I'm trying to help my dad with an ECU problem he's having w/ his 97 HONDA CIVIC/4 DR,sdn 5 SPD EX. The car probably has ~120k miles and is completely stock.

He brought the car into the dealership to have them check the CEL codes. They pulled 2 codes saying that 2 of the cyclinders were misfireing. They told him that the computer needed to be replaced with a new one. At a price of $860 just for the part, this seemed pretty extreme to me, so i was hoping to get more info from ppl who may have had a similar issue. The main issue is the car needs to pass an emissions test and will automaticcaly fail if the CEL light is on.

Does this sound like a problem that would require replacing the entire computer or could there be another cheaper way to fix the problem?

If the ECU does need to be replaced, are there any sources that i could find it for cheaper? They told him the part number for the EMC is 5345384.

Is this something that people would sell if they're upgrading their ECU's?

How difficult would this be to replace if i were to do the work for him?

Thanks for the help!

Ludeless

 

yea code 2 is a Faulty ECU which needs to be changed but it does not cost no $860. You could find those ECU's for like 200. For the installation part. it's not hard at all. The ECU is in the Right kick panel By the passanger's foot. After u take that panel out the ecu has like 3 bolts to unlossen it, after that just unplug the wires that hook up to the ecu then plug the new one rite on

 

Thanks for the info...i had a good feeling that an ECU could be found for much cheaper than $860 from the dealer, and the install sounds like it's simple. If i do end up getting a used one, does the ECU need to be from the exact same model of Civic or will factory ECU's work on any civic from that year?

Any idea where i could look to find a used ECU?

Ludeless

 

U have to get the ECU that is for that car which the code is P2P. Get the P2P ecu it's made for that car, it's not a aftermarket chipped ecu

 

What do you mean by a P2P code? Is that like a certain model of the ECU?

 

yea it's the model of the ecu that you need

 

Ok, i've been looking on ebay for a P2P ECU and it seems like this is something that can be gotten for pretty cheap(~50-100 bucks). The only thing is that all the part numbers i see listed are not the same as the part number given to me by the dealership.

The dealer said i need a part number 5345384 and said it was an EMC (not ECU...is there a difference?), but when i search for P2P ecu on ebay i see in the details that the part numbers are something like this: #37820-P2P-A30, 37820-P2P-A31, 37820-P2P-A32

Just wanna make sure i get the right part.

Thanks again!

 

Yes there's a difference but i dont kno wut the EMC stands for so on that i cant help u on. Maybe if u find out wut it is then we could move on, ask someone about it or ask the dealer wat exactly is it that u need ?

If the dealer pulled out saying that the 2 of the cyclinders were misfireing then the error number should be from 71-76 Cylinder misfires

if it's an EMC thats messed up then the number for that is P0560 which is the ECM Back-up Circuit Low Voltage. P0606 ECM/PCM Processor Malfunction

other then that thats all i kno about a EMC. so if u can try to figure out wut really is going on

 

OK, i was able to get some more info on this from the service report from the dealership.

The coded that were pulled from the dealership were:
P0304 and P0404 - Misfire detected on #3 and #4 Cylinders

Then the emissions check facility pulled these (in addition to the same 2 the dealer pulled):
P1300 - Manufacturer Controlled Ignition System

Then the dealer service report states that "the EMC (computer) is bad Parts and Labor is $765"

So this does refer to the EMC as a computer...but the part number they gave at the honda dealership doesn't reference a P2P anywhere... just the #5345384. Is there anyway to look this part up online to see exactly what it is?

Is it possible that the EMC and ECU are 2 different names for the same thing?
Also, could there be a difference between the model number and the Honda Part number for the EMC?

Thanks again for the help. I'd hate to give the dealership 800 bucks to fix something that could be done for 50.