New to Group!
 

Hi all,
I'm new to this group, and I have been reading. Wasn't sure what
the protocol was as far as introducing myself. So I'll just do it how
I think I should.
My name is Mary and I have a 94, 4 cyclinder, automatic Jeep that I
adore. It is black. I live in the mountains of WV (near Gore if
anyone is familiar w/ the Jeep tracks there) and I count on my jeep
during the rough weather months.
Well, my computer took a crap on me recently and so I took it to
the Jeep dealership and they want $550 to put a new one in. But they
had to order it, so like an idiot, I brought my Jeep back home to the
mountain and now it won't start at all. :( So a dealer told my
husband (he works in the auto industry for Get Auto/Auto Trader) that
he could pull the computer off himself, get the numbers off of it, and
just buy one and put the new one on. So we took it off this past
weekend, got the numbers and Mike went on a search for a new one.
Well, the only one he was able to find was out of Texas, from some
dude's personal vehicle and he wants $175 for it. There is no
guarantee that it would work once we got it (why would you sell the
computer off your personal vehicle?) so we have decided to keep
looking.
I would appreciate any and all advice any of you could give me on
finding a computer for this. Or maybe good websites or what have you.
I really need to get her running before another snow. My other car is
a Crown Vic police car and she's a beast. I do have chains which allow
me to get out if I have to, but there will be no playing on the
mountain in the snow in that car. We ride 4 wheelers too, but there's
just something about the Jeep, you know, HEAT, music, etc, not to
mention she'll go anywhere the 4 wheeler will go, that makes it fun
during a snow.

Thank You in advance, and I hope I'm not remiss in how I jumped into
the fray. I just need to figure out how to fix her!
Mary in Hampshire Co, WV

Re: New to Group!
 

Hi Mary,
Welcome aboard. People line www.ecudirect.com sell rebuilt computers for
about $330 or so and should be able to help. However in most cases what
is indicated as a computer failure is simply dirty contacts/bad ground
strap. I'd try cleaning and reseating of the connectors first.
--
jeff

Mary wrote:
> Hi all,
> I'm new to this group, and I have been reading. Wasn't sure what
> the protocol was as far as introducing myself. So I'll just do it how
> I think I should.
> My name is Mary and I have a 94, 4 cyclinder, automatic Jeep that I
> adore. It is black. I live in the mountains of WV (near Gore if
> anyone is familiar w/ the Jeep tracks there) and I count on my jeep
> during the rough weather months.
> Well, my computer took a crap on me recently and so I took it to
> the Jeep dealership and they want $550 to put a new one in. But they
> had to order it, so like an idiot, I brought my Jeep back home to the
> mountain and now it won't start at all. :( So a dealer told my
> husband (he works in the auto industry for Get Auto/Auto Trader) that
> he could pull the computer off himself, get the numbers off of it, and
> just buy one and put the new one on. So we took it off this past
> weekend, got the numbers and Mike went on a search for a new one.
> Well, the only one he was able to find was out of Texas, from some
> dude's personal vehicle and he wants $175 for it. There is no
> guarantee that it would work once we got it (why would you sell the
> computer off your personal vehicle?) so we have decided to keep
> looking.
> I would appreciate any and all advice any of you could give me on
> finding a computer for this. Or maybe good websites or what have you.
> I really need to get her running before another snow. My other car is
> a Crown Vic police car and she's a beast. I do have chains which allow
> me to get out if I have to, but there will be no playing on the
> mountain in the snow in that car. We ride 4 wheelers too, but there's
> just something about the Jeep, you know, HEAT, music, etc, not to
> mention she'll go anywhere the 4 wheeler will go, that makes it fun
> during a snow.
>
> Thank You in advance, and I hope I'm not remiss in how I jumped into
> the fray. I just need to figure out how to fix her!
> Mary in Hampshire Co, WV
>

Re: New to Group!
 

