1995.5 - 2004 Tacoma A/T vs M/T ECU pinouts
01-27-2016, 07:47 PM
#21
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No, not on a '96 - the 1996 A/T and M/T ECU connections are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. For one thing, they have a different number of connectors:
But even more importantly, the wires move all over the place between the two versions. You will be moving (re-pinning) 90% of the wires in the harness to do this right.
Please read the guide I put together. The link is in the first post in this thread. It does all the heavy lifting on this, all you have to do is read it. The above image is from the guide, and it's followed by a list that shows exactly which wires you'll need to move to do this swap on a 1996.
But even more importantly, the wires move all over the place between the two versions. You will be moving (re-pinning) 90% of the wires in the harness to do this right.
Please read the guide I put together. The link is in the first post in this thread. It does all the heavy lifting on this, all you have to do is read it. The above image is from the guide, and it's followed by a list that shows exactly which wires you'll need to move to do this swap on a 1996.
01-27-2016, 09:03 PM
#22
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Alright, I went on the Matco truck today and bought a import terminal tool kit. I think the extra plug on the auto Ecu is for the trans, also I have a complete manual harness out of another truck so are the wires the same color across harnesses? Asking to see if I could just match up my auto harnesses connectors to the manual.
Look, I don't mean to bust your chops over this, but would you please take the time to download and read the data I pulled together? It answers your questions definitively, without any BS, using data taken from the factory manuals.
Here's the link:
http://www.well.com/user/mosk/images...ma_ECUs_v2.pdf
There is a side-by-side comparison of the 1996 Tacoma A/T and M/T harness. The harnesses are so different for 1996 that I had to do the comparison by function; for later years, I was able to compare ECUs by connector and pin position, but for the early Tacos that approach didn't work, because the harnesses were so different.
Here's a screen shot of the first page of the 1996 3RZ section:
For every function the ECU controls, I identified the corresponding wiring in each harness, its color in that harness, and the connector and pin that wire lands at. I then made it even easier to see where the harnesses differ by changing the background color of those pins where the A/T and M/T are different.
For example, in the above screenshot, look at the very first entry for BATT:
In the A/T harness, the BATT function lands on Connector E5, pin 2 (E5-2). In the M/T harness, that function lands on Connector E5, pin 1 (E5-1). It's like that across 80% of those two harnesses - a given function is often in the same connector, but just as often it's on a different pin.
You have to do the homework on this next step yourself. I did the hard work and pulled all of the wiring data together for you, you just need to read it, and repin the wires as necessary (i.e., remove them from their initial positions in the A/T harness and move them to the correct position for the M/T ECU). This will align the function to the correct pin on the M/T ECU. If you don't do this, it won't work. I can't be any plainer than that.
And kinda dumb question because I'm new here, where to you go to see notifications when someone replies?
Last edited by mosk; 01-27-2016 at 09:41 PM.
01-27-2016, 10:18 PM
#24
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::sigh::
Look, the section in my guide comparing the 1996 3RZ Tacoma ECU wiring is four pages, and I've only posted the first page here. You cannot do this based on a single screen shot, there are three more pages of wiring data! There's also additional pages in the document that describe what these functions and abbreviations mean. Go to your local library if you have to, or hit up a friend, but download this PDF and print out the pages that are relevant to your truck. You are underestimating this; give yourself a fighting chance.
Whether the ECU wiring swap is easy or hard or depends on the year of your truck. The earliest Tacomas are the hardest and least consistent, as the wires move around a lot in a given connector. Unfortunately, yours is one of those. That means it takes a lot of work to convert it, as you have to move a lot of pins in the harness, or get a jumper harness and make splices there.
You are going to want a full size printout to work from, and it helps to study it and have a game plan before you start moving wires. You should expect this to be a small project in itself that will take someone with average wiring skills about 2-4 hours to pull off, depending how easily you can pick up on the technique moving wires in the harness, or stripping and crimping if you use a jumper harness.
