immobilizer issue, ECU swap, what else? 1.8 FL1

I've got 2 1.8 hippos, 1 has an electrical fault where the rear door takes it upon itself to actuate and then when the vehicle is stopped, the car will not turn over again and all the doors start clicking and then wont lock, and it refuses to start unless the battery is disconnected then restarted.

My other Hippo has no key fob so needs the EKA code to disable the immoilizer which I have.

My thoughts are that if I change the ECU and 27VT from the 5dr with no fob, on to the one with the electrical issues, I then input the EKA code into the door lock and if the immobilzer and engine function as they should I have found the source of the issues.
Alternatively if I can connect the ECU & 27VT from the faulty hippo on to the 5dr and see if that runs right and works off the fob without issues then I can assume it's the faulty hippo's loom/ earths that's causing the faults.

Can the EKA for a vehicle be put into another vehicles lock if it uses the ECU & 27VT that the EKA is matched to?
Is there anything else that needs to be swapped over for this to work?

Hi, ca t help you much except that I am scrapping a 2001 1.8 petrol fl, if you need any electrical parts (no window motors left) give me a shout, best of luck. Just a thought, but regarding the back window, if your battery is disconnected or goes flat doesnt it drop down automatically? Could your fault be a poor battery or engine earth? Like I said, just a thought

jda070504 said:

I've got 2 1.8 hippos, 1 has an electrical fault where the rear door takes it upon itself to actuate and then when the vehicle is stopped, the car will not turn over again and all the doors start clicking and then wont lock, and it refuses to start unless the battery is disconnected then restarted.

My other Hippo has no key fob so needs the EKA code to disable the immoilizer which I have.

My thoughts are that if I change the ECU and 27VT from the 5dr with no fob, on to the one with the electrical issues, I then input the EKA code into the door lock and if the immobilzer and engine function as they should I have found the source of the issues.
Alternatively if I can connect the ECU & 27VT from the faulty hippo on to the 5dr and see if that runs right and works off the fob without issues then I can assume it's the faulty hippo's loom/ earths that's causing the faults.

Can the EKA for a vehicle be put into another vehicles lock if it uses the ECU & 27VT that the EKA is matched to?
Is there anything that needs to be swapped over for this to work?

Click to expand...

By 'actuate' do you mean that it locks itself? If so, perhaps disconnect the wiring from the lock servo/solenoid and see what happens. It does sound like a wiring issue - earth connections good. Fob battery good?

I actually pick the faulty Freelander up on Tuesday. The issues I mention are how the seller listed the faults, just waiting on further details about the rear door.

I'll change the Fob battery first and clean the battery earth points to ensure good connections. Then if that does nothing I'll disconnect the rear door as you mentioned, see if its that.

If that fails I'll swap the ECU and immobilzer onto the 5dr Freelander and see if it operates on that correctly, if it does then I'll start chasing wiring to try and find any breaks that could cause 'shorting'.

They did get a auto electrician out who diagnosed it as the immobiliser and that its affecting the ecu.

htr said:

By 'actuate' do you mean that it locks itself? If so, perhaps disconnect the wiring from the lock servo/solenoid and see what happens. It does sound like a wiring issue - earth connections good. Fob battery good?

Click to expand...

Just had this response off the seller, any clues?

the rear door actuates on its own, .. which sends the other doors into a clicking frenzy but they don't open on their own... its not the doors, its the immobilser and the ecu as I said in the listing... its playing up, doors are fine when its not creating.

And then this....
the rear door actuates, whilst driving... as stated on the listing... it unlocks. its all part of the immobiliser problem... id bungee tie it closed to be honest, as I said this is one of the reasons I wont go anywhere in it, but the engine runs perfect ...just electrical ECU prob


This sounding familiar to any one?