This engine ECU is a known failure for the BMW 116 & 118 Sport/M Sport released from 2011 onward. This will cause engine lose and misfire on one or more cylinders if the ECU fails, fault codes stored for cylinder misfires and/or injector to shutdown. To diagnose a faulty ECU check the ignition signal supplied to the ignition coil with an oscilloscope, if the ECU fails the signal will be weak or not present.
The Common Cause of the ECU Failure
The main cause of the failure is normally down to a faulty ignition coil short circuiting and drawing excessive current through the ECU, this then overloads the ignition coil activation circuits within the ECU. Changing the ignition coil alone will not solve the problem and the shorted-out ECU may even overload the new coil, repeating the coil damage.You will need to make sure you check for an ignition primary signal to the coil before replacing it, if there is no primary output signal from the ECU then you can usually guarantee the ECU is damaged. If this is the case the ECU fault should be fixed before fitting a replacement coil to stop damage to the new coil with a faulty ECU. If you are unsure it is best to just replace the ignition coil with a new one when fitting the rebuilt ECU, if you think the coil has been fitted when the ECU was faulty.
BMW ECU Fault or BMW ECU Failure, Repaired by GEL Automotive
We are able to rebuild your own BMW 1 Series ECU with an unlimited mileage lifetime warranty for a small fraction of the price of a new unit. You will only get a one-year warranty from the manufacturer if you purchase a new ECU so you will be getting the best of both worlds – a cheaper alternative to a new ECU with a much longer warranty.
BMW fault codes that are common with BMW ECU Failure :
- 140001 – Misfire several cylinders fuel injection is switched off
- 140010 – misfire multiple cylinders detected
- 140101 – Misfire cylinder 1 injection shut down
- 140110 – Misfire cylinder 1
- 140201 – Misfire cylinder 2 fuel injection is switched off
- 104210 – Misfire cylinder 2 detected
- 150102 – Ignition cylinder 1 combustion time too short
- 150202 – Ignition cylinder 2
We will make sure we test every ECU before and after we have rebuilt it, using our HIL (Hardware In-the-Loop) vehicle simulators, these simulators allow us to test your ECU under all real-world load conditions. This will make sure that your ECU meets or exceeds the OEM specifications. We will change all common failing components with versions that are higher rated than standard, this will guarantee that your ECU has been rebuilt to perform as good as or even better than a brand new unit.