The hardware number: 0 281 or 0 261
A Bosch hardware number has ten digits and is usually printed in groups, like 0 281 012 865. The first four digits tell you what kind of engine it runs: 0 281 is a diesel ECU and 0 261 is a petrol one (Autotuner).
The hardware number identifies the unit: the housing and the board inside. It stays the same when the software is changed, so a remapped ECU keeps its hardware number (Dacodac).
The software number: 1037 and a few others
Most Bosch software numbers are ten digits starting with 1037, like 1037 523 845 (that one is from our made-up example file). A few families use something else (OpenRemap):
- Peugeot and Citroën EDC16C34 units use 1039.
- Some Opel EDC16C9 numbers have a letter in them, like 1037A50286.
- Older petrol families (M1.x, M2.x, M3.x) use 1267 or 2227, and the early diesel EDC1 and EDC2 use 2287 or 2537.
- EDC17 files often carry a longer string such as 1037541778126241V0. The software number is its first ten digits.
The ECU type: EDC17C46, ME7.5 and so on
Next to the numbers you’ll usually find the ECU type. Bosch’s diesel families are called EDC, and its petrol families are Motronic, shortened to M, ME or MED (OpenRemap). The letters and digits after the family, like C46 in EDC17C46, are the variant. Tuners care about this one most, because the exact type decides which tool and method can read the unit (Autotuner).
The carmaker’s number sits next to Bosch’s
The carmaker gives the same ECU its own number. Autotuner’s examples are 7P0907401 for a Volkswagen Group unit and DDE7801710 for a BMW one (Autotuner). That’s the number to quote when you order a replacement through a dealer, and the Bosch number is the one tuners and reading tools go by. More on carmaker numbers in ECU part numbers: where to find them and what they mean.
Which numbers are inside the file
The label carries the numbers, but a read of the ECU doesn’t always. It depends on the family (OpenRemap):
| Family | Years | Software number | Hardware number in the file |
|---|---|---|---|
| EDC15 | 1997 to 2004 | 1037… | No, only on the label |
| EDC16 | 2003 to 2008 | 1037…, and 1039… on Peugeot and Citroën EDC16C34 | Only on Opel EDC16C9 |
| EDC17 | 2008 to now | 1037…, often inside a longer string | No |
| ME7 | 1997 to 2008 | 1037… | Yes, except some Peugeot reads |
| MED9 | 2002 to 2008 | 1037… | Yes |
So if an EDC17 file has no hardware number in it, that doesn’t mean the read is bad. It was never stored there, and it has to come from the label or the reading tool.
Is there a Bosch number lookup?
We couldn’t find a public Bosch database for these numbers. You can decode the format with the rules above. To find out which car a number came from, a dealer’s parts department works from the carmaker’s number. And if you have a read of the ECU, EcuInside shows every number in it.
Drop a Bosch read on EcuInside and see its family, variant, software number and, where the file has one, its hardware number, each with the bytes it came from.