my search did not find anything conclusive on this, so I hope someone can help.
i have a smashed up 2000 s-type that I'm using the drivetrain for a hotrod, and will be using a custom electronics to run it,
so I don't need the ecm from it or any of the electronics really.

To recoup some costs, I have seen a number of these cars selling cheap with a 'lost key', and since going to the dealer to get a new key
costs apparently hundreds of dollars or more, people just sell them. So I am wondering if I can swap in my ECM with my match key
into one of these cars to get it working again. I spent a lot of time dealing with this on a Ford Duractec V6, and it got the car running.
But from some posts I've read, there is more than just the ECM that is tied to the key, other components in the car. I could swap
these boxes too into the new car if I knew which ones. Is this a fools errand?

These fine vehicles become rather useless quite easily as they get older with all this electronics.

I appreciate any help.

 

See page 1-10 here:

http://jagrepair.com/images/Training...es/870B_SG.pdf

In a nutshell, the answer is no.

"Once a PCM is configured to a vehicle, it can not be reconfigured to another vehicle."

 

Well, sort of - you'd have to swap all the other matching modules involved in security/immo.

 

What are the matching components? I see from the previous that the vin is encoded in the ecm, but does that really matter?
will a ca smog check use that vin and not the one on the chassis?

 

Not sure about California. In Oregon and Washington, I’ve seen the attendant first read the VIN via his machine connected to the OBD port. Then he compares the readout to the sticker on the door jamb.

I’d be surprised if California skipped this.

 

I did some research on this, and indeed the vin in the ecm must match the chassis, or it won't pass smog.

i also found out a new key can be made for 100 dollars locally from a locksmith, even dealer only wanted 290,
so it isn't worth the trouble to do all the swapping (unless just an ecm box swap), and people selling cars without keys
are hiding something in my opinion.

 

They may be hiding the fact that the primary and secondary timing chains, guides and tensioners need to be replaced on a 4.0 litre car.

The X200 until mid-2002 used the 5R55N gearbox, which can also be problematic.

 

Greetings nimble . . . and I regret that I also join the chorus of "forget it". For a start, these models came with a set of 3 keys - 2 identical and the 3rd a "valet" key with limited function. Now, prices you quote for new keys only cater for you missing one key. Be advised that after cutting the new Tibbe ("cutting" is a near paradox in itself), re-programming requires a minimum of 2 keys to work. So, if your car came with no keys, you must first double your quoted costs.

Then, comes the crunch quoted by [JagV8] . . . beyond the PCM and the challenges of matching VINs etc, there are each of the security & immobilization modules that need to match also. Recently, we learned of one member who replaced his ICM & remapped successfully, but that was on a later S-Type and other successes are not known. In addition, I believe you would need to do likewise with at least the DDM & DSM, each of which talk into these sub-systems. Are there other modules? Other issues? Putting aside electrical & electronic issues, what impact does this PCM swapping have on the 3 network comms busses? IMHO, all this adds up to a brave body of work.

Cheers,

Ken