hi, recently my check engine light went on on my 96 eclipse NT rs. Whenever i start acceleration, engine goes roughly and starts shaking. a friend told me that it might be the computer that is broken or gives the wrong signal,which he recommends me to change ecu. i saw one on ebay for about 150 dollars today,
[URL=http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7947106338&rd=1&sspage name=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT]
do you guys think if it's really hard for me to put it on by myself ? can anyone tell me how? or should i let someone professional to do it for me? any suggestions would be help,thanks alot.

 

Before I did anything I would have someone hook into the computer and check for codes. My initial thought on that would be something with the fuel system. I wouldn't jump right to the ECU. Find out if your car as a plug in port for a code finder and if not find a wiring diagram for your car and it will tell you a harness to find and two wires to jump. From there it will give you directions on what to look for and how to translate the code. It just seems like your not getting enough gas when you start off and that's generally not a ECU problem. Start basic and work your way up, it's much cheaper that way.

 

Do you know what causes that not getting enough gas? when i said engine was shaking and running roughly,i mean when i wanna accelerate. Not only when i started off,but also happened during the driving sometimes.it just felt like engine was choking.

 

my car had this problem i pulled a camshaft positioning sensor and/or a crankshaft positioning sensor. There was a recall on the part dont know if it applied to your year of car mine is a 95. replaced the camshaft positioning sensor and this fixed my problem. it came with the camshaft positioning sensor and part of the harness that needed to be replaced. go see if you can get some codes pulled. if you go somwhere where it is free like autozone go to 2-3 differant places just to make sure you are pulling the same code every time.

 

yea, get codes and if it is the fuel system i would start with the fuel pump.......

 

If it's running rough at idle too check timing, that would help eliminate the crank and cam sensors suggested above or give you reason to look into those more. ECU's are really something that just goes bad over time, it's generaly something specific that happens to it, def don't but it before you look into other things. First off if it is fuel you may as well fill it up and put in some injector cleaner, chevron's techron is good, it's what most of the mechanics I know use. Then you want to check the fuel pressure, make sure the pump is working up to par. Also check your spark, make sure you don't have any ignition problems. These are all things I would look into before thinking of the ECU. It sounds tempting as an easy fix but unless your friend has reasons for beleiving that other than what you have told us check out other things first.

 

yes,i just got it fixed today.it did had problem with one of the sparks.they checked it with computer and said that it had ignition problem. So the guy changed all 4 of sparks for me. now all problems are gone,check engine light went off.man,i hate to see that light!!!
this is a really good place to go when i am surfing online. i been learning alot from your guys.thanks all of you and god bless ya!!!

 

No problem, gladd you didn't buy a new ecu, lol.

 

I need Help ! I've got a 1996 Eclipse 2.0L non turbo. the problem is the engine starts and runs fine but the check engine light is on. After it runs for about 5 minutes the check engine light will go out then the engine cuts off and won't restart. If you let sit for 3 or 4 minutes it will start and run good for another 5 minutes and repeats. I had a fuel psi gauge connected at the fuel rail while this happens and the psi stayed at 44. Any ideas?

 

does it run rough at all when it does run?