ECU interchangability...

[ppazz1101]

Searched and didn't find anything...

I have a 91 Talon TSi AWD with an auto trans. The car does have ABS. My ECU is not an EPROM ECU. I want to get one so that I can purchase DSMLink.

Can someone please explain the architecture of the ECU? Is an ECU from the manual trans car compatible with the auto trans version? Is the TCM housed separately?

I need to know what kind of EPROM ECU I can buy in order to properly perform this swap. I know I at least need one from a turbo vehicle. But does the AWD and trans matter?

 

[dikdiamond]

I don't have an eprom ecu,but I have a manual ecu in my auto AWD Eclipse. I changed over to 450 injectors and didn't want to get an afc yet(plus my ecu died),so I just let the ecu control the injectors. Correct me if I'm wrong but the tcm is in front (or behind?)of the ecu,more under the dash. AWD or not doesn't matter,that is controlled mechanically. Not sure if ABS matters,anyone else want to chime in?

 

[VETTE_50_TH]

The turbo matters obviously. The AWD doesn't matter as stated before. The ABS does not matter, we have a separate box that controls that, the auto trans i believe does and doesn't. I believe that the autos have less injectors that the manuals, 390 to 450cc. But, i think that fact that the ecu doesn't control anything that is different. If you have an auto, you have a control box for the auto trans. So i am 95% sure an manual eprom ecu will work except for the fact the injector size is different. But you'll be changing that anyways if your going to 'link.

James

 

[NN4S]

There's a little difference as far as the code goes (according to Thomas & Dave at DSMLink) for the differences with the park/neutral switch and idle load, but I remember them stating that you could use the manual or AT AWD eprom ECU with the DSMLink settings properly selected. Can't say what the effects are to just swap them out with different injectors since there's also the difference in fuel pressure to consider between the 1G MT & AT cars (the AT cars are set for 43.5 PSI, the MT are set for 37 PSI). That's not a problem if you're running DSMLink since you can adjust the global & deadtime to accommodate any variations in pressure & injector size.

 

[92eagleTSI]

When i got my auto talon it had a manual ecu in it along with the 450cc injectors to match (auto's are 390cc) but i'm still not sure that it would run properly without swapping regulators as well since fuel pressures between the two are different. But with the link you're covered there. I didn't know back in 91 these things had ABS, i guess you learn something everyday. I can't remember exactly what years the eprom ecu was available, i think 95-99 (eclipse,talon,laser) and Galant but i can't remember what years. Mine (if i'm not mistaken) was from a Galant Vr4. The Tcu is in front of the console on the floor. I didn't get to mess with my Link to much because my car is a piece of crap and isn't on the road more than 2 days at a time. I also saw in the auto tranny forum about 2 weeks ago that some tcu's had also come in Eprom and somebody was socketing and experimenting with programing so that might be worth checking out. I opened mine up and sure enough it's an eprom.

 

[dikdiamond]

Forgot I also changed fpr to a manual,to compensate for the difference in pressure. Also had my mechanic check the timing after I did the ecu swap,and he said he retarded the timing a little bit...how much I'm not sure,as I didn't have a logger then. So far no problems,and that was in September. Sorry can't offer anything on DSMLink

 

[NN4S]

Eprom ECUs were available on a random basis in the 1G cars; it all depended on who manufactured the unit for Diamond Star and which production run they were doing at the time. Since you can pull the eprom off of the board, socket it and install a different chip with altered control software, the eprom units tend to be sought after for performance oriented cars. The non-eprom units are the same ECU as the eprom ones with the exception being that they are built on a different design PC board that doesn't use an eprom for it's software and therefor cannot have the code readily altered.

The 2G eprom units were only available in the 95 model cars; they all went to the non-eprom PC boards after that. That's why any 2G running DSMLink or a chipped ECU is using the 95 eprom unit.

 

[92eagleTSI]

Thanks for the info NN4S . I thought i might have had that wrong. I'm still learning

 

[ppazz1101]

Thanks for all of the info guys.