He stated that people don't install the ECUs into the cars due to fears of CEL, and says that you get the CEL no matter what. He also states that you get a CEL no matter what on 97+ Maximas w/95-96 Ecus. Well, I have a 97 Maxima w/ a 96 ECu and I dont have CEL. You know if someone didn't come in and say "Look I have a 97 Max and I'm using a 96 ECU w/no CEL" you know theres going to be people who will read what he wrote and believe it. This is the only problem I have.

It is rediculous when someone states opinion as fact. He is not sure yet he writes it that way. The guy is trying to correct another person with his own MISINFORMATION!!! How am i overreating? If you dont see a problem w/ that then youre part of the problem too.

And I know the CEL light issue re: o2 sensors is "common" knowledge. I looked into it too before I researched and located the right ecu. I read the same threads you did in the past

Basically 98 guys do this: Compare your car w/ the 97 max. Find out of the part #s for the emissions equipment are the same. IACV, EGR, o2 sensors etc. If the ECU from a 97 Maxima pinout is the same and it can be plugged into your car then find one (maybe do this at a meet) . Swap out ecus (preferably same trim, tranny, and emission (GXE auto fed) and no CEL triggers then you have the same chance at running a 96 ecu w/o a CEL like 97 owners. I'm not even going to comment on 99s due to the Cali emissions for the 99 model year is totally different but I am running a 99 Infiniti I30 fed spec motor in my car and every sensor on the 99 motor plugs into into my car's harness w/ the exception of the egr equipment because it is physically different ---I reused my 97 EGR and purge valve--- and the 96 ECU isn't throwing any codes .

I'm at work so I dont have all the junk saved on my work computer so let me preface what I'm going to type may be wrong. Any any rate, there are issues w/ the o2 sensor code being triggered because the maxima rear oxygen sensor went from a 3 wire to a 4 wire type sometime in 96. When I was looking for my ECU I only matched up the transmission and emissions spec (Cali). Only after I receive my ecu did I realize that there were issues different o2 sensors.

You can check and see that I never posted anything about this because I am still trying to confirm exactly which mo/yr the o2 sensor was changed thus changing the ecu spec for the 96 model year. I know the date of production of my ecu and if it falls after the month for which the o2 sensors changed then it will better serve everyone to help them narrow down a time period to focus on than the russian roulette system we have now which is buy any ecu you can and good luck. And you know this way SUCKS.

Modding, especially when using parts not made for your car is risk taking but why ruin it for others when you tell them stuff youre not sure of. Sometimes people will take the risk but if you sound dead certain on something you have no personal experience or no clue of then who the F- are you helping?

I am wasting too much time on this. Moderators: delete my post(s) if this detracts from the topic at hand.

 

Let's just take a look for a second at where we are posting this. We're posting this in the 98/99 ECU thread. The fact that this thread exists, and the fact that there was some interest in my UNICHIP possibility when I posted it means that there is obviously an issue with 98/99's and the 96 ECU OR that there is an issue with misinformation from this collective.

Instead of coming into the thread, explaining your experience and asking how we know and if we know for sure that that is the truth, you come in here and blast ONE guy for saying the same thing that basically everyone in this thread has subscribed to and then proceed to speak on things which you do not know about...exactly the same thing that you're citisizing him for.

You're giving us the old "the risks of modding your car" lecture and talking about how you should try stuff yourself when dude SPECIFICALLY said in his post that he WAS going to try EXACTLY what you said.

The fact that a number of us have spoken directly to the ECU manufacturers and THEY THEMSELVES have warned us about the CEL problem means nothing I guess? Does that make sense when you are the one talking about trusting knowledge on here? Some of us HAVE researched and have come up with the same knowledge that we got on here, but now you feel that you ahve to come in here and tell us how it really is. I am NOT saying that you shouldn't ask all the questions you've asked, but you just jumped into this with the assumption that no one was as smart as you and no one knew what they were talking about.

EDIT: This will be my last post on this stupid subject. Sorry for getting off track but I think this is relevant given the fact that I am trying to reiterate that we got the CEL story from more than just "I heard it on the ORG". That's all I'll say on this.

 

i agree this is no need to argue. ill i was saying is the im going to try and run a 96 ecu in my 99 and see if it works. i talk to jim wolf and they said it can be done.so i thought i would try it hoping to get something to work for the 99s not many pople can spend lots of money trying different things out and those we can help everyone out on differen things is great..so if anyones cares about if this will work or not i will post my comments on what happenes. i just received my 96 ecy today and will send it in to jim wolf. if you would like feedback on it ill start a new thread so it dosent linger in this one. if noones really care i wont post anything.

