2001 Neon ECM Questions

zukman31 · Post by **zukman31** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:47 pm

OK I have found the ECM behind the headlight ,behind the bumper cover. It looks like a pain to get it out. My question is do I have to have the numbers off of it to get a new one or can I just tell them the information on my car and get a replacement. I want to get this fixed ASAP so the check engine light will be off and Where is the best place to find one at???
Jimmy B..

Ryanm07 · Post by **Ryanm07** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 11:13 pm

oh man are you in for a good time. Lets put it this way, if your going through the dealer all they should need is your VIN number. Now if you go through the dealer your also going to pay $942 plus tax, at least thats what my dealer quoted me at for mine.

May I ask what your problem is? Like why your check engine light is on, and why a new PCM would fix it? I'm not saying your wrong, I just want to see if you have a similar problem to me. Now here is the information i've compiled so far looking for a new PCM for my 01, if you wanna goto the dealer thats cool, but if your broke like me then read on...

Ok the first thing is you either have a black key, or a grey key. If you have a grey one then you have the sentry key system, if its black then you dont. The sentry key system, incase you dont know this already, is basically just the chip in the key thats just an added security device so people can't steal your car unless they have your key. Now heres how it plays in on our PCM hunt, All of the junkyard PCMs you find are going to be for sentry cars. If you have a black key'd non sentry car like me, then the car wont start. If you have a sentry key'd car then your going to have to bring it to the dealer to get it all reprogrammed. Now one place promised me they were sending me the correct one. They gave it to me out of a 2000 neon assuming they were the same, but they had a diffrent idle air control valve then the 2001 so the car would idle way up and way down, sputter, and eventually it would stall. So thats not an option. After talking to some "specialty" ECU places, I was told by one of them right after saying "2001 Dodge Neon" that basically I was beat because you can't find a non-sentry PCM for a 2001, but said he may be able to bypass the SKIM on a sentry PCM. I havent gotten the money to give this another shot yet. But i'm down $200 and I have three PCMs that I have no use for piled in my room. Now I was told by 3 places to get part number off of the one I have in my car. I haven't had time to get back to any of the places yet though. But one of them has a list of PCMs the first one Is "all" but then it goes down with part numbers and mine matches one on the list so I might give that one a shot, I'll probably call the guy early next week and see what he has to say. Hopefull I didnt waste my time writing this and either you, or someone else got some useful information about it. If your looking for a junkyard one or more information shoot me a PM. I'll be happy to help and let you know if I find one that works. And if anyone has found one that works without going to the dealer, or some other way to get one cheap please let me in on it lol.

Oh btw 1) DISCONNECT BATTERY 2) take connectors out of PCM 3) take out nut on right side of the bracket looking from the top in front of the vehicle 4) jack the car up and take off the two bolts on the bottom 5) slide out PCM.

zukman31 · Post by **zukman31** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 6:59 pm

Thanks for all of your information, sounds like you went through alot of crap to try to get yours fixed, my car keeps giving the code

P0601(M) PCM Internal Controller Failure Internal control module fault condition (check sum) detected.

I can not cut the light off with my OBD-2 scan tool, it gives me an error everytime I try to delete it. I was told that there is a short in the ECM. The only problems I have out of the car is every once in awhile it bucks or hesitates when im pulling off. When I get up to speed it does fine. Since the check engine light is on, I can not get it to pass inspection so Im screwed on that part. I bought the car as a gas saver because my Yukon drinks the gas and I have got to get it inspected...

Jimmy B..

Ryanm07 · Post by **Ryanm07** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 6:36 pm

yea, theres really not anything else that could be besides the PCM. If your really worried about that not being the problem you could always just call your local dealer. Do you have any stickers on there that say something like "factory authorized software update" ? and what is the part number on yours? do you have sentry key? I'm trying to see if yours is the same as mine because i've heard that most cars sold in 01 were like mine even though all you can find is sentry key PCMs, i dont know how true that is though. I'll probably call tomorrow or something and see what the guy says when I give him the Part number off of mine.

BlackRoseRacing · Post by **BlackRoseRacing** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:29 am

PM me your vin and I'll get you a quote on a new pcm....

zukman31 · Post by **zukman31** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:37 pm

My 2001 is a 2.0 with a 3-speed automatic and it does not have the sentry key. When you get your price, let me know how much it is. I talked to a guy at the dealership and asked about how much it would cost to have the correct vin # entered if i got a used one and he said it would be around $80.00. He said 4 out of 5 used ones that they have done the ECM`s were bad.... Im kinda scared to get a used one but so far I have not found one.....
Jimmy B..

dblsg · Post by **dblsg** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:14 pm

so Pricilla threw this code now, and it happenes to be right before she had to get inspected. Pricilla is the Silver 01

so what i get is that she definetly needs a new ecu, but i wanna know more about the skim key...

so i know that a need a new ecu.
if Pricilla is sentry then the new ecu must be sentry... which i don't understand why. why wont a non-sentry ecu work?

if its a new sentry ecu then i have to get the vin/key programed... can i just take the ecu to the dealer or does it have to be installed in Pricilla and then taken to the dealer?

any help will be greatly appreciated

Post by **occasional demons** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 10:05 pm

Non SKIM key is black, SKIM is Tan.

If it is SKIM and you want to keep sentry, then the PCM can be made to a sentry PCM by flashing your VIN and SKIM code to the replacement one.

If you could give a crap about SKIM, remove all the SKIM hardware before installing any used/new 2001/2002* non SKIM PCM into Pricilla.
As long as the non SKIM does not see the SKIM signal it will work fine, no VIN flashing needed. A brand new PCM might need flashed, but I'm sure you don't want to pay that kind of cash. If you can find a used non SKIM unit, you're golden.

*Is she MTX or ATX? ATX will mean a difference, as in the 2002 PCM may not work due to the TCM/PCM interface. So that would limit you to 2001 ATX PCM as your only option. The MTX pcm's are completely swappable between '01 and '02.

Knyte · Post by **Knyte** » Fri Jan 06, 2012 10:03 am

I ordered mine remanned via online for $220, and had to send them my VIN, Mileage, and the original's part number. (Which can be found on the bottom of the unit. Just, have to jack the car up and get under to read it.)

Got the new one a week later, and it installed quick and easy, and works a charm.

However my 2001 is a base model. No SKIM, no remotes, or anything.

I imagine, that if you went the same route, your PN would be one that supports SKIM and the new unit would have to be programmed to your keys, which you would probably need a dealer to do.

dblsg · Post by **dblsg** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 12:58 pm

* Problem Fixed *

^ What site did you use?

i ended up taking Pricilla to my cousin who has a small shop. he ended up getting a used ecu from the junkyard for about $100. It did come from a car with skim key. he then took it to a local auto parts store that he uses quite freequently and they were able to re-flash the ecu there (for $80).

so for $180 Pricilla is back on the road!!!

NickKo · Post by **NickKo** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:51 pm

dblsg wrote:* Problem Fixed *
^ What site did you use?

i ended up taking Pricilla to my cousin who has a small shop. he ended up getting a used ecu from the junkyard for about $100. It did come from a car with skim key. he then took it to a local auto parts store that he uses quite freequently and they were able to re-flash the ecu there (for $80).

so for $180 Pricilla is back on the road!!!

Sam, you know of a PARTS STORE that was able to reflash the PCM ??

And avoid the dealership ?? Cool !!

- Nick

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Jan 16, 2012 9:23 am

They must have obtained a DRB, or have cracked the code.

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:18 am

The store may be ordering them from a company like United Radio who can flash PCMs and clusters.