Need new PCM

[DaveIrwin24]

Installed sri/tip a cpl weeks ago, car was running fine up until a threw an egr code(car was hesitating at 3000rpm)

Dealership replaced my egr valve under warranty but they discovered some how the tip was rubbing against the pcm and damaged a cpl wires, they fixed what they could, car drives fine now, but they said it's always going to throw the egr code until I get a new pcm ($1500 new.. Eww) anyways just wondering if buying a used pcm could be a possibility, and where might be the best place/site to find one?
I have the car on stage 1 ots 91 sri/tip, should I release it to safe mode for the time being im afraid I might be damaging the engine
Anyways if anyone has some insight on this it would be great,

Thanks!

[Polish_Eagle]

i'm assuming this is your post: http://www.mazdaspeedforums.org/forum/f436/need-new-ecm-options-175551/ ?

if not, read that thread

[McGuyver_3]

Be careful, make sure to get the right part number. From what I've noticed the gen 2s are much more part specific where the gen 1s were more part compliant friendly

[20143GTowner]

if you guys are looking for part numbers PM me your Vin and exactly what your looking for, I work for Mazda in Parts and have access to all the programs.

[DaveIrwin24]

Would a regular 3 gen 2 pcm be compatible with a speed?

[DaveIrwin24]

My dealership located a used one for $550 on the west coast

[Booter22]

Heres a wild thought.. wait a month. Put it back to stock and try another dealer for warranty. Someone near your work or home. If its not the one you went to before that is. Or if so.. and the next dealer asks. Just say the last ones service was no good and you had to keepngoing back and they couldnt figure it out. Boom potential warranty.pcm. cuz those things are cover for 8 years 128 000km best i recall

[McGuyver_3]

Booter22 I believe you are referring to the catalytics. I've never heard of an extended warranty on the PCM's.
also keep in mind, I work at a dealer and have on many occasions denied warranty because of obvious tampering or damage from the outside. At a dealer we know where things start to wear, seize and corrode and so on. Unless a mouse or rat has been under the hood, the natural damage has always stayed in the same spot. Not trying to step on anyone's toes but that's just my 2 cents DaveIrwin24, NO a regular one will NOT work with your speed, completely different engines for starters and the injector wiring is completely different. DO NOT BUY A REGULAR ONE.

[DaveIrwin24]

Hmmm a good idea, there's only 2 mazda dealerships in my city, could be worth a shot..
Part of me wants to try it, at the same time I'm not sure because it sounds like used pcm are hard to get ahold of, and if I don't buy the one I was told about, and the other dealer says they won't cover the pcm I might be shit out of luck.

[DaveIrwin24]

I know the dealer I took it too did tamper with some wires just to rig it up to work, so the other dealer might notice this and deny it under warranty

[McGuyver_3]

Go to
www.car-part.com
type in your year and select mazda 3, select engine computer. You will have 2 options after you hit search according to part/vin number. I selected the first one as a test and found a used one in Quebec for 200$. Try to get your dealer to contact them. I have used that site for many of things. Even one from BC 125$ make sure your dealer isnt trying to make money off of you.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/bmw_racing/pic_zps71bad9a0.png (http://s11.photobucket.com/user/bmw_racing/media/pic_zps71bad9a0.png.html)

[DaveIrwin24]

Awesome man, thanks for the tip on the site! I'll make sure to let my dealer know about the search results on this site and see if they can call

[Booter22]

Booter22 I believe you are referring to the catalytics. I've never heard of an extended warranty on the PCM's.
also keep in mind, I work at a dealer and have on many occasions denied warranty because of obvious tampering or damage from the outside. At a dealer we know where things start to wear, seize and corrode and so on. Unless a mouse or rat has been under the hood, the natural damage has always stayed in the same spot. Not trying to step on anyone's toes but that's just my 2 cents DaveIrwin24, NO a regular one will NOT work with your speed, completely different engines for starters and the injector wiring is completely different. DO NOT BUY A REGULAR ONE.

Not extended. Pretty sure it's covered under emissions systems. With the cat as well.

[DaveIrwin24]

well the only PCM that was available at standard auto wreckers was sold yesterday :( the part # is L3EC18881D. got a few ones available in the states but the ones i've called don't ship to Canada.
Im going to Florida this weekend, there is a used pcm available in Tampa, my only concern is bringing it back to Canada, is there restrictions on bringing used car parts thru the border?

[McGuyver_3]

Not at all, I do it all the time lol

[DaveIrwin24]

ok right on, theres 2 used ecu in tampa, i told the parts guy at my dealership about the used ones i found and he advised be its a bit of a gamble and if i purchased thru the dealership it would be better. Its worth a shot when I'm down in florida to check out the condition of them at least. $150 sounds a little more inviting then $550 lol

[McGuyver_3]

The wreckers will more then likely offer you an extended warranty at a small fee. It's not likely that the ECU will fail but it is not a bad idea to get a warranty on it if possible. Thats what i did with my motor on my sedan.

