Possibility of cloning USDM 2006 STi ECU to spare used ECU

[baddriver]

I purchased a Cobb AP for my 2006 WRX STI, but before I use it I would like to be able to clone from my source original ECU to the destination used ECU I bought off of eBay and then run off the destination copy. My plan is to keep the original on the shelf as a backup.

Is there a procedure or method for doing this on new USDM Subarus with the immobilizer?


-Jerald

[Freon]

You don't need to burn your backup on another ECU. Just read it out before you apply your Cobb AP and keep that file saved in a secure location. Burn it to a CD and put it in the back of a drawer or something.

[baddriver]

I haven't used my new cobb ap yet but I was reading the Cobb manual and it stated that I needed to connect two wires to put my usdm 2006 sti in a test mode to marry the accessport. On the usdm 2006 sti do I need to do this or buy anything other than the openport cable to make a backup with ecuedit or ecuflash.

I did find the additional usdm 2006 sti xml files i found on the site, so I guess I will need these for a complete dump.

[Freon]

Sounds like they're talking about the green test connector. This is required. It is under your dash near the steering column. You will need to reach under and connect it when you do any reading or reflashing of the ECU, regardless of what reflash technology you are using.

As far as I know, the only way to truly backup your stock ROM is with a Tactrix 1.2 or 1.3 cable and Ecuflash.

You do not need any XML files to back up your ECU. The XMLs are metadata files for editor programs so you can tune your rom. If you only want to back it up and don't care to tune it, you can just use Ecuflash to pull the ROM and save it to your harddisk. This requires nothing but Ecuflash and the Tactrix cable. From there, it's just a chunk of data. Nothing else is required to hold it. Just make a few copies and keep them safe.

I'm not sure what you would need to do to clone a full ECU to another physical unit and make it work with the immobilizer. But as I posted above, if you just want to have a backup of your ECU, you can do that without buying a second physical unit.

[baddriver]

Thanks for that information,

Is there that much of a risk to my ecu by my simply reading or pulling code off the ecu with the tactrix v1.2 cable and ecuflash?

I guess I'm being paranoid, but I have to ask.

[Freon]

I would say there is almost no risk. I don't think anyone has fried an ECU here yet, even when reflashing new data onto the ECU. Your ECU will be reset in the process.

You'll get a 512 kB or 1MB file. Just save it somewhere secure, and you always have a backup of your bone stock ECU. Post it here as an extra backup location. Email it to yourself, etc.

[baddriver]

Last Saturday I risked it and I was able to pull two one MB backups from the ECU. I emailed it to myself and all was good.

I'm glad I was at lewast able to make a backup of my ecu before marrying it to my Cobb accessport.

This site (and the tactrix cable) really helped me accomplish what I needed to do.

Thanks everyone!