There aren't any good shortcuts here. If you are truly desperate and absolutely can't find a computer and printer to use, let me know and I'll post screen shots of the other three 1996 3RZ pages, but if you think you can do this all from your phone I think you are making this a lot harder than it needs to be, and it's already pretty hard.
My .02 cents.
Look, the section in my guide comparing the 1996 3RZ Tacoma ECU wiring is four pages, and I've only posted the first page here. You cannot do this based on a single screen shot, there are three more pages of wiring data! There's also additional pages in the document that describe what these functions and abbreviations mean. Go to your local library if you have to, or hit up a friend, but download this PDF and print out the pages that are relevant to your truck. You are underestimating this; give yourself a fighting chance.
Whether the ECU wiring swap is easy or hard or depends on the year of your truck. The earliest Tacomas are the hardest and least consistent, as the wires move around a lot in a given connector. Unfortunately, yours is one of those. That means it takes a lot of work to convert it, as you have to move a lot of pins in the harness, or get a jumper harness and make splices there.
You are going to want a full size printout to work from, and it helps to study it and have a game plan before you start moving wires. You should expect this to be a small project in itself that will take someone with average wiring skills about 2-4 hours to pull off, depending how easily you can pick up on the technique moving wires in the harness, or stripping and crimping if you use a jumper harness.
There aren't any good shortcuts here. If you are truly desperate and absolutely can't find a computer and printer to use, let me know and I'll post screen shots of the other three 1996 3RZ pages, but if you think you can do this all from your phone I think you are making this a lot harder than it needs to be, and it's already pretty hard.
My .02 cents.
Last edited by mosk; 01-28-2016 at 01:46 AM. Reason: This is better
04-19-2016, 09:07 AM
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On this chart I did not saw 94-4runner or latter do you have it elsewhere somewhere hidden?? Tnx would appreciate if you did..
And the other question is I know I need a ecu m/t since my 4runner is 4x4 and m/t will are the auto ecu/ same as the m/t on a 2000 4runner thank you.
And the other question is I know I need a ecu m/t since my 4runner is 4x4 and m/t will are the auto ecu/ same as the m/t on a 2000 4runner thank you.
04-19-2016, 09:33 AM
#28
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On this chart I did not saw 94-4runner or latter do you have it elsewhere somewhere hidden?? Tnx would appreciate if you did..
And the other question is I know I need a ecu m/t since my 4runner is 4x4 and m/t will are the auto ecu/ same as the m/t on a 2000 4runner thank you.
And the other question is I know I need a ecu m/t since my 4runner is 4x4 and m/t will are the auto ecu/ same as the m/t on a 2000 4runner thank you.
At one point I owned a 1998 Tacoma 3RZ, and I think I included its data in the Tacoma data set because I had the info for it and was already doing the work of compiling everything. But it was definitely a one-off; I did this for free and have my limits. If someone wants to mount a similar project for 3RZ and 5VZE 4Runners, they have my blessing, but I am not interested in doing this work a second time. Basically, if you want something that isn't in my diagram set, you will need to figure it out for yourself, because I did the work once and once was enough. I'm not interested in doing it a second time.
>> And the other question is I know I need a ecu m/t since my 4runner is 4x4 and m/t will are the auto ecu/ same as the m/t on a 2000 4runner thank you.
I don't know about the 2000 4Runner, but look at the 2000 Tacoma diagrams in my guide and see how the 2000 A/T and M/T wiring diagrams differ. The 2000 4Runner A/T and M/T wiring will also be different, but I haven't plotted those out and don't know what those differences are. Just know that they are different from each other, and also different (!!!!) from the Tacoma diagrams. To really understand those differences you will need to do the hard work of comparing a 2000 4Runner A/T wiring diagram with a 2000 4Runner M/T diagram. In the back of my wiring guide are some blank forms that a motivated person with access to the factory wiring diagrams could use to figure this stuff out. Sorry, but that's the best info I have on this.
Last edited by mosk; 04-19-2016 at 09:47 AM.
