My ETM Replacement Experiance

chrissodey · Post by **chrissodey** » 07 Apr 2013, 20:58

Hello all,

I just changed out my ETM today. I bought a used Model off of Ebay with hope that it would be ok. My plan was to replace the old ETM (original white label) with the ETM I bought that is a yellow label and much newer. Then I would take it to my local Volvo shop to have it programmed. I am a little confused because so far it has not gone into limp mode. Here's my story.

My old ETM would lurch at stops and have a very rough idle. While on the road it would feel as though I had a bad transmission. Prior to removing my ETM I tested the voltage accross leads 5 and 6. The voltage would bounce all over the place from all the way down to 8 volts back up to 12 volts. After reading some posts prior to this repair I found the location of the ETM ground. I pulled it off and sanded the ground cable metal and engine block location with 100 grit sand paper until very shiny. I put the ground back on and made sure to secure very tight and retested my old ETM. It was now steady between 11 and 12 volts. This made my decision difficult, but since mine was the white label I decided to replace it. The new version is now on and tested the same 11 and 12 volts. Keep in mind I also cleaned with throttle body cleaner and lubricated the butterfly with a few drops of oil before putting back on. Also used a new gasket. After starting my car, I took it for a drive and have since not experienced limp mode. I though for sure It would limit me at 20mph. It might be because my old and new ETM are coded the same 65CFM-2, not sure... Anyway I am taking it to my Volvo guy tomorrow to have him check it out with DICE to make sure everything is ok. I am attaching pictures of the ground location that is right above the starter in case it will help someone else.

Post by **precopster** » 07 Apr 2013, 21:34

What you've circled is a knock sensor located just underneath the inlet manifold close to the rear corner of the engine, and not a wiring loom ground at all.

The ground for the ETM is located close to the oil pressure switch and is a flat brass plate leading to a crimp with two black wires attached.

It's quite common for used ETMs to simply swap over with no programming required. New ones DEFINITELY require programming because they're not live boards until they're initialised with a scantool or with Vida/Dice.

If the vehicle it was sourced from was the same setup ie. turbo S60 or v70 auto it should be a plug and play without any problems.

chrissodey · Post by **chrissodey** » 07 Apr 2013, 21:45

precopster,

Thank you for the correction. I unfortunately don't have a good picture of the ground location. The ground that I sanded was brass in color. All please disregard the above picture as it is erroneous.

Thanks

Post by **precopster** » 07 Apr 2013, 23:44

It's a very difficult place to photograph; even tried a snap with my smartphone and ended up with a very nice photo of the starter

chrissodey · Post by **chrissodey** » 08 Apr 2013, 14:00

Ok, just got word from the Volvo shop that the ETM I put on is throwing errors. It was driving fine for me both yesterday and today on the way to the shop. When I called they said that my car died with my test drove it. Is there programming needed to mate the ETM to my car since I bought it used? Is this possible with VADIS?

Thanks

Post by **JRL** » 08 Apr 2013, 14:04

Possible but not necessary
Once an ETM is programmed it's programmed and should not require programming but I have heard that some do...go figure

Post by **precopster** » 08 Apr 2013, 15:09

Very strange indeed. Once mated to the vehicle the programming incompatibility is usually immediate. I would ask for a screen capture.

chrissodey · Post by **chrissodey** » 09 Apr 2013, 13:13

I have attached the diag from my Volvo guy. My best guess is the "working condition" ETM I bought is actually failing as well. I have just purchased a XeMODex replacement because I just want to be done with this issue hopefully for good.

Post by **burnout8488** » 12 Apr 2013, 22:53

If your car is turbo, it needs an ETM from a turbo vehicle. If it's N/A, it needs an N/A ETM. If you keep them the same, they shouldn't need programming to be swappable.

Do you know what kind of vehicle the used ETM came off of?

chrissodey · Post by **chrissodey** » 26 Apr 2013, 12:08

I installed the XeMODex and it is working great. I had the turbo version of the ETM, I just think it was bad when I bought it.