Xsara in Australia :(

[scottish_lion 0]

Hey all, been offline for a while. No 205 at the moment but I have a Xsara VTS here in Melbourne. I love it and don't want to get rid of it but I'm having some ECU dramas and Australia is not an easy place to own a French car... 

 

Basically, the injector seals were replaced, and when everything was hooked up again injector 2 wasn't getting a signal to fire from the ECU. Car was punted to auto electrician by the mechanic and he sent the ECU to a specialist who said not worth diagnosing as he can't get parts to fix it anyway. 

 

Elec ordered an ECU from "somewhere in Europe" - clear and unlocked so it should work with my key - plugged that in and all four injectors fired but it ran like s*ite - apparently running rich. Sent this new ECU to ECU guy to flash over the info from original ECU but then new ECU inherited the injector 2 not-firing problem. 

 

He sent for another European ECU and exactly the same happened. So now have three ECUs all of which won't run all four injectors. 

 

Have sourced from a scrappy here an Australian ECU - he was going to sell it with an immobiliser unit and matching key, as a kit, but now apparently only has the ECU and can't supply key etc. 

 

So, any ideas? Can I bypass that immobiliser and use ECU 4 (Australian) with my key, or am I f***ed? Auto elec and ECU guys both out of ideas. Don't think I can buy a new one from Citroen either. 

 

Other option is to do some light tuning and run aftermarket ECU, do you know the cost of this? 

 

Another option again is to go nuts and do ITBs and stand alone management but presumably to do that I'd need to go all out with new cams as well? How about pistons? 

Do you know roughly what that would cost? 

 

Another option is to try and get someone to stick a 406 V6 in it, à la George! 

 

Easiest and cheapest would just be to get it running again with standard tune. 

 

Buying 2nd hand cars here is more expensive than the UK so even a cheap runaround is about $3000+ dollars if it's not f***ed, so I'm keen to get the Xsara running again. 

 

Currently borrowing a Corolla T-Sport (well, a "Sportivo" down here) and I love the engine but it's pretty bloody nasty and obviously it's not French. Please help!!! 

[Tom Fenton 1,547]

First question is, what is a Xsara VTS in Oz? In the Uk it is a 2.0 16v XU10J4RS 167bhp. However in other countries it is a 1.8 16v with circa 115bhp I think. Could explain why a replacment ECU isn't right for your engine?

[Anthony 1,003]

And further to Tom's question, which age Xsara is it?  Phase 1 (pre-2001) and Phase 2 (2001-on) are very different from an ECU point of view with the later being multiplex, although no way you'd be able to muddle the two as the wiring plugs are completed different.

[Daxed 7]

Hey Leo, 

Long time no see. How long have you been down under and is it permanent? 

 

Friend of a friend had a VTS in Sydney, his was as ours, 2.0 16v 167bhp. The VTR came in all sorts, 1.6 8v, 1.6 16v phase 2 & 1.8 16v.

 

Hopefully someone capable including the guys above will sort you out, as if money is an issue then standard looks the best fix. 

[scottish_lion 0]

Sorry for the lack of information. 

 

It's the same as the UK one - XU10J4RS, 167bhp.

 

The only thing I think is it could have a slightly different map for the fuel here but it asks for a minimum 95RON (basic fuel here is 91 with 95&98 also available) so probably not.

 

It's a 2003 phase 2.

 

Not sure the permanence of my living here, have a dog and a girlfriend but miss home a lot. Driving is s*ite here, there are some very good roads but the police hide in the bushes with radar guns. I dream of my old Scottish B Roads

Edited April 6, 2018 by scottish_lion

[Thijs_Rallye 87 4 Cars]

Have you swapped over injectors to see of the problem moves along with the swap?