The Ford Transit arrived as a non-runner with a SID208 ECU and badly corroded pins. The first repair dealt with the damaged loom, sealing and ECU route. Nine weeks later the trader called: the van was back on a recovery truck with the same kind of failure. The reason turned a warranty question into a workshop lesson.
What caused the original non-start
The rubber seals had been removed from the female ECU connector. Water had entered the loom connection and the ECU pins had rotted. Replacing an ECU without repairing that vehicle-side cause would have left the next unit exposed to the same damage.
The repair route
Engine Clean supplied a suitable donor ECU and part loom, repinned the damaged wiring and installed the correct rubber seal. The donor ECU was programmed and coded as a replacement unit—not cloned from the damaged SID208.
The verified first result
The Transit ran and the related faults cleared after the work. At that point the vehicle-side connector damage, sealing and replacement ECU route had been addressed and tested.
Nine weeks later: the recovery-truck sequel
The trader called to say the customer had returned with the van on a recovery truck. Inspection found two ECU pins had failed again. That demanded an explanation: a correctly repaired original cause should not simply be assumed to have repeated by itself.
The plot twist was a pressure washer
From the day the Transit was returned, the customer had pressure-washed the engine bay and ECU area every week because the engine bay looked dirty—and to test the rubber seals. Direct high-pressure water had reintroduced the very condition the repair was designed to stop.
Why this was not a repeat repair failure
A seal is part of an electrical protection system, not an invitation to pressure-test a live ECU connector. Engine Clean can warranty the parts and work it supplies under the applicable terms; it cannot warranty new water ingress, pressure-washing damage or misuse after the vehicle leaves the workshop.
The lesson
Fix it once, fix it right also means protecting the repair afterwards. When an ECU has failed through water ingress, repair the loom, connector and sealing route—then keep the pressure washer away from it. Proper diagnostics. Done correctly.
QUESTIONS THIS CASE ANSWERS
Questions this case helps answer
Can water ingress cause Ford Transit SID208 ECU failure?
Yes. In this case missing connector seals allowed water into the loom connection and the ECU pins corroded. The exact source and damage should be inspected before a replacement is fitted.
Was the donor SID208 ECU cloned?
No. In this recorded repair, the suitable donor ECU was programmed and coded as a replacement unit rather than cloned from the damaged original.
Is pressure-washing an ECU covered by repair warranty?
No. New water ingress, direct pressure-washing damage and misuse are outside the repair warranty. Warranty applies to the agreed Engine Clean work and supplied parts under the relevant terms.
Why did the fault return nine weeks later?
The owner had repeatedly pressure-washed the engine bay and ECU area after the repair. Two ECU pins were then found damaged again, recreating the water-ingress problem.