2005 Chevrolet Equinox Chevy Emission Issues

JERRYCANADA

MEMBER
2005 CHEVROLET EQUINOX
3.4L
6 CYL
AWD
AUTOMATIC
110,000 MILES

Check engine light on. The engine runs rich on gas to the point where gas goes into the engine oil. At first the codes were for low voltage at EGR valve and 1 of the oxygen sensors. Found the emission fuse was burnt under the hood so changed it and reset the engine light. Engine light came back on with 6 different codes which all covers emission related items. At this point I am suspecting the PCM might be faulty. I have another equinox for parts. It's the same year and engine. Can I take the PCM from the parts car and plug it in my good car and just drive it like this without having reprogram? Thanks.

2 Replies

HOMER1967

MECHANIC
875 POSTS

No, I wish it were that easy.

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Tuesday, February 10th, 2015 AT 7:10 PM

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,741 POSTS

To elaborate, GM is one of the top manufacturers with customer-unfriendly business practices, and this is one of the big ones. The engineers have designed their computers so you can't go to a salvage yard and pop in an inexpensive, used one. You have to buy a new one through the dealer and have them install the software. In a few cases you can use a used computer but it still has to be programmed to your vehicle's ID number. GM is one of the few manufacturers that won't allow independent repair shops to do that. Most of the time only the dealer can do that, and they don't do it for free.

To do this, the ID number resides in the Body Computer which was cleverly built into the radio so you can't easily replace it with an aftermarket one. All of the dozens of computers on your vehicle answer to and are turned on by the radio.

Hi Homer1967.