Now I had my ECM replaced by the dealership a few months ago, but I am helping my friend replace his on an 02 Max automatic without traction control so it's kinda like a first time thing for me. Anyway my main question is I already know the ECM has to be reprogrammed once it's installed in the car, but will he encounter any problems starting it so it can be driven to the dealership? I did do a quick search and have gotten mixed information so if anyone has done a ECM replacement on a 02 or 03 I would like to hear from you. Thanks in advance.

 

When you replace the ECU, the car will NOT start until it is reprogrammed by the dealer.

You had better do it in their parking lot.

 

they have to program everything...including the key to work with the ECM to be able to start the car

 

Thanks for the info guys. I apprecite it.

 

I had all my stuff ready and hanging out when I took it in for the reprogram so that they wouldn't have an excuse to charge me money for simply plugging in my new ECU.

 

Can we take all the screws out and pull the ECU out a bit but leave it unplugged so all the dealership has to do once they drive it into the garage is to unplug the old one, plug it into the new one and then reprogram it? They acutally won't be putting any anything back in place.

 

Yes, there's enough slack in the harness to allow the ECU to lay off to the side. Tell them not to do anything other than to plug the new one in.

 

Might sound elementary, but what info do I need to get a used/rebuilt ECM for my 2000 Max?

Read through a whole lot of threads to find out more about my NO start/idling problems. After checking it out this weekend, car now starts fine but idles anywhere from 500-1700 RPM. I'm gonna replace the IACV and ECM at the same time and then have a dealer reprogram the unit. Thanks for any help about buying an ECM unit.

 

should go more like this: "they have to program NOthing, BUT the key to work with the ECM to be able to start the car" was glad to help

 

Are you getting p0505?

 

I know I am...I tried replacing the IAC to no avail


Does anyone have an idea of how much the EMC+IAC replacement will cost at a dealership?

 

I doubt the dealer would look for a used ECU for you. Find your own ECU, order a new IACV from courtesy parts and you're at around $400. Honestly the IACV install is a breeze, even for a mechanical noob so I would rec doing that yourself to save $. The ECU takes a few minutes to get to under the dash but you can also remove that yourself. Like I said above, the reprogram should be around $100, so your grand total is going to be around $500 if you do the work yourself. I wouldn't give the dealer the satisfaction of profiting off of something that, in my opinion, should be under a total recall.

By the way, I'm assuming your car is over 80k miles correct?

 

Exactly as I was planning to save some $$. My Max has 85K on it so I'm SOL on the warranty end. Anyways, yes, do have the P0505. So to get a compatible ECM, all I need to do is give them AT/MT, TCS, and emission info? (BTW...I think mine is not CA regulated emission, but I just moved to CA and passed my smog test...how can I verify CA emission standard?) Doesn't the dealership do more than just program the key recognition? I was thinking they might have to do idle relearn, TPS etc...Found a dealer who said $130 for reprograming ECM. Fair deal?

 

DIY auto parts has it for cheap was around 200 or lower. I don't remember.

My local dealer quoted me ~$150 for ECU swap and re-programing.
If your car '00-01 you have no need in TPS program

 

So, again, what specifics do I need before I find a used ECM? How can I be sure if my car is Cali emission and if I have TCS (doubt it)?

Found another forum that said to also check the motor mounts which could be causing my erratic idle. What/where are these mounts?

 

The ECU will have a serial code, you want to choose one that has similar build date and options (TCS, auto, etc) to your car and a similar serial code.

What I did was take my old ECU out with the new one I bought at a junkyard and sent both to Technosquare. They copied the immobilizer info from one to the other for $150 and therefore no need to reprogram your key.

This only works for 01+ maximas, 00 maximas run ECU schematics similar to the 99 and cannot be accessed except at the dealer.

 

Actually the car only has roughtly 69K, bought it at 61K then these problems start kicking in. I knew from the low price that there would be issues but I didn't have many options at the time of purchase. It's a 2001 SE btw

 

Haha, you're in luck. Nissans emmissions warranty extends to 80k so this should all be covered under warranty if you don't let them hassel you around.

