ECU issues

[JDM_DSM]

Over the summer I started having issues with my engine cutting in and out on the highway on warm days. At first I thought there was no spark, and replaced the plugs and wires, and tried a different coil and power transistor. None of those changed anything, so a few days ago I pulled the ECU and used a hair dryer to heat up different spots on it. Sure enough when I warmed up the area circled the engine started running like crap and dying. Specifically what happens is that after about 1/2 hour to 1 hour on the highway the engine will start to sputter a bit, then become worse and worse to the point that it just shuts off. While it does this black smoke belches out the exhaust and if I pull over and try to re-start it a 20ft radius around the car reeks of fuel. I suspect what's happening is that the injectors are switching on constantly and dumping way too much fuel into the engine. This was backed up by the fact that when it was sputtering on the highway, accelerating at WOT would still be ok. I suspect that when I was at WOT the engine could deal with all the gas going into it, but at cruise it was just getting flooded.

To sum up all that... I'm just hoping someone can tell me what the green boxes circled in the picture are. I'm assuming the injector drivers? Also, does anyone know what ECUs I can pull replacements out of? Will any 1G have a suitable replacement, or are the turbos different than the N/A cars? The car is an 89 Galant VR-4 that was imported from Japan a couple years ago. Also the caps were replaced last winter, so I doubt that's the problem (though one of them did show signs of previous leaking when I opened it up to replace them)
Any other general suggestions on my problem would be much appreciated as well.

 

[1990whitetsiawd]

I believe that you would need a 90 dsm turbo ecu unless you want to swap stuff like coils and power transistor.

 

[Talesin]

I'm not certain about the GVR-4/1G E-T-L compatability, but I know that if the ECU is a JDM unit, it is NOT compatible with USDM E/T/Ls. There are a number of differences in code and circuitry.. off the top of my head, the fuel pump power reference on pin 13 in USDM models is absent in JDM models.

Do a search for 'jdm ecu compatability' for a more exhaustive list, there are a few threads kicking around. Again, insofar as the GVR-4's cross-compatability with 1G DSMs, I believe there is an injector sizing difference (510cc as opposed to the 450cc on ETL is what my brain is telling me) between the two. If that's so, then no, a direct swap would not work.

(edit) Actually, just looked it up. The JDM Galant VR4 came with 'yellow top' 510cc injectors, while the UDSM came with the standard 'blue top' 450cc injectors, as in other DSMs. So check your injector color for a good starting clue as to what market the vehicle belongs. If you are/were running the 'yellow tops', a JDM ECU would likely be neccessary (to match the wiring of the car, as well as the injector size). You might consider speaking with wiseman Steve about an ECU repair, or sending the unit off to the folks at DSMLink for repair there, if Steve has a full plate. After all, no sense (other than having a spare) in buying a new one, when you have a potentially perfectly good one after the replacement of one or two parts.


Other than that, I can only recommend that you look around in the Tuning & Engine Management forum if you REALLY want a replacement/spare unit. It's very likely compatability has already been addressed there somewhere, even if new members can't start new threads to bring up the topic.
I'd be willing to do so on your behalf though, if nothing turns up on a search, and after you've determined what market ECU you will be needing. Just shoot me a PM when you have the information.

Just FYI (and since it wasn't in the picture) VFAQ lists 91-92 GVR-4 ECUs as having either a MD165810 or MD165811 part number, which would be located on the outer shell of the ECU case. Doesn't list if that's for USDM or JDM though, so I'd assume those to be the USDM Federal and California numbers, respectively.

(edit x2) You could also probably search the forums for the JE331A964B number silkscreened on the board, the E769 from the EPROM, 6173 from the connector plug, and the MH6111 E277 from the logic chip, as well as potentially the numbers from the two small square chips at bottom center-left. Again, the Tuning & Engine Management contains a wealth of information to help track down just what a given ECU is, given how often 1G ECU boards seem to end up being swapped between cases. :b