I saw in another post a reference to clearing the ECU on a pre-owned TL to lose any adaptive habits toward other drivers.

How does one clear the ECU exactly? I tried a search but found nothing.

 

I was told by Acura to disconnect the battery and jump the 2 cables together for 15 minutes to bleed down the capacitors.

Make sure you have the radio . Navi code.


From what I understand it will learn your habits pretty quick and you shouldn't need to do this.

 

I heard you just unscrew the negative termal(black) on the battery and leave it off for 15min, then just put if back on.

 

that requires you to redo the security codes-

do it the easy way- on passenger side- on outer edge of dash or down by passenger foot- (depending on gen)- fuse #13 marked CLOCK is the secret backup power supply to the ECU- pull the fuse- wait a minute and reinsert
its similar to hitting the power button on the computer to shutdown- will force a reboot and relearn
NOTE do NOT do this right before a smog test or the car will say its not enough data to be tested yet

If you do the battery method- just remove NEG first- then pos- clean the terminals with sandpaper or $2 tool and put them back on = pos then neg,
coat exterior of post and cable end with vaseline to protect from corrosion and crud buildup (they sell a spray stuff if you prefer)
Might as well do something productive and useful as long as you are there!
DO NOT touch the cables--who at acura told you that- the sales dept?
or a real tech?

 

I don't think the 3rd gen has a clock fuse for the ECU... Easy way to reset it, turn on car, turn off all accessories (a/c, radio, heaters, etc) and then turn off car. Then turn to Postion 2 (navi/clock, guages) are on battery power but motor is off and then press gas pedal for 30 seconds. Then go for a spirited run. If you do disconnect the battery, you will have to do an idle relearn, turn off all accessories and then let the car idle for 15 minutes.

 

2 different experienced "real" techs at 2 different dealerships.

 

Just did AJ's method yesterday ... noticeable difference and no radio/navi code loss

 

hmm well if gen3 has its owm method I stand corrected- gen2 can reset by the clock fuse- but you guys should check into that!

 

Why doesn't every one just clear the ecu like csmeance said.

 

yea you can hold the terminalls together or just pull the ecu fuse and the back up fuse i work and hendrjustin hendrick hondaick honda so that will be fine to do that.

 

You work where?

 

my understanding- at least for my gen2- is the CLOCK fuse is the `secret backup power` to the ECU, beyond the normal ecu fuse

by pulling it -instead of batt cables, we avoid having to enter the codes into radio-
its a saver for those who dont know their security codes~

 

i work at hendrick honda

 

if you get the serial number off the radio i can get the radio code and navi code if you need them since i work at a dealership

 

cool we have an insider who admits it~
I used to be in the biz so can only offer practical experience- js can get us current info!

 

What do you people hope to accomplish by resetting the ECU?

 

If you babied your car(driving it slow while it was still new) it may of lost responsive ness aggresive shifting near redline, and much more i guess. If you reset your ecu u can start from the begning, going more aggresive on the car, so the car responds better to this and learns. And after you get a mod you should reset your ecu, to increase the performance it's really meant to instead of staying with stock settings.