95 Grand AM ECM

[isaac_liu]

Recently I felt having difficulty to speed up my 95 Gramd AM (quad 4 with 110,000 mile on it). The check engine light showed up occasionally. So I took it to the dealer and I was told that I need to replace the spark plug, some sensor, etc. But after all these were done I was told again that I need to replace the ecm (engine control module). I already spent more than $400 and they were asking over $200 again. I felt I could not trust them anymore.

Later I check the ECM and noticed the box is broken. I am thinking to replace it myself. Is this a difficult task? Any advice would be welcome! Thanks!

[gmack221]

replacing the computer is easy, get one from a junk yard, pull the computer chip out of the one from the junk yard (if your familar with PC's it looks like RAM), pull your computer out, pull out your computer chip (doesn't go bad), and put the computer chip in the new computer. remember to touch metal before touching the computer (to remove the static electrity), other then that its simple. A new computer from auto parts place should run less then $150, a junk yard will probably get $20 - $50.

before you spend the money on all that change your fuel filter, check your fuel pressure (or have it checked), and check for spark on all of the cylinders (could be a bad coil pack).