ECU replacement
Discussion
Paulprior said:
Hi
If I wanted to replace my ECU to see if it's the source of my problems could I use a rover one and swap the chip?, they seem so much cheaper
I have a spare, with a 4 litre chip in it I think (can check tomorrow), if you want to try this for the price of 2 x postage. If I wanted to replace my ECU to see if it's the source of my problems could I use a rover one and swap the chip?, they seem so much cheaper
The chip is the only difference between all the engine sizes as far as I am aware.
However, in my very limited experience (of lending it to a couple of people) it is not normally the problem.
Hi QBee
Thats a very kind and generous offer that i would like to take you up on.
I agree that it may not be the ECU, but a good test for elimination purposes, i can see file that came with the car that the ECU has been tested at least 3 times and always tested ok, the problem is thats its a very intermittent fault (cutting out completely) and may prove perfect on a test, sometimes it happens after 1 mile of driving, but its also possible that i might do 60 miles and it runs perfectly, i have already replaced the 2 relays near the ECU, the ignition amp and the coil so im currently considering ECU, alarm or possibly Lambda sensors as i have heard that these can cause this problem.
How do i contact you privately?
Paul
Thats a very kind and generous offer that i would like to take you up on.
I agree that it may not be the ECU, but a good test for elimination purposes, i can see file that came with the car that the ECU has been tested at least 3 times and always tested ok, the problem is thats its a very intermittent fault (cutting out completely) and may prove perfect on a test, sometimes it happens after 1 mile of driving, but its also possible that i might do 60 miles and it runs perfectly, i have already replaced the 2 relays near the ECU, the ignition amp and the coil so im currently considering ECU, alarm or possibly Lambda sensors as i have heard that these can cause this problem.
How do i contact you privately?
Paul
You can swap the TVR chip out into a standard 14CUX just fine- In terms of diagnostics swapping bit by bit is a poor way of doing things as you can introduce faults as you go and you have a lot to choose from, although it wont be the lambdas at fault- the worse they do is throw a fault code and make the car run slightly rough. Id see if anyone locally can lend you an ECUmate for this, as this basic diagnostic you can plug it in and leave it on the passenger seat as you drive the car. If it fails you can instantly see if the ECU still has power or any error conditions.
If you haven't already tested it, I would check the connections at the fuel pump. It's in an area that takes some abuse and my car had similar symptoms as yours. Turned out to be a poor - loose - connection at the fuel pump earth lead. Gave mine a good clean and crimped the terminals a little to make a better fit on the pump.
N7GTX said:
If you haven't already tested it, I would check the connections at the fuel pump. It's in an area that takes some abuse and my car had similar symptoms as yours. Turned out to be a poor - loose - connection at the fuel pump earth lead. Gave mine a good clean and crimped the terminals a little to make a better fit on the pump.
^^ That's probably not a bad shout....They do take a pastimg down there under the car. Mate of mine had issues coming back from NEC a few years ago, stopped for fuel and car would not restart. Wiggled connections and we were on our way,,,was noisy, so hard to hear pump whirring on turning key. IIRC, when he went to renew Lucar (female) connectore, the earth wire (conductor) was 'blackened' quite a way up from the connection.Have you checked the fuse box for integrity? Have heard of cracking across fuse-ways.
Nick
blitzracing said:
You can swap the TVR chip out into a standard 14CUX just fine- In terms of diagnostics swapping bit by bit is a poor way of doing things as you can introduce faults as you go and you have a lot to choose from, although it wont be the lambdas at fault- the worse they do is throw a fault code and make the car run slightly rough. Id see if anyone locally can lend you an ECUmate for this, as this basic diagnostic you can plug it in and leave it on the passenger seat as you drive the car. If it fails you can instantly see if the ECU still has power or any error conditions.
Hi, I don't have the ECUmate, but I recently bought the rovergauge, I am going on a 140 mile round trip tomorrow which will be a good test, I just need to find a way to stop the screensaver coming on, what do advise checking if it cuts out, considering I may well be slowing down with no power on the motorway😟?If I look after the car has stopped do I still see the fault code if any?
Thanks
Paul
You dont say what operating system you have, but if its 7, then use search to find "screen saver" and you will find an option to turn it off. Nice thing about RoverGauge is you get all the readings on one screen- so check the ECU communication light- this should be green to start with. If its red, the ECU may have lost power and all the readings will be frozen. You can check this is the case with the throttle pot reading- it should still move even with the engine stopped and the ignition on. If the engine dies, the ECU will cut the fuel pump pretty quickly and the fuel pump light goes off, so try "run fuel pump once" tab and see if you can hear the pump whirr. If you cant it could be fuel pump relay or the pump connections. If you keep the ignition on after the engine dies, try and crank the engine and the fuel pump light should come on- even if the car dies not start. If this fails then you have an ignition fault as the ECU needs to see the pulse from the ignition amp to turn the pump on. It will also turn the pump on for a few seconds if you power cycle the ignition, but then it needs to see the engine is rotating before it comes on again.