Hi Mary,
Welcome aboard. People line www.ecudirect.com sell rebuilt computers for
about $330 or so and should be able to help. However in most cases what
is indicated as a computer failure is simply dirty contacts/bad ground
strap. I'd try cleaning and reseating of the connectors first.
--
jeff

Mary wrote:
> Hi all,
> I'm new to this group, and I have been reading. Wasn't sure what
> the protocol was as far as introducing myself. So I'll just do it how
> I think I should.
> My name is Mary and I have a 94, 4 cyclinder, automatic Jeep that I
> adore. It is black. I live in the mountains of WV (near Gore if
> anyone is familiar w/ the Jeep tracks there) and I count on my jeep
> during the rough weather months.
> Well, my computer took a crap on me recently and so I took it to
> the Jeep dealership and they want $550 to put a new one in. But they
> had to order it, so like an idiot, I brought my Jeep back home to the
> mountain and now it won't start at all. :( So a dealer told my
> husband (he works in the auto industry for Get Auto/Auto Trader) that
> he could pull the computer off himself, get the numbers off of it, and
> just buy one and put the new one on. So we took it off this past
> weekend, got the numbers and Mike went on a search for a new one.
> Well, the only one he was able to find was out of Texas, from some
> dude's personal vehicle and he wants $175 for it. There is no
> guarantee that it would work once we got it (why would you sell the
> computer off your personal vehicle?) so we have decided to keep
> looking.
> I would appreciate any and all advice any of you could give me on
> finding a computer for this. Or maybe good websites or what have you.
> I really need to get her running before another snow. My other car is
> a Crown Vic police car and she's a beast. I do have chains which allow
> me to get out if I have to, but there will be no playing on the
> mountain in the snow in that car. We ride 4 wheelers too, but there's
> just something about the Jeep, you know, HEAT, music, etc, not to
> mention she'll go anywhere the 4 wheeler will go, that makes it fun
> during a snow.
>
> Thank You in advance, and I hope I'm not remiss in how I jumped into
> the fray. I just need to figure out how to fix her!
> Mary in Hampshire Co, WV
>

Re: New to Group!
 

Hi Mary,
Welcome aboard. People line www.ecudirect.com sell rebuilt computers for
about $330 or so and should be able to help. However in most cases what
is indicated as a computer failure is simply dirty contacts/bad ground
strap. I'd try cleaning and reseating of the connectors first.
--
jeff

Mary wrote:
> Hi all,
> I'm new to this group, and I have been reading. Wasn't sure what
> the protocol was as far as introducing myself. So I'll just do it how
> I think I should.
> My name is Mary and I have a 94, 4 cyclinder, automatic Jeep that I
> adore. It is black. I live in the mountains of WV (near Gore if
> anyone is familiar w/ the Jeep tracks there) and I count on my jeep
> during the rough weather months.
> Well, my computer took a crap on me recently and so I took it to
> the Jeep dealership and they want $550 to put a new one in. But they
> had to order it, so like an idiot, I brought my Jeep back home to the
> mountain and now it won't start at all. :( So a dealer told my
> husband (he works in the auto industry for Get Auto/Auto Trader) that
> he could pull the computer off himself, get the numbers off of it, and
> just buy one and put the new one on. So we took it off this past
> weekend, got the numbers and Mike went on a search for a new one.
> Well, the only one he was able to find was out of Texas, from some
> dude's personal vehicle and he wants $175 for it. There is no
> guarantee that it would work once we got it (why would you sell the
> computer off your personal vehicle?) so we have decided to keep
> looking.
> I would appreciate any and all advice any of you could give me on
> finding a computer for this. Or maybe good websites or what have you.
> I really need to get her running before another snow. My other car is
> a Crown Vic police car and she's a beast. I do have chains which allow
> me to get out if I have to, but there will be no playing on the
> mountain in the snow in that car. We ride 4 wheelers too, but there's
> just something about the Jeep, you know, HEAT, music, etc, not to
> mention she'll go anywhere the 4 wheeler will go, that makes it fun
> during a snow.
>
> Thank You in advance, and I hope I'm not remiss in how I jumped into
> the fray. I just need to figure out how to fix her!
> Mary in Hampshire Co, WV
>

Re: New to Group!
 

Welcome to the group. It can get a bit loud now and then, but most
folks are harmless... ;-)

How did they determine it was a bad computer? What are the symptoms?

Grounds are really sneaky on older Jeeps, so I may as well get my
favorite fix suggestion out of the way. If the body loses it's ground,
the computer won't work correctly. It can work sometimes when it steals
some ground and die other times.

Usually the main body ground is a mesh cable from the engine head to the
firewall or from the battery negative to the fender. I would verify
these have clean connections before spending money.

