850 Non-Turbo ECU/ECM Replacement

ShahinS · Post by **ShahinS** » 22 Sep 2012, 16:21

Hello All,

(1996 850 GLT Non-Turbo 215k)
Had Check Engine Light come on and to cut the story short, few codes later my Volvo mechanic traced the problem to a bad Engine Control Module.

Is the ECM Part# 0 261 203 165 (Volvo# P06842873) common on all 850 non-Turbos? Anything I should watch out for when trying to swap the module with a used one?... & whats is a reasonable price for one of them used?...

Cheers!...

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 22 Sep 2012, 16:45

Check eBay, they have hundreds of them.

Just get one that matches the numbers on yours and you should be OK. There are variants of each module depending on how the car is optioned. EGR or not, SAS or not, manual or auto transmission.

There are so many of them on eBay since they rarely break or have problems. Hopefully that will fix you up but I have my doubts.

...Lee

ShahinS · Post by **ShahinS** » 22 Sep 2012, 16:59

Ozark Lee wrote:Check eBay, they have hundreds of them.

Just get one that matches the numbers on yours and you should be OK. There are variants of each module depending on how the car is optioned. EGR or not, SAS or not, manual or auto transmission.

There are so many of them on eBay since they rarely break or have problems. Hopefully that will fix you up but I have my doubts.

...Lee

Thanks Ozark Lee!... 1st code was rear O2 sensor, they reset it. Light came back on then it was reading Mass Air Flow Sensor code, they replaced the Mass Sensor didn't fix it, so they traced it to ECM. I have my doubts too, the Junkyard sent a Turbo part to them, I am running the car with it (CEL is on with a No-Turbo code), till they get the correct part from the Junkyard.

I think they are charging me a lot for a used one, but since I have my doubts like you and they are warranting their work and the part for 1 year/12k miles at this point I am not going to get one from Ebay, till they put a correct part on my car.

It is always nerve-wracking when you start swapping ECU/ECM!

Thanks Again for your great tips!

Post by **Matty Moo** » 22 Sep 2012, 17:16

I have a ton of them at my house. I'll look when i get home

ShahinS · Post by **ShahinS** » 22 Sep 2012, 17:19

Matty Moo wrote:I have a ton of them at my house. I'll look when i get home

I have to double check the Part# tomorrow at the shop, I will let you know if I'm going to need one. Appreciate your reply!

Post by **misha** » 22 Sep 2012, 17:40

Ozark Lee wrote:...Hopefully that will fix you up but I have my doubts.

Me too....i never heard that ecu's on these cars have failed.

There are always exeptions like the car ecu(s) was in contact with water,short circuited...etc.

I don't know if your mechanic knows how to perform diagnostics on these cars but....usually it's done like this:
1.Read,(write down)& clear all the trouble codes before throwing any money because any of those codes can be a "false alarm"
2.After clearing the codes...see which one comes back and ONLY then go with further investigations like live data parameters or changing the failed parts

Good luck with your problem...but i'm 99,9% convinced that your problem is not in the ecu.

ShahinS · Post by **ShahinS** » 22 Sep 2012, 17:50

misha wrote:
Ozark Lee wrote:...Hopefully that will fix you up but I have my doubts.
Me too....i never heard that ecu's on these cars have failed.

There are always exeptions like the car ecu(s) was in contact with water,short circuited...etc.

I don't know if your mechanic knows how to perform diagnostics on these cars but....usually it's done like this:
1.Read,(write down)& clear all the trouble codes before throwing any money because any of those codes can be a "false alarm"
2.After clearing the codes...see which one comes back and ONLY then go with further investigations like live data parameters or changing the failed parts

Good luck with your problem...but i'm 99,9% convinced that your problem is not in the ecu.

Dear misha,
What they told me was that they were getting the Mass Air Flow sensor code, they put a new one in, and they still got the same code, they also check the fuel pressure too to make sure that is good. So their conclusion was that the ECM was bad, I had my doubts too, and they also told me that these ECM won't go bad that often. I am in a time-crunch here and trying to get this problem sorted out before I leave the country and leave the car to my sister for few months.

So I figured I go with what they told me, but so far it has been a week since we are waiting for a correct part to show up, I am running out of patients but hopefully by Monday we can swap the ECM with a correct part and see what happens. Thanks for your reply, I do appreciate it!

Post by **misha** » 22 Sep 2012, 17:59

ShahinS wrote:...Dear misha,
What they told me was that they were getting the Mass Air Flow sensor code, they put a new one in, and they still got the same code...

Did they put OEM Bosch or some aftermarket MAF?

If it isn't Oem Bosch sensor the car will not recognise it in 99% of the cases.It should be 0 280 217 107 for your '96.

In fact ...the Bosch numbers between old & new one MUST be the same

ShahinS · Post by **ShahinS** » 22 Sep 2012, 18:10

misha wrote:
ShahinS wrote:...Dear misha,
What they told me was that they were getting the Mass Air Flow sensor code, they put a new one in, and they still got the same code...
Did they put OEM Bosch or some aftermarket MAF?

If it isn't Oem Bosch sensor the car will not recognise it in 99% of the cases.It should be 0 280 217 107 for your '96.

In fact ...the Bosch numbers between old & new one MUST be the same

Seriously?!... Well they charged me $250 for the MAF sensor, so I was hoping it would be the Bosch, I was going to double check that, but when I get there to pick up the car they told me it wasn't the MAF and they have put a used ECM instead...

...then when I start the car the CEL was on. It was a Turbo-code, junkyard sent them the wrong part, and now here I am writing this... So tomorrow I am going there to ask all these questions from them, that is a great piece of info on the Bosch MAF. Thanks!!!!

Post by **misha** » 22 Sep 2012, 18:17

Zoom it and you will have ALL of the details & info you need:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Volvo-850-S70-V ... 74&vxp=mtr