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Need new PCM.. used, new, refurb?

Talyn

Talyn

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Radford, Communistwealth of Virginia
My PCM needs to be replaced and I'm looking for advice as to whether I should get a new one, a used one or a refurbed one.

Any one had good luck with a particular company? Or bad luck?
 
get a used one. see if anybody on here has one you can buy. I got one from someone on Naxja for $35 works great. Otherwise, you'll pay $250+ for a refurb. one. Or go to a junkyard and see if they have one there. I did a lot of research when I had to replace my computer last year. Just getting a used one is the best way to go. And it does not have to be reflashed or reprogrammed to work, but a dealer will tell you it does so they can charge you $125 for nothing.
 
Talyn said:
My PCM needs to be replaced and I'm looking for advice as to whether I should get a new one, a used one or a refurbed one.

Any one had good luck with a particular company? Or bad luck?
Click to expand...

Year, make, model?
 
I can get the pcms for $27 at the JY I go to. There was only a 97 of the newer body style yesterday. So what does the cali emissions have that the other 2ks or 2k1s don't(more o2 sensors/controls)? Was it 99 or 00 where some only had one us o2 and others had 2 precat o2s, 1 us o2, and 1 ds o2?(wack) Might be a good time to disconnect a couple of them if that's the only dif. and one of the non-cali pcms are available(VAboy). I'm supposed to go to another branch of the Crazy Ray's early next week, so I'll look at what's available.
 
My theory is that everyone that wants to keep their Jeep a while should lay in an extra PCM. Get it at the JY off ebay, whtever the cheapest hookup you can get. If you can land one for less than $50, I'd go for it. The key is to get one while your Jeep is running good. Swap it in and test it out, then put your old one on the shelf in a waterproof bag with dessicant. Sooner or later, you'll wish you had one to swap out to test your latest problem. 90% chance, your old PCM and new PCM are both good, but at least you had a known good on the shelf to swap out. If you buy a used one (or new, refurb, whatever) and swap it in when you have a problem, you won't really know if both had the same problem or not. Verify your back up unit while you are running good!
 
a big X2 and I did use it a few weeks ago to make sure mine wasn't the issue(was a coil that ohmed out good on the input and output, but was the fault)!
 
gradon said:
I can get the pcms for $27 at the JY I go to. There was only a 97 of the newer body style yesterday. So what does the cali emissions have that the other 2ks or 2k1s don't(more o2 sensors/controls)?
Click to expand...

Cali package has the two pre cats and two upstream O2 sensor and 2 down stream O2 sensors. While I rather go with fed package I don't feel like changing the wiring harness or relocating O2 sensors at this point. Also, the 2k+ has the coil rail and no distributor. Someone tried to swap a 98 or 99 PCM on to a 2000 along with the wiring. Some things didn't work such as some gauges iirc.

Was it 99 or 00 where some only had one us o2 and others had 2 precat o2s, 1 us o2, and 1 ds o2?(wack)
Click to expand...

00 is the year that had either the fed or cali package. IIRC in 01 they went all cali. If you had cali you got 3 cats and 4 O2 sensors.

Might be a good time to disconnect a couple of them if that's the only dif. and one of the non-cali pcms are available(VAboy). I'm supposed to go to another branch of the Crazy Ray's early next week, so I'll look at what's available.
Click to expand...

I'm still thinking about that though... Since the two factory sensory are divided up per bank it wouldn't be best to use one of those, but my wideband does have a narrow band output... don't know how the PCM would like that though as it doesn't hav ethe heater circuit.

Who is this VAboy you speak of?
 
Last edited:
winterbeater said:
My theory is that everyone that wants to keep their Jeep a while should lay in an extra PCM. Get it at the JY off ebay, whtever the cheapest hookup you can get. If you can land one for less than $50, I'd go for it. The key is to get one while your Jeep is running good.
Click to expand...

At one point I thought about looking for a cheap spare.. well, I bloody didn't. It would have made the trouble shooting process a lot easier too. And i would have been driving my Jeep instead of screwing around with trouble shooting and now looking for a PCM.
 
I was only saying VAboy because if you're down there you wouldn't have to keep it cali compliant. What you need to do is double check a 2k fsm and see what pins are different @ the pcm. Maybe the non-fed doesn't use certain pins and the cali does , in which case you could cut them out and buy 4 bung plugs and then you'd have plenty of spare o2s. My LM-2 has a narrow band output as well--would probably be more accurate when used during wideband tuning.
 
winterbeater said:
My theory is that everyone that wants to keep their Jeep a while should lay in an extra PCM. Get it at the JY off ebay, whtever the cheapest hookup you can get. If you can land one for less than $50, I'd go for it. The key is to get one while your Jeep is running good. Swap it in and test it out, then put your old one on the shelf in a waterproof bag with dessicant. Sooner or later, you'll wish you had one to swap out to test your latest problem. 90% chance, your old PCM and new PCM are both good, but at least you had a known good on the shelf to swap out. If you buy a used one (or new, refurb, whatever) and swap it in when you have a problem, you won't really know if both had the same problem or not. Verify your back up unit while you are running good!
Click to expand...

An excellent idea. I have a box of spare sensors, modules and computers from the pull-it-yourself junkyard. I think I spent maybe $40 total. I tested what I could with a meter before pulling. In fact I just installed the spare TPS sensor last week. It was great pulling in the driveway being 90% sure of the problem, and having it fixed 10 minutes later. I occasionally loan them out to friends trying to troubleshoot things.
 
lawsoncl said:
An excellent idea. I have a box of spare sensors, modules and computers from the pull-it-yourself junkyard. I think I spent maybe $40 total. I tested what I could with a meter before pulling. In fact I just installed the spare TPS sensor last week. It was great pulling in the driveway being 90% sure of the problem, and having it fixed 10 minutes later. I occasionally loan them out to friends trying to troubleshoot things.
Click to expand...

Even better is to keep about 4 spare jeeps like do!:banghead:
 
gradon said:
I was only saying VAboy because if you're down there you wouldn't have to keep it cali compliant. What you need to do is double check a 2k fsm and see what pins are different @ the pcm. Maybe the non-fed doesn't use certain pins and the cali does , in which case you could cut them out and buy 4 bung plugs and then you'd have plenty of spare o2s. My LM-2 has a narrow band output as well--would probably be more accurate when used during wideband tuning.
Click to expand...


It isn't actually 100% cali. It still had the two upsteam sensors, but I have eliminated the two down stream sensors. Along with the pre cats. I still have the third cat though.

I'm not sure I would actually gain anything buy going 100% federal. The weird thing is that the Cali emissions package wasn't destined for Cali. My XJ was originally sold and titled in NJ, and I know there are a lot others like that.

I've found two on ebay that I will as a last resort and am looking at other places for cheaper used ones.

I do know that one I buy this ones ASAP, I will keep my eye out for a spare.
 
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