 

Blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada.
I say some 97s because thats what was said a long time ago. Seems that people with earlier 97s didn't have any problems running 95-96 ecus. In the 97+ maximas the rear O2 sensor is AFTER the cat. Many said that is why the CEL is thrown, I don't believe that cause the early 97s have the O2 there as well. I'm guessing that mid 97 changed the signal parameters that are sent to the ECU. What do you mean cause the CEL to be on all time? It's not gonna clear itself is it. The way the ECU works is that it won't trigger the CEL unless the malfunction happens two times during driving. Yes I know it will throw the CEL cause I have yet to hear a 98-99 owner that didn't get the CEL and there are very few of them. A few years ago I put a 6/97 ECU in my old 96. I got the CEL after a few minutes of driving, didn't bother checking it. The major reason most people with 98-99 maximas don't buy the JWT is because they know they will get the CEL. I know that JWT takes months to even deliver the ECU but the main reason is the CEL. If I had a 98 I would not get a JWT simply cause of that, no other reason. I wouldn't want to change the ECU even though it is every 2 years. Simple as that. Maybe what I said before didn't sit well with you or I said different things. Maybe I was drunk what do you know?

 

Just looked in the FSM, there is only 1 CEL code for the 95/96 maxima related to the rear o2 sensor, 0707. On the 99 there are 12(half for cali half for FED spec) codes related to the rear o2. On the 98 there are 5. On the 97 there are only 2, 0707 and 0902. Looking a bit more shows that voltages are also different from the 98 to the 96 for the 0707 code to pop up.

 

What year is your 96 FSM? I have a 96 FSM April 1995 edition. The rear o2 sensor shown in my FSM has the 3 wire o2 sensor.

 

I know the O2 sensors on both my 96 maxes, production dates 7/95(earliest 96) and 6/96(latest 96) both have 2 wires. Not sure of the date for the FSM but it's a 95 version. Front O2 sensors have 3 wires. In the diagram for the O2 sensors there are 3 wires. 2 go to the ECU while the 3rd goes to the IGN switch.

 

i care and i commend you for trying

 

I don't know how JWT can change it work with the 99. Wouldn't it be the same thing if you just swapped stock ECU for STOCK ECU? Put the 96 in the 99, drive a few days and wait for the CEL. All JWT does is change the fuel and a/f maps if I read correctly. They never mentioned anything about changing other parameters in the ECU. Either way, good luck.

 

they told me that the ecu alone will not work in the car that it has to be reprogrammed by them to work in the 99s.so it is going to be sent in on monday to them and from what i hear it probley wont get it back anytime soon. so when it comes back i will post my feeback on what happens.

 

cool.........

 

that's not what they told me. he said a stock 96 ecu should work and the tech also said that the only thing that would not work is the imobalizer. he said if i have a 99 5 speed and i use a 96 speed ecu it should work with out any check engine lights. he said they have done this already for customers.
some how i found this hard to belive

 

well here is my email from them

Thank you for your interest in JWT products. Yes it is possible to use the 96 Maxima ECU in a 99, only after it is upgraded though.

If you have any technical questions please give us a call M-F 8-5 (pst) @ 619-442-0680



Colleen

 

http://www.forums.maximaracing.org/viewtopic.php?t=1017

Read what I found

 

above site doesnt work.

 

dont know if this helps any of u guys but i got a 96 5speed ECU i need to sell. let me know if this is any help to u guys.thx

-juan

 

I have been trying to find a certain racing O2 sensor for the problems that might come outta the 96 ecu swap, basically the way the O2 sensor works is you can adjust the voltage coming out of the O2 sensor going into the ECU. Basically you find the voltage range that works for your vehicles ECU and go from there. I work at an Advance Auto Parts and a few customers have requested these for there newer 350s that have a O2 sensor set up on them. I can never find a website for these though. This O2 sensor could take care of the problems in swapping and popping O2 codes. I really hope you guys will stop arguing and let the guys that are actually trying to hack into the ECUs use this post.

 

It is not just the O2 sensor being different. It is also wired into different terminals on the ecu between 96 and 98/99. This part of the swap was addressed months ago.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=350138

I am still waiting for a "volunteer" to swap a 96 ecu into their 99 and make the necessary changes to the wiring harness. I have a list of the wires that need to be moved. You will have several codes though which will have to be addressed once the car is running.