 

Run to the nearest stealership and rip those mf for new parts. Hopefully they'll replace TB as well

 

Thanks Nomad & Larrio Motors for the help!

When I take it in for ECM reprogramming, is there anything else I should make sure the mechanic does besides reprogram keys, and idle speed? Are the other relearning procedures pretty simple as long as you get the proper time intervals between steps?

 

Just to give an update on the problem my friend had with his ECM just in case anyone else runs into this problem. After he took the car to dealership to have the new ECM reprogrammed it turns out that there might also be an electrical problem that exists in the circuit. The Nissan tech that worked on the car said after plugging in the replacement ECM and reprogramming to work with the keys, he started the car and the ECM started smoking. Sounds faimliar anyone? He came to the conclusion that there is some kind of short in the circuit, a bad connector or something that is causing the ECM to fry. In fact it was probably the electrical problem that caused his original ECM to go go bad. He needs to have the car taken in for further investigation to get to the bottom of the problem and repair it then they will try another ECM to see how it works. What do you guys think?? Is this really worth the hassle or should he just sell the car?

 

The tech needs to open up the ECU to see which part of the circuit board is being fried. He can then trace the pin # output and through the ECU schematics find the culprit.

This happened to me. The o2 sensor shorted out after the insulation stripped away. I believe a resistor and transistor both fried in the ECU rendering the car dead. I located it to Pin #5, which is also the o2 sensor input in the engine wiring harness

 

I was actually thinking of the something along that line, but I don't want to open the ECU. I have a repair manual CD and there are a few preliminary checks that can be performed following the Diagnostic Procedure on Page EC-444 and EC-445 of the Service Manual CD and using the Wiring diagram on page EC-443 as a reference. This could steer us in the right direction as to where the problem is coming from. It is likely that the tech will perform these checks along with what you mentioned above to get to root cause of the problem. Once he finds the problem and fixes it, we will take another ECM to have that one reprogrammed and keep our fingers crosssed.

 

If the fault is a wiring issue and causing a short, keeping the vehicle on will eventually burn out the ECU (if there is no fuse in line to protect that specific area). In which case you won't be able to plug anything up to it and the tech will have no choice but to pull the ECU physically.

Just a warning in case the tech tries to give you the run around. The ECU itself is easy to inspect, only two 8mm bolts on each side and it slides right out after you disconnect the cable.

 

If you unplug the connector from the ECU, will there be any problems stating the car again after plugging it back in? And in your previous post you mentioned that you opened your ECU and you found a problem that was traced back to the O2 sensor. What steps did you take to resolve that problem and after reparing the issue did you replace your ECU with a another one?

 

I opened up the ECU and took some pictures. Everything looks good on the inside except for one part that is obviously burned out and partially melted. The the inside of the metal cover for the ECU box has a burn spot which most likely came from the failure of that part when it fried. The magic question is what exactly is causing that particular part to fry on both ECU's?? Oh I took some pictures with a digital camera of inside the ECU and the burnt out part, but I cant post pic on the org. I would really like to show everyone what I am talking about. I would be happy to email them to someone who can post pics or for anyone interested is seeing them.

 

http://photobucket.com (free image hosting)

Your situation sounds like mine, burnt spot inside the ECU. I resolved the problem post #22 above. In my case I knew it was the o2 sensor that shorted but I double checked by tracing the burnt spot on the ECU to the pin output, which in turn will tell you what sensor is using that spot in the harness.

 

Larrio Motors Here is a link to some pics of the damaged part inside the ECU. I highlighted the part with an red line indicating the damaged part. You will be able to tell from the pic that the part has been melted partially. Is this the same thing that happened to you? If so then it should not be too difficult for the tech to do a trace and find the culprit.

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...k/DSCN0150.jpg


http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...k/DSCN0152.jpg


http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...k/DSCN0145.jpg

 

No, mine was in a different location.

Try to see if you can follow the little schematics on the board to trace what pin out it is.

You can download the FSM for your maxima here:
www.phatg20.net