
Your engine could run rough due to a misfire. In relation to the ECM, car problems can many: It’s a computer that optimizes your engine’s performance multiple times per second and performs self-tests to make sure everything is working as it should. It controls your fuel supply and injection systems, your ignition control, your cooling system, and even your emissions controls. The ECM incorporates your engine’s electrical functions. Like the transmission control module (TCM) and body control module (BCM) it serves a particular role in your vehicle’s operation. ‘ECM’ stands for ‘engine control module’, meaning it’s a specific type of ECU. Is There a Difference Between an ECU and ECM? Fixing your ECU could be several hundred dollars in the end, and you might’ve been able to replace it with a new one for the same price. Now your car is out of commission until you get the part back and reinstalled, and hopefully everything is working again.Īnother problem is ECU repair cost. If you’re lucky, you’ll find someone in a distant city that works on them, and you can FedEx your ECU to them. There’s an issue with that: there aren’t many places that perform ECU repairs. If the ECU isn’t working right, it could send incorrect or incomplete information, sending you on a rabbit trail down the wrong path.Įventually, sometimes after several attempts, you’ll discover an ECU repair is necessary.

When a diagnostic tool is plugged into your car’s dataport, it relies on information transmitted from the modules. It may not work at all.ĮCU testing can be a challenge, even at the best of times. If a resistor on the ECU circuit board burns out or a switch stops switching, the ECU just won’t work like it should. And, like so many other things in life, it’s only as good as its weakest part. It’s an electrical component and it can get hot as a current passes through it. Power sliding doors and liftgates each have their own ECU too. There’s a module for your ignition system and another that operates your vehicle’s body controls. One controls your heating and air conditioning system while another controls your transmission’s operation. Your vehicle uses multiple ECUs, all serving a different purpose.

It’s usually a circuit board with resistors and switches all soldered together in a pattern that takes a genius to decipher. It’s an electrical circuit board that switches power on and off, changes electrical flow direction, adjusts, pulses or regulates power distribution, or otherwise controls electrical power. An electronic control unit is a device that does simply that – control electronics in some fashion.
