I got stuck in traffic near the Ohio State campus today. They're doing all kinds of stupid construction, and I got wedged into one lane with all kinds of potholes and craters, and giant holes in the road. No problem. Well, it wasn't a problem until I hit a particularly large one which jarred the whole truck pretty bad...and triggered a flashing ECM. The exact same problem as before, and the exact same symptoms. So there is something physically loose or broken in my ECM.

While I can genuinely say I'm not surprised, I am a little disappointed. That being said, I had a couple of questions.

When I took it to the shop, and they gave me the quote for the ECM, there were three things on the list.

The ECM of course - $1700
Labor - $89.95
Programming the ECM - $99.95

That raises a question in my head: Why do they need to program the ECM? I figured it's a plug and play thing.

But that raises an even bigger question in my head:If I were to get my hands on a used ECM (for much cheaper than $1700), would it need to be programmed?

 

I would make sure the connector on the ECM is plugged in tight before you lay out money for an ECM. I could be wrong but since the problem went away after they unplugged the connector and plugged it back in then the problem came back when you hit a hole I think it's a loose connection rather than a problem in the ECM. Take a long zip and wrap it around the ECM and connector to keep pressure and see if that makes any difference. I really don't think you have a major problem.

Of course, what do I know? LOL

 

That's a good idea AK...

Is the ECM the silver thing that is mounted on the passenger side inside the truck?

 

You know what I should do is call the city, and tell them that the road broke my truck, and have them fix it LOL!

 

Do you have the RAVE manual? If not click on the link in my signature and download it. It is a life saver.

Yes, the ECM is on the passenger side, more than likely behind the glove box. It's hard to tell exactly from the picture in RAVE.

 

This may help a little more. This was copied from RAVE

The engine control module (ECM) is located on the RH side A post below the face panel inside the vehicle. It has a
cast aluminium case and is mounted on a bracket. The ECM has 5 independent connectors totalling 134 pins.

 

I did have a disc but I don't know where it is. I clicked to download it and it opened in firefox. Found the fuel injector connector.

 

Dude come on. if you had to replace an ECU every time you hit a bump in an actual roadway i don't think they would use the damn things for a camel trophy event. With a rover and any other car for that matter start really small. I learned really fast that most people are so quick to tell you to replace all of this goofy **** on your car and half the time it's something that takes one hour and five bucks to fix.

 

Yo, check my new thread...