I have had '92 vr4 for a couple years now, with no major issues. Fairly recently I had been driving it and suddenly it lost all its power. It also started running really rough. I took it in and was told the computer died, and that I could have it rebuilt. I opted for the rebuild, and after getting it back the car ran like its old self. . . for about a week. Same problem again, started idling rough and had no power. I took it back, was told I had a warranty and sent it in to get rebuilt. It came back, was installed and ran great. . . for about a month.

Unless I'm completely missing something I think the ecu is trash, so I'm looking to buy a new one.

So my question is, does anyone here have one for sale or could anyone point me in the right direction?

 

A) a new ecu is over $1000, probably around $1200-$1500, and B) if your ECU keeps frying, then there's a short in your electrical system, or something else causing it to fry. Find the other problem, and your ECU will stop blowing up.

 

I suppose I should elaborate a little.

After sending the ecu in to be fixed the second time, the company that repaired it said there was nothing wrong with it. They claimed to have sent it back without changing anything, but seeing how the car ran well afterward I find their claim to be highly dubious. My thoughts are if my car is shorting out the ecu, why would they tell me nothing is wrong with the ecu? And if there was nothing wrong with it, why would the car run correct for only a month after getting it back?

You were correct in your quote, and I found a new ecu for around 1500 on ebay. That's way more than I can put into it at this time, so what I'm going to do is send the ecu to someone else to have it looked at.

There was recent post where someone linked the avpro website, so I'm going to give them a call.

Thanks for your help.

 

then your problem was misdiagnosed and it's not your ECU that's giving you problems. Where are you located if you don't mind my asking?

 

I live in southern Wisconsin. Milwaukee area.

If it was not my ecu why did it have to be rebuilt the first time? Wouldn't they have told me it was peachy and send it back?

I read that 20-25% of the ecu's the guys at avpro get are improperly rebuilt by someone else.

 

If there is an electrical problem/short in your electrical system, it can blow out the ecu. and it will CONTINUE to blow out your ECU until you find the REAL source of the problem.

the avpro guys are top notch, and our shop has done quite a bit of business with them over the years. I would trust their opinion/judgement. BUt if your ECU is fried again, then chances are there is another electrical problem with your car that is causing the ecu to fry.

check out www.3si.org and see if anyone local to you can recommend a good 3/S specialist nearby.

 

if you can find a NEPTUNE Tuner/programmer go with that those guys are geniuses...BTW dont assume because the same problem came back its the computer...Its all propaganda.. some places where you take your vehicle are that dirty they will say its the computer when its only a misfire or a bad sensor....Just a second opinion on the same problem...Never a delear...fyi