04-19-2016, 09:49 AM
#29
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These charts are for the Tacoma trucks, 1996-2004, inclusive. The 4Runners of the same years are different; blame Toyota.
At one point I owned a 1998 Tacoma 3RZ, and I think I included its data in the Tacoma data set because I had the info for it and was already doing the work of compiling everything. But it was definitely a one-off; I did this for free and have my limits. If someone wants to mount a similar project for 3RZ and 5VZE 4Runners, they have my blessing, but I am not interested in doing this work a second time. Basically, if you want something that isn't in my diagram set, you will need to figure it out for yourself, because although I did the work once I am not interested in doing it a second time.
>> And the other question is I know I need a ecu m/t since my 4runner is 4x4 and m/t will are the auto ecu/ same as the m/t on a 2000 4runner thank you.
I don't know about the 2000 4Runner, but look at the 2000 Tacoma diagrams in my guide and see how the 2000 A/T and M/T wiring diagrams differ. The 2000 4Runner A/T and M/T wiring will also be different, but I haven't plotted those out and don''t know what those differences are. Just know that they are different from each other, and also different (!!!!) from the Tacoma diagrams. To really understand those differences you will need to do the hard work of comparing a 2000 4Runner A/T wiring diagram with a 2000 4Runner M/T diagram. In the back of my wiring guide are some blank forms that a motivated person with access to the factory wiring diagrams could use to figure this stuff out. Sorry, but that's the best info I have on this.
At one point I owned a 1998 Tacoma 3RZ, and I think I included its data in the Tacoma data set because I had the info for it and was already doing the work of compiling everything. But it was definitely a one-off; I did this for free and have my limits. If someone wants to mount a similar project for 3RZ and 5VZE 4Runners, they have my blessing, but I am not interested in doing this work a second time. Basically, if you want something that isn't in my diagram set, you will need to figure it out for yourself, because although I did the work once I am not interested in doing it a second time.
>> And the other question is I know I need a ecu m/t since my 4runner is 4x4 and m/t will are the auto ecu/ same as the m/t on a 2000 4runner thank you.
I don't know about the 2000 4Runner, but look at the 2000 Tacoma diagrams in my guide and see how the 2000 A/T and M/T wiring diagrams differ. The 2000 4Runner A/T and M/T wiring will also be different, but I haven't plotted those out and don''t know what those differences are. Just know that they are different from each other, and also different (!!!!) from the Tacoma diagrams. To really understand those differences you will need to do the hard work of comparing a 2000 4Runner A/T wiring diagram with a 2000 4Runner M/T diagram. In the back of my wiring guide are some blank forms that a motivated person with access to the factory wiring diagrams could use to figure this stuff out. Sorry, but that's the best info I have on this.
Understood yeah I know I will have to do some research my self I saw your work on those pin outs it was great work and yeah I will need to do further research on my part. I was just asking with a hope haha but thank you and I am sure this took days and would understand why you would not want to do the 4runner one... Cheers bud. Tnx once again
04-19-2016, 10:14 AM
#30
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Thread Starter
I was looking through my notes just now and as it turns out I do have a set of conversion wiring comparisons I made for the 2000 4Runner 3RZ -- but, unfortunately, only for the 3RZ; if you have a 2000 3RZ 4Runner, congrats, you lucked out:
http://www.22rte-trucks.com/public_f...ing_guides.pdf
If you have a 2000 5VZE 4Runner...sorry, this won't help.
http://www.22rte-trucks.com/public_f...ing_guides.pdf
If you have a 2000 5VZE 4Runner...sorry, this won't help.
04-19-2016, 11:54 AM
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I was looking through my notes just now and as it turns out I do have a set of conversion wiring comparisons I made for the 2000 4Runner 3RZ -- but, unfortunately, only for the 3RZ; if you have a 2000 3RZ 4Runner, congrats, you lucked out:
http://www.22rte-trucks.com/public_f...ing_guides.pdf
If you have a 2000 5VZE 4Runner...sorry, this won't help.
http://www.22rte-trucks.com/public_f...ing_guides.pdf
If you have a 2000 5VZE 4Runner...sorry, this won't help.
