1995 pcm/ecm

[DirtyDiesel]

My 7.3l is down. It started with a fuel leak and let a local shop fix it. The changed the fuel filter housing and everything was good for about a week. Then one day out of the blue, the engine just died going down the freeway, managed to get it off onto the surface streets and it fired back up after some shaking. My truck shook like it was pumping air out for 30 or 40 seconds and fired back up. I figured some air had been trapped somewhere and finally worked its way out. Next day, truck just died like I shut the ignition off. It fired right back up again. It died and fired up again a couple of times over the next couple of days. Worked a job and went to leave, truck fired up and died rolling out the parking lot. Again, fired right back up. Pull around the corner and shut the engine down. Then went to restart and and nothing. Engine cranked and cranked but would not fired up again. Called the shop and they sent a tow truck, sat around their shop for a week. Finally after a visit, they determined it was the ecm. They tried to read codes and received a connection error. After pulling the ecm, they said it was going to be $800 for a replacement.

I quickly scanned the internet and found prices from $150 to $200 to either rebuild it or replace it. So, I told them what I found, and after a call an hour later, the shop said get one and they would install it, BUT it would $400 for the install and programming.

Needless to say I towed the old truck home and its been sitting ever since. Now I have a little bit of funds and decided to do it myself.

After reading about the camshaft sensor, decided to change it just in case.
My "wait to start" doesn't illuminate so I figure the ecm is bad. After tons of research, I cannot find an ecm for my '95 at a decent price. I think I've figured out that I can go a different year and it will work.

Now, my question is...

As long as it is an ecm for an automatic 7.3L turbo it should work? I have found a '97 ecm with calibration code of 690A.

Anything else to worry about?

Thanks

 

[WD40]

If I was in Houston, Tx. I think I would be taking my truck to this shop, I only hear good things about them.

HOME

Doug

 

[BJS]

any ecm for any single shot OBS truck will work for you this excludes the cali emissions trucks with split shot injectors. as a plug and play. provided the donor truck has the same transmission as your truck either manual or automatic. OR you can get any 7.3 pcm in good condition send it to DP tuner and for $45 they'll throw a stock program on there. I believe I read some in the past where he indicated that he could do some diagnostics on them and that some simply needed to be reflashed then they worked just fine.





Do not pay someone to swap the ECM it's stupid simple and easy to do if you buy the right one there will not be any programming requirements needed to get it to work right on your truck it is not any different than someone installing a chip for the first time. Here is a thread to give you an idea, the hardest thing is the tiny bolts holding the inner fender.

 

[JLDickmon]

I wouldn't even go that far..
I'd try swapping out the PCM power relay before I did anything else..

 

[JLDickmon]

let me ask you this:
What do you have in the way of electronics diagnostic tools?
DVOM?
Test light?
Logic probe?

 

[DirtyDiesel]

I have a digital volt/ohmmeter (fluke #322 resistance to 400 ohms) and I think a test light somewhere, if not, I can acquire one as I am always willing to add to my arsenal of tools! A logic probe is in my price range and looks like the learning curve is a very small one. I will pick one up or have one shipped from Amazon. Any recommendations? I would rather spend the dollars there than on parts I don't need. Which is the PCM relay? How can I test it?
What's next kind sir?


Thanks BJS, I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but not having to do anything on this truck for the 5 years I have had it and the first diesel I have been acquainted with, I had no idea where to start diagnosing the problem. I wasn't going to pay that kind of money for something I knew was going to be fairly simple, so it motivated me to get under the hood. Of course, I'm just assuming the PCM is bad based on what the shop told me. I am now determined to fix her on my own.

 

[DirtyDiesel]

If I was in Houston, Tx. I think I would be taking my truck to this shop, I only hear good things about them.

HOME

Doug

Thanks for the heads up! When I can get a steady income coming in, I'll definitely give these guys a call.

 

[WD40]

Hope you can fix it yourself, that would be great, but some
come here knowing very little about doing there own work.
Doug