Matching a used ECM

[JeepBuilder]

I am still working on a dead pedal problem. I have found a used ECM 900 with no warranty and no returns. I will ask to match the build numbers with mine before buying it. My truck is a 2001 (built in 2/00) 24 valve 3500 quad cab 4x4 5 speed. The donor truck is a 2001 Dodge 2500 4x4 manual trans. There is a different choice for anything past 6/01. So something changed mid year.
Does the replacement have to be from a 3500 exactly as mine? Is there a difference in a Canada truck?
I am making sure it is a Federal emissions truck. Non high output. I just wanted to ask if there was anything I need to know before buying a potentially expensive paper weight. I am hoping it will fix my dead pedal as I feel I have exhausted everything else. I am posting this here and not in my thread on dead pedal to be able to order it today.

 

[SAndreasen]

I have an automatic ecm out of 98 24 valve probably won’t work

 

[JeepBuilder]

Correct it should be a manual trans. The big question is do the ESN and SEQ numbers need to match. My ECM part number is 3946242 and the ESN number is 56692073 and the SEQ number is 55. I am trying to find out what the ESN and SEQ numbers mean.

EDIT: Called Cummins. They have a new ECM 3946242 for 3200.00 and still needs to be flashed by a dealer. I can't do that. The ESN number is the engine serial number. That will change up or down by engine production. He did not know what the SEQ number was.

 

[BoeingDiesel]

Correct it should be a manual trans. The big question is do the ESN and SEQ numbers need to match. My ECM part number is 3946242 and the ESN number is 56692073 and the SEQ number is 55. I am trying to find out what the ESN and SEQ numbers mean.

EDIT: Called Cummins. They have a new ECM 3946242 for 3200.00 and still needs to be flashed by a dealer. I can't do that. The ESN number is the engine serial number. That will change up or down by engine production. He did not know what the SEQ number was.

Check this link.

https://1enginecontrol.com/shop/cummins-5-9-3946242/

 

[JeepBuilder]

Check this link.

https://1enginecontrol.com/shop/cummins-5-9-3946242/

Thank you. They have the best reviews so far. Some problems yes... But it is how they answer them that seems great. They have a 30 day money back guarantee and a year warranty. I put the item in a cart to purchase but it did not ask for any info. Auto or manual etc. I stalled the purchase and I will call them monday and check on that. Plus I want to make sure it is not a shadow company from elsewhere that is trying to avoid the horrendous reviews. This seems to be a way better option than a junk yard no warranty 900 dollar purchase that does not work. I want to keep my original ECM just in case. This issue is bothering me that it is not resolved. Thank you very much for posting.

 

[BoeingDiesel]

Hope it works for you.

 

[JR]

The PCM on the firewall is what communicates with the auto trans not the ECM on the side of the engine. I am pretty sure you only need be concerned with whether it is for an HO/SO.

Have you been driving your truck much with your tuner disconnected? I'm not saying it is your problem but they are quite problematic.
I'd hook it up and go for a good run, even if you have nowhere to go.

 

[BigPapa]

The PCM on the firewall is what communicates with the auto trans not the ECM on the side of the engine.

He has a manual transmission and his issue is dead pedal.

 

[JR]

Correct, and he is concerned that there is no listing on the ECM he is looking at if it is for a manual or auto trans. Since it is for the same year I am pretty sure the only difference in ECM's would be for HO or SO engine.

 

[BigPapa]

Gotcha. I wasn’t thinking along that line.

 

[JeepBuilder]

Maybe that is why there was no choice. For the reasons you guys stated. I just need to make sure before spending the grand to hopefully fix the problem. The white wrecked truck in the three choices in the dead pedal thread looked promising. It was driving when it crashed. I magnified the picture with the VIN and ran it. Looks to be the same build as mine. So I am considering it. I just wanted to call and ask about the reman one first. In the end, I am still shotgunning the problem. If I really knew what to fix I would feel better about all this. I started this separate thread thinking I would have the answer figured out before the end of the business day. So I could get it on the way here. And for better visibility to you guys for help. And to possible help another person on a search. Now I need to slow down and make the best decision I possibly can. I have far exceeded the value of the truck now. With all the other work done. If the truck runs us down the road, gets us out with the camper and stops doing this dead pedal thing, I will overlook the money and time spent as part of the luxury of having it for what we are doing. I am also learning some things. That is good.

 

[JeepBuilder]

The PCM on the firewall is what communicates with the auto trans not the ECM on the side of the engine. I am pretty sure you only need be concerned with whether it is for an HO/SO.

Have you been driving your truck much with your tuner disconnected? I'm not saying it is your problem but they are quite problematic.
I'd hook it up and go for a good run, even if you have nowhere to go.

We did just that JR. About 65 miles and no dead pedal. But last year I did the same thing on the old VP44 and it dead pedaled right away.
It is like throwing darts with a blindfold on.

 

[BigPapa]

I do believe there is a difference for auto and manual ECM’s. The guy over on CompD that deals in used parts has a thread for modules he has. In the thread he lists ECM’s for the same year models with different part numbers for manual and auto.