Thank you and yes unfortunately I do have the v6 5vz but that's just my luck and stuff like this. Haha I have to laugh at my own self to stay sane and not go insane.
10-11-2016, 10:01 AM
#32
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4x2 vs. 4x4?
Super helpful info Mosk thanks. I am planning on swapping an '03 5vz out of an A/T 4x2 pre-runner taco into my '94 M/T SAS pickup to replace the tired old 3vz. From what I have read (ORS tech articles mostly) the '03 A/T and M/T are the same as far as the engine harness side of things, so by finding the proper M/T ECU the swap should be pretty straightforward (or I could live with trouble codes and just use the A/T ECU apparently...engine limp mode though?).
BUT...can anyone verify that 4x2 vs. 4x4 doesn't matter? i.e. is the engine harness the same for all '03 5vz engines? I wouldn't think the engine harness would change between a 2wd and 4wd truck but I have been wrong before. I am really hoping I don't have to screw with the fully intact engine harness my buddy so carefully pulled for me. Looking at the sheets that Mosk has provided I only see 4x4, hoping its the same for a 4x2 pre-runner engine. This engine is not TBW.
This would naturally lead to the question of whether or not a pre-runner M/T ECU would work (pretty sure they exist?), considering it is 2wd. If anyone has done anything like this I'd love some input.
One more thing, ill be studying these sheets to determine what years of ECU's are the same as the '03, assuming that the same pinouts mean they are cross-compatible, but if anyone knows off the top of their heads whether I have to have an '03 or if a range of years, like maybe '01-'04 would work, it would save me a bit of trouble. I know that there are changes in emissions and such and maybe that would not be reflected in the pinouts.
It can be a real pain to find a good 4x4 M/T ECU for a specific year, hoping there is some wiggle room as far as the year and hoping I didn't sign up for a major headache by buying a pre-runner A/T engine.
BUT...can anyone verify that 4x2 vs. 4x4 doesn't matter? i.e. is the engine harness the same for all '03 5vz engines? I wouldn't think the engine harness would change between a 2wd and 4wd truck but I have been wrong before. I am really hoping I don't have to screw with the fully intact engine harness my buddy so carefully pulled for me. Looking at the sheets that Mosk has provided I only see 4x4, hoping its the same for a 4x2 pre-runner engine. This engine is not TBW.
This would naturally lead to the question of whether or not a pre-runner M/T ECU would work (pretty sure they exist?), considering it is 2wd. If anyone has done anything like this I'd love some input.
One more thing, ill be studying these sheets to determine what years of ECU's are the same as the '03, assuming that the same pinouts mean they are cross-compatible, but if anyone knows off the top of their heads whether I have to have an '03 or if a range of years, like maybe '01-'04 would work, it would save me a bit of trouble. I know that there are changes in emissions and such and maybe that would not be reflected in the pinouts.
It can be a real pain to find a good 4x4 M/T ECU for a specific year, hoping there is some wiggle room as far as the year and hoping I didn't sign up for a major headache by buying a pre-runner A/T engine.
10-11-2016, 10:34 AM
#33
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My replies are inline below:
> I am planning on swapping an '03 5vz out of an A/T 4x2 pre-runner taco into my '94 M/T SAS pickup to replace the tired old 3vz.
To state the obvious: that's going to be a lot of work.
> From what I have read (ORS tech articles mostly) the '03 A/T and M/T are the same as far as the engine harness side of things
I can't speak to ORS's materials, but I don't know that this is true - could be, but I don't have first hand knowledge of this. I look at my own document (page 114, "2003 Tacoma 5VZ-FE 4x4 ECM terminals, automatic vs. manual"), and count 15 instances of wires that exist in the 2003 5VZE 4x4 A/T harness that aren't connected (and probably aren't present) in the 2003 5VZE 4x4 M/T harness. The bottom line is that I don't know if they are the same - they could be, but according to the wiring diagrams there are differences between the A/T and M/T ECU connections.
