ECU shenanigans

Finally received the replacement ECU, only to find exactly the same symptoms as before.

I got my laptop hooked up to the engine, and ran a diagnosis on my new ECU, which, according to the seller, did not require an immobiliser. Unfortunately, the ECU disagrees, and says that it can't get permission from the immobiliser to start the car. How annoying.

On further investigation, it turns out that the E36 328 is a bit special in this respect. The 320, 323 and 325 all use an older Bosch ECU, which sometimes comes without an immobiliser, and can be hacked to remove the immobiliser check, if present. The M3 is a later version of my Siemens ECU, and again, can be hacked. The 328, which didn't come out until a few years later, always came with a factory immobiliser, and can't be hacked to have it removed.

So, the only option appears to be to buy a matching ECU, immobiliser and key off Ebay, figure out how to wire in the immobiliser unit, and attempt to return my replacement ECU. Given the unreliability of the seller of the original ECU, I'm not even going to bother with that one.

Very frustrating, but at least there is now a clear route to getting the engine running. Unfortunately it involves a bit of a spend on new immobiliser bits, but that can't be helped. Still looking for some of the parts on Ebay, but they shouldn't be difficult to obtain.

On the plus side: the paint people say they can probably do my car in a couple of weeks time (again, this is a bit more spendy than I was hoping, but I've seen their previous work on Will's car, and it is very good), and apparently the exhaust should be ready around end of next week.