Thread: New van in the stable. '94 AWD with an LT1 350

Tweet

I just picked this van up Friday. I am the 2nd owner. It has 42,378 miles on it and is so clean, inside and out, it still smells new! The LT1 was built by Callaway and installed when the van was brand new. The LT1 runs good but the trans has problems. It runs and drives but the shift points are all screwed up and I think it should run better then it does. Does anyone know of a good tuner in the Flint area that could look at the ECM and do some diagnosing for me?



TIA.
Mark

Did some digging after work today. Pulled out the ECM. It is an Accel Electronic Control Module.

I can find no data or info on the WWW for it. Of course it's 23 years old so that isn't surprising...
It also appears to have a matching wiring harness with call outs printed on the wire.

The back of the box has a serial number and Spark/Fuel Management on the sticker

The question I have is:
Does this box have Electronic Trans Control?
Probably not, no mention is made on the sticker of shift control. So what did they do with the 4L60E? Swap in a 700R4?
I am taking the van out to my buddies shop tomorrow so we will put it on the hoist and see what we have.
ANY insight on this early FI Controller would be appreciated!
Mark

I am talking to the guy who built the Throttle Body System I put on the wagon. Hopefully we can figure out a fix for this. If there is a 700R4 in there I am hoping he can build me new GM based ECM using a Trans Am Chip. The trans will need adjusting but I can do that once we get the computer figured out. A lot of speculation, I know. I need to get into it more.
Mark

Mark, definitely looks like a nice van! You'd sure think they swapped in a 700R4 because I doubt the 4L60E would run on it's own without a controller. Unless it had a modified valve body or some other trickery done inside of it?

Nice looking van, I'm starting to wonder if those Astro vans are going to be Hot collectibles in the future like the old wagons are now. I can't help you out on any of your problems though. It just goes to show how state of the art technology one day, is so obsolete 23 yrs later, a guy can't find any info on it.

Thanks Guys! The van is DEFINITLY a nice piece. I will find out this afternoon what trans is in it. if it is still a 4L60E it will have to have a controller [lugged in somewhere.

That thing is brand new! nice find

In regards to the ECU, I found this in a search. It's a bit long in the tooth but I believe it has some info you might find useful.
ACCEL/DFI and CALMAP

Hope it helps.

Mark
A young friend who's making a name in the KC arena as a go-to tuner sent me the following. I can't speak to the accuracy, but he's pretty good and does a lot of updates to older stuff, as well as doing ProCharger's tunes -

No trans controls... AND good luck finding a computer to tune it with. You have to have a computer that runs in DOS. Not MSDOS, but actual DOS... like "C://" kinda stuff. :-)
Every car with something like that, the customer has always requested I change it to something else more modern, since they had long since broke, or lost the laptop that ran it.

Originally Posted by DennyW

Well, you can still run DOS mode...

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...5-af3eb6b3b46c

LOL, if you can find a good tuner today who knows DOS

Mark, forgot to add if you want to take a road trip they'll update your ECM, AND install a ProCharger blower on your LT1 for some real fun!!

Originally Posted by DennyW

I was quoting the info for your young tunner friend...

My young tuner friend said what you've gotta have, not that he could or would do the DOS tune, but that he replaces the old stuff with new.

Beating a dead horse here, and not giving Mark anything new. I'm done.

Very clean and cool van! I like the AWD.

34_40, thanks for the link. Not sure how applicable it is to the SFM ECU I have but it verifies the wiring probably came with the computer from Accel.
The van has a 700R4 in it, confirmed that last night. I'll be working with a friend of mine, Kevin. He owns Performance Fuel Injection Systems and he thinks we can build a computer to run the engine AND be tunable. We'll see how it goes.
Mark

Originally Posted by astroracer

I'll be working with a friend of mine, Kevin. He owns Performance Fuel Injection Systems and he thinks we can build a computer to run the engine AND be tunable. We'll see how it goes.
Mark

Hey Mark,
Did your friend Kevin say what he'll use for the computer build? Wondering if he uses something like the MegaSquirt system, or if there's something better out there now. Just curious.

We haven't gotten that far Roger. Howell Engine Development has a '94-'97 F-Body ECU available for "non-electronic" trans applications. He has a lot of connections so he is asking around about the Accel system. He knows someone else who may have the same set up so we may have access to the wiring diagrams... I would like to just go with the GM F-Body ECU if at all possible...
Mark