Other things to check are throttle pot- is the movement still smooth across the range? Drop outs will kill the engine at certain throttle openings. Also check the fault status light- if its red, check for the error codes under the options tab.
Hope this helps.
Other things to check are throttle pot- is the movement still smooth across the range? Drop outs will kill the engine at certain throttle openings. Also check the fault status light- if its red, check for the error codes under the options tab.
Hope this helps.
[quote=blitzracing]You dont say what operating system you have, but if its 7, then use search to find "screen saver" and you will find an option to turn it off. Nice thing about RoverGauge is you get all the readings on one screen- so check the ECU communication light- this should be green to start with. If its red, the ECU may have lost power and all the readings will be frozen. You can check this is the case with the throttle pot reading- it should still move even with the engine stopped and the ignition on. If the engine dies, the ECU will cut the fuel pump pretty quickly and the fuel pump light goes off, so try "run fuel pump once" tab and see if you can hear the pump whirr. If you cant it could be fuel pump relay or the pump connections. If you keep the ignition on after the engine dies, try and crank the engine and the fuel pump light should come on- even if the car dies not start. If this fails then you have an ignition fault as the ECU needs to see the pulse from the ignition amp to turn the pump on. It will also turn the pump on for a few seconds if you power cycle the ignition, but then it needs to see the engine is rotating before it comes on again.
Other things to check are throttle pot- is the movement still smooth across the range? Drop outs will kill the engine at certain throttle openings. Also check the fault status light- if its red, check for the error codes under the options tab.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the info, I will try and check this tomorrow if it cuts out.
Other symptoms I have noticed are occasional hiccups, like the engine cuts out just for a second, also occasionally running very rough with just enough power to keep moving but not enough to accelerate, both times it has cleared itself after about one minute, any thoughts of a link between these and cutting out completely?
Thanks
Paul
Other things to check are throttle pot- is the movement still smooth across the range? Drop outs will kill the engine at certain throttle openings. Also check the fault status light- if its red, check for the error codes under the options tab.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the info, I will try and check this tomorrow if it cuts out.
Other symptoms I have noticed are occasional hiccups, like the engine cuts out just for a second, also occasionally running very rough with just enough power to keep moving but not enough to accelerate, both times it has cleared itself after about one minute, any thoughts of a link between these and cutting out completely?
Thanks
Paul
"occasionally running very rough with just enough power to keep moving but not enough to accelerate, both times it has cleared itself after about one Minute"
Check the cables at the road speed sensor back at the differential. I once had this and it was a loose cable giving intermittent contact. Fault code 68 (think it was) might point to that too.
Check the cables at the road speed sensor back at the differential. I once had this and it was a loose cable giving intermittent contact. Fault code 68 (think it was) might point to that too.
Paul, all pins should be inserted. Although there are a couple of pins that, if cut, will not stop the ECU from working, it is not these. The ones shown in the image are data pins and are critical. They must have been making contact incidentally for the ECU to function at all. This is probably the cause of your intermittent problem.
My cutting out problem has come back again, so i guess it wasn't the chip pins after all
When it stopped yesterday i noticed that the RPM gauge was still reading ok, when i put the clutch in obviously it then went to zero.
I tried to just restart without doing anything else, it would start but only run for maybe 2 seconds, i tried this 3 times, always the same, i then switched the alarm off / on and it started up and ran as normal, any thoughts?
I have also tested the pump connections as previously recommended
Thanks
Paul
When it stopped yesterday i noticed that the RPM gauge was still reading ok, when i put the clutch in obviously it then went to zero.
I tried to just restart without doing anything else, it would start but only run for maybe 2 seconds, i tried this 3 times, always the same, i then switched the alarm off / on and it started up and ran as normal, any thoughts?
I have also tested the pump connections as previously recommended
Thanks
Paul
Hi chaps I have exactly the same symptoms as Paulprior, it's been cutting like this for a week or two now and won't restart. (It starts and runs for 2-3seconds and stops) unless I cycle the immobilizer. I am guessing the relays in the immobilizer are faulty. Does anyone know if the circuit that controls the fuel pump is known to play up. I am aware that the ignition one does. I am thinking that I need to do Chimpongas' mods and see what happens. If I find a cure I will post up what I found. Mines a 94 430 with a Meta system BTW.
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