ECU swap problems
 

Hey guys, im doing a swap on an rx8 and was looking for some more info.

Im going to be puting a 05 MT ecu into an 07 MT car. A couple things i was worried about.

I want to be able to change the vin number that the ecu reports to show the vin of the car the ecu will be in. Im worried that i will have problems with emisions (texas)

Im also worried about the immobilizer system, from what i read i can not do the immobilizer bypass on an 05 ecu?

Im hoping there is a tuning solution for my problems, and would not mind sending the ecu out to be reflashed.

Could the dealer solve my problems? If so what would i even ask them to do? Will they know what im talking about if i ask them to reflash my ecu? I have bad luck with the mazda dealers in this area.

Thanks for the input! :Peace:

you want to change the VIN, first thing first I smell something illegal going on here.

:suspect:

change the vin in the ecu, not on the car. nothing illegal. Im rebuilding an rx8 that had an sr20 in it. The original ecu is not avail to me so im working with the one i have.

are you saying that i should not have to worry about the vin the ecu reports? What im worried about is going to get the emisions test done and them hooking up to the obd2 and printing the emisions sticker for the vin from the ecu, not the car.

the googleing i have done on it shows info about doing it for LS motor swaps but just cant find info for mazda/rx8.

You will need the "as built" data from Mazda Tech to program the ecu to work...if it will even work at all...

The ECU needs to be programmed to talk to the digital modules in quite a few areas to work

Thank you for the reply (and not accusing me of doing something illegal)

I am using everything firewall forward from the 05 car, even wiring motor and trans. so i should not have any problems with the ecu working with anything under the hood. but is there anything under the dash or in the rest of the car i need to use "as built" data for?

thanks for any help.

It's the "under dash" stuff that will give you trouble....the immobilizer, Dash display....A/C etc that needs to talk to the ECU. The power steering is the other biggy that needs to be programmed

Not entirely sure an '05 ECU will work in an '07, technically Mazda will need the appropriate ECU for the model year in order for it to be compatible with the software for same. The VIN will be calling for '07 software, which is different than 05 as are the ECUs. Finding someone who can deal with the appropriate used ECU may even prove to be a challenge.

.

oh yeah, almost forgot about the different in the ECU itself, thx to Team u reminded me that.

damn, not what i wanted to hear. i swaped the 05 power steering over also.

so, what do you think i should do? find an 07 ecu? Where would i even start to find someone who can do this? start calling dealers?

Ok, so i got this car all put together. I called around to the dealers in my area and they are saying that the ecu should work no problems, except for the imobilizer. They say they can reprogram the imobilizer system for $110 bux. They act like they have never heard of reprograming an ecu with "as built" data. Im going take the car to the dealer and let them program the imobilizer and get that out of the way. But who do i need to go to to get the "as built" data programed?

Thanks for any help.

Let them have a go at it :) Make sure you get an estimate and hold then to it. Unless they have done one they won't have a clue....be prepared for a lot of exuses

yep i can attest to that--they should be on the mazda tech line the 1st day.
Good luck.
Yes they have made these dang cars too complicated.

Yep, had it taken to the dealer today. I was told a price of 110 to 210 over the phone, but i got nothing in writing.

SO...What happenned? :)

no word yet, i told them i was in no hurry, so they never gave me a time frame.

so the dealer called me last night. They told me that the ecu is not able to be reprogramed because it it not from the same car. (no idea what he is talking about) and offered to sell me a "rebuilt" ecu for 1200. I told him that can not be true and that i was not going to buy another ecu right now. So he said he would call mazda and see what else can be done.

LOL.....and the drama starts ;)

They told me the same thing....and strange how it turned out...got a buddy that works for Ford to bring home the iDS and we did it ourselves. Took a bit of fooling around but it worked

Ok so they called me back and are saying now that he has checked around as much as he can, including aftermarket solutions. and he is saying the ecu has a "stamped" vin number into the ecu and it is preventing him from doing what he needs to do. I think this story he is giving me is BS. I do believe he is having trouble with the job but i dont think buying a new ecu is going to fix the trouble he is having. He gave me a quote of just under 1600 bux to do what he wants to do (new ecu)

So what do you guys think i should do? Sould i have them do it?

I can buy a Snap-On Pass thru pro 2 for 700 bux and try to do it myself for half the price. But i have never done it before and i dont know where i would get the files i would need to upload from.

*edit * found out i can get the software info i would need at http://www.mazdaserviceinfo.com/ and would cost around 200 bux, so 900 bux to do it myself

Your money :)....I know an 04 - 04 ECU swap works perfectly fine....it is a PIA to do, that's why I questioned the cost in the first place....

Personally I would ask him how a "rebuilt" ecu is different than reprograming a functioning one.

You might have more of a problem with the differing years between the ECU and the car....

He says it is different because of some sort of stamped info on the ecu that can not be changed. Maybe what he is trying to tell me is that there is a difference between the 05 and 07 ecus that make them not work together. But if that is true and the ecu is different in some way it makes me wonder if the wiring is different also. (i used the wiring out of the 05) It would not be cool if i buy this ecu and find out it cant even be pluged in.

I know that it works with the 04's....we over-wrote the data on the ECU and entered new "as built" data to mate the ECU to the car.

The "as built" data is a full sheet of hex #'s that have to be entered to program each of the modules

Here's a few from mine

VIN.......JM1FE1XXXXXXXXXXX
FCC1 FFFF FFBA

PCM Module

PCM1 FFFF FFFF 0310
PCM2 0DFF FFFF FE1A
PCM3 FFFF FFFF FF0E
etc...
In all there are13 rows of PCM Module data to enter

Then the BCE Modules...there are 16 more rows of data :)

The ecu is basically wiped and then overwritten with this data.....and then it works like the original.

Update on this is I had the dealer put the new ecu in and program that. Have the car home now, runs good. Looks like the dealer knew what to do.

Go ecu
 

Go to "goecm".com and find the correct year with the corresponding transmission type....they should be able to help you for around $350 dollars. Remanufactured with lifetime warranty per associate. Just ordered mine and will see if the ass clowns at dealership can put it in. They have had my car for over 2.5 weeks and can't figure my P2401 code.