Hi Cameron
I am glad that you have spoken to the so called experts today and got some clarification. As I have said there is NO difference between smartlock and smartsheild its just a fancy way of saying the same thing. If it was a "dark side" engine it would be called something else - each to their own.
Go to this web page:
http://www.autoemf.com.au/
and enter the technical info site, most of your questions will be answered there. This is the place that we got our "magic black box" from that bypasses the smartlock/sheild. It comes with a basic wiring diagram for your auto elect guy and tells him what pin number to connect the circuit to within the EEC.
At the end of the day its the EEC that runs the AU1 or AU2. The motors are very similar. As we all know to get through registration it needs to be of a standard type and not the "motec" or other.
The only reason we are using a different EEC is because the second hand motor that we purchased was coupled up to an auto and our car is a five speed. The ED Sprint EEC is a manual computer with smartlock fitted within the brain.
Cameron we still have our EL XR8 EEC auto brain here.
You might want to check the model number of your brain to see if it is an auto or manual brain. From your previous posts I believe you are running an auto? You can even think about buying a secondhand reconditioned EEC without smartlock just so you pass registration - and then drop in another brain like a "motec or wolf" I have a number of telephone numbers of business that specialize in selling EEC's only and these are apart from the normal wrecking yards that often have them. Obviously the older the EEC the rarer it is to find - everyone seems to want them.
I also have a manual here that has every EEC brain from Ford ever made and it tells you exactly what model has what EEC fitted and between certain years these Ford cars used the same EEC's. I dable often with computers and electronics - which has helped me read between the lines of these so called auto electronic gurus!
From my previous post you can see that I have totaly researched this to the max when we where trying to find answers to bypass our smartlock system and after a alot of frustrating telephone calls and emails, and oh just because I am a female I finally got the answers to all my questions.
I think your quote of $2500 is quite high - what does $2500 get you - is that for everything - lights, fuel pump, engine wiring etc etc?
Regards
Lyn McArthur