 

[SAndreasen]

I would be for taking an ohm meter and checking both sides of every connection in the engine bay for continuity with emphasis on and anything from the injection pump to the ecm and check both ends of the wire to find if there is a broken one

 

[JeepBuilder]

I did do a wiggle on the connectors after a discussion with Scott at Geno's. He said make sure you bring it up to 1100 or so to get it off the idle circuit. We did that and not one hiccup or stumble. I will get into the connectors more later if I have to.
And after a lot of thought, reading a lot of really bad reviews I decided to go with a known running used replacement. I do think that 1enginecontrol looked fairly promising. If I chose to go through a ECM reman shop. Their company was only three years old and I was not able to connect them to any other ECM company. Many ECM companies are interconnected I found and that is probably to skirt the beyond horrendous reviews they have that pretty much demonstrate fraud with a shine on it. The white donor truck on the list in the dead pedal thread Big Papa posted was built two months before mine and the ECM shares the same part number. It is wrecked with a collision so I know it was a driving running truck. I was very wary of Rams in the wrecking yards with no damage on them. So anyone looking later and reading this thread, Keep in mind those undamaged trucks most likely had a drivability issue. If I get the replacement in and it stumbles again, than I will pull all connectors apart and get a magnifying glass and a meter on them. So my decision was a good used take out. I feel that is the safest bet for now. I hope so for a grand with no warranty.

 

[BarryG]

Sounds like you have it figured out at least for your purchase.

While this may mean nothing at this point, way back when, when Marco of Smarty fame came on to the scene his first iteration of the smarty was called the "Catcher" you sent your ecm in and he reprogramed it. Next was you programed it yourself via his electronic box that you purchased from him and it would reprogram your existing ecm in the truck. At the time many folks wanted a second ecm as the programming happened in Italy and folks didnt want their truck to be down for weeks or after the second iteration in case it went haywire after messing with it. Even though the catcher/ SO3 stored a copy of the latest stock programming at least from the time you bought it, so that you could return it to stock in the case of the second iteration or SO3). So there was a flurry of folks wanting a second ecm just in case. Bob Wagner was the US distributor for the Catcher etc. If you wanted another ecm (or the catcher) you had to know so/ho, auto/manual and federal/california emissions and year. The auto ecms did not work properly on manual trucks and vice versa. While the ecm may not talk to the transmission the fueling and boost maps among other things were different. IIRC they would run but did not run well and had drivability issues.

On another note I had to get another ecm for my 01 and at the time used a company called computer auto exchange. The reviews were pretty mixed but seemed the best of what was out there. So I ordered one it came in and it did not work. Fearing the worst that I just wasted the $$$'s I contacted them and they sent me another one right away and it worked. It is still working today with a few hundred k more miles on it.

 

[JeepBuilder]

I have not paid for the ECM yet. But they are sticking it to me. The invoice I just got says... 750. for the unit, 86.25 tax, 45.00 shipping and 250.00 core (why a core charge???) and 45.25 credit card fee. For a total of 1176.50 with zero guarantee what so ever. They open in 1.5 hours and I am not sure about this. My wife suggested on the core charge that they would sell my core to one of many ECM shops out there and the ECM shop would resell it later after they did what ever to it. I had planned on keeping it till I know the ECM was the culprit. I asked if the ECM came from the white truck for sure. They said yes. This is no fun so far...

 

[JeepBuilder]

This response is from the owner of 1enginecontrol to a customer that was not happy with what took place with his ECM. So it answers my question on being tied to other companies.

Quote" Finally we are partnered with vendors who can ship parts directly to our customer for faster shipping & handeling. End quote

EDIT:: Just got off the phone with 1enginecontrol. They asked for my engine serial number and part number. They do not have them in stock, it would come from another shop and the price was 1300.00 They offered a 400 repair fee. Given it is a random problem that is probably thermal, I don't think that a repair is an option so far. I guess I will take a chance on the white truck.

I guess I should compare this to a casino. And I don't gamble.

 

[BigPapa]

Man, sorry you're having such a time.

As I mentioned in the other thread, I got excellent service from Auto Computer Specialists, as did whoever made that chart I posted.

I was dealing with them on an ECM for my son's '06 Mustang GT. The car had been totaled before we bought it and, unbeknownst to us, the ECM was damaged and all the wiring at the ECM connectors was all hacked up. We had all the wiring repaired back to OE specs then found the original ECM wouldn't communicate with Ford's IDS. I got an ECM from ACS and what do you know, it wouldn't talk either. I called ACS and they sent me another one, no charge, Next Day Air the same day. It wouldn't talk either. After further inspection, the Ford dealer it was at for programming (it was a Ford TRUCK dealer we deal with daily with our buses, but the techs weren't very familiar with Ford CARS) figured out that the CLUSTER is the "Gateway Module" that EVERYTHING goes through. I found a used cluster, they put it in, and voila, the original and BOTH the ACS ECM's started talking. I kept the first ECM I bought from ACS and returned the second one to them along with a check for a guestimate of their NDA charges.

 

[BoeingDiesel]

JeepBuilder, unfortunately it's a roll of the dice no matter what you go with. There may be a time coming when these 2nd gens' go by the wayside and are no longer worth the effort... but that's just my opinion. If it was me, I'd go with the white truck.
I really like my old '99 and plan on keeping it forever. Good luck and hope it works out for you.