Digifant Ecu Chip Change How To., Mk2 Gti 8v(Digi)

Discussion in 'Electrical' started by Brian.G, Jan 13, 2010.

  1. Brian.G

    Brian.G Forum Member

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    This comes up a fair bit so I thought a guide would help things a bit. Its a pretty simple process and if you take your time you wont go wrong.

    The car Im doing this on is a 92 8v Gti, running factory Digifant 2 management. This guide will also give you the basics if you want to change the chip on a G60 running Digifant 1. The major difference being that the Digifant 1 setup has a vacuum pipe connected to the ecu which has to be disconnect at the time of removal also.

    Ill be swapping in a Superchips brand chip just to see the differences in performance. My car has a Gs2H kent cam fitted also, along with G60 Injectors.

    So, onto the guide.

    First off disconnect battery, keep in mind any codes that could possibly be lost from things such as cd players etc.

    The Ecu is located on the drivers side underneath a cover at base of windscreen.

    [​IMG]

    Remove this cover to gain full access to Ecu and Ecu chassis.

    [​IMG]

    You will now see the Ignition amp and heatsink screwed to the Ecu chassis, and also the engine loom supply connector.
    Disconnect the Ignition amp connector, and remove the Loom connector from the Ecu chassis also.

    [​IMG]

    In order to remove Ecu and chassis two 10mm plasic nuts have to be removed to the right side of the chassis. Remove these. The rear one is awkward but you will get to it.

    Once these are removed you can now give the Ecu a solid tap with your palm to dislodge it from its nylon clips. Push it towards the rear of the car.

    [​IMG]

    With the Ecu now free from the body it can be lifted up and out of the scuttle area.

    [​IMG]

    You now need to unplug the Ecu from the main engine control loom. You will see a stainless steel tap holding the connector, this has to be lifted up and away from the tab on connector, as in the picture.

    [​IMG]

    The Ecu and Ecu chassis can now be removed from the car. Take care not to let any moisture or dirt enter the Loom plug left hanging in the scuttle.

    [​IMG]

    You can now move to a clean area for the Ecu strip down.

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    The Ecu is screwed to the main chassis with 3 Phillips screws, remove these and set them aside.

    [​IMG]

    With the chassis now removed the Ecu can be opened. 4 torx screws on the heat sink end

    [​IMG]

    Remove...

    [​IMG]

    And 3 torx screws on the connector end, these have rubber 'o' rings, dont mix these up with the other 4.

    [​IMG]

    Remove...

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2010
  2. Brian.G

    Brian.G Forum Member

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    You can now slide the Ecu from the case, > Carefully.

    [​IMG]

    With the Ecu removed from the case it will then look like this. The plastic guard is held down with 2 black plastic rivets, remove these.(These were missing from mine, not unusual if someone was at it before you were)

    [​IMG]

    With the rivets removed you can now fold back the film.

    [​IMG]

    You will now see the screws under film, remove them also, they are Phillips.

    [​IMG]

    The top Pcb is now almost ready to be removed out of the way, but before that you need to compress the two clips where the black rivets were pushed into.
    With a pliers gently squeeze these and at the same time lift board up off them, do it one at a time and be careful with pliers around the various components.

    [​IMG]

    The top Pcb is now free to be hinged off.

    [​IMG]

    With the Ecu left as in the picture below the top board can now be hinged down exposing the chip we want to change.

    [​IMG]

    Prop the main board on the Ecu case so that the smaller board now sits flat on the work surface. Make sure at all times the grey ribbon cable is not strained.

    [​IMG]

    This is the chip in question, it has a plastic chip lock on it that needs to be unclipped.

    [​IMG]

    Unclip the locker, prise it out on one side unlatching it and lift it off, its a simple clip and you will have no problems.

    [​IMG]

    Before you remove chip take note of the notch on the right had side near the edge of the Pcb. This notch is there so that the chip is fitted into the socket the correct way around. Make sure the chip you are refitting has the notch facing this side.


    [​IMG]

    With a flat screwdriver, or preferably something non metallic like a lolly pop stick, the chip can now be levered out of the socket. Take care doing this and work at both ends a bit at a time. The chip will loosen, and you can then lift it squarely out of the socket.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  3. Brian.G

    Brian.G Forum Member

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    Im going to try the Superchips chip to see how it feels.

    [​IMG]

    Grip the chip at both ends, and making sure none of the legs are bent press it down firmly into the socket making sure the notch is on the correct end as above
    Refit the plastic locker.

    [​IMG]

    The chip is now in and the board can now be flipped back onto the main board pillars.
    The board must be pressed down firmly onto the plastic pillars that you undid with the pilers a second ago, they will both click once the board is full home. Push the board as near to the rivets as possible to avoid damage.
    Refit the screws.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Flip over the film again and refit the small plastic rivets.

