early build 90 tsi ecu

[cliffkemp]

Where can I find an ecu for an early build 90 tsi talon in case the caps go bad? I have heard they are nearly impossible to find if your build date is early as they were updated later in the 90 build 'season'

 

[Reefman]

You could just get the caps replaced now if they haven't eaten through the circuit board yet. If the ecu is bad enough to where the car will not run then I would try to contact ecmtuning to see if they can repair it. Ecmtuning can also replace the caps if they are leaking too.

 

[cliffkemp]

So far, the car is running well. I am just asking in case the 'ugly' happens as I do not have much time to do anything to the car without taking it to a shop. I will see if they will take a look at it and see if it is doing ok. I was just wondering if anyone has these available to get, just in case. I was told by someone that the early 90 build date ecu is nearly impossible to find.

 

[dacowgod]

I've never heard anything about an "early 90" build date... Other than 90's in general.. 90 ECU's are different than 91-94 ... They are rare in themselves...To run a 91-94 ECU in your car you'd need a different Coil pack, Power transistor.. To swap pins on the ECU harness and do some splicing... Not a huge deal but still a pain.. .If you are worred about the Caps causing damage..its best to just take out the ECU and look and see if they are leaking... if they are not..go on your way.. if they are... Replace them before they cause issue...they are no more than a 5 minute job for anybody that has ever touched a soldering iron.

 

[cliffkemp]

Yes. there are different part #s for the cars built from 89 to the first third of June, 1990. If you do not get the right ecu, the car will not run as it should. I have looked this up to confirm it. The ecu is very rare to find as most have been bought up or destroyed by caps leaking on them to the point where they are not repairable.

I am hoping that they can be replaced easily and that the programming of that build time is something that someone has figured out and can reprogram an existing, more available version so that the early 90 build date cars will continue on without the worry of cap problems. 91-94 cars do not have this issue. 2g cars do not have this issue and up until 2009, Chrysler had to make a certain amount of replacement parts, ecu included, by federal law.

 

[19Eclipse90]

Yes. there are different part #s for the cars built from 89 to the first third of June, 1990. If you do not get the right ecu, the car will not run as it should. I have looked this up to confirm it. The ecu is very rare to find as most have been bought up or destroyed by caps leaking on them to the point where they are not repairable.

The 1990 model year cars have different ECUs than 1991+ model year cars. This means that any DSM of the same trim (encompassing engine size, aspiration, drive train, and emissions) produced before June 1990 will have the same ECU. What CAPS shows is the difference between a 1990 model year and a 1991 model year car, not a difference in mid production of the 1990 model year. To be clear, production of the 1991 model DSM began June of 1990.

I am hoping that they can be replaced easily and that the programming of that build time is something that someone has figured out and can reprogram an existing, more available version so that the early 90 build date cars will continue on without the worry of cap problems. 91-94 cars do not have this issue. 2g cars do not have this issue and up until 2009, Chrysler had to make a certain amount of replacement parts, ecu included, by federal law.

The capacitor leakage problem is not partial to the 1990 model year; all 1G ECUs can and are known to experience this failure. If you are truly worried, pull your ECU and send it in to ECMtuning to have them replace the capacitors regardless of what shape they appear to be in or replace them yourself if you fancy yourself certified for the job. As dacowgod stated above, you can use a 1991-1994 ECU (again, of the same trim) in your car simply by switching pins 6 and 14 at the ECU (1G ECU Pinouts).

 

[cliffkemp]

The 1990 model year cars have different ECUs than 1991+ model year cars. This means that any DSM of the same trim (encompassing engine size, aspiration, drive train, and emissions) produced before June 1990 will have the same ECU. What CAPS shows is the difference between a 1990 model year and a 1991 model year car, not a difference in mid production of the 1990 model year. To be clear, production of the 1991 model DSM began June of 1990.



The capacitor leakage problem is not partial to the 1990 model year; all 1G ECUs can and are known to experience this failure. If you are truly worried, pull your ECU and send it in to ECMtuning to have them replace the capacitors regardless of what shape they appear to be in or replace them yourself if you fancy yourself certified for the job. As dacowgod stated above, you can use a 1991-1994 ECU (again, of the same trim) in your car simply by switching pins 6 and 14 at the ECU (1G ECU Pinouts).

Thanks for the information. Basically, the computers are interchangable only if the same trimline computer is put back in the same trimline of the car for the 90 production year that ended the first 1/3 of June. This is how I am reading this above information.

Last question is, if the caps are fixed, can the caps go bad again down the road or is this a permanent fix?

 

[SrKegler]

I would say a permanent fix. Caps have really advanced during the past 20 years. Not to say something else won't go bad in the ECU.

 

[TexasTurbo]

Make sure to properly test your ISC with a lantern battery and make sure any solenoid plugs on the firewall that are not plugged into solenoids are not able to get water inside them.

 

[cliffkemp]

I would say a permanent fix. Caps have really advanced during the past 20 years. Not to say something else won't go bad in the ECU.

Ok. Thanks for the information. I am not an ecu person but, know more about mechanics and wheel/tire info. Thanks for all the information!!

 

[TexasTurbo]

Ya, if you don't button up those items you'll eventually blow another ecu up. The FSM has the procedure for testing the ISC as does this site.

 

[19Eclipse90]

Thanks for the information. Basically, the computers are interchangable only if the same trimline computer is put back in the same trimline of the car for the 90 production year that ended the first 1/3 of June. This is how I am reading this above information.

Not exactly, but close. In the 1990 model year, there are (4) turbo ECUs: FWD manual transmission with Federal emissions, FWD manual transmission with California emissions, AWD manual transmission with Federal emissions, and AWD manual with California emissions. Any of those ECUs will work in any of the other listed vehicles even though they aren't exactly the same and have different part numbers.

In the 1991-1994 years, there are also ECUs for the automatic versions of those cars. These are different enough to hinder your performance if you were to swap one in to a 1991-1994 manual vehicle without switching anything else.

 

[TexasTurbo]

The only real difference as far as those ecu's is concerned is the fuel/timing maps. They will still run the car just fine but you might notice that the stock code on one ecu makes your car a little peppier than the stock code on another.