How to Identify an EPROM ECU [Merged 5-9]

[91 white tsi]

How do you tell if an ECU is eprom or not? I bought a "EPROM" ECU off DSMtrader and it looks exactly like the stock one. So either i get robbed or i had an EPROM to begin with. It was actually the second one i had boughten since the first one wouldnt even plug up...i think its for a 2g but i have no clue. it also looks that exact same circut board other than connector

 

[falcone4g63]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150297 8th post down.

 

[91 white tsi]

Thank you very much for that respond. i guess i forgot to research it. and to my amazment i didnt get riped off and my car actually came with an EPROM in it :laugh: no is a 2G EPROM Diff or is it the conector or what cuz i have an ECU i dont know what its for

 

[91 white tsi]

So i am 99% sure its a 2g eprom.....its deff an eprom and has the E on the sticker in the bottom right corner(as i found by doing a search that means eprom)......it looks like a sketched picture of the connector end.....and the way it mounts to the car is 4 ears off the top side where the connector is unlike my 1g that has 2 on each side. Does that sound like a 2g? i would ad a pic if i knew how

 

[oldman]

VFAQ has part numbers for all model and year. Now go there and do some search.

 

[91 white tsi]

Yea so i went there and i dont see a search button anywhere, so i looked under every section and never saw a list so can someone either post a link or just answer my question i know someone on here knows what a 2G eprom or not case looks like and how it bolts up.

 

[oldman]

Yea so i went there and i dont see a search button anywhere, so i looked under every section and never saw a list so can someone either post a link or just answer my question i know someone on here knows what a 2G eprom or not case looks like and how it bolts up.

http://www.vfaq.com/mods/ECUs.html

 

[91 white tsi]

Dont see it on the list...... MD187701......E2T38381.............3217..........E.........those are all the numbers on the sticker...its not that i havent looked its more than im either blind/stupid.or am horrible with finding stuff on the internet

 

[Whitetalonb16g]

here is what a quick google search found :


92 MITSI LANCER EVO 1 COMPUTER - P/N : MD187701

 

[GRITZ]

Walking around wondering today...I pulled my laser rs ecu to see if i had a eprom. I took some crappy pics with my treo, can you guys tell if it's a eprom or not... If it is then im ###### going to get it chipped to run 850's ...then use my afc with pocket logger and wide band to run for now.... let me know....

 

[femmeDSM]

Yes, you do.

It's that black rectangle with the white sticker on it, on the lower right side of the board in your picture.

Lucky bastard...

 

[GRITZ]

The ecu code on the front of the case is md166260 second code is E2T36574

 

[GRITZ]

Cool i might consider DSM link if they someday make it so you don't have to run with a mass at all...just a filter right on the turbo!!! It's good to get some luck sometimes!!!

 

[dsm-onster]

Cool i might consider DSM link if they someday make it so you don't have to run with a mass at all...just a filter right on the turbo!!! It's good to get some luck sometimes!!!

Speed density is a b!tch to tune

Wait until they come out with gm maf direct plug in. then you can run blow through and get the filter right ont he turbo thingy you want.

 

[packinkimber45]

hey guys, I found the vfaq to check if ecu is eprom or not... however I am still confused. there was two stickers I found, on the side there are big numbers, and small numbers... on the small numbers it begins with E. However on the face of the ecu there is a blue sticker that has the same big numbers but longer version than the sides. right below it is the same small number that is on the side sticker that begins with E, however on the lower right corner there is an M. this means I do not have eprom? am I looking at the right spot. I didnt pull the ecu out. I just simply looked behing the dash with ecu upside down. If I do not have eprom, what does this mean? does this change the way I can tune my car? what alternatives do I have to an eprom other than to find one. also how do I find out if my rear differential is 4 bolt, looked at it and it has more than 4 bolts... unless I am looking at the wrong spot. another thing, I read the recall info on transfer cases... does this cover the rear differential? what about if transfer case just goes out and I never went to dealer to get leak checked? is it covered? I dont think it is leaking, reason I ask is that previous owner that owned the car last had a really bad engine leak, and bottom of car was pretty wet. thanks guys. sorry for the lenghty thread.

 

[steve]

hey guys, I found the vfaq to check if ecu is eprom or not... however I am still confused.

There was two stickers I found, on the side there are big numbers, and small numbers... on the small numbers it begins with E.

However on the face of the ecu there is a blue sticker that has the same big numbers but longer version than the sides. right below it is the same small number that is on the side sticker that begins with E, however on the lower right corner there is an M.

Does this mean I do not have eprom? Am I looking at the right spot.

The key part of all of this is the last. You looked at the label on the top of the ECU and saw an M. All the ECUs have a E2T number but it's the lower right corner of the top label that would be blank or have an E in it depending on if it was a '90 or 91+ ECU. If the ECU was original you could expect to find a EPROM circuit board inside but in your case you have a non-EPROM ECU since you case says M.

Please understand that I almost just passed over your posting because it was too difficult to read. Next time I can assure you I will.

Steve

 

[Talesin]

Also, you may want to remove the ECU and open it up (Three bolts holding it to the chassis, three pain-in-the-ass connectors to squeeze and wiggle loose, then four phillips screws on the case) and look inside. Though the M label says it's a non-EPROM, 1G ECUs tend to be shuffled between cases quite often. The only way to know is to open the case and see. If you don't know what an EPROM looks like (should be on the side furthest from the big white connector blocks) take pictures and post them up here.

'Four bolt' refers to the rear wheel cups. Don't look at the driveshaft or the 'pumpkin', as I initially had, when trying to find out if mine had been swapped. Instead, look at the inside of the rear wheel hubs, where the rear axles connect to the wheel mounting area. There'll be a receiver plate there with either a triangular (three-bolt) or square-ish (four bolt) meet-up. Remember, it's on the wheel end of the rear axle. A 91, unless swapped, will most likely have a three-bolt rear.

 

[packinkimber45]

thanks for the replies guys. I will have to try that, hopefully my case is that the label states "M" but eprom inside. will take the picture this week end and post as soon as I have it.

you passed over my post because of the format? font too small, or my run on sentences?

 

[olmytsi]

Here you go

 

[steve]

you passed over my post because of the my run on sentences?

Yes. I can get closer to the screen to read a small font but that won't help bad content.

Steve

 

[packinkimber45]

sorry. will try to be more clear in the future. thanks for all the replies fellas, and especially for the illustration to check for. thanks again.

 

[hevenz]

so eprom alone... does it do anything for preformance? or is it just a pre-requisite for dsm-link..?

 

[olmytsi]

Just allows you to put a chip in it whether it be dsmlink or dsmchips. The non eproms cannot be chipped. Only 95s had eproms for the 2g.

 

[daren_p]

so eprom alone... does it do anything for preformance? or is it just a pre-requisite for dsm-link..?

No doesn't do anything for performance, just allows you to use Dsmlink or get a custom eprom chip burnt. An eprom is a re-writeable chip that the factoy usually installs in their ecu's after a model change. They do this so if they find glitches in the software or want to update it, the dealer can just reprogram the eprom chip instead of having to replace the whole ecu.

 

[packinkimber45]

it's official! I do not have eprom. I opened up the ecu and did not find the eprom chip. so is eprom the way to go? what are my alternatives, and the pro's and cons to not upgrading to eprom? how much do they normally go for? would it be good idea to purchase in a junk yard? thanks again guys.... too bad no eprom, but after checking oil pan by crank sprocket, the bump points toward driver! no indent towards passenger side, so I do have 6 bolt .