How close does the calibration code need to be?

[Maniak]

A friends f-150 appears to have let the magic smoke out. The ECU smells like burnt cabbage and it has a constant CEL, but we can't get it to give or any codes and the fuel pump is running constantly and its throwing black smoke at idle.

We are looking for a new (junkyard) ecu but its hard to fine one that has the exact code.

Its a 1988 f-150 4x4 federal edition. Code is E8TF-J2A I've found others that are close, but the last 3 digits are different.

Are they usable? or do we need to get one that matches exactly?

~Mark

 

[mechjames]

Lets just say i've had 3 different ECM's in my 94 Explorer all manufactured in different months (but all either late 93 or 94 from a 1994 model) and my truck seems to have run the same.

I would say, as long as its from the same model year, and the same emissions (california and federal are usually different) it should work. Canada emissions is all the same so any Canadian vehicles all had the same emissions regs programmed into the ECM AFAIK.