> so by finding the proper M/T ECU the swap should be pretty straightforward (or I could live with trouble codes and just use the A/T ECU apparently...engine limp mode though?).
Finding the right ECU is a much easier starting point. You are going to be making up some stuff as you go, anyway, but it will be easier with the same year ECU as your motor.
> BUT...can anyone verify that 4x2 vs. 4x4 doesn't matter? i.e. is the engine harness the same for all '03 5vz engines?
I think these are the same, with the obvious caveat that 1) I am not 100% sure, and 2) any 4x4 functions controlled by the ECU require the 4x4 ECU.
> I wouldn't think the engine harness would change between a 2wd and 4wd truck but I have been wrong before. I am really hoping I don't have to screw with the fully intact engine harness my buddy so carefully pulled for me. Looking at the sheets that Mosk has provided I only see 4x4, hoping its the same for a 4x2 pre-runner engine. This engine is not TBW.
Anecdote - I swapped a 2002 M/T 4x4 ECU into my 2002 4x2 Prerunner, I made the changes as outlined in my document for my truck, and the 4x4 M/T ECU worked fine with the 4x2 harness. YMMV, but that was my experience.
>This would naturally lead to the question of whether or not a pre-runner M/T ECU would work (pretty sure they exist?), considering it is 2wd. If anyone has done anything like this I'd love some input.
Yes, it should work, although the 4x4 functions through the ECU -- which might just be the dash light -- probably won't work. Again, I cannot vouch for this ahead of time, but I think it will work.
> One more thing, ill be studying these sheets to determine what years of ECU's are the same as the '03, assuming that the same pinouts mean they are cross-compatible, but if anyone knows off the top of their heads whether I have to have an '03 or if a range of years, like maybe '01-'04 would work, it would save me a bit of trouble. I know that there are changes in emissions and such and maybe that would not be reflected in the pinouts.
IMPORTANT: IF YOU ARE TRYING TO MATCH THE 2003 HARNESS, NO OTHER YEARS ARE COMPATIBLE!!! EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR. IS. UNIQUE! MY WIRING RESEARCH EXPOSES THIS. FURTHERMORE, 4RUNNERS AND TACOMAS ARE ALSO UNIQUE!! THERE IS **NO** CROSS-COMPATIBILITY FOR HARNESSES, EITHER YEAR TO YEAR OR MODEL TO MODEL.
> It can be a real pain to find a good 4x4 M/T ECU for a specific year, hoping there is some wiggle room as far as the year and hoping I didn't sign up for a major headache by buying a pre-runner A/T engine.
Buy the ECU that matches your engine harness. You will still need to work to integrate it into your 94 harness, but it is much, much, MUCH easier than trying to make a different harness work with a different ECU.
My .02 cents, and sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Good luck with your swap, and please let me know if I am wrong - hopefully, it goes well for you!
> I am planning on swapping an '03 5vz out of an A/T 4x2 pre-runner taco into my '94 M/T SAS pickup to replace the tired old 3vz.
To state the obvious: that's going to be a lot of work.
> From what I have read (ORS tech articles mostly) the '03 A/T and M/T are the same as far as the engine harness side of things
I can't speak to ORS's materials, but I don't know that this is true - could be, but I don't have first hand knowledge of this. I look at my own document (page 114, "2003 Tacoma 5VZ-FE 4x4 ECM terminals, automatic vs. manual"), and count 15 instances of wires that exist in the 2003 5VZE 4x4 A/T harness that aren't connected (and probably aren't present) in the 2003 5VZE 4x4 M/T harness. The bottom line is that I don't know if they are the same - they could be, but according to the wiring diagrams there are differences between the A/T and M/T ECU connections.
> so by finding the proper M/T ECU the swap should be pretty straightforward (or I could live with trouble codes and just use the A/T ECU apparently...engine limp mode though?).