A bad cell in a battery can also cause computer start up failure. The
Jeep can still turn over, but if the cranking voltage drops below 10
volts, the computer might not turn on.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Aug./05 http://www.imagestation.com/album/in...?id=2120343242
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

Mary wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> I'm new to this group, and I have been reading. Wasn't sure what
> the protocol was as far as introducing myself. So I'll just do it how
> I think I should.
> My name is Mary and I have a 94, 4 cyclinder, automatic Jeep that I
> adore. It is black. I live in the mountains of WV (near Gore if
> anyone is familiar w/ the Jeep tracks there) and I count on my jeep
> during the rough weather months.
> Well, my computer took a crap on me recently and so I took it to
> the Jeep dealership and they want $550 to put a new one in. But they
> had to order it, so like an idiot, I brought my Jeep back home to the
> mountain and now it won't start at all. :( So a dealer told my
> husband (he works in the auto industry for Get Auto/Auto Trader) that
> he could pull the computer off himself, get the numbers off of it, and
> just buy one and put the new one on. So we took it off this past
> weekend, got the numbers and Mike went on a search for a new one.
> Well, the only one he was able to find was out of Texas, from some
> dude's personal vehicle and he wants $175 for it. There is no
> guarantee that it would work once we got it (why would you sell the
> computer off your personal vehicle?) so we have decided to keep
> looking.
> I would appreciate any and all advice any of you could give me on
> finding a computer for this. Or maybe good websites or what have you.
> I really need to get her running before another snow. My other car is
> a Crown Vic police car and she's a beast. I do have chains which allow
> me to get out if I have to, but there will be no playing on the
> mountain in the snow in that car. We ride 4 wheelers too, but there's
> just something about the Jeep, you know, HEAT, music, etc, not to
> mention she'll go anywhere the 4 wheeler will go, that makes it fun
> during a snow.
>
> Thank You in advance, and I hope I'm not remiss in how I jumped into
> the fray. I just need to figure out how to fix her!
> Mary in Hampshire Co, WV

Re: New to Group!
 

Welcome to the group. It can get a bit loud now and then, but most
folks are harmless... ;-)

How did they determine it was a bad computer? What are the symptoms?

Grounds are really sneaky on older Jeeps, so I may as well get my
favorite fix suggestion out of the way. If the body loses it's ground,
the computer won't work correctly. It can work sometimes when it steals
some ground and die other times.

Usually the main body ground is a mesh cable from the engine head to the
firewall or from the battery negative to the fender. I would verify
these have clean connections before spending money.

A bad cell in a battery can also cause computer start up failure. The
Jeep can still turn over, but if the cranking voltage drops below 10
volts, the computer might not turn on.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Aug./05 http://www.imagestation.com/album/in...?id=2120343242
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

Mary wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> I'm new to this group, and I have been reading. Wasn't sure what
> the protocol was as far as introducing myself. So I'll just do it how
> I think I should.
> My name is Mary and I have a 94, 4 cyclinder, automatic Jeep that I
> adore. It is black. I live in the mountains of WV (near Gore if
> anyone is familiar w/ the Jeep tracks there) and I count on my jeep
> during the rough weather months.
> Well, my computer took a crap on me recently and so I took it to
> the Jeep dealership and they want $550 to put a new one in. But they
> had to order it, so like an idiot, I brought my Jeep back home to the
> mountain and now it won't start at all. :( So a dealer told my
> husband (he works in the auto industry for Get Auto/Auto Trader) that
> he could pull the computer off himself, get the numbers off of it, and
> just buy one and put the new one on. So we took it off this past
> weekend, got the numbers and Mike went on a search for a new one.
> Well, the only one he was able to find was out of Texas, from some
> dude's personal vehicle and he wants $175 for it. There is no
> guarantee that it would work once we got it (why would you sell the
> computer off your personal vehicle?) so we have decided to keep
> looking.
> I would appreciate any and all advice any of you could give me on
> finding a computer for this. Or maybe good websites or what have you.
> I really need to get her running before another snow. My other car is
> a Crown Vic police car and she's a beast. I do have chains which allow
> me to get out if I have to, but there will be no playing on the
> mountain in the snow in that car. We ride 4 wheelers too, but there's
> just something about the Jeep, you know, HEAT, music, etc, not to
> mention she'll go anywhere the 4 wheeler will go, that makes it fun
> during a snow.
>
> Thank You in advance, and I hope I'm not remiss in how I jumped into
> the fray. I just need to figure out how to fix her!
> Mary in Hampshire Co, WV

Re: New to Group!
 

Welcome to the group. It can get a bit loud now and then, but most
folks are harmless... ;-)

How did they determine it was a bad computer? What are the symptoms?

