Swapping Sidewinder ecu

[shaneway59]

Hi, I have a 2017 sidewinder btx with a PEFI multimap with dash flash and a 2018 sidewinder ltx with a hurricane flash, unsure of what the exact stage is as I recently bought the sled and the owner knew very little about it.
My question is, can I swap ecu’s back and forth from one sled to the other? Is all that’s required is to swap ecu’s and the hoods with the dash?
Thanks,
Shane

 

[blevis213]

Find someone with a hurricane flasher and they can tell you more about your flash.

 

[WinderFab]

Why do you want to swap ecu’s back and forth ?

 

[Fords4life]

To answer your question, yes you can, done it myself.

 

[earthling]

Hi, I have a 2017 sidewinder btx with a PEFI multimap with dash flash and a 2018 sidewinder ltx with a hurricane flash, unsure of what the exact stage is as I recently bought the sled and the owner knew very little about it.
My question is, can I swap ecu’s back and forth from one sled to the other? Is all that’s required is to swap ecu’s and the hoods with the dash?
Thanks,
Shane

The ECU doesn't know which sled it is on so swap away. The newer sleds however (EPS and IQS) will most likely throw errors if you tried to use that ECU on an older sled.

 

[shaneway59]

Why do you want to swap ecu’s back and forth ?

Just for comparison mainly.

 

[Turboflash]

The ECU doesn't know which sled it is on so swap away. The newer sleds however (EPS and IQS) will most likely throw errors if you tried to use that ECU on an older sled.

So ECU doesn't have VIN stored to do a check when system is powered up? Any chance this only applies to Winder? I heard Cat guys that have tried this get an error code saying something to the effect that "this ECU is married to a different VIN" and will not work until the old VIN is cleared. Maybe I got bad info?

 

[blevis213]

Also one might have to switch clutches to match the tune. One tune could be stock muffler one could be performance have to check. Also map sensor should be checked on each sled

 

[Chris Rose]

Hi, I have a 2017 sidewinder btx with a PEFI multimap with dash flash and a 2018 sidewinder ltx with a hurricane flash, unsure of what the exact stage is as I recently bought the sled and the owner knew very little about it.&
My question is, can I swap ecu’s back and forth from one sled to the other? Is all that’s required is to swap ecu’s and the hoods with the dash?
Thanks,
Shane

You can swap the ecu. The 17 & 18 are the same. I have done it when my first winder got wrecked and I swapped the ecu and the clutches onto the replacement sled as they were already set up and flashed.

 

[Hammer70]

Yes can be swapped also 20-21 as long as they have same options and he swapped clusters as well. All works normal.

 

[earthling]

So ECU doesn't have VIN stored to do a check when system is powered up? Any chance this only applies to Winder? I heard Cat guys that have tried this get an error code saying something to the effect that "this ECU is married to a different VIN" and will not work until the old VIN is cleared. Maybe I got bad info?

Honestly I only know anecdotally as I have heard of lots of people successfully swapping ECUs (even here on ty). If the VIN is stored in the ECU or maybe the gauge cluster then it is carrying its identity with it when you move it to another sled and without some way to read the VIN from the sled itself (for comparison) it wouldn't know the difference between one sled and another.. If however there is some vin number stored in some external place (not ECU, not Gauge, some hidden box on the sled) then the ECU could compare its internally stored VIN to what is on the sled, but I don't think this exists. If the VIN is additionally in the Gauge then swap the gauge as well, its not like they are any different from machine to machine either (other than mileage that may be stored). The worst case scenario is the ECU complains and then you swap back. I do believe that the VIN is stored in the ECU if for no other reason than to prevent someone playing games with mileage/hours. It also makes sense that this is how the tuners are locking the flash to a particular sled (ECU).

I would expect an ECU/Gauge to throw errors where EPS/IQS are involved (e.g. swap 2023 ECU to 2019 sled) since the gauge, at minimum, seems to be aware of those functions.

 

[Turboflash]

Honestly I only know anecdotally as I have heard of lots of people successfully swapping ECUs (even here on ty). If the VIN is stored in the ECU or maybe the gauge cluster then it is carrying its identity with it when you move it to another sled and without some way to read the VIN from the sled itself (for comparison) it wouldn't know the difference between one sled and another.. If however there is some vin number stored in some external place (not ECU, not Gauge, some hidden box on the sled) then the ECU could compare its internally stored VIN to what is on the sled, but I don't think this exists. If the VIN is additionally in the Gauge then swap the gauge as well, its not like they are any different from machine to machine either (other than mileage that may be stored). The worst case scenario is the ECU complains and then you swap back. I do believe that the VIN is stored in the ECU if for no other reason than to prevent someone playing games with mileage/hours. It also makes sense that this is how the tuners are locking the flash to a particular sled (ECU).

I would expect an ECU/Gauge to throw errors where EPS/IQS are involved (e.g. swap 2023 ECU to 2019 sled) since the gauge, at minimum, seems to be aware of those functions.

I thought dealer had to input VIN to ECU upon initial fire-up? If they don't, doesn't a code come up? Guys have gotten their sled home from dealer and when they first started it, it threw a code due to something like this. Not sure though. A few have posted about this here on TY.
Thanks!
Happy New Year!

 

[earthling]

I thought dealer had to input VIN to ECU upon initial fire-up? If they don't, doesn't a code come up? Guys have gotten their sled home from dealer and when they first started it, it threw a code due to something like this. Not sure though. A few have posted about this here on TY.
Thanks!
Happy New Year!

The code could just be ‘missing vin number’, it would just be on a long list of things dealers are screwing up these days. (Some dealers, there are good dealers out there).

 

[Srxspec]

Cat sleds require a POSR PIN code, which is just a code that must be entered once the vehicle is warranty registered. If the POSR PIN code is not entered in a Cat, it only allows for so much run time before it goes into a limp mode.

As long as you swap ECU & dash together, you're fine. The VIN numbers are married between those units.

 

[Turboflash]

Thanks Allen!