Chip tuners?

[Gadgetman]

Does any of these boxes work?

I'm thinking this one specifically:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Power-Box-CITRO...vQ&vxp=mtr

It would be nice to have a bit more torque now and then.
It's not exactly fun on steep hills with a full load...
(Yeah, 1.4i, 1999 model)

Better fuel economy as some promises wouldn't hurt, either...

[Gravity]

Does any of these boxes work?

I'm thinking this one specifically:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Power-Box-CITRO...vQ&vxp=mtr

It would be nice to have a bit more torque now and then.
It's not exactly fun on steep hills with a full load...
(Yeah, 1.4i, 1999 model)

Better fuel economy as some promises wouldn't hurt, either...

There are so many so-called tuning boxes on the market that it's a minefield. For diesels, it's much easier to squeeze extra performance. For petrols, it's far harder and the gains are much smaller. 

Looking at the 'wiring diagram' on the ad you link to, it seems that one connection goes to pin 5 on the Maf. Pin 5 usually gives a varying signal (pwm) depending both on engine factors (revs, load) and air factors (density, humidity, volume), all of which tell the Ecu how much fuel the injectors need. So, I'm guessing, the tuning chip reads these parameters and modifies the injector rates, or maybe even the timing. That's a guess, but a likely scenario.

Maybe not exactly snake oil, but personally I would have my doubts, because despite the glowing claims the gains will be very small - but I'm a diesel man, and tuning diesels is a whole different ball game. 

For my diesels I have for many years gone to an honest bloke up in Scotland who makes tuning boxes individually. His products are way ahead of any other commercial boxes I've tried, and they really perform.

But, hey ... all the above is just one man's take!

Gravity

[polar]

I know Dynojet work on bikes by altering the timing or fuel sometimes both depending on the bike. But i have no idea if this above product will work or is just snake oil. If you are serious about tuning i would find someone to remap your vehicle ecu.

That is what i would do with any diesel and petrols can be done the same way.

But like Gravity says ^^^^ we are talking about opinions here.

[Gadgetman]

Yeah, I figured it was a bit of a scam, really. Just figured it couldn't hurt to ask. ;-)

I do know that the TU3JP4 is capable of hitting 90bHp since that's what they managed to wrangle out of it when it was in the AX GTi.

I wonder what the build differences were...

[Gravity]

That box is for a 1.1 engine by the way - did such a Berlingo ever even exist? If not then do they know what they're doing?

It can't do much with a two-wire connection.

Now that's a strange thing.
When I first looked at that link, it showed a crude wiring diagram (hence my comments above), with no reference to a 1.1 engine. Now the photos have been changed, along with some of the description. The seller has changed things around.
Steer clear I reckon!

Gravity

[Gadgetman]

The 1.1i is listed as a possible engine in the earliest models, though I really, really hope that none were ever sold with that engine...

The 1.4i is a bit lightweight with a ful load. The 1.1 would have been painful...

I've been thinking...
Basically, what the 'device' is supposedly doing is mess with the temperature reading, so that the ECU thinks the air is colder than it really is, so more dense. That means it thinks there's more air in the cylinders and injects more fuel to match.
Sounds workable in theory...
Except that it will be running an 'overly rich' mix continiously, even at idle.
Yeah, no. Not going to inflict that on my engine!

I'm thinking(purely speculatively. No intention of actually doing it) that a 'sport cam' and a better ECU and cabling would do the trick.
The reason it could use a 'better' ECU and cabling is that the 1.4i fires the fuel injectors in pairs!
So one cylinder is in the 'suck' stage, and getting it's blast of fuel as it should, but another is also getting some. The reason it doesn't blow up is that it's a 'Wet inlet' system, the injectors spray the fuel into the inlet pipe. Most of the fuel vaporised in the 'off cycle' is probably spent together with the 'suck stage' fuel it gets, but I can't believe it all gets mixed properly.

Doing something about the 'Lost spark' system in the ignition system might also help, and is probably the most sensible way of upping performance.
(Yes, it fires the plugs in pairs, also)
Maybe swapping out the coilpack with 4 separate coils?
That should give a larger spark, which in theory should result in more fuel ignited at the moment of sparking, and a more complete burn.