| The ECM is in a bad place to work, right under the passenger's feet. To remove the ECM so we can get at the connection points, is no small task, but with care, and patience, should go smoothly. We start by removing the plastic cover over the door jamb, by pulling straight up, so the plastic clips pop out of the holes in the jamb. Then pop the upholstery rivet on the top side of the rug with the provided tool. Remove the plastic rivets that hold the rug under the door, and fold the rug and plastic bracket out of the way.
|
Getting the ECM separated from the bracket
Be very careful not to stress or break any of the wires, this assembly should rotate with little strain on the harness if you do it correctly. Remove the last two bolts from underneath that are holding the ECM to the bracket,then remove the bracket. The kick plate will be modified and the top attachment screws left out when we reinstall the ECM and plug in adapter. This ECM wiring is the most difficult step of the whole installation, as the harness is in a bad place to work comfortably. I found it easiest to kneel or sit on a soft cloth just outside the open passenger door while leaning into the car to make the connections.This is much easier with the seat out. | ||||||
Modifing the bracket to allow room for the plug in adapter
The plug in adapter was made as small as possible, but with it installed, the main ECM harness must be moved out about 1.5 inches, which would put it right under the stamped metal piece. Another issue is that the ECM is screwed to the cover from underneath, which means that one cannot neatly position the harness/plug in adapter/FAS with the ECM in the mounting position, which is the best way to assure that the harness and adapter are properly positioned. I determined that two small modifications to this plate solves all of the problems. The first is to put the stamped metal piece in a vice, or grasp with vice grips, and to rotate the plate by hand. This will rip out the spot weld that attaches the stamped piece, and open up this restriction. The second modification involves simply bending the metal tab that sits over the ECM top slightly outward to allow the cover to be passed over the ECM in its final mounting position. A bench vise will be the easiest as it will more firmly grab the tab that must be removed. The modified cover will be as strong and offer the same protection to the ECM as the stock cover. | ||||||
Removing the ECM breakout tape
Once the three breakouts are unwrapped, the loose wires can be easily moved without stress. | ||||||
Attaching the ECM plug in adapter
While removing this covering is exposing the harness wires, which would seem to make them more vulnerable, they are well protected by the black cover and the rubber coated floor pan. If the FAS system is attached, the FAS will be passed under the main harness,as shown and located to the upper right of the ECM. The ECM mounting screws that we had to take out from underneath, are not installed when we put the cover back on to allow cover install and removal without requiring movement of the ECM /plug in adapter and harness, since we have just routed them so nicely. The cover is reattached using the four mounting nuts. | ||||||
routing the ECM ribbon to the distribution board
| ||||||