Finding the right ECU is a much easier starting point. You are going to be making up some stuff as you go, anyway, but it will be easier with the same year ECU as your motor.
> BUT...can anyone verify that 4x2 vs. 4x4 doesn't matter? i.e. is the engine harness the same for all '03 5vz engines?
I think these are the same, with the obvious caveat that 1) I am not 100% sure, and 2) any 4x4 functions controlled by the ECU require the 4x4 ECU.
> I wouldn't think the engine harness would change between a 2wd and 4wd truck but I have been wrong before. I am really hoping I don't have to screw with the fully intact engine harness my buddy so carefully pulled for me. Looking at the sheets that Mosk has provided I only see 4x4, hoping its the same for a 4x2 pre-runner engine. This engine is not TBW.
Anecdote - I swapped a 2002 M/T 4x4 ECU into my 2002 4x2 Prerunner, I made the changes as outlined in my document for my truck, and the 4x4 M/T ECU worked fine with the 4x2 harness. YMMV, but that was my experience.
>This would naturally lead to the question of whether or not a pre-runner M/T ECU would work (pretty sure they exist?), considering it is 2wd. If anyone has done anything like this I'd love some input.
Yes, it should work, although the 4x4 functions through the ECU -- which might just be the dash light -- probably won't work. Again, I cannot vouch for this ahead of time, but I think it will work.
> One more thing, ill be studying these sheets to determine what years of ECU's are the same as the '03, assuming that the same pinouts mean they are cross-compatible, but if anyone knows off the top of their heads whether I have to have an '03 or if a range of years, like maybe '01-'04 would work, it would save me a bit of trouble. I know that there are changes in emissions and such and maybe that would not be reflected in the pinouts.
IMPORTANT: IF YOU ARE TRYING TO MATCH THE 2003 HARNESS, NO OTHER YEARS ARE COMPATIBLE!!! EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR. IS. UNIQUE! MY WIRING RESEARCH EXPOSES THIS. FURTHERMORE, 4RUNNERS AND TACOMAS ARE ALSO UNIQUE!! THERE IS **NO** CROSS-COMPATIBILITY FOR HARNESSES, EITHER YEAR TO YEAR OR MODEL TO MODEL.
> It can be a real pain to find a good 4x4 M/T ECU for a specific year, hoping there is some wiggle room as far as the year and hoping I didn't sign up for a major headache by buying a pre-runner A/T engine.
Buy the ECU that matches your engine harness. You will still need to work to integrate it into your 94 harness, but it is much, much, MUCH easier than trying to make a different harness work with a different ECU.
My .02 cents, and sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Good luck with your swap, and please let me know if I am wrong - hopefully, it goes well for you!
Last edited by mosk; 10-11-2016 at 12:54 PM.
10-12-2016, 12:02 PM
#34
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Mosk, thanks so much for the quick response. Looks like I will be getting an '03 ECU, no screwing around 
I will also try to remember to post what I find out as I go.
One more quick question for anyone that has swapped into an older vehicle: did you pull the OBDII plug from under the dash on the donor vehicle? I forgot to look into this when I picked up the engine. Not sure if it can be pulled easily or if it is tied into the rest of the body harness and is therefore eseentilly impossible to extract.
I just realized that aside from the body harness you did exactly what I am trying to do, i.e. connect a 4x4 M/T ECU to a 4x2 A/T engine harness. Derrrr, sorry I guess I just missed that.
I will also try to remember to post what I find out as I go.One more quick question for anyone that has swapped into an older vehicle: did you pull the OBDII plug from under the dash on the donor vehicle? I forgot to look into this when I picked up the engine. Not sure if it can be pulled easily or if it is tied into the rest of the body harness and is therefore eseentilly impossible to extract.
I just realized that aside from the body harness you did exactly what I am trying to do, i.e. connect a 4x4 M/T ECU to a 4x2 A/T engine harness. Derrrr, sorry I guess I just missed that.
Last edited by nk; 10-12-2016 at 12:31 PM.
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