[n00bMeiSter]

In the link Polish_Eagle posted, they mention you have to get the new/used ecu reflashed for your keys and dash, etc. Is that the same case for 1st gen regular 3's as well? McGuyver_3 I know you have done extensive work with the 1st gen 3's, could you weigh in on this as well?
Does reflashing an ecu for a new set of keys/cluster also affect any tune/map that has been applied to the ecu (ie resetting the entire ecu to stock settings)?
Also, is there a way to do the flash without going to the dealer? Could regular tuning/flashing software (ie the one Orangevirus uses) do it?

[McGuyver_3]

In the link Polish_Eagle posted, they mention you have to get the new/used ecu reflashed for your keys and dash, etc. Is that the same case for 1st gen regular 3's as well? McGuyver_3 I know you have done extensive work with the 1st gen 3's, could you weigh in on this as well?
Does reflashing an ecu for a new set of keys/cluster also affect any tune/map that has been applied to the ecu (ie resetting the entire ecu to stock settings)?
Also, is there a way to do the flash without going to the dealer? Could regular tuning/flashing software (ie the one Orangevirus uses) do it?

I'm not to sure on this. If you get a new ECU then whatever tune you have will be gone, granted it is not a speed 3 with AP. If you just want to put a new cluster in it for example, or program new keys, I am going to go out on a limb here and say, you should probably be ok. Because all you are doing is a security key alignment, or in other terms a paramater reset. Talk to Reddie1337 he may be able to help you out some more as he deals with this sort of thing on a more regular basis. You are not updating the ECU with new software(atleast to my knowledge), hence I believe you should be ok

EDIT: Unless, if you replace the ECU they are able to extract the info from the old one. Not sure how far along mazda is in this case. Then again my dealer only puts in new ones and they are factory back order as they are coded to the cars, but some minor things like mileage, security codes and injector specifications can be extracted

EDIT 2:If you do have a tune, I would recomend calling your tuner and ask if they will do a reflash free of charge. I know of 1 particular company that does reflash them free of charge if a dealer programming update was done. Some other tuning companies charge a small 20-40$ fee.

[Orangevirus]

The security portion of the ECU for the keys and such I believe is held in a different area of the ECU, can't be tuned by the ROM image.

What you can do is completely hack / chop up the security and check sums of the beginning portion of the hex.

BUT, that means the car will start for any key lol

[Reddie1337]

Problems with switching computers, any piece, BCM, PCM, you will at least need a parameter reset. That pairs all the computers together. So as long as it's the same computer part number it should just need the reset.

Any other security questions feel free to ask.

[n00bMeiSter]

Cool, thanks guys

[DaveIrwin24]

So I got a hold of a place in Florida that has the same part # ecu I'm looking for, he says it's out of a speed 6..would that be compatible with my ms3?

[Reddie1337]

Same part number makes me say yes. Speed6 AWD makes me say no. Unless transmission has it's own computer. Only one I've seen with that is the 2.5L 5 speed auto.

[McGuyver_3]

AWD SHOULD have its own control unit

Maybe she'd some light Booter22

[Reddie1337]

Well, I know the 2.5L auto tranny had it's own, I just don't know how integrated it is.

[DaveIrwin24]

Nevernind I called the place again and talked to another guy and he assured me the part number matched and it's for a speed3

[Reddie1337]

Nevernind I called the place again and talked to another guy and he assured me the part number matched and it's for a speed3

Then I would say that it would probably work. Still would probably need a parameter reset, and maybe the key's reprogrammed. I'm not sure where the keys are stored in the speed 3 McGuyver_3

[Booter22]

Nevernind I called the place again and talked to another guy and he assured me the part number matched and it's for a speed3

Make sure to swap this at a dealer. I wouldnt just unplug ur pcm and plug this other one in. Most often your old data.i believe needs.to be dow loaded by a dealer.to the pc. Install the new pcm and upload thst data.to the replacement. That of course if hopefully it works. Who knows.if it will.. computers can be tricky business

[Polish_Eagle]

I would have offered to program the unit for you as I have the equipment, but you live in Halifax.. Lol.

[DaveIrwin24]

Stopped into the place today, the ecu was still in the car and I couldn't wait around so I'm gonna pick it up tomorrow
Fingers crossed it's in good condition!

[DaveIrwin24]

Blah I went to pick the ecu up this morning and they pulled it out of the car and it was damaged :( they refunded my money so the hunt still continues

[DaveIrwin24]

Can't find any used 2012 ecu in Canada on the website, but there's a few 2010 ecu that come up in the search but they're a different part #. Just wondering if they would still be compatible?