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Hi all!
I’ve read many posts about the immobilizer and have some questions. Bought an 02 EX 5 speed knowing the PCM was bad. It was in limp mode and no communication through the OBDII connector. Bought a PCM from a company online. I sent the old PCM to them to program it. Once installed, I have a check engine light with a P1607 code. The immobilizer light flashes as well. The car runs fine and is no longer in limp mode. If the “new” PCM didn’t have the immobilized chip in it would that cause the issues I’m having? Or is this just a bad PCM?
I’ve put in a new alternator as a precaution.
Before you start the car again you need to verify all the alternator bolts are tight. There is one bolt on top, another holding the alternator to a bracket (not the wingnut but an actual bolt), then a third bolt holding that bracket to the block. Mounting surfaces need to be clean and all three bolts tight.
Loose alternator bolts are an extremely common issue for some reason. People don't tighten them all the way and cause a poor ground. This wreaks havoc on the electronics. Usually some of the gauges stop working and a reader will not communicate with the ECU. In some cases it fries the ECU, permanently damaging it. We've seen it hundreds of times.
If the immobilizer symbol is flashing the car should not start, that is, with a properly working immobilizer. I'm sure it's possible to modify the ECU bypassing the immobilizer which may be what was done. I have never seen anyone actually do this but it would involve modifications to the board itself. I could see how that would then throw the fault you're seeing.
If you want it properly fixed following the troubleshooting, it is pretty straight forward. If you do end up replacing the ECU again have a locksmith or a Honda dealer program the keys into the new module.
Never heard that they could program a new PCM using an old PCM.
I am not sure if that can be done or not.
Usually the key is needed to do so.
Not saying it cannot be done, I never heard about that.
