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? about my ecu issue and steps to resolve

5K views 15 replies 3 participants last post by  psinuse 
#1 ·
Good day everyone. I will get right to it!
I have and 06 Wrx Tr.
I am looking to change out my ECU soon.
The reason be is because MANY years ago (4) to be exact. I was parked downtown here in jacksonville on a meter.
It flooded really bad that year and water came into my back floor board (I didnt notice at the time) And when driving home came forward into my front floor board and hit my ecu. Causing me to stall out and come to a stop.
I got towed home that night and still had no idea what happened at that time. The next morning i fired up the car no problem and then noticed that water had come in and slushed forward and that is what did it. I took out the ECU.
CLeaned it out and the carpets and plugged it back in and it was good to go. But now i have a check engine light that wont go away. I had the codes reset and some went away but about 9 or 10 came back.
Subaru told me just drive it or i could replace it if there was an issue with its performance and stability.
One thing i noticed is my idle is not all that great when coming to a stop. It causes you to stall out if you dont give it a litle gas before the stop. Also i noticed if i was to put a short intake on it my car rejects it and stalls out. As to before i was able to. The check engine Codes read all kind of haywire stuff like cruise control not working (works) Ac not functional (works) etc.
In order for me to do any tuning and upgraded in the future and also read correctly what is wrong when there is a problem with my car i need to get this changed. We tried (friend and I) Flashing over it with mappings from the same year and model wrx with same bolt ons as i do but it still showed check engine and the system didnt read right on the laptop. So we flashed it back for safety precautions.
MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS POST
1.) What i need to know is: Is there a good ECU to go with that for the cost is a good deal and better than the Stock one?
2.) If so what are the steps of installing an ECU because i am sure its not just plug and play.
3.) I was told by Subaru the price was around 700$ just for the ECU itself and it still has to be tuned to the car (Stock)
4.) That is why i am wanting to know if there is an after market way i can go for better options or am i stuck with going thru Subaru for this? Can you give me a quote and a link for help? Thanks!

P.S. After you understand my problem above. Let me know if there is any additional steps i will need to take to completely solve my issue. I recenlty got my tax return so i want to get on this ASAP. I am not balling in any kind of way so I am not trying to destroy my funds but i dont want to destroy my car either doing something wrong. THANKS!
 
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#5 ·
Well try looking on Ebay or something for a stock replacement ECU for your model year. The biggest issue is the VIN number is coded into the ECU so it won't match you VIN, but if you reflash your map into the new/used ECU that should fix it. For the most part it is pretty easy to replace, just take out the old one and plug in the new one. A complete stand alone system will cost much more than even a new ECU, upwards of $2000 then you have to have it tuned and that isn't cheap either.
 
#9 ·
update

I just wanted to come back and give an update so no one is double working here.

I am on Nasioc as well and the Subaru techs are there as well.

The Parts manager from Subaru researched something more and remembered that for the 2006 Subaru Wrx it actually does have to be programmed to the Vehicle Vin because the car comes with an Immobilizer that has to be re-programmed. I had a few others also tell me the same thing.

So now that we got that figured out. I went ahead and followed the advice given and found a Used ECU with 35K miles on it and ordered it today. I should have it in the middle of the week next week sometime.

It was the exact one i have and they provided me with a photo and all so that is squared away.

What my steps are is once I get the ECU, I am going up to Subaru with it. They are going to Program it to my Key for 47.50 is the cost and i should be good to go. I found the part for 156 bucks plus 50 dollar shipping coming from Quebec Canada.

That should resolve my ECU problem. Then I am on to the next issue! I will update everyone on the status and if I run into any new issues. Thank you everyone again for the help and direction.
 
#11 ·
Yep you were absolutely right! That helped a lot so I wasn't looking in the wrong direction :)! Once I get all this squared away then I am probably going to get an intake again now that my car finally wont reject them and then a buddy of mine is going to come by and Reflash My Ecu to the map he has since we have the same configurations to get me some more power out of it and stability.

I have been dying to do this forever. My Ac Compressor is making noises and stuff now as of the last few months, The Clutch on it spins and randomly stops spinning and then spins again and when it stops the compressor SCREAMS, so I think its on its way out too. (one thing after another!) So I will get on that website again and see if I can find a used one with low mileage as well to replace mine.
 
#13 ·
Haha I'm guessing where you are it doesn't get to hot?! Here in Fl it's 90+ everyday and 100+ at times lol. I honestly am a window down cruise kind of person though but some days its just WAY to humid And HOT!.

I felt like my AC personally has had very minimal usage truthfully so it does kind of baffle me how my compressor is going bad, but with cars surprises are just around the corner sometimes haha.
 
#14 ·
I grew up in Florida, I know how hot it can get, granted I also worked in a welding, fabricating and machine shop there, so yeah I know can vouch for how hot Florida gets... If I'm not mistaken the compressor runs all the time on these cars, don't hold me to that. There was a way to disable it, but I really can not remember how...I suppose I could look it up...lol
 
#15 ·
Lol, I hear that! Yea that would def make it even hotter haha. Ah I will have to check into that. That does suck if that is the case lol. I def babied my ac 85% of the time but that would explain why it really doesn't matter about that too. Do you have any suggestions as to where to find a good deal on a Bov? I have had one since 07 I want to say. The hks ssql bov. That chrome piece in the middle where the air exits at finally blew off and I'm thinking to see if I can get a replacement since the thing was so expensive or look for a inexpensive but descent Bov. I've been looking as well but I figured I'd ask ?:)
 
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