ECU Berlingo Multispace

[Sally]

I have a diesel berlingo that used to be a 51 registration in UK but is now registered in France. It had been working perfectly but one day wouldn't start. It was towed to a French garage and after several weeks the diagnosis was an electrical fault that required a new ECU at a cost of 800 euros. We towed the car back home and got our normal mechanic Mike to look at it. Mike got it going but it stopped again. Mike has worked systematically checking connections and wires as he feels there is an intermittant electrical fault. He describes the symtons as follows: when fault occurs glow plug light on dash does not go off and fuel injection pump solonoid does not energise, engine sounds like it is in full advance (sounds like a bag of spanners rattling) very harsh. When the problem first occurred it could be cured by disconnecting and re-connecting double injection relay. Suspect poor electrical connection somewhere. Does anyone have any ideas. I wondered if it is possible to check the ECU to see if that is the root cause and if it is if it can be repaired. As you can tell I am not technical.
Sally

[Sally]

Hello,
Has anyone any ideas? I can see lots of people have read my thread but I haven't had any replies (or I can't see any)
Sally

[addo]

I'm definitely not a diesel expert, but do tinker a bit with electronics.

There are a handful of UK companies who can test ECUs for basic functionality, and effect some repairs. BBA-Reman and ECUTesting are two I can think of right away. Not all ECU faults will show up on the factory diagnostic software - this seems (from experience) to be a problem with some variants of the Pug/Cit petrol engines.

First thing to look for is probably water entry to the BSI - it can track down after leaking in via the rooftop aerial base. Next culprit best tried by substitution with a "known good" item is the underbonnet fuse/relay panel; these are not "coded" to a car and if the part number on a test piece matches yours, it is a suitable swapper.

If neither part can offer suitable comfort when inspected or tested, then you would possibly look at the ECU. However, a thorough check would test every wire between the immobiliser (in the BSI box) and the ECU and all the engine's running sensors. This is about an hour's work for two competent people working as a team.

[Sally]

Thank you Addo,

I have found someone to test the ECU but I will also pass on your advice about the other areas to test. Thanks again as I was a bit disappointed that no-one else had any suggestions as I would hate to have to scrap the car if a relatively cheap fix can be found.
Sally