I believe I have an ECM that has given out. With that said, I am looking to either get a remanufactured ECM or have the one I have rebuilt.

I came across Mid America Motorworks rebuild service for $400. I'm skeptical about sending it off. Has anyone used them before?

Would it be better for me to wait for a reman to come available from the likes of Oreilly, Autozone, or Advance? I'm not seeing any options on eBay and I'm also a little skeptical about putting in an '84 ECM.

Any input would be appreciated.

 

You're not going to find a good ECM rebuild, new or used on this planet. They just don't exist for the CFI. You have a few options:

You can go to the junk yard and get a ECM from a 87 to 92 TBI V8 truck with the harness and wire it in. I did this for my car.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...m-odyssey.html.

Buccaneer sell a plug n play setup with a modified, programmed ECM with a harness adapter.

You go with a aftermarket ECM like Megasquirt. This one is a difficult undertaking.

And the nuclear option, dump the Crossfire for a different induction system like I eventually did: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ld-thread.html

 

“a little skeptical about putting in an '84 ECM.”

Why? Are you concerned it will not work with your system?

I can confirm the 1226026, 1984 ECM for the automatic transmission will work with an unmodified 82 CFI. Even the two plugs punch right in with no modifications.

The 1226430 ECM is for the 84 manual transmission. It will start the car and run, however, the high idle will make it challenging to drive.

I made this swap on my 82CE and kept my original, 1225550, on ice for future historical value. The 5550’s are Unicorn horn for sure. The 1226026’s are not much easier to find either.

I sent you a PM for more information.

Why do you think your ECM is out? They are pretty robust. Maybe we can help identify another problem???

 

Go with the EBL from X-Fire Performance: https://www.xfireperformance.com/shop/eblflash2ecm. Just plug it in and your car will run better than it ever did. That's the route that I went and wish I would have done it a long time ago. Got more power, exhaust no longer stinks, and little better fuel economy on top of it all.

 

I have another thread going outlining my issues. To summarize, about two months ago I began having an issue with intermittent shutdown while driving or at idle. I been troubleshooting by swapping parts on the distributor (basically have a brand new distributor now). I also upgraded the fuel pump and swapped the fuel sending unit (this was already planned as the sending unit was not properly sending the fuel level). Since then I got the code #13 for O2 sensor. I tested the sensor based on a few pages that Bucc shared on a different thread and the CEL rapidly flashed indicating faulty ECM. The latest code I received is #22 - TPS Sensor Low. The max signal voltage it shows is 5.20v and won't go any higher no matter how I adjust the TPS. Based on everything I've seen so far it indicates that the ECM is the likely culprit.

I pulled the ECM and noticed a little corrosion on the connectors so I used a q-tip and rubbing alcohol to clean them up. Reinstalled, still receiving the same issue.

Another thing that I've noticed is that I do not get the prime pulse from the fuel injectors when the engine is cold.

Part of me wonders if the EPROM is at fault here but from what I can tell there's not an easy way to test beyond getting a different one and swapping.

 

IF your stock ECM is bad, the EBL is the ticket for sure and then some. No having to change harnesses, connectors, soldering, splicing, repining anything or doing some type of dick dance to get it to work...Just unplug your stock ECM and plug in the EBL, turn the key and start the engine and drive it. The EBL comes with a stock 82/84 stock tune preloaded, ready to go. You do not have to load any software or anything else, unless you want to watch the What's Up Display (WUD). Then, you must load the software that comes with the EBL, set the comm port so that your laptop can talk to the EBL and that's it.

Purchasing a 42 year old ECM is not the answer IMO, but it's your money. The choice is yours.

 

Buccaneer is "the" authority on crossfire engines. If you don't believe what he is telling you, then you are fooling yourself.

 

True, but you still have the crappy edge card type of connector prone to corrosion.

 

Certainly something I would like to look at getting at some point. At the moment my budget does not support the cost on this one. Maybe later this year I'll be able upgrade for now, I'd like to get the car back on the road and enjoy it.

 

one last idea is did you ever change the coolant sensor my 84 acted nuts when mine was bad. and there cheap

 

I would open up the ECM and get a visual. My 84 was acting crazy and when I opened it up most of the copper traces on the board were crinkled and lifted off board. Clearly a bad ECM . I was able to find a re man ECM and has been running great ever since

 

Here’s a few pics I took of the ECM.




Taken after the pins were already cleaned.

 

Thanks to another user, I am able to borrow their ‘84 ECM (1226026) from an automatic. I am in the process of swapping the PROM and want to make sure it’s installed properly before I connect it to the car. I do not want to damage anything. @Buccaneer or anyone else who reads this, can you confirm that this is the correct orientation for the ‘82 prom in the ‘84 ECM?

I lined up the ‘82 PROM with the ‘84 as it came out, notch facing the correct way.

For future reference in case the image happens to not appear, the notch on the PROM is facing towards the 1 circled on the PROM connector on the ECM.

 

Physicaly with the chip holder you can't screw it up, the direction or the pins. However the 82 chip may not play nicely with the 84 ECM and may damage the chip electrically. You could get lucky or not. Did you ever check your fuel pressure and injector pulse?

 

I was under the impression (and from what I have read from other posts) that when swapping the '84 ECM into an '82 that you're supposed to use the '82 PROM. I Would certainly like to make sure that is accurate before I do go and swap out the PROM and install.

As for the prime pulse, using the '84 PROM and ECM, I installed it in my '82 and turned the key on. There was no prime pulse. However, before the swap, I would get a prime pulse .

I have not yet tested the fuel pressure as I have not yet been able to get the necessary parts/tools to test it. I've seen various ways that others have tested it using DIY methods but nothing conclusive as far as what parts to get to make a tester for between the throttle bodies. Any help there would be appreciated. I have seen an option for buying one for $140 or so which I kind of feel like is a little pricey.

 

Do NOT swap the PROMS.
Plug and Play from 82 to 84 auto is just what it means, unplug the 82 (1225550) and plug in the 84 (1226026) with the 84’s original PROM. Done it more times than I can remember.
When I sold my beloved 82CE, it drove off to 150 miles away with an 84auto ECM and 84 auto PROM.
KISS method is very helpful here.

 

I did not swap PROMS. I installed the 84 ECM and ran the engine for about 10 minutes before it cut out.

Going back to previous thread to provide updates.