1996 Cobra Mustang Swap Out!
First of all, I have to tell you this is a major swap out. I would say that there is more than one way to get this end of your project completed. I'm not that familiar with the Ford Mustang ECU's, and have never done a Ford Mustang or Cobra ECU swap out. I have done Chevy PCM swap outs. I'm sure this can be done and probably has been done by many. If I where faced with this task, I would certainly look for an experienced shop who has already had experience with this type of swap out. If that is a problem for you, and you chose to do this on your own, I must tell you that it won't be easy, and you must really do your home work. Here's what I see that I feel that you need to do first. ONE METHOD: You need to see if your stock 1999 Mustang ECU harness wire connector will bolt up to the 1996 Cobra ECU. Before you even try that, compare the terminal pins from both your 1999 ECU and the 1996 Cobra ECU. Do they have the same amount of pins and are they positioned the same? Will your stock ECU harness wire connector fit onto the 1996 Cobra ECU without damaging any of the terminal pins. If not, then don't do it. SECOND METHOD: Do you have the 1996 Cobra ECU harness pigtail connector that connects to the terminals of the 1996 Cobra ECU? If you do, than at this point what you will have to do, is cut off your existing 1999 Mustang ECU harness wire connector, than splice in the pigtail wire connector from the 1996 Cobra ECU harness respectively, to your existing 1999 Mustang ECU harness. Be aware, you are talking alot of wires. From the Pin Out's I posted in my previous thread, there are more than 100 wires that connects to the ECU. I could be wrong, but this is what I see that has to be done. It is always good to get opinions from others who have done this before. Here is the hard part, when you splice in each wire, you have to make sure that they both match up by circuits. Meaning that each of the wires from the 1999 Mustang V-6 harness, has to match up with the circuits in the 1996 Cobra ECU. The colors of the wires may be different because of the year and model differences, which makes things even harder to do and more complicating. You really have to have a clear understanding of what you are doing to get things right. It would make things really easy if your existing ECU wire connector is able to bolt directly to the 1996 Cobra ECU, and that all the circuits matches up! But, being that I have no experience with these ECU's, I can't answer that question. Even if it does bolt up ok, the question then becomes, are the circuits the same, are all of the wires on the wire connectors positioned where they belong? Once you accomplish that task, the next task will be to connect the wire connectors in the two pictures you provided. I believe I saw a total of 4 wire connectors. If the wire connectors from the 1999 and the 1996 don't match up, that becomes another challenge. I don't mean to sound negative, I just want you to know what you are up against. I'll see if I can find some info on any previous related swaps. I'll get back to you on that. Good luck, Tommy.
