MB1

I'll drop him a text and send over the binary if he's got it. Will definitely get that second key cut sooner rather than later (car's been with Dad ever since we got it running again so haven't had a chance to play). Tempting to go for a button but I think that's a step too far for my old man...

Nice one! I'm guessing the MPI 1.0 is Immo3 right?

Great progress! I've generally no idea on how these things are set up - is there encryption/hypervisor on the general code that you need to read in a decrypted form from memory at runtime etc...? Literally coming at this problem from my own angle so happy to be thoroughly corrected!

That's a much better setup than I expected for this car to be honest! I believe there are two versions (Immo2 and Immo2) and I guess the one in Lupos is 3? Happy to be thoroughly corrected. I'll hold fire on anything key related for the time being until I know more!

I handed over just the ECU. Do you have any experience/schematics of these two boards? I believe the immo off stuff was an EEPROM flash job but I'm not sure what else is on each board etc. Would be interested in understanding their config. (Sorry for quoting the images too, I'm on mobile save couldn't edit it out)

Will do, cheers. If not I'm sure a beer or two will help!

There's a guy down the road from me who disabled the immo on my existing ECU. Dropped it in 5pm yesterday, had it in the car again by lunchtime today. Had no idea he did this sort of thing or I'd have gone to him first! Really interested in your write up of the process too. Is getting the SKC something I can do myself with a VAGCOM/similar cable?

Really quick update while I'm at work - immo off solved it. Thank you guys so much for your advice and guidance! You've saved a little Lupo and I'm thrilled! 💪😀 Will finish the job off and look further into additional/new keys etc later but just wanted to thank you all.

Cheers for all the advice guys. Hugely appreciated. I've got a mate down the road from me who can remove the immo stuff from the ECU today so we'll see how that goes. Had no idea this could be done so appreciate you leading me to this point. The radio and CD player are stock VW ones that came with the car, sadly reconnecting the radio (the CD player was still connected) didn't change anything. No idea why my Dad disconnected it, how will he play his cassette tapes now??? Would be great if we can get this thing back on the road! I'll let you know my progress.

Really don't fancy smashing it! I'll take a very careful look... Okay, so, maybe a game changer: my Dad now tells me he's unplugged the stock radio a few months ago before this happened. I swear I heard the CD player spinning up while I was working on it but I guess that's separately powered. Is there a chance that unplugging the radio (and just leaving the plug unterminated) could cause K-Line issues meaning no OBD? Google sort of leads to that point but would rather just query those in the know.

Yeah, very true. Good thought on moving the transponder closer to the inductor ring. May be safer to move the induction ring closer to the key but depends how many wires are on it... My only thought re immobiliser is why would it crank and "run" for a few seconds if the immobiliser is kicking in? Does the immobiliser only pull fuel upon ignition or what? Not doubting your experience, just not what I've seen in the past with other cars.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vw-Lupo-1-0-ECU-Kit-Black-Box-Key-chip-Induction-ring-030906032CP-2004/324141637763?hash=item4b7858e083:g:zKUAAOSw~8Ffxlp0 This matches the part number on the ECU and looks a cheap way of getting it at least running again - would something like this do the trick? (Obviously more work but immediately available...)

Thanks for all the responses! Genuinely appreciate it. @mk2 Everything on the dash lights up, headlights stay on fine when wiggling the key, etc... With only the ignition on, definitely no comms. We've got lots of fuel up to the injectors but could very well be ECU pulling fuel. Still worth me going through and double checking (or even disconnecting) connections for various sensors just in case one's causing a short. I've had that knock out OBD comms before on other cars. Easy and quick job at least. @Skezza What you're saying makes sense. Would IMMO OFF invalidate our insurance? Simple enough to just update and say "no immobiliser" and pay any extra premiums etc? To increase the accuracy of your sample set, this Lupo had been parked on the road with the battery repeatedly draining itself down, requiring jump starts and battery recharges etc... So your theory makes a lot of sense. Hadn't really considered just how often this would have been happening, my Dad would have been repeating this cycle many times over the past 12 months since the car has barely been used over lockdown. @Rich Thanks for your input - having another person say the same thing really helps. It's all starting to add up now. I'll do my due diligence on the few remaining bits then just sort the IMMO OFF thing. Hopefully we can get it running again and off my Dad's drive before he gets sick of it and it becomes bean tins.

I love the Lupo in silver! Looks great mate. Hope you're enjoying it.

Hey Mk2, Really appreciate your thoughts here! It's actually my Dad's car that we've both shared for a few years, and I think he's just sick of it right now and listens to everything "mechanics" tell him so fears a gigantic bill 😂 but I'm still willing to try and get it started again and save it since I love the little thing! Would hate to take a Lupo off the road. I've taken a video to show it "not starting" - it's not a clean non-start like I've seen with crank sensors before, more of a spluttery sadness. I thought either fuel or spark based on the fact it actually seems to fire up for a moment, but having checked both I'm stumped: So, keys - we have two. One turns the ignition, one opens the door. Not sure if that's due to ignition switch being changed before we got the car, or if it was just broken into or whatever, but we only have one key that's ever worked to start it. I did strip the steering column down to check for anything loose/disconnected/burnt but all looked fine. Headlights, radio etc work fine. How might we "test" the key/barrel as working? I'm not one of those people who say "it's the ECU" because in my experience 99% of the time it's not, but... it's starting to look a little bit like that. Would love your thoughts!

Weston-super-Mare. Y reg, 1.0l MPI (999cc) 6X, 66k miles on the clock, even got the original manuals from purchase etc. Can give further details upon request but not entirely sure of all the variations, this is my first Lupo (but not my last!) Could be an easy fix for somebody who knows what they're doing but after the third guy came and was just as stumped yet again, we're sick of it!

Update on this, we've thrown so much money at it that we're cutting our losses and breaking it. Shame because it's a lovely car but we want it off the drive. How's the market for standard Lupos like this one? Is breaking the best option or should we just scrap it?

Did you get any further with this?

I'll get some in the light - paintwork is ropey and needs touching up in lots of places, but can't wait to make it look great again!

Hi all, Searched around the forums and found so much useful advice to help me check various things before getting to this point, so thank you! I've got a 2000 1.0 MPI Lupo (unsure of any specifics past that) that cranks, splutters for maybe 1 second, then cuts out. It was sat for a few weeks and had been perfect up until that point, but suddenly (the week of its MOT, classic) it just refused to start. I've checked fuel and spark and they're good, so went to check OBD... Nothing. Voltage at the socket but no comm. Tried with a few known good devices that had worked with it before but no luck. Things I've checked that appear fine: - all fuses (in cabin and on battery) - relays behind the cabin fusebox - fuel pressure to engine - spark from all four plugs - jump start just in case - ECU connections are tight and clean - wiggled ignition barrel, tried all keys, held key against barrel in case it's an immobiliser/key issue, etc I've stumped two garages that took a look at it, so now I'm coming to the pros! Where might I look next? Any ideas?

Hi! New member here, thought I'd introduce myself before I ask any questions. I'm Matt, and I'm working on fixing up my Dad's 1.0 MPI Lupo from 2000 with the aim of taking it off his hands as my reward 😂 Great car to drive, love the styling and I love the community feel on these forums. Will have to post some pics once it runs again! Have a good one and looking forward to learning more about this great car. Matt