 

find a 99 and 96 wrecked max (possibly the same time you find a ecu and cut the harness connector on both and wire it in your self, plug and play. Hard part is getting a junk yard to let you cut the harness.

 

That is not the right approach. I would much rather move a dozen pins or so on the stock harness. This is at most a one hour job which is easily reversible.

Cutting through a bundle of 90 wires and trying to match them up again between two different years would be a horrendous and unnecessary task. You can't even match up the colours as some of them are different between 96 and 99.

I have a cut harness that I got from the wreckers for free when I bought one of my 96 ecus. I needed some extra ecu harness terminals to wire in some extra sensors that the 96 ecu required but the 98 maxima did not come with.

 

either way you just have to mark the wires correctly and it doesn't matter what color they are as long as you have the right sensors and switch wires marked.

 

talk about bringing back the dead...anyway, still no sucsess from jim wolf for a 96 in a 99 though they supposedly have a 99 running a 97 ecu with full harness from a 97

 

OK fells I want to jump in on the '99 ECU problem. Has anyone actually installed an earlier ECU in their '99 successfully?

 

tilley is in the process of putting in the complete harness of the 97 into a 99 so he wont have to splice anything. but i dont think its his #1 priority so it wont be done for a while

 

SR, if you figure it out, will you actually tell us how you did it or will you just brag about how you did it but aren't telling?



It would be awesome if you could figure out a way to hack the '99 ECU (rather than put in an earlier MY ECU) because I don't want to give up my immobilizer until I have a good aftermarket security system, which will be a long time because I have many other priorities.

 

yeah, i agree with vquick... Are you going to tell us. Please tell us.

 

do u not read? no one did anything, u make it seem like sr20den has the answer to unlocking the 99 ecu or somthing. show me where he says this...

 

I'll probably spill the beans.

You people make it sound as if I hide alot of things from you. If you'd search to find all the things I have contributed to the .org you'll notice there are only one or two things that I have kept for myself. And I certainly havent bragged about either of them.

 

Somebody answer SR's question so he can get cracking!

 

am i invisable? i said tilley is putting the 97 in his 99 but is replacing the whole harness with it. if you call JWT they will tell you they have a 99 running also on a 97 ecu but ive seen no proof

 

Let me rephrase:

Who has installed a '95-'96 ECU in their '99 A32 using the EXISTING wiring harness with STOCK software?

 

eng92 was giving chuckie tips on using a 96 5speed ECU in his 99. a couple months ago. Eng92 modded his stock 98 wiring harness to accept a 96 ecu and from what he explained to me all he had to do was move a couple pins around on the harness

 

chukie has all the pinouts in a excel document as do i. i was going to try doing it but the 99 is differnt then switching pins around because of the immobilizer. i dont think anyone has had the ***** to cut and splice or (Switch pins) around on exacly 27 pins if anyone else wants the pinout chart with colors of wires pm me SR do u need this? ... somone get the guts to cut some wires and get this done!!! if it works hell i think every big mod 99 will do it up and every ecu maker should be getting alot more business

 

After having detailed conversations with ben at jwt about my 99 ecu I decided to purchase a used 96 ecu with matching trans for upgrading.
JWT said that for the 99 models the best suited ecu would be from the 96.
To make a long story short I spoke to ben yesterday 04/07/05 and he
informed me that the ecu was completed and tested and everthing was 100%.They shipped it yesterday as well so i should receive it within the next few days, upon installation i would give you the final verdict.

 

Ok so now they do have a 99/98 ecu, im assuming it has a upgraded rev limiter and everything else upgraded for performance jouvert00? Is it plug and play, or do you have to rewire the harnesses?

 

It is actually a plug and play deal, I have all the benifits of the 95-96 ecu upgrades
7k rev limiter/speed limit removal/ignition map timing adjustment/fuel map adjustment
There is no harness swap or rewiring needed.

 

I forgot to mention the only thing that needs to be done on the 96 upgrded jwt ecu is you would need to relocate the fuel ignition wire by simply moving it from pin 117 to pin 11.

 

how come its not 7200 rev limit? And you wont have to reprogram your key either

 

Yeah, well, definitely let us know once you have this done. So you you are saying is that all we need to do is supply jwt a 1996 core and we're fine putting that ECU in our cars (modifying pin 117)?
What about Californa-spec vehicles? Or the 1999 immobilizer?
Do we get a CEL with the 96 ECU?

 

But you're losing your immobilizer system. Are there any other drawbacks?