1990 Mighty Max ECM 2.4l

[BillHilly]

I recently traded a .22 rifle for a 1990 Mitsubishi Mighty Max. It's a two wheel drive 5 speed with the 2.4l inline four. It is at 165K miles and doesn't spark. It's been retimed, had a new coil, starter, distributor cap and rotor, plugs and wires put on. Supposedly a block heater caught fire and then it never sparked again but we've seen no signs of a fire anywhere. I plan on purchasing a new ECM for the truck but I read that a 1990 takes a specific ECM that no other models take. I would just like advice before I purchase the ECM. Any advice is helpful, thank y'all.

[BillHilly]

This is the badge on the firewall.

[geezer101]

The 1990 built truck has year specific engine peripherals and ECU so yes you will need to source another 90' ECU. Before you do though, the ECU's are relatively easy to fix - the common primary fault is due to failed capacitors. If the board hasn't sustained damage you could salvage it. Tell tale signs of bad capacitors are obvious leaks and swelling. If the board has been eaten by corrosion a repair may not work.

[GSGalant]

Based on what you have stated, I would check the igniter. I may be wrong but I don’t think the ecu directly controls the actual spark, only the timing of the spark.

[SubGothius]

Based on what you have stated, I would check the igniter. I may be wrong but I don’t think the ecu directly controls the actual spark, only the timing of the spark.

I think it may be the other way around? The igniter (magnetic pickup trigger in the distributor) also contains the ignition control module (ICM), and the signal from that, aside from triggering spark from the coil, is also used by the ECU to time injector firing.