TheAnalogKiddd

iTrader: (2)

So Mazda says my computer or "PCM" is fried..

Is this the same as the ECU?

I have an 88 ae (TII). What replacement part am I looking for and about how much should it cost? Or should I look at something aftermarket?

Thanks, Colby

Josepi

What's wrong with it?

TheAnalogKiddd

iTrader: (2)

I couldn't tell you what's wrong with it..

Basically my car wouldn't start which is why I took it in. Then a few days later they told me the "PCM" or computer was fried and needed to be replaced.

I just talked to them again and they said the part number is "N333 18880". N333 sort of sounds familar, but I can't find this part anywhere. Also, they said it's gonna be like $900 for the part, and with the labor and diagnostics they did before, it'll come to about $1635...

Am I getting screwed here or what?

RETed

The correct part number is N333 for your 1988 model, but an N332 from an '87 Turbo II or N338 from an '88 Vert will all work.

I would like to know how they figured the ECU is dead, as this is usually the last option for troubleshooting...

If you need one, I've got spare N332 ECU's for $75 shipped anywhere in the U.S. - do I sound like a broken record or what...



-Ted

NZConvertible

Give us a nice detailed description of the problem. I wouldn't be surprised if the huge knowledge base on this board can’t sort your problem out.
Like Ted said, the ECU is usually the last thing you’d look at. The rarely fail; it’s much more often stuffed sensor or component. And even if it is the ECU, a second hand one from a wrecker (or Ted!) will work just as well. It’s a drop-in replacement that takes 15 minutes tops and shouldn’t require $735 of “labour and diagnostics”. That’s outrageous.
BTW, if the problem turns out to be something simple and not the ECU, I’d be writing a really shitty letter to the manager of the dealership about the ability of his techs.

HAILERS

You guys are a bunch of hard a..es. The poor dealer has to hire these highly trained and educated employees(just ask them ), pay their social security, retirement program, 401K, assorted errors that they make (people make mistakes), pay for the building, then the state must have its ten percent of everything because they have the power to do so, Uncle Sam wants his cut to help the poor people. You guys have no heart. Poor dealer, sniff, sniff, sniff.

TheAnalogKiddd

iTrader: (2)

Thanks a lot guys for all this help, I'm really glad that there's somewhere else to turn to besides mazda.. all the dealerships around here are worthless, I've had so many problems with every one I've been to..

Anyway, here's a detailed, but hopefully to the point, description of what's happened.

I posted a thread a little while back about my car not starting, I thought it was just really flooded. It would act like it was gonna turn over, but then just wouldn't..

At first, the car had been running fine. I installed the fuel pump. It tried starting it and it turned over fine. I then hooked up my boost gauge's backlighting to the backlighting behind the cigarette lighter. Then I hooked up an FCD I would need later. The car then didn't start. I unhooked the FCD and it did the same thing.

That's when I got it towed to mazda. They ran the "hour diagnostics test" and came up with nothing. They called me and asked for the okay to "go in further" which I granted them. The next day they tell me that they put 2 more hours into it and found that the fuel pump was getting no power and after they jumped the fuel pump they found out the engine wasn't getting any spark. They need to go in further they said. Foolishly I gave them the okay. The next day they told me that the "PCM" was fried and what it was gonna cost. That's the last time I talked to them.

If you guys think they might be right then I'm gonna just get another ecu and install it myself. Hopefully that'll fix it, but I wouldn't know what to do next if it doesn't. It is ridiculous how much money I already owe them for nothing and it's even more ridiculous how much they want for "the next step"


Thanks again guys, Colby

O, btw, is there any way that the FCD could have messed up the ecu?

HAILERS

If it took the mechanic over a half hour to determine that the car had no spark and the fuel pump was not working, I'd fire his dogone butt and sue him for incompetence the next day. By the way, about the fuel cut defender and anything else you did prior to car running bad to not at all........ undo every darn thing you did to the car. Buy Ted's ECU. Install it. Car will run. I noticed on this forum about three months ago, a fellow was adding a ground wire to his Boot/pressure sensor. He grounded the wrong wire. He did the brown/white wire when he shoulda been doing the brown/black or pure black wire. Whichever. Anyway, the pig wouldn't start after that trick. When he figure out what he had done wrong, he undid his doings, and sure enough the car started and ran. I suspect you might have possibly accidently grounded some wire with the fcd, that should not be grounded. Undo the things you did and start the car. They couldn't figure the car did not have spark or fuel and it took over three hours. Tisk, tisk, tisk. Robber barrons. Dumbasses to boot.