98 PCM VIN Change

I've tried looking this up, but I can't seem to figure out why I can't do this....

Just so it's clear: ***I OWN THE 1998 Camaro/Firebird YEAR/MODEL LICENSE***

I have a 1998 Trans Am. I bought another computer from another 1998 Trans Am and I want to change the VIN number in the new PCM to my VIN. When I enter my VIN number it rejects it and says "Invalid VIN". I can write to the computer just fine, but it will not let me change the VIN. Is there a trick to changing the VIN number in the 1998 model? I'm trying to figure this out just so it's like I have a spare computer.

Thanks!

Sounds dumb but did you verify the VIN?
may be put a O instead of 0 ?

I retyped it 3 times while standing at the car. LOL. It's the right VIN, but it just says invalid.

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Originally Posted by sweet-94z28

I retyped it 3 times while standing at the car. LOL. It's the right VIN, but it just says invalid.

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I've read that HP Tuners won't recognise PCM with a 1998 VIN. As I understand it, the solution is to swap a later 0411 PCM with a fuel segment swap (and a couple of repins). HP Tuners says they support 1998-2002 Camaro/Firebird, so do I still need to swap PCM on my 1998 Trans Am?

Keep in mind the 98 ecm's don't store the vin in the flash, it is separate and why any .bin file from a 98 Camaro/Firebird won't have a vin number in it as its not there in the flash.

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Originally Posted by cstavro

I've read that HP Tuners won't recognise PCM with a 1998 VIN. As I understand it, the solution is to swap a later 0411 PCM with a fuel segment swap (and a couple of repins). HP Tuners says they support 1998-2002 Camaro/Firebird, so do I still need to swap PCM on my 1998 Trans Am?

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98 F-body PCMs are 100% tunable with HP Tuners. Some swap them with a 0411 PCM for 'reasons' but it is not an absolute requirement. And the swap is more than a couple of repins. Like almost every pin in both connectors.

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Originally Posted by Bill@HPTuners

Keep in mind the 98 ecm's don't store the vin in the flash, it is separate and why any .bin file from a 98 Camaro/Firebird won't have a vin number in it as its not there in the flash.

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Hi Bill,

I recall you saying the '98 ecu has 98% of the tuneability of the later ecu. What is that 2%?

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Originally Posted by cstavro

Hi Bill,

I recall you saying the '98 ecu has 98% of the tuneability of the later ecu. What is that 2%?

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Open a 98 LS1 file and open a 99 LS1 file, you can see the differences between the two.