Hello

[Bob_Tillman at avid.com]

Hi all -

I've newly subscribed to this list, so I thought I'd introduce myself. 
I'm Bob Tillman, a software engineer by trade, and an auto enthusiast.

My interest in DIY EFI came about after my recent purchase of a '96 VW
GTI-VR6.  I am interested in the challenge of trying to figure out what
its Motronic code looks like.  I have no big plans to hack it (yet!) but
I may if I can figure out what's going on in there.

I am able to get a dump from a '95 rom, but I don't feel like voiding my
warranty to get at the rom in my car.  As I'm sure you all know, the '95
and '96 systems differ in that '96 has OBD-II...

I also have experience in disassembly and writing disassemblers, so I'm
not totally in the dark as far as that goes.

Hopefully this is the right forum for these questions.  If not, my
apologies... :)

My questions:

1) Am I re-inventing the wheel?  Has anyone out there already
disassembled modern Motronic code, and are the results freely available?

2) How different is the Motronic code between manufacturers?  Will my
VW's code be markedly different from, say, a contemporary BMW's
(excepting fuel/ignition tables, of course)?

2.5) Are the Motronic ECU's similar (or identical?) in hardware design
between manufacturers (VW vs BMW, for example)?

3) Is there an easy (and cheap;)  way to get a dump of a '96 GTI-VR6 ROM
without having to dig into my own ECU?

4) Does anyone know what processor my car's ECU has?  I'm guessing
MCS-96, from a BMW FAQ I found...

5) I don't think I'd doing anything illegal, am I (copyright
infringement, etc.)?

Thanks for your input...

Cheers,
- Bob T.