v8killaz

well my cars been running in limp mode for the last ten days and i went to the dealer and they saiid its the ecu. I bought a used ecu and pluged it in but the car wouldnt start with the new ecu i got, do i have to take it in the dealer to get it reseet like some other cars(had a cobalt that we had to take to the dealer becasue when the ecu was put in the car would nt start). Well once i put in the old limp mode ecu the car starts but its still in limp. Do i have to reset the ecu or something or is the newer ecu bad


by the way i cant get any codes becasue limp mode goes off once i stop the engine. when i start the engine its fine but in 30 seconds it goes into limp mode. thsi all happened becasue my alt. belt came loose. Can i reset the original ecu so it comes out of limp mode and i dont get 13mpg


Modified by v8killaz at 7:22 PM 8/15/2008

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by v8killaz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">do i have to take it in the dealer to get it reseet like some other cars(had a cobalt that we had to take to the dealer becasue when the ecu was put in the car would nt start).

by the way i cant get any codes becasue limp mode goes off once i stop the engine. when i start the engine its fine but in 30 seconds it goes into limp mode. thsi all happened becasue my alt. belt came loose. Can i reset the original ecu so it comes out of limp mode and i dont get 13mpg </TD></TR></TABLE>

1. You have to get the ECU matched with your key, due to the immobilizer. That's something Honda has to do.
2. You can pull codes off of the car, regardless of the status of limp mode. Codes are stored on-board the ECU.
3. Pulling the battery cables off of the battery for a few minutes will clear existing codes on the ECU.

PS. All of this information has been listed before.

v8killaz

well it starts up fine and as soon as it runs for 30 seconds it goes into limp mode, it then shows an engine light. After i shut the car off the light goes off and i cant get the code

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

The car can be running when you pull the codes, you know.

v8killaz

i know, but when it does have an engine light, the scanner says error(no connection)

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by v8killaz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i know, but when it does have an engine light, the scanner says error(no connection)</TD></TR></TABLE>

Then you have a bigger wiring issue. Sounds like either your ECU is malfunctioning, or something is not getting electrical supply properly.

v8killaz

fixed,
the new ecu had to be reflashed. The honda tech's and people would'nt even tell me about a reflash, they said it should start. then i said this is a good ecu. Then they tell me all the numbers have to be the same(which was false because the bottom row of #'s are always different. They just wanted me to buy 700$ ecu and spend 200$ on labor. I hate dealer's. I called them and they said we dont do the reflash, so i said the other honda dealer does it. Then they said "ohh we can do it". so after 2 weeks and 300$ of useless money spent, them ******** finally did what i had told them to do. I am extremely pissed at the dealership's cooperation with me. And this all happened because they stripped a bolt that they used an impact on. I can go on about what they put me through

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by v8killaz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">fixed,
the new ecu had to be reflashed. The honda tech's and people would'nt even tell me about a reflash, they said it should start. then i said this is a good ecu. Then they tell me all the numbers have to be the same(which was false because the bottom row of #'s are always different. They just wanted me to buy 700$ ecu and spend 200$ on labor. I hate dealer's. I called them and they said we dont do the reflash, so i said the other honda dealer does it. Then they said "ohh we can do it". so after 2 weeks and 300$ of useless money spent, them ******** finally did what i had told them to do. I am extremely pissed at the dealership's cooperation with me. And this all happened because they stripped a bolt that they used an impact on. I can go on about what they put me through </TD></TR></TABLE>


From my first response:
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by toyomatt84 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">1. You have to get the ECU matched with your key, due to the immobilizer. That's something Honda has to do.</TD></TR></TABLE>

They should have re-flashed the ECU when/if they did the key matching.

v8killaz

what do you mean key matching, they did nothing but reflash the ecu. i went their with my ecu i got from a junkyard, all they did was reflash and plug it in. I really dont know what you are talking about but would like to know

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by v8killaz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what do you mean key matching, they did nothing but reflash the ecu. i went their with my ecu i got from a junkyard, all they did was reflash and plug it in. I really dont know what you are talking about but would like to know</TD></TR></TABLE>

2001+ Civics have an immobilizer built in to the ECU. It is matched to a certain key(s) that are for the car. If the ECU doesn't pick up the correct electronic signature from the key(s), it will not allow the engine to start. Therefore, when using a replacement ECU, you need to get either the keys replaced (along with the starting mechanism in the column) or get the ECU matched to the car's key(s). When doing the immobilizer matching, the Honda technician should have flashed the ECU to clear any relevant codes.

v8killaz

ok thanks alot bro

bmxsnowman

Ok. So my car is doing the exact same thing!!! Ive been trying to figure it out for a while and just stumbled upon this by chance thank god!!! lol. Ok so did you need the new ECU or would the old one would of worked if it was re-flashed?

v8killaz

i got a new ecu, and im not sure if they can use the old ecu, it costs like 150 for them to reflash it at the honda dealer where im at
gl
and does it run rich(good sign of limp mode)

YOU MAY be able to fix the old ecu, ask them and let me know i would like to know if thats the case

bmxsnowman

Its fixed. I took it to the honda dealer today to have them just reset it to see if that would work on the old ECU. It didnt... lol. So i bought a used one for 117 and had them put it in and have the keys coded to that ECU and it works great. Cost about 300 all together. If it wasnt for you having the exact same problem as me and not seeing this i would still be looking around for any bent wires or disconnected terminals. lol. stupid mechanics not tightening the stupid alternator bolt. Oh well. Thanks though for your posts. I greatly appreciate it.