I have a 1995 Firebird Formula that the A/C went out on. When my A/C guy looked at it, he said it would need a new compressor, dryer, etc., but also that he checked the computer to see if it was telling the compressor to turn on, and that it wasn't. He said he checked the inputs to the computer, and they were all good. He suggested there may be a problem with my computer, and the new A/C hardware may not work after I replace it if something in the computer is wrong. I didn't have the money for anything more than the A/C work, so I didn't do anything at that time.
Fast forward 9 months or so (crazy that I've been driving in Houston heat for that long), and my Service Engine Soon light comes on. This has been fairly common for me, and usually has something to do with emissions. Then the brake warning light comes on. I can't see anything wrong with the brakes, but I haven't been able to engage the ABS when I tried recently by braking hard.
Now I'm thinking that the computer is definitely the problem. It looks like the PCM is a dealer-only part. They want $200 for the computer, and $140 to program it, but they want to program it by pulling the code from my current computer and flashing it onto the new part. I'm thinking, what if the problem is that the code is corrupted, and I'm back to where I started?
I would rather go to a junkyard and pull a computer from another (similar) firebird. I don't know how much I should expect to have to pay for it, but more importantly, I don't know if it will work. Does anyone know if the hardware and programming are compatible from one year to the next, or which specific models / year models I would be safe replacing mine with?
Sorry so long, David Smith