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How to Replace an ECM

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If you own a car or truck long enough, there will come a fourth dimension when you lot are faced with the question of whether or not to replace your Engine Control Module (ECM). It's just a role of automobile buying, particularly as your car gets up in mileage. ECMs tin can, and practise, go bad all the time.

The good news? The answer to the question "Is it hard to supercede an ECM?" is NO!  The parts themselves aren't cheap (as long every bit y'all're buying them from usa!), plus high quality aftermarket and OEM ECMs tin can exist easily installed yourself.

How Do I Remove an ECM?

This short, instructional video covers some general principles you lot should follow as you supersede your ECM. These include:

  • Cleaning all ground contact points and exposed terminals
  • Unhooking and resetting connectors to loosen/remove corrosion
  • Ensuring connectors and pins aren't cleaved or loose
  • Making sure all wiring is intact, and non frayed or broken
  • Checking all wiring for intermittent shorts, either with a voltage tester, or by the "one-time-fashioned" method of giving the wires a good shake!

If yous've done all this, and still haven't gotten to the root of your ECM problem, it may be time to await at replacing the entire module. Fortunately, ECMs have progressed in design to the point that they're now "plug and play" and come pre-coded to piece of work with your particular vehicle. Here'south some helpful tips on replacing the ECM on some of our nearly popular manufacturers' vehicles.

Replacing a Dodge ECM

Depending on the model and model year of your vehicle, actually finding the ECM may exist the hardest function. Some late-model Dodges place the ECM under the cabin air filter, others have it mounted next to the battery, on the opposite side of the engine bay! Bank check your owners' manual for the precise location of your ECM. From there, it'due south a simple thing of finding the screws or bolts that hold the ECM in identify, loosening them, and removing the sometime ECM. You'll accept to disconnect the pins and wires from the mounting, once again remembering to check for any signs of corrosion or wear, and so merely pop the new module into identify, fastening the screws down. If you purchased your module from a specialist who made sure information technology was coded correctly, so your vehicle should burn right up!

ECM Replacement for GM Vehicles

GM (Chevrolet) ECMs are much more reliably placed in the general vicinity of the bombardment, so finding the ECM on a GM vehicle shouldn't be as tricky as some of your Chrysler/Contrivance vehicles. Yet, the irony is that while finding the ECM is simpler with General Motors vehicles, resetting the ECM to "talk" to the vehicle can be a matter of trial and error, especially if y'all purchased your ECM without any instructions. Some GM vehicles crave a certain number of seconds of turning the ignition to ACC followed by a certain number of seconds in the OFF position, repeated several times. Your owner's transmission, or OEM website should have more details.

In general, the best mode to reset the ECM is to follow the manufacturers recommendations, which can be found on the OEM websites for the various GM brands. The dominion of thumb, regardless of brand, however, is to disconnect and drain the ECM of any electrical charge, since nigh ECMs are designed to shop reserve power in example of battery failure. In order to sync an aftermarket ECM up to your vehicle, y'all will need to brand sure that there is no information previously stored in the ECM that might be interfering with your vehicle'south operation. Once more, replacement ECMs, especially from junk yards, may have erstwhile data stored in the battery fill-in and will need to exist cleared first before your GM vehicle volition accept the role.

Toyota Figurer Replacements

Toyota'south vehicles, similar Dodge or Chrysler, tin be tricky to locate and remove the ECM. The world-renowned Japanese motorcar maker typically places their ECMs inside the cabin of the car itself, normally behind the glove compartment. This means that you need to remove the side console of the dashboard to access the ECM in your Toyota. But again, prior to doing annihilation with the ECM, make sure you lot've disconnected the battery to avert shocking yourself accidentally! Once you've located the ECM, it's a simple matter of disconnecting, and reconnecting a new module, although you may accept to permit the new module sit down for 10-xv minutes earlier its fully synced in with the engine and control systems of the car.

Ultimately, each of the main automotive manufacturers take their own unique characteristics when information technology comes to your ECM.  Some locate the ECM in different places in the engine bay, or exterior of it. Others require dissimilar procedures to go the ECM to "talk" to the engine upon replacement.

Whatever brand of vehicle you drive, you lot'll save yourself a lot of time, and frustration, by familiarizing yourself with the OEM instructions, as well as whatever instructions that you receive when you buy your new ECM. While the technology itself is designed to be "plug and play" a familiarity with your vehicle will massively aid you lot in apace and correctly installing your new ECM and getting you and your family unit back on the road again!