ECU/PCM clone process & pricing

[staying_tuned]

No real new information but I found it distributed between this and other sites so I figured I'd post what worked for me this week.

Ordered a new PCM for my truck (68256850AA) which was $222.59 shipped. I then set an appointment up at Jeep. Thankfully they could see me right away, the new PCM arrived quickly.

Jeep had me in and out. I simply told them I wanted a copy of my existing PCM that I could swap in if needed. I was anticipating a ton of questioning but the technician simply asked which one I wanted to leave installed, I told him the existing one and about an hour later I was heading out.

Service cost on the clone was $149, bringing the total cost to $371.59.

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[ParatusExpeditions]

My dealer asked me $600+ when I asked if hypothetically someone would want a spare to be cloned. And $1500 if the original needed to be installed back.
Luckily it was just hypothetical and I didn’t pay that. But I wouldn’t ask this dealership again the same question

did you try the new one? Is it working?

 

[staying_tuned]

My dealer asked me $600+ when I asked if hypothetically someone would want a spare to be cloned. And $1500 if the original needed to be installed back.
Luckily it was just hypothetical and I didn’t pay that. But I wouldn’t ask this dealership again the same question

did you try the new one? Is it working?

Like a champ so far. Enough play exists in the cabling such that I was able to install it by zip-tying it to the fuse box without having to remove the old one just yet. I just masked off the female ends of the existing PCM. Going to run it a few days but so far no oddities, it seems to have remembered everything down to stations unless stuff like that isn't stored in the PCM in the first place, not sure.

 

[Chief_jeep]

No real new information but I found it distributed between this and other sites so I figured I'd post what worked for me this week.

Ordered a new PCM for my truck (68256850AA) which was $222.59 shipped. I then set an appointment up at Jeep. Thankfully they could see me right away, the new PCM arrived quickly.

Jeep had me in and out. I simply told them I wanted a copy of my existing PCM that I could swap in if needed. I was anticipating a ton of questioning but the technician simply asked which one I wanted to leave installed, I told him the existing one and about an hour later I was heading out.

Service cost on the clone was $149, bringing the total cost to $371.59.

Where did you order your PCM from? I spoke with my dealer and they want $300 for a new PCM that is 2-3+ months out from being delivered.

The guy was very confused why I'd want a back up haha

 

[mrmo]

Yeah, I want to know the same thing, how long did it take, and where did you get it for that price

 

[staying_tuned]

Where did you order your PCM from?

East Coast Moparts! Ordered on a Saturday and it was delivered that Wed.

* UPDATE: As of 3/31 East Coast Moparts is out of stock on the PCMs. *

https://www.eastcoastmoparts.com/oem-parts/mopar-powertrain-control-module-68256850aa

 

[staying_tuned]

I also grabbed another fuse box cover so I could create a mounting surface to leave my stock PCM in place the entire time. I still haven't removed the stock PCM. Fuse box cover was $28 or something then another $5 for bolts and wingnuts, not a huge expense to be able to hot swap them in seconds thanks to just enough loom in the stock wiring. This way I can just pull the lid with the "extra" PCM, put the stock cover in place and back to stock. I'll post some pics once done.

 

[Chief_jeep]

East Coast Moparts! Ordered on a Saturday and it was delivered that Wed.

https://www.eastcoastmoparts.com/oem-parts/mopar-powertrain-control-module-68256850aa

Thank you. That's super quick and 1/3 less than anything else I've found.

 

[mrmo]

well I'll be dipped....I just ordered one. Thanks for that, putting a tune on one and the other a stocker

 

[ParatusExpeditions]

As for the “cloning” part, I’ve done some research on that. The dealer isn’t cloning anything. They’ll put it in your car or at least plug it. Connect with the MDP, connect on the mopar service portal and flash it from the last version available, write your vin to it and re-init some ECUs that will now be a bit lost. Clear code restarts the car a few times and that’s it. Only issue is the dongle is $1800. Other than that it can be done at home, you’d also need something to keep the battery voltage up.

The bench flash or whatever tuners do works too but I don’t know which device they use and whatnot as I haven’t looked into it. Also, it seems like the car will display a red security icon on the dash that will stay there allegedly and is kinda annoying compared to doing it the official way.

 

[Justinswidebody]

If anyone is near Ocala Florida, I'll be happy to clone your ECU for you. It will take 15 to 30 minutes. There will be no red security light on when finished. It will be identical to your factory ECU.

 

[rharr]

As for the “cloning” part, I’ve done some research on that. The dealer isn’t cloning anything. They’ll put it in your car or at least plug it. Connect with the MDP, connect on the mopar service portal and flash it from the last version available, write your vin to it and re-init some ECUs that will now be a bit lost. Clear code restarts the car a few times and that’s it. Only issue is the dongle is $1800. Other than that it can be done at home, you’d also need something to keep the battery voltage up.

The bench flash or whatever tuners do works too but I don’t know which device they use and whatnot as I haven’t looked into it. Also, it seems like the car will display a red security icon on the dash that will stay there allegedly and is kinda annoying compared to doing it the official way.

Most seem to be using is Alien tech stuff

 

[ParatusExpeditions]

Most seem to be using is Alien tech stuff

I checked but I don’t see any recent FCA vehicle supported by their tool. Maybe it works and just badly advertised

 

[rharr]

i found this
https://www.alientech-news.com/en/powergate3-1-66/

which aligns with the trans tuner module some of the the tuners are sending out.

I have a powergate 3 that was paired to a JT and uses alientech software to protect and manage the tuners proprietary files. aka vin locks the PG3 to vin number.

I would guess they are using Kess to bench read the ecu and let the pw3 interface.

 

[Justinswidebody]

If you want to clone your own ECU, you can purchase the tools to do it yourself for less than $150.


You have to purchase a Chinese clone of a scanmatik 2 pro, and use pcmflash version 1.20

You can get the clone scanmatik 2 pro from here:

US $37.14 25%OFF | SM2 PRO J2534 VCI PCM ECU Programmer Dongle 67 IN 1 ECU Read&Write V1.20 EEPROM FLASH BENCH OBD Update SM2 Hardware 12V/24V
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mPGnnQI

Make sure to choose option (new full set).

If anyone is interested in learning to do it this way, please let me know and I will assist you..

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