Resolved 98/99 ECU in 96 car

[_Madman_]

Can anyone tell me if it is possible to change the ECU of my car to a more recent one?

I've purchased the EvoScan software, but the current (Japanese "Enginnering sample") ECU has trouble talking with it and pretty much all OBD2 readers out there.

From the information gathered so far it seems that 98/99 ECU's are really fast at datalogging and it even seems that it is possible to read the ROM, and with some luck it might be possible to flash them in future if someone finds a way to decrypt the ROM.

Since the ECU's are quite cheep at ebay I'm starting to think about the swap.

But will it work? Will the speedometer match the ECU? Sensors? I have the Japanese speedo that ends at 180kph.

 

[_Madman_]

Actually it seems that MD359403 is the ECU I am about to order, it's an AWD so it doesn't have a speed limiter, but I'm confused about compatibility and fuel maps now. Has anyone tried running one of those, how are the connectors, do they fit?

 

[snowborder714]

The ECU's are the same, but there are differences that might not make it run idealy. You'd have to swap the spark plug wires. The 95/96 CAS signal is inverted whereas the 97-99 signal isn't. So you'd have to compensate for that. Other than that, the ECU's may look different (metal vs. plastic case) but the plugs are the same.

I'm not quite sure why you're worried about the fuel maps as I'm pretty sure they're the same. They run the same car so I don't see why they'd be different. Plus swapping the other way works just fine.

I have no experience with this so I'm just basing this on putting an EPROM (95 ECU) in a 97-99 and just working the problems backwards.

 

[_Madman_]

Excuse me for the dumb question, but what is CAS?

 

[snowborder714]

CAS = Cam Angle Sensor

Here's the page for DSMlink users (the opposite direction in which you want to go in). This will show you what you need to do to put a 95 ECU in a 97-99. This should help you understand some of what is needed to go the other way. Although, the inverting of the CAS signal is something I'm not sure how to do. On the page, it's dealt with through the software though, so I can't even tell you how to do it otherwise.
swapplugwires [ECMTuning - wiki]