jon and michie
Well-known member
As it just doesn't only affect the tamd range but other models then it is literally thousands of engines /customers which looks like volvo have deserted.
Really not good
Really not good
Volvo TAMD 73/74 and 75 ECU - Cause for concern?
- Thread starter Imperial One
- Start date
Ian h
Active member
Reading this I am glad now I sold my boat with 22 year old KAD 44's
DavidJ
Well-known member
Not surprised but this is the reply from the Volvo Penta company in Oz
Hi David,
The part is not available worldwide at the moment. However it is still listed as a current part.
My sneaking suspicion is it will be retired and no further units available.
Scott.
Marine Direct
petem
Well-known member
If they do retire the part, which is far from certain, then I would hope that they have the decency to Opensource the code so that other people could develop replacement ECU's.
DavidJ
Well-known member
Just thought I’d paste a follow up letter from Oz. Interesting to read an opinion from the other side of the world.
The long and the short of it is that Volvo is discontinuing any support for engines over 30 years. They would like you to buy new motors.
The most profitable part of marine engine sales is the spare parts. However they also like you to purchase new motors as well.
Many boat manufacturers have only just recently come to grips that they are competing against themselves in the second-hand market as boats are lasting more than 30 years.
European boat builders have been far too kind to Volvo.I think it seems crazy to kill off the old motor that are installed in perfectly good boats.
Kind regards,
Scott
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Andrew M
Active member
If these parts are being made obsolete by VP, then surely, surely, someone that can make similar units, or has access to the tech, for other purposes/applications, will come up with a pattern part as a replacement ?? Although obviously I've got absolutely no idea of the numbers of these that actually need full replacement so have no idea if it's really viable, I guess everything has a price .....
westernman
Well-known member
I just look up Perkins trying to find out how long after production they will support engines. I came across this in their warranty:-
"Perkins reserve the right to refuse any element of the Warranty if it deems at its sole discretion that the terms and
conditions and Warranty processes laid down in the Warranty Supplement have not been adhered to."
In other words the warranty is not worth the electrons it is displayed with.
"Perkins reserve the right to refuse any element of the Warranty if it deems at its sole discretion that the terms and
conditions and Warranty processes laid down in the Warranty Supplement have not been adhered to."
In other words the warranty is not worth the electrons it is displayed with.
kashurst
Well-known member
The short answer is yes. A £5 piece of electronics from ebay can do it. But you need someone to write the software, test it - to do that properly you really need an engine on a dynamometer. And then put it on sale with a limited warranty. The warranty/legal obligation if your engine goes bang because of a software/hardware bug is the tricky part. Sell it through a ltd company and if someone gets all legal because their 20+ year old engine melts the pistons you can walk away.
I suspect who ever does create an ECU equivalent will not be offering any warranty other than on the ECU itself.
Alicatt
Well-known member
Like my MG ZT 260, it has a Ford Mustang 4.6 V8 engine, it has now got an aftermarket supercharger which the garage that did the conversion had to write a new map for the ECU.
Coming off the back of lots of experimentation in the US with the combination of Ford MOD motor + Kenne Bell supercharger they were able to get close, but as the UK and the EU use different spec fuel the US maps won't work properly here, sure they do work up to a point and if you don't use the performance of the car then nothing will happen, however if you do wring the neck then the engine will go bang within a few minutes.
Friends have got the same supercharger as a kit from the US and bolted it on to the engine and used the US mapping, one friend had to be taken home on a truck from the Autobahn in Germany after the engine detonated at 160+mph the other one did something similar in the UK.
The garage spent a bit of time rewriting the software and map with a well known Canadian tuner to suit the European style of driving and fuel, this gives the car a safe but conservative map, even with this conservative map I could easily get another "bolt on" 50+bhp out of the engine with the same map but the safety margins would be less and I would not have the warranty from the garage.
My car does 0-100km/h in a shade over 4 seconds and will reach over 170mph but not for long as the mapping starts enrichening the mixture after a time to keep the engine cool, which reduces the power it is delivering. In all there are about 40 of these supercharged ZTs running around.
Megs20Burt!
Active member
This pretty much answers the many questions we all have as to where VP’s future direction will be. I for one to not be specifying a VP in my next boat which will be a new one, so, with their attitude, they have lost at least one customer for the future.
Can you imagine the carnage on used boat values with any VP engine over 20 yrs old?
Truly shocking...
westernman
Well-known member
I see only two possible outcomes for this:-
1) Some other company starts making after market VP electronics. And makes money which VP would otherwise have made. And will presumably expand to many other VP engines. The engine ECUs seem to regularly go pop and at 4K or more each time that seems a very profitable business to lose.
2) People are forced to repower. And you can bet that it won't be a VP. And VP in a few years will get the reputation of making disposable trash which will hurt new sales.
In both cases VP loses. In the second case big time.
After all the only reason people buy a VP is because they think they can get it fixed. Anywhere and quickly. Once that is no longer true, they have no sales argument any more nor any reason to continue to exist.
So what are their management smoking?????
Karen maria
New member
I’m sending 2 ecu from tamd73-PA to this company. They informed me they can make some repairs to these units. Has anyone tried them. 
Newbroom
Active member
Will be interested to see there response.
petem
Well-known member
Have you sent them a photo of the internals of the ECU?
dryfisher
New member
I think the TAMD73P ECU looks like mine.
Only the newer ECU's (TAMD74,75) are with not so much Epoxy and can change the turbo sensor?
Attachments
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Andrew M
Active member
And I s’pose that’s the other obvious first course of action.... try and find someone that can work out what’s gone Pop and replace it. Once a tech has got the hang of these units there could be a nice little line of work for them if they get known as the go to person for ecu repairs... hopefully I won’t need this but with D12s I’ve got a vested interest in how this develops.
PalmaTarga
Active member
Looks like a potential crowdfund project? Find the right company and help build the investment to purchase engines and machinery to develop if VP can't be bothered to do it.
volvopaul
Well-known member
Your ECU system is nothing like the early edc in question.
Andrew M
Active member
Ahh right, Thanks Paul, Is that good or bad news ? ,,, I know one of our engines had a new ECU fitted fairly early on, 1st or 2nd year, does the general topic apply to the units in engines like ours of is it a different enough animal to be different subject if/when it occurs ?
matt8442
Member
Does anyone know if the gel that sits in the ECUs that volvo do is pliable after heat? I remember back in 2005 when Mitsubishi started to make their headlights sealed beam units that were glued together and any form of tampering would result in the glass and lens breaking meaning most customer had to buy complete replacements. Then one bright spark realised that putting the light fitting in an oven on a low enough heat would cause the glue to become pliable and allowed you to take the said light fitting apart without damaging any internal components. Appreciate the ECUs are delicate but how did Volvo take them apart if requiring repair back in the factory?
perhaps a low enough heat not to damage or melt anything but high enough to make the gel more workable could work for taking the ECU apart?
perhaps a low enough heat not to damage or melt anything but high enough to make the gel more workable could work for taking the ECU apart?