Pack and Ship Your ECU Safely and Insured
The transport leg is the only part of the mail-in service we do not control ourselves. Two things decide in which condition your control unit reaches us: protection against electrostatic discharge, and whether the unit can shift around inside the box. Both are easy to solve – this page shows you how.
Why a plastic bag and aluminium foil are not enough
A control unit is damaged not only by drops and impacts. An electrostatic discharge while touching and packing can also damage components without any visible sign from the outside. The voltage your body builds up walking across a carpeted floor is orders of magnitude above what semiconductor structures tolerate. A discharge you never even notice can pre-damage a component: the unit keeps working at first and fails later, often with sporadic faults. That is why we ask you to treat the unit as you would at an ESD workbench. Antistatic bags dissipate charge in a controlled way and shield the contents against fields – an ordinary plastic bag charges itself through friction. Antistatic bags are available in your workshop or at any electronics retailer.
Packing safely in five steps
- Prepare and document: Take photos before removal, copy the part number exactly from the housing, note the stored fault codes. Never pull connectors by the wire – always by the connector.
- Protect connector pins: Cover open sockets and pins with a fitting cap or clean material so nothing bends in transit.
- Wrap in antistatic material: The unit belongs in an antistatic bag, closed if possible or sealed with ESD tape.
- Cushion on all sides: Place the unit in the centre of the box, surrounded on all sides by bubble wrap or filling material – nothing must be able to move. When you shake the box, nothing should shift.
- Close and label the box: Tape crosswise, mark the outside "Electronics – fragile".
What belongs in the package – and what does not
Please include: the completed accompanying form and – if available – a copy of our order confirmation with the request number.
Please do not include: vehicle documents or the registration certificate, loose small parts, tools, or third-party devices.
Securing the shipment sensibly
- Set a realistic insured value: Ship the parcel insured, with a value that matches the unit.
- Use shipment tracking: Keep the tracking number.
- Keep the receipts: Hold on to the proof of posting and shipping confirmation until the unit is returned.
Proceed to your order
Our written confirmation is a prerequisite for the mail-in shipment: describe the fault via our submission portal, we get back to you with a fixed-price quote, and the confirmation comes with the shipping address. Processing usually takes 2 to 3 working days after we receive the unit, plus shipping time. You get 12 months of warranty on the repair work. We are available Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm.