ECU how much $$ and where to buy?

[Lilith]

hi there

seems like my ECU got fried

where can i buy a used one and about how much should i pay for it?

it´s for a civic 94 lx (A/T)

i´d prefer some shop over a junker, since you can't be sure if the junker's ecu will work or not.

thanks

PD: the mecanic wants to charge me 350.- for fixing my ecu.

[Miataracer]

I have answered this almost identical question before... go to www.car-part.com and look it up on there. what you will find is a list of ecu's from junkyard cars mainly and there is nothing wrong with that. parts come out of the junkyards all the time that work just fine and cost way less than new. you could probably find a replacement computer for your car in the $50-75 range

[damir831]

Hey thanx for that website. I have a question regarding ecu's, but don't wanna start the same thread in this forum. Someone replaced my d15b7 with a japanese one, and converted it from a carb to fuel injector. However, he never replaced the ecu. Do I need a japanese ecu or how does it work? My check engine light is on, and I thought it was the o2 sensor, but I just replaced that one and it's still on. My main concern is that I have really bad ideling problems. When I go down the street and press the clutch pedal, it sounds like as if I'm pressing and releasing the gas pedal. The same thing happens when the car is in neutral. The only time it stops is when I press the clutch down just a little bit. I really don't know a lot about engines, so any help would be appreciated.

Thanx

[Miataracer]

I wasnt aware there were any 95's with carbs... are you in another country?

anyways, if the engine was changed from carb to fuel injection without changing the ecu i would expect big problems... would it even run? see, there has to be something to tell the injectors when to spray, etc.

??

[damir831]

Someone else told me that they didn't make any carbs for the 92-95. When I ordered the engine, it said that it would fit any civic 88-95. Another person on this board said that they only made that engine for the crx I think. Well, the mechanic said it'd be hard to do, but he used the injectors from the old one and put it on the carb. The car actually runs better than it did with the old engine, but once i put it in neutral it has serious ideling problems. I'm happy with the performance really, considering it's a d15b. One time I drove 180 miles on 3 gallons, plus, I've raced several cars and beat them, like an mp5 and an si. Would I have to get a japanese ecu? If the engine is really a crx one, would the ecu fit into the 95? Like I said, I don't know a lot about engines, otherwise I wouldn't have replaced it with a d15b7 in first place.

[damir831]

I just got off the phone with a guy who sells ecu's and he said that since I kept the old fuel injector, the ecu that I had with the old engine should still be good and that I shouldn't have to replace it. What else could cause the engine to idle so bad?

[Lilith]

thaks a lot, for that link.
i'm saving 200.-

[Miataracer]

very welcome Lilith... I am in college so I am all about doing things for less!

damir, I don't really understand your situation well enough I guess...

[damir831]

Ok, let me start from the beginning. I bought a 95 civic in January while I was home on leave. A week later I went to Kentucky, where I was stationed. Like 2 days after I got to Kentucky, I realized that we were gonna have a 4 day weekend, so I was gonna go back home to Illinois. I was cruising at like 60 in 5th, and all of the sudden the "check oil" light came on. Before I could pull over to see what it is, the engine died. A state trooper, gave me a ride to the nearest shop (He was in the Army too, so he told the mechanic to hook me up) Well, that mechanic turned out to be a total fuck up. First he said I had to get a new alternator. Then, he told me that I needed a new timing belt and that I should get a hotel room and he'd have it back by tomorrow morning. The next morning, he told me that it wasn't the timing belt, but that all the oil leaked out of the engine and that I had to get a new one. Well, I got a cab back to where I was stationed and called the place that I bought the car at and asked them how there was no oil in the engine when they had just "changed" it right before I drove out with it. I had only driven the car for 700 miles before all this happened. So anyway, that following week, everything got crazy. We were all packing and shit, for the deployment, so I didn't have time to worry about my car that was 100 miles away. My father told me he saw a "88-95" japanese spec civic engine on ebay for 600 shipped, with only "35,000-40,000" miles on it. Like I said, I didn't know shit about engine, I just knew that they both were d15b7's so I told him to get it. I didn't have a way of getting on the internet back then. So about a week later, the engine arrived at the mechanic, and he told me that it was a carb. I told him that i'd send it back if it doesn't fit, but he said he'd use the injectors from the old engine. So, this is where it all get's fucked up. AFTER he took the engine out, he said that one of his guys quit and that he couldn't finish the job. I found another mechanic only 20 minutes away from where I was stationed. The first mechanic said that everything is ready to be put in, the injectors were on and what not. He towed the car to the 2nd mechanic on a sunday night, when noone was there. I paid him 800 bucks for a half done job and the towing. I thought that I'd have the car by the end of the week. I told the 2nd mechanic that the engine is ready to be put in, just like the first mechanic told me.The second mechanic said that he would have charged me less if he had done the the whole swap, but since some parts would probably be lost, he would charge me more just to get the engine back in. We agreed on 600 dollars. Well, Monday night, when I called the second mechanic to see if everything is alright, he said that the first mechanic did a piss poor job and that sensors were litterally broken off and there was no way that he could just put the engine back in. Now, I didn't know wtf to do. There's a mechanic 100 miles away who took the engine out, there's a second mechanic 20 min away who's supposed to put the engine back in. I have no ride to go look at the engine. Everyone is getting ready to leave for Iraq in a week. 1000 things to deal with and no time. So the main thing was, the 2nd mechanic told me that either him or me would have to get 3 sensors, worth about $1000. One of them was the throttle positiononing sensor which u can't just take off, u have to take off the whole throttle body. I know that those sensors might have been broken from the engine I just bought, but the first mechanic could have been the only one who broke those sensors off the old engine. There was nothing wrong with the sensors from the old engine, until he broke them off. I called him and asked him what's up with those sensors, and he said that he didn't do it So then, he sent me some sensors that I don't even think were for a honda, even though I faxed him everything that was broken off the old engine, even though it shouldn't have been. My brother knew a mechanic back home and he hooked him up with all three sensors, of which only the throttle body was used, all for 500 bucks. So after the second mechanic put everything together and put the engine back in, while he was filling up the radiator, he noticed that the radiator had a hole too. So another 100 went into that. I ended up paying the guy $1000 just to put the engine back in.

"New" Engine $300
First mechanic $800
Second mechanic $1000
Sensors $500

Sending parts back and forth through states, switching mechanics to replace a 4 banger d15b7 engine- PRICELESS...not quiet.

This was very frustrating, especially after realizing later on on this forum that it's one of the worst engines. I was quoted $600 for the whole swap by a dozen of mechanics, it ended up costing me almost 3 grand.

Ok now, that new engine, it's a carb, I didn't know, my father didn't know when he ordered it. It said "88-95 d15b7, will fit any civic". I hope that story makes somewhat sense. I thought it might be the ecu, since I didn't get one with the "new" engine, but the guy who sells ecus told me that since I kept the same injectors, i wouldn't have to replace the ecu, and that I have another problem. I replaced the o2 sensor, got new plugs, cables...Check engine light is still on. It's been on since the swap. The second mechanic told me it's the o2 sensor...

Does anyone have ANY ides? It's really bad, especially since the guy before me put a dc muffler on, and it sounds like I'm turning on and off a lawnmower.

Thanx for any advice

[dan91SE]

I'll sell you an ECU for a d15b7 for $50 Canadian if you are in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area. I'll let you install it first to make sure you actually need it. I got it for my sister's 93 DX but it turned out she just needed a new wiring harness.... So I have the ECU only... no harness. It is not worth shipping it as you can probably buy it for a similar price from your local junkyard's UPIC ( you - pick ) yard. And there is nothing wrong with used parts...unless you have too much money... for $300 you could get 6 ecu's and one is bound to work; that will still leave you with $50 to spare (assuming a tax rate of 0%). Most junkyards allow you to return parts for credit or replacement so get only one.