How often do you reset your ECU?

[Bificus]

I have had some vehicles that about every 3K miles I have to reset the ECU as the engine seems to lag and lack responsiveness. 91 Ranger really needed it with an Airbox mod every 3K, 98 saturn did about 5K. And I have done it 2x and I only have 8-9K on the EP. I thought with the modern ECU it continually adapted and would not need to be done as often as the other mentioned cars.

[myeverlovinsir]

Every time I disconnect the battery. lol But lately have been
running un-reset for about 4 months. I didn't consider it. Good point, the maps will have to learn the air/fuel mix depending on
how they car is setup. Don't think that there is much to be gained though. Get hondata if you want to reset your ECU.:cool:

[Bificus]

The thing is I was noticing the lack of response and my gas mileage increasing. The EP went from 26-to30 and running smoothe to consistantly 32-33 and kinda flat. The same thing would happen with the other cars I had. Since I do not regularly visit the dealer I wonder if this is part of their maintenance when you bring it in. The reset today made it feel much more lively, probably no HP/TQ but better throttle response.

[myeverlovinsir]

One thing I could add is that the maps for idle contiually update
and overall fuel/air maps are adjusted on the fly. So this means
that if you baby the Si(R) it WILL become less livelier for fuel
consuption and built in economy reasons. Will try it tomorrow.

You may now reset at will. :D

[Bificus]

Thanks for the input, I want to wait until the warranty is closer to expiring before I void it and go modding then Hondata, or forced induction. I the meantime I will pull the fuse every so often to get back that lively feeling!

[STP03BlueSI]

I work for a car dealership(Saturn). And i have never heard about reseting your ECU. I would think by now cars have the capability of learning, how the car is driven. Isnt that why we have a "break in" area?...BTW what is the Break in time frame?:D

[myeverlovinsir]

Agreed STP03BlueSI and think that the key word is learned.
A reset ECU seems to adapt better to changes, than one
which is using old maps, think that is what the point is.
The break in time frame is moot. It's a viable simple mod
that has some merit. You would not be harming
anything anyways and with hondata it may be more dramatic.:)

[STP03BlueSI]

Originally posted by myeverlovinsir
Agreed STP03BlueSI and think that the key word is learned.
A reset ECU seems to adapt better to changes, than one
which is using old maps, think that is what the point is.
The break in time frame is moot. It's a viable simple mod
that has some merit. You would not be harming
anything anyways and with hondata it may be more dramatic.:)


Ok ECU stands for Electronic Control Unit? is that like a PCM (Power Control Module)?


But what is the break in time, like in Turbo cars they state not to do High revs for roughly the first 3-6k miles. I know with the Evo the break in period is like 6-8k.

So do our cars have break ins?:o

[myeverlovinsir]

Break in period is moot cause I always break my car in off the lot.
But the manual says 3-5k , not sure. Everyone treats a car differently, how you break in your ride is your business. It needs
to be taught the upper rps at one point or another. Nuff said :D

[william]

how should i reset the ECU. should I just dissconnect the batery? pull a fuse? How long should I wait untill I pout the fuse back in? One I start it, should i let it idell fo a while, or rev it to a certain RPM. Any help would be nice. Thanks.

[blueiedgod]

Originally posted by Bificus
The thing is I was noticing the lack of response and my gas mileage increasing. The EP went from 26-to30 and running smoothe to consistantly 32-33 and kinda flat. The same thing would happen with the other cars I had. Since I do not regularly visit the dealer I wonder if this is part of their maintenance when you bring it in. The reset today made it feel much more lively, probably no HP/TQ but better throttle response.

I had sluggish responce and bad fuel economy ever since i took it in for 5000 maintenance to honda. Turned out i was 2.5 qualt low on oil. Ouch!!!! I have been driving for 1500 miles with low oil, wihtout realizing it!! then one day my "check engine light" came on and the engine would not go above 4000 RPM. Took it in to another Honda only to find out I was 2.5 quarts low. They have contacted original honda who did the oil change, and I called them to report it too.
I am doing my own oil changes from now on. Any word on Mobil1 in 5W-20? The only two in this weight are non-synthetic and from Motorcraft and Exxon at the local autozone.

[the JigGa mAn]

my car is feeling a bit sluggish, i would like to try this ECU resetting...need to know step by step how to on wtf is to be done

[Bificus]

As blueiedgod mentioned make sure your oil is topped off. Then open the underhood fusebox and get the fusepuller and pull out the 15a fuse for ECU/FI. Wait 10-15 minutes, plug it back in and start your car without any devices running lights, radio etc. Let it idle for 10 minutes and then drive. Makes the car feel as peppy as before.

[cbecker333]

Originally posted by Bificus
Thanks for the input, I want to wait until the warranty is closer to expiring before I void it and go modding then Hondata, or forced induction. I the meantime I will pull the fuse every so often to get back that lively feeling!

What your dealer doesn't know can't hurt you! I plan to flash before warranty is out and nobody's gonna know!!

[EKthenEPnow]

I haven't done an ECU reset but I do agree that OIL makes a big difference

Nevermind it being down enough to disable VTEC, just down a litre and I can hear/feel it.

W

[the JigGa mAn]

so before i do this i must fill her up with oil?? so would you say it would be better to reset during an oil change? cos idk if mixing old oil with new oil will do anything but i dont think i wanna risk it...

[myeverlovinsir]

You are totally conviluting the issue, oil and how it effects your VTEC is separate from how a reset to the ECU matters. They are
independant of each other. Keep the bloody Oil up, but reset the
ECU occasionally to see if that provides any additional benifit. That's all.