it easy to install and remove. No problems with mine yet.

 

My tuner deals in UNICHIP but since we're in Malaysia, we do not deal with ALTA, hence only the hardwire option.

ALTA is the only company that had the PnP or does other UNICHIP dealers in the states have that harness as well?

I am just trying to work out if it's the harness or the UNICHIP that is uncompatable with the MINI.

 

Since you think your ECU is toast anyways; try spraying WD-40 inside of the conector. What most people didnt know about WD-40 is that it works as a conductor - perfect for bad connections. I've actually used it dozens of times for computer ribbon and even memory modules with great success. Just spray a little or better yet - Use a Q-Tip!

 

this is shocking lol

 

the qtip thing is probably much better than spraying it in lol. wouldnt that maybe make an opportunity for currents to jump pins pretty much?

 

does anyone know of any ECU repair companys that could add pins back to the board. I could not belive this happened as well but everyone be careful as I have recently found out I am not the ony one wh has ahd this problem. Some of the shops who have sold them know what is going on but do not wnat to get into anymore negative drama with there current or past venders.

 

Synthetic dielectric grease is what you should use. It will prevent corrosion and mosture build up. You can get it at most part stores or order it online. Easy to apply and you would have never had that issue.

Sorry to hear about your ecu.

Kidshark did you open up the ecu and look? If you can snap a picture and post the issue error I can get somewhat of an idea if I can fix it for you. I have fixed many ecu's in the past.

 

I haven't had to have an ECU repaired since 2001 so I can't recommend anybody right now. I would Google ECU or ECM repair and call a few places. Get quotes and make sure whoever you choose can be contacted by phone on two consecutive attempts. That way you have a decent chance of speaking with someone when you're looking to get a status on the repair. BBB is also something to check before using a new service or vendor.

Good luck!

 

Thank you for taking the time to address my issue. I agree with the grease but since UNICHIP does not tell you to do so I did not apply. Three pins on the board have corroted to the point they are gone. Can someone add pins to the board? I have spoke to other vendors who sell on this forum and they said they have a big problem with the ne clips as they are not water proof especially since you cannot replace the ecu cover. Unichip wnats to deny any issues which is sad for a large company like them. If itook it t the dealer it wuld be about $2000 to fix

 

thank you for taking the time to address my issue. I agree with the grease but since UNICHIP does not tell you to do so I did not apply. Three pins on the board have corroted to the point they are gone. Can someone add pins to the board? I have spoke to other vendors who sell on this forum and they said they have a big problem with the ne clips as they are not water proof especially since you cannot replace the ecu cover. Unichip wnats to deny any issues which is sad for a large company like them. If itook it t the dealer it wuld be about $2000 to fix

 

Any decent electronics shop should be able to replace the pins in that connector on the ECU. It might take a while to source the right parts but it shouldn't be an issue. If there's no other damage to the ECU board, it should be relatively inexpensive.

 

I have the unichip installed and had the occaisional problem with the harness and finally I called unichip and I purchased the spiderloom hardwire kit, $75.00. Never had a problem since. This is the best solution especially for us that are not close enough to anyone that can provide a good custom tune. I've called a few places here in West Palm and the surrounding areas, and no dice. So anyone in the area, if you know of anyone, please pm me!

Anyway, for those who are still under warranty,the spider loom well may not be a feasible option since you can not just pull it off whenever you want. I think Unichip is good, especially if you can't get a good custom tune, but should never have made the PnP option available.