Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Mystery of electronic controllers...

[Gary - K7GLD]

Seems we have a pretty decent handle on the mechanics of the Cummins - what trannies, heads, injection pumps, and such - can be used/interchanged across variety of year models.



What we DON'T have much easily available info on, is what electronics parts are similarly interchangeable between various year models, transmission types - and even differences in controllers/programming from one state to another.



Case in point:



I'm looking for a spare ECM and PCM for my '02 HO - California truck. SO, must I have a ECM/PCM off of an IDENTICAL type truck? If not, exactly what year/accessory variations WILL work with a truck like mine? Will a PCM off a 2000 automatic transmission equipped SO truck originally sold in Kansas work on my '02 California HO?



Who Knows - and where/how do we find out? I'm sure not eager to gamble $100 - $300 on guesswork to find out!



And the same goes for the ECM - how year/equipment/state sensitive are they? Some say that ANY year/equipment ECM can be reflashed for a different year/equipment/state engine - is that true - and how do we find out for sure - and WHO exactly is capable of doing reflashing on these computer modules? Bob Wagner is the only one I'm even faintly aware of, and who (besides Bob!) knows exactly what HIS limits are as far as reflashing is concerned? And what about PCM's - can they be reflashed too - if so, by who?



This issue will only get more critical as miles and years pile up on these trucks - and it sure would be nice to have some sort of basic cross-reference chart on ECM/PCM's as to what can be safely interchanged with another...

 

[Allnew2Me]

Gary, I know it may sound like a simple answer but have you asked at a dealership? They of course can reflash new ECMs and PCMs to update mileage, engine hours and such and I would think they would be able to tell which ones work and which ones do not. You might have to bypass the service writer and find one of the techs to really get an answer but it may provide some answers.

 

[Thomas]

. . . Who Knows - and where/how do we find out? . . . it sure would be nice to have some sort of basic cross-reference chart on ECM/PCM's as to what can be safely interchanged with another...

One place to start may be the Mopar Parts Catalogs. The model year 2002 catalog shows two different ECM's & four different PCM's. The model year 2001 catalog shows a lot more.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Thanks for the input guys, and keep it coming!



As to dealership assistance, the nearest one to me is a 260 mile round trip.



Besides that, if it isn't clearly spelled out in a parts book, most "technicians" are lost - and the one time I went in to a dealer service department to see about getting something as simple as an odometer/tire size adjustment done on my truck, the "technician" had no CLUE as to what I was talking about - or how it was done! :-laf



Ah, one of the "delights" of isolated rural living! :-laf



It's not terribly difficult to locate used ECM's and PCM's - and usually, you know what they came off of - but when the year, state of origin or equipment is different from yours, the $$$ gamble is just too much for most wallets.



I lost out on one excellent ECM possibility, because by the time I found out it was usable on my truck, it was already gone.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

One place to start may be the Mopar Parts Catalogs. The model year 2002 catalog shows two different ECM's & four different PCM's. The model year 2001 catalog shows a lot more.

That's not real encouraging!



I would assume the 2 different '02 ECM's were HO or SO, and the 4 PCM's were SO/automatic trannyand Manual transmission, and the other 2 HO/automatic transmission and manual transmission...



That's breaking out ECM/PCM's pretty specific to individual applications! :{



AND. it appears the PCM's are even more equipment specific than the ECM's are. At least, to a degree, the ECM's can be reflashed - dunno who is able to reflash a PCM - and if it was an easy dealership operation, there would be no need for so many different varieties of computers - they could simply stock a few ECM's and PCM's, and flash them for whatever application was needed, as needed...

 

[Thomas]

. . . they could simply stock a few ECM's and PCM's, and flash them for whatever application was needed, as needed...

Maybe that's already happening (thanks Dave Fritz): http://dodgeram. info/tsb/2004/18-033-04.htm

 

[Bob4x4]

That's not real encouraging!



I would assume the 2 different '02 ECM's were HO or SO, and the 4 PCM's were SO/automatic trannyand Manual transmission, and the other 2 HO/automatic transmission and manual transmission...



That's breaking out ECM/PCM's pretty specific to individual applications! :{



AND. it appears the PCM's are even more equipment specific than the ECM's are. At least, to a degree, the ECM's can be reflashed - dunno who is able to reflash a PCM - and if it was an easy dealership operation, there would be no need for so many different varieties of computers - they could simply stock a few ECM's and PCM's, and flash them for whatever application was needed, as needed...

Ecm's are being sold blank,and many pcms are also going that route from the dealers now. The trick is choosing the right software to load on the diesels.



Bob

 

[rkressg]

I know the way we treat embedded software boards here at work. We have a unique part number for each board, based on the software that is loaded on it, even though it is the same exact board. The highest level assembly part numbers is/are a combination of the board part number and the software part number.

These boards might be more common than we think, unfortunately, there is not way to tell with really ripping into the guts of these boards.

At least that is how we treated these types of equipment

At one point, we were owned by Daimler Chrysler for about 8 years, so I really do not know how much of this followed through the corporation, we were the Rail Division, with very stringent software standards due to they being vital safety systems.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

WELL, got bit - again!



Bought an ECM for a spare for my '02 - the one I bought was off a '99, and I *thought* they could all be reflashed to different years...



WRONG!



The '01 - '02 trucks have an electronic cruise control circuit the earlier trucks didn't have - so while the '99 ECM *can* be flashed for my '02, there will NOT be any CC function...



Somewhere, some time, we GOTTA compile a list of what Cummins computers interchange with what - this trial and error crap just doesn't GET it, and as far as I can see, there is NO one on this board with ready and knowledgeable info or help on the issue!



ANYONE need a '99 ECM?



This will only get worse as time goes by, guys...

 

[gtwitch]

99 Ecm

Gary, might be nice to have one for my 99 give me the info!



gtwitch K7NOI address is good in Ham database QRZ.com

 

[Bobcat698]

I need one. . But yours is for a manual trans, so it won't work? Or will it with a re-flash?

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Here's my ad from TDR classifieds:

'99 Cummins ECM, for auto transmission truck. Was removed from a wrecked truck with 43K miles, ECM was good when pulled. Bought it for my '02 to use as a spare, but won't interchange due to year difference - my loss, your gain.

Price is $250, delivered via USPS or UPS in continental USA.



It's from an Automatic transmission truck that was wrecked and was parted out.

 

[CSnyder]

Currently Im installing an 01. 5 motor in my 98 truck and I briefly used the 98. 5 PCM in the truck to troubleshoot wiring. The truck ran and drove fine but I didnt have alot of operating accessories inside the cab. I also tried using the 98. 5 cab harness with the 01. 5 engine harness and it worked like that also but I lost alot of interior items again until I hooked up both PCM's. The 98. 5 harness has a seperate set of plug-ins on the cowl running to the PCM so I had 2 harnesses running that direction. I didnt care for the idea of running 2 PCM's so I changed out the entire dash harness and now run the 01. 5 dash system minus the electronic blend door controller.