    [​IMG]

    Slide the Ecu back into case making sure its the right way around!

    [​IMG]

    Refit the 3 torx screws with the 'o' rings the connector end, and of course the 4 on the heatsink end.

    [​IMG]

    Refit Ecu to chassis with the 3 Phillips screws.

    [​IMG]

    Job Done, not too bad?

    You can now refit it to the car again, refit Ecu loom plug making sure the stainless steel clip locks into place. Place Ecu down into scuttle area and pull it forwards locking the nylon clips onto the pins on body.
    Refit the 2 10mm plastic nuts.
    Plug in Ignition Amp, refit Loom plug to Ecu chassis.

    Refit battery, refit plastic Ecu scuttle cover.

    Go for a drive, Enjoy!


    Hope this helps.

    Anyone thinking of doing it themselves, GO FOR IT!

    Brian.
     
  4. Richard Mk2

    Richard Mk2 Paid Member Paid Member

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    Great guide there Brian. :thumbup:

    Ive often wondered how hard this would be to do. Looks fairly simple though tbh.

    Have you tried it out yet to see the difference in performance. If so whats its like? :thumbup:

    Hopefully this thread should be put as a sticky!
     
  5. EZ_Pete

    EZ_Pete Forum Junkie

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    Top work as usual Brian. :thumbup:

    Worth mentioning static disharges?

    The sort of mini-shock you can sometimes get on low-humidity days when wearing certain types of clothes (fleeces are one of the worst) can damage both the chip you're putting in, and the circuit boards. Wearing all-cotton garments while doing the job will go a long way to avoiding this possibility. A special wrist-band connected to mains earth is a more elaborate precaution.
     
  6. Brian.G

    Brian.G Forum Member

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    I know, good point, worth a mention, to be honest, I never bother with stuff this basic, or that belongs to me[:$] But, Indeed, it is worth a mention, wristband, or general de-static yourself before hand. Also important not to touch/bridge chip legs, which goes part and parcel with these devices.

    @ Rich, havent brought her out yet, I will post up how it feels later though:thumbup:
     
  7. Richard Mk2

    Richard Mk2 Paid Member Paid Member

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    Sweet mate :thumbup:
     
  8. littlebigdunc New Member

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    nice guide :) , silly question i brought a chip ages ago ebay seller but the instructions he sent me were to change the chip on the main board not the chip on the fold out board you say, i know the digi's have a backup stock chip for if anything goes wrong it sets a standard fueling and timing map, was the guy telling me to swap the wrong chip?

    i have a spare ecu now so i was going to try it out
     
  9. MarcN Forum Member

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    Interesting point. Must admit, I thought it was the chip on the main board that should be swapped.
     
  10. Collie Forum Junkie

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    great how to!
     
  11. EZ_Pete

    EZ_Pete Forum Junkie

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    Yeah, surely should be stickificated, or FAQed, I'll have a word with one of them shiny new mods. :)
     
  12. TUBDUB Forum Member

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    Has anybody tried out one of these chips? just tried out an Turbonoz stage 3 digifant chip purchased off ebay and it made my car run horrifically bad, spat flames when revved at a standstill and no power at all under load, all it did was make the car run very rich!
     
  13. MarcN Forum Member

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    Same issue with mine. I still think the chip on hr main board should be the one swapped, but I'm happy to be proved wrong. Not had a chance to re-try.
     
  14. eightieshatches Forum Member

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    My turbo noz chip made it spit flames on the over run and I had put that in the slot on the main board. I've tried2-3 different chips now and they've made no difference in performance at all.
     
  15. TUBDUB Forum Member

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    Did the car drive normally the rest of the time? I Litrally couldn't drive mine with it in?
     
  16. eightieshatches Forum Member

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    Yes it drove fine just spat flames on the over run when changing gears I didn't know it was spitting flames till one of my mates was following me on a spirited drive.
     
  17. watercooled Forum Member

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    Great info Brian,hope you don't mind me adding a few things,I have found this model ecu is the hardest to do ,those board clips are a curse,the earlier ones are much easier to do .
    The positioning of the ecu is less than perfect in the mk2 ,the cover is made of rubbish and falls to pieces this causes water to get in the plug,it is important to clean the terminal pins to get the best from the chip install or even done as a maintenance job.
    IMO is it is really important to factor in a full ignition service and check the operation of the watertemp and knock sensors,timing must also be correct also.
    Have heard many of the chips sold for USA spec cars don't work right in the european ROW models but I have no personal experience of this.
    I once purchased a custom mapped chip off a UK ebay seller and was very pleased with the result,he claimed 6hp and it certainly felt like it from 3000rpm upwards ,it idled and ran way smoother on start-up also.
     

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