Grounds are really sneaky on older Jeeps, so I may as well get my
favorite fix suggestion out of the way. If the body loses it's ground,
the computer won't work correctly. It can work sometimes when it steals
some ground and die other times.

Usually the main body ground is a mesh cable from the engine head to the
firewall or from the battery negative to the fender. I would verify
these have clean connections before spending money.

A bad cell in a battery can also cause computer start up failure. The
Jeep can still turn over, but if the cranking voltage drops below 10
volts, the computer might not turn on.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Aug./05 http://www.imagestation.com/album/in...?id=2120343242
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

Mary wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> I'm new to this group, and I have been reading. Wasn't sure what
> the protocol was as far as introducing myself. So I'll just do it how
> I think I should.
> My name is Mary and I have a 94, 4 cyclinder, automatic Jeep that I
> adore. It is black. I live in the mountains of WV (near Gore if
> anyone is familiar w/ the Jeep tracks there) and I count on my jeep
> during the rough weather months.
> Well, my computer took a crap on me recently and so I took it to
> the Jeep dealership and they want $550 to put a new one in. But they
> had to order it, so like an idiot, I brought my Jeep back home to the
> mountain and now it won't start at all. :( So a dealer told my
> husband (he works in the auto industry for Get Auto/Auto Trader) that
> he could pull the computer off himself, get the numbers off of it, and
> just buy one and put the new one on. So we took it off this past
> weekend, got the numbers and Mike went on a search for a new one.
> Well, the only one he was able to find was out of Texas, from some
> dude's personal vehicle and he wants $175 for it. There is no
> guarantee that it would work once we got it (why would you sell the
> computer off your personal vehicle?) so we have decided to keep
> looking.
> I would appreciate any and all advice any of you could give me on
> finding a computer for this. Or maybe good websites or what have you.
> I really need to get her running before another snow. My other car is
> a Crown Vic police car and she's a beast. I do have chains which allow
> me to get out if I have to, but there will be no playing on the
> mountain in the snow in that car. We ride 4 wheelers too, but there's
> just something about the Jeep, you know, HEAT, music, etc, not to
> mention she'll go anywhere the 4 wheeler will go, that makes it fun
> during a snow.
>
> Thank You in advance, and I hope I'm not remiss in how I jumped into
> the fray. I just need to figure out how to fix her!
> Mary in Hampshire Co, WV

Re: New to Group!
 

Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the welcome! This seems like a fairly active group, so I
didn't want to just jump in, plus I don't know a lot about the repair
of Jeeps yada yada.

Do you have any advice on how to clean the contacts? I'm thinking just
a soft dry cloth. What is the ground strap and how do I go about
reseating the connectors? I do follow directions well, so I'll try
whatever I can try.

Are the ones from ecudirect already programmed?

My husband seems to think (pessimist) that it's maybe not dirty
contacts. He said everything looked pretty clean and nice, and he said
the whatchamacallits were greased etc. (I'm a lot of help, aren't I?)
BUT~ we will try it anyway. I'd love to hear her crank up
again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the fast reply and for the welcome,
I do appreciate it!
Mary

Re: New to Group!
 

Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the welcome! This seems like a fairly active group, so I
didn't want to just jump in, plus I don't know a lot about the repair
of Jeeps yada yada.

Do you have any advice on how to clean the contacts? I'm thinking just
a soft dry cloth. What is the ground strap and how do I go about
reseating the connectors? I do follow directions well, so I'll try
whatever I can try.

Are the ones from ecudirect already programmed?

My husband seems to think (pessimist) that it's maybe not dirty
contacts. He said everything looked pretty clean and nice, and he said
the whatchamacallits were greased etc. (I'm a lot of help, aren't I?)
BUT~ we will try it anyway. I'd love to hear her crank up
again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the fast reply and for the welcome,
I do appreciate it!
Mary

Re: New to Group!
 

Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the welcome! This seems like a fairly active group, so I
didn't want to just jump in, plus I don't know a lot about the repair
of Jeeps yada yada.

Do you have any advice on how to clean the contacts? I'm thinking just
a soft dry cloth. What is the ground strap and how do I go about
reseating the connectors? I do follow directions well, so I'll try
whatever I can try.

Are the ones from ecudirect already programmed?

My husband seems to think (pessimist) that it's maybe not dirty
contacts. He said everything looked pretty clean and nice, and he said
the whatchamacallits were greased etc. (I'm a lot of help, aren't I?)
BUT~ we will try it anyway. I'd love to hear her crank up
again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the fast reply and for the welcome,
I do appreciate it!
Mary