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1990 non eprom ecu in my gvr4?!?!

losermakesgood

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Joined
Mar 30, 2012
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91
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Mishawaka, IN
Ok guys. Need some help. Just pulled the ecu out of 729/2K to send it to ecm to get dsmlink. Upon inspection I found that it is not eprom and from a 90 according to the sticker. Attaching pictures to show. Do I need an eprom ecu 91-94 or gvr4 specific? Might explain some of the issues I've been having with the car. Thanks for any info.


 
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GSTwithPSI

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Jan 1, 2012
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SoCal
As you said, that ECU is for a 1G DSM Turbo AWD (D27A), model year 3/89-6/90 - MD145903

And yeah, it should explain a lot of issues. I'm surprised your car runs at all with this ECU. I'm actually running a 90 ECU in my GVR4. All you need to do is swap ECU pins 14 and 6. The easiest way to do this is cut both wires, and put crimp connectors on all 4 wire ends. Then, just plug pin 14 into pin 6, and vice versa. Normally, I always solder my connections, but if you want to be able to swap back quickly for troubleshooting or whatever, the crimp connectors work best.

As far as ECMlink goes, your ECU is not an EPROM, so you'll need to have ECMtuning convert the ECU to take a chip if you want to use that ECU. They offer this service alone for $135. However, if you purchase ECMlink tuning software, they will give you the same service for only $95. Sometimes, this is the better route since EPROM ECUs are either hard to find, or overpriced.

It really just comes down to what ECUs are available, and their price. If you can pick up a non-EPROM ECU for around $100 bucks, you could then buy ECMlink tuning software and also have ECMlink convert and socket your non-EPROM ECU. In that scenario, you would basically get an EPROM ECU for $195 bucks out the door. It's not often you find a used ECU that has been socketed for that price.

Most of the time, you will find guys selling ECMlink V3 with an already socketed ECU all together. Packages like that usually go for around $550. Honestly, that's the way I'd go. Keep the ECU you have for a spare, or sell it to recoup some of your money. Keep and eye on the classifieds here, and on DSMtuners.com and wait for someone selling their whole ECMtuning package used. Try to find a price between $500-$575.

Here's ECMtuning's page with the pricing I was referring to: click
 
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losermakesgood

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Mar 30, 2012
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91
Location
Mishawaka, IN
Thanks. I pretty much thought what you said. Grrr... I've already spoke with ecm but they have a 2-3 week back order to convert to eprom. The car was running ok before last year lol. I'm wondering if maybe the pins were already switched. Warmer weather I'll dig into it more. Thanks for the info. Just happy to know I don't have to get another ecu.
 

losermakesgood

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Mar 30, 2012
Messages
91
Location
Mishawaka, IN
I just received an email from Thomas at EcmTuning regarding this ecu. He said the case is from a 90 dsm but the board itself is from a 91-92 auto. What kind of problems would that cause and what course of action might be best? Thanks for any info.
 

89Mirageman

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Jul 5, 2006
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Stantonsburg, NC
It would be set for 390cc injectors for one, other than that I'm not sure.
 

losermakesgood

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Mar 30, 2012
Messages
91
Location
Mishawaka, IN
I guess what I'm trying to ask is once I have it chipped and swap them two pin outs will it matter if it's a 90 auto ecu? I'm surprised my car has run stock the last two years other than crappy idle and pig rich.
 

tektic

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Dec 19, 2012
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ronkonkoma, ny
If your running a chip your not using the rom on the board anymore. You can program what ever you like on that chip and that will be the instruction set the ecu will run. You still have to change the harness pin out and your tach may be off due to the wiring differences in the 90 style coil and transistor.

Honestly just find a 91+ eprom ecu. It will be easier and cheaper than converting and then chasing weird issues like the aforementioned. they want $135 for the conversion and it says their back ordered.
 
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ktmrider

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Sep 10, 2007
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3,128
Location
Tempe, AZ
Quoting losermakesgood:
I guess what I'm trying to ask is once I have it chipped and swap them two pin outs will it matter if it's a 90 auto ecu? I'm surprised my car has run stock the last two years other than crappy idle and pig rich.

See this site for ECU info: click

Case swapping is very common, never use the outer case number as reference. Yes the outer case is from a 90 but like mentioned the ECU is originally installed in a 91-92 Federal AT FWD vehicle. The E2T****** is what you look at on the website, your ECU has 6576M stamped on the connector end. Use the *6576 on the site I linked for verification.

It also shows the two resistors, R129 and R130, that determine Federal or CA emission equipment ( basically CA monitors the EGR Temp ) and FWD or AWD. Your ECU is set for Federal FWD.

You don't need to swap the wires on that particular ECU, only when using a 90MY ECU in a 91+ TEL or GVR4.
 
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