RLKBOB Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Hi guys new here, I love it when there are forums for vehicles I'm doing work on. Have a 1990 with the Mclaren turbo. It ran like crap when I got it. The crossover pipe was cracked and leaking, had it fixed by a welder at work and it looks better than new. Traced out the vacuum lines and got them all where they belong. The problem is there is still no power. Have to feather the pedal to keep it running. The exhaust seems to flow freely. Fuel pressure is good. The weird thing is that I had a buddy hook up a scanner and he didn't get much out of it but apparently the scanner thinks it's talking to a 3.1L Lumina. I noticed searching some older posts that apparently this ecm is in other vehicles. I don't know the ecm number but I will look now that I have a little more info. The question is: where can I get the ecm I need or can this "Lumina" ecm be reprogrammed at a reasonable price? Thanks for your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 This is a possibility: The ECM's used in W's before 1994 are all the same. They are swappable between cars regardless of the engine/transmission or any other factors. The thing is if youre swapping computers, you need to open up the computer and swap the chip in there (PROM) out as well. The computers can swap, but the chip inside needs to stay with the car. Is there a possibility that the computer was swapped before and the person didnt know this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLKBOB Posted February 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 It's absolutely possible, but no way to know for sure. If they had swapped the chip wouldn't the scanner recognize it as a Grand Prix? How easy is it(and how expensive) to come by the necessary chip for the Turbo version? Know of any sources for a chip since it looks like the ecm isn't as hard to come by as I thought it was? Thanks for your input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 It's absolutely possible, but no way to know for sure. If they had swapped the chip wouldn't the scanner recognize it as a Grand Prix? How easy is it(and how expensive) to come by the necessary chip for the Turbo version? Know of any sources for a chip since it looks like the ecm isn't as hard to come by as I thought it was? Thanks for your input. There are people on TGPforums.com that can re-burn your stock memcal to whatever specs you'd like for your TGP. I had Kenny (TGPilot) do mine and it runs 10000x better than stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManicMechanic Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 CORVETTE 90-91 Elec Cont Module (ECM); base CUTLASS 88-89 Elec Cont Module (ECM); 6-173 (2.8L) CUTLASS 89-92 Elec Cont Module (ECM); 6-191 (3.1L) CUTLASS 93 Elec Cont Module (ECM); 6-191 (3.1L), VIN (8th digit) "T", TH125 GRAND PRIX 88-89 Elec Cont Module (ECM) GRAND PRIX 90-92 Elec Cont Module (ECM); 6-191 (3.1L) GRAND PRIX 93 Elec Cont Module (ECM); 6-191 (3.1L), TH125 LUMINA CAR 90 Elec Cont Module (ECM) LUMINA CAR 91-92 Elec Cont Module (ECM); 4-151 (2.5L) LUMINA CAR 91-92 Elec Cont Module (ECM); 6-191 (3.1L), gasoline LUMINA CAR 93 Elec Cont Module (ECM); 6-191 (3.1L), gasoline, TH125 REGAL 88-89 Elec Cont Module (ECM) REGAL 90-92 Elec Cont Module (ECM); 6-191 (3.1L) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 It seems youve used that interchange quite frequently in the last 2 months, Jay Thanks, youre always a big help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php?topic=76008.0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLKBOB Posted February 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Thanks for the help so far. It is a 7727 ecm but is there any way to tell just by looking at the chip if it's the original one for this car? I just hate throwing money at problems and finding out later that wasn't the problem. What I mean is there is always the possibity that the problem is something else and replacing the chip might not fix it. I know I'm a pessimist but I've seen a lot of people jump to conclusions on a bad ecm on other vehicles all too often just to have the same problem afterwards. My philosophy is diagnose then fix. Is there anything else you can recommend I should check to diagnose the problem and what conclusions should lead me to be sure it's the ecm(or not the ecm)? How much do guys usually charge to re-burn the memcal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 well i'd say that if the scanner tells you that your car is a lumina, then there is something wrong with: Your ECM The Scanner Have your friend check it out on another car, another tgp (if possible) and a lumina. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pontiac6KSTEAWD Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Sounds like he needs to get ahold of Kenny, and buy a new chip. http://www.tgpforums.com , and do a searh for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfewtrail Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Kenny or one of the other guys probably wouldn't charge much to burn you a new stock memcal. What scan tool is your friend using that says this is a Lumina? Your friend might have entered the wrong VIN digit when the scan tool prompted him to enter it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLKBOB Posted February 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 I think his scanner is a Snap-On. He's a master mechanic and has been for about 20 years so I know he knows what he's doing. His scanner has different cartridges that he puts in for different vehicles. I've used it on my Bronco and my daughter's Cavalier and it's great, it shows just about parameter you could want. Now that you mention it he wasn't the one who told me it showed a Lumina, it was my brother who told me that when it was over my dad's. Are there many(or any) other scanners that ID the vehicle on the readout? I agree I think I'll look up that guy to about a re-burn and take it from there. Any other words of wisdom for this car? We had one back in 89, not a turbo but we bought it new and loved it. Then, like idiots, we traded it in for a stupid mini-van when I was in the Navy and had our third kid on the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 you don't really want to be using the stock chip. you should buy that jeff m top gun 160 chip I posted a link for at the very least. those chips don't come up for sale used very often and are not for sale new anymore. do some research on it and you will find that it is a very well programmed chip and also the most popular for many years while it was still for sale. is there a code inside the little oval window? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLKBOB Posted February 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 I think I'm gonna buy that chip. A little clarification on what I said earlier. The car was over my dad's last year while my brother and our mechanic friend messed with it. When they hooked the car up to the scanner it wouldn't show any codes or info. They started putting in different VIN codes and when they entered the Lumina code it started reading so he was pretty sure it was a Lumina ecm in it. Then he put in a different Lumina ecm from our sister's car it ran exactly the same. So it sounds like it definitely needs the right chip at the very least. Thanks guys. I also started it up today. It runs and sounds great when it's just idling. As soon as you put it in gear it wants to die. It has the CG light and low fuel light and the brake and abs lights which I found searching that these are other common problems with these cars. Excellent info here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 How did they know to start putting in different vins? Do they also suspect that the PROM/ECU had been incorrectly swapped at one point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLKBOB Posted February 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Yes, and they didn't have to put in the vin just the VIN engine code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 And you put in "V" correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLKBOB Posted February 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 That's what I'm saying. The scanner wouldn't read when they put in V. He said it wouldn't give them anything until they put in "T". So I assume the engine code for the Lumina is T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 The "T" code is for the LH0 N/A 3.1. Vin "V" is for the LG5 3.1 Turbo found in your TGP. The LH0 was also used in other W-bodies as well, thats strange that it came up as a Lumina.. I'm also thinking that someone replaced the ECM with one from a Lumina (or other car with the LH0) and neglected to swap in the TGP memcal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 Easiest way to know without guessing, is just post the # from the MEMCAL (the 4-character alpha) visible on the silver sticker of the chip in the MEMCAL. If you pull off the cover of the ECM, the MEMCAL is clearly visible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLKBOB Posted February 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Thanks, I'll do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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