ECU bad?

[lunie22]

Hello to all,

I have an 87 accord lxi. it just recently it started idling really rough. the pgm-fi light came on 5 years ago and the code was for the egr valve. the car ran fine so i didn't fix it and i ignored the pgm-fi light. so now the car runs fine until the pgm-fi light comes on then idles bad or runs poorly on deceleration, which is anywhere from 30 seconds to a couple of minutes. I looked at the LED light on the ecu and there is no light. I was reading and found out that no lights indicates bad ecu. I was wondering if this is correct and if it would still put out a code for the bad egr valve even if the ecu is bad? thanks in advance!

ps. if the ecu is bad, do i need a dealer to reprogram it to fit my car, or do i just buy the same one that fits the make, model, motor, and transmission of my car and plug it in and go?

Marcus

[Dr_Snooz]

Did you ever resolve the EGR issue? That's where I would start.

[Jafir]

I agree with fixing the issue and not just throwing parts at it. If you do decide it needs a computer, there is no programming. I bought an 86 lxi off the back row of a car lot 8 or 10 years ago for a couple hundred bucks because it wouldn't start. Turns out the sun roof drain tube where it meets with the antenna drain tube had come apart and flooded the floor under the drivers seat. The computer was very corroded inside. I got a used one from ebay, plugged it in and everything was fine. (Well fine after I fixed the sun roof leak).

The EGR valve is easy to test. Pull vacuum on it with a hand pump. If it holds the diaphragm is good. If the idle is normal, this should also stall the engine or at least make it run very very poorly. If all that checks good the valve is fine and you have some sort of control system problem. 99% of the time it's a plugged port inside the black box on the firewall. A free fix with some compressed air or carb cleaner.

[lunie22]

so i just wanted to post what I did. I found a used ECU and replaced it. it fixed the problem of the car running poor and now I'm back in business! the old ECU got wet and was corroded. thanks for all the help!