[LukeMasters]

Hi,

I was doing some research on the net for nice little upgrades to make my Tercel more fun to drive. And found the urban legend : " 5e-fe ECU swap". Now i did not find solid proof of it actualy giving more power or that it is "safe". Best i found are posts on TercelOnline...., anyway i wanted to know if anyone did it, and had survived to talk about it . If no one know I will probably try it when i find a used Paseo ECU

 

[LBT96]

Now i did not find solid proof of it actualy giving more power or that it is "safe".

Wow, that one line would stop me from doing it.

 

[LukeMasters]

thing is, that other people did it... so i guess they did not do it for nothing... what i want to know is that are the connectors the same or will i have to make custom connectors

 

[kene]

they just plugged it in.

 

[LukeMasters]

and did they survived ? did they gain anything from it ?

 

[kene]

yeah. he said it pul,led harder, and his redline went up. but i would be very careful about always taking the engine to the new redline(even if you can take it there, i think you should always maintain it at your regular 3ee redline, and never go higher.). considering you are still a SOHC. whereas the fuel curve and perfirmance parameters were intended for the DOHC 5efe.

 

[LukeMasters]

Well then, I will try, and log my activities... To see the difference between both ECU. I dont have a dyno so it will be more to the feel, put i could do 2 1/4 mile runs with the different ECU to see.

 

[TdotTercel]

sweet luke,

keep us posted, that was on my short list of future mods, so im curious how it works out

good luck
:thumbup:

 

[LukeMasters]

Well, i have started looking for a used 5efe ECU, I will try to get it this week, But first i'm working on putting my batterie in the trunk to have better front/rear weight ratio

 

[kene]

make sure you a fuse or relay on the positive line of the battery if you do this. Otherwise there is a chance your battery could explode or your car can catch fire. this happens when the positive wire get snagged on part of the chassis. as soion as the copper in the wire touchjes the chassis, it literally welds itself to the metal and keeps a constant flow of current running thru it. i would not suggest this at all. if you autocross, or if you are heavily moddified and have nothing else to play with then go for it. but make sure you know what you are doing. I've seend 2 cars catch fire cause of this(one of them was mine...4 years ago in high school, before I knew anything about cars...luckily it was a small electrical fire that i put out myself...i have the scars from the red hot wire still on my hand somewhat.)

 

[LukeMasters]

You make it sound fun

I know of alot of people who did it ( battery in the trunk ) and never heard of anything like that happening... I will look into it.

 

[LBT96]

My battery is in my trunk.. 4 gauge all the way. Nice wire too.

 

[kene]

DID you guys use FUSES!?!! if not please do it..I am not joking with you. pay the 3$ more to install a fuse and its holder inline. you are tampering with the posibility of losing your car due to fire! Y even take the chance!?! just install one. I would not be soo vehemently against it unless I saw the damage with my own eyes. I am an electrical engineering major and a computer engineering major. all it takes is one slip up and its all over. trust me. a few milliamps is enough to send someone into cardiac arrest. just do it right. look all over the net and if you find a truni relocation DIY, i bet you they install fuses too. please don't be a cheapskate about it, invest in the extra 3$.

 

[kene]

you must remmber that negative electricity flows through every poart of ur cars chassis. so all it takes is one snag of the positive wire on the chassis and your in trouble. even the toughest coated wire(that of which i had when the accident happened) will not hold up. all it takes is a snag the size of a need to catch & pass thru the wires coating, then it leads to a series of chain reactions.

 

[TdotTercel]

so what is a safe path to run the pos wire?

under the car? through the panels?:dunno:

 

[LukeMasters]

So far this is how i was going to do it :

http://www.homemadeturbo.com/tech_projects/battery_relocation/index.html

it did not seem to complex. Nor did it say anything about it being dangerous

 

[kene]

IT is deangerous if you do not use a fuse or a circuit breaker!!...thats all im saying..use a fguse or a circuit breaker. so you dont short everything out, burn your circuitry, possibly cause the batt to explod or start a fire. im not saying dont do it. just use a fuse or circuit breaker on the positives line. and make sure you use the right amperage fuse. for the fuse you cannot exceed the max amp rating that is running thru the battery. Or else you fuse will not blow if there is a problem and it will be as if there was never a fse installed.

also look at the last picture(the all chrome box) on tht page. you can see that the guy installed a fuse/circuit breaker.

 

[kene]

it is very dangerous if you dont do it right. think about this. would you take a car battery and put a metal pipe over the positive and negative ends? more than likeley it will explode if done long enough. this is what can happen if you don not install this setupo using the proper procedures.

 

[LukeMasters]

Ok, so the Battery is in the back, The ratio is better but not great, and i will be heading to a scrap yard tomorrow to see if i cant find a nice little paseo ECU, he he he.....

 

[kene]

were you able to hook up a fuse/circuit breaker to it?