Is my ECU fried? With pictures.

[horizontalkev]

I am fighting a no start issue, just cranks over. Engine light does come on after turning key then shuts off after 5 seconds like normal but I can't connect the application Torque to my ecu anymore.. Here are pictures

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As you can see there are some yellow gum looking areas and bubbles.. Will this keep me from starting, but still illuminate the engine light like normal? I don't smell nothing fishy

 

[crash89]

I would venture to say yes however, I have no idea what would cause that.

 

[horizontalkev]

So you think that could be causing my no start problem?

 

[92AWDHX40]

Oh yeah that's bad send it to get repaired.

 

[horizontalkev]

Well first id like to find out what fried it, so it doesn't happen again. From the pictures, does it look like general damage to the board that resulted from age? Or something specific?

 

[92AWDHX40]

Its a car and things wear and break.

 

[horizontalkev]

I just hope that's my problem. Just spent 125 for a new (used) one

 

[92AWDHX40]

Well either way fix that because that's not supposed to look like that, send to ecmlink the do great work I like them, and helpful.

 

[bw2277]

Must be fry ecu time buddies car just did the same thing yesterday. Off to ecm tuning it goes.

 

[horizontalkev]

I will know if it is my ecu later this week. I will probably send my old one in tomorrow to have a rebuild to have a spare

 

[horizontalkev]

So here's the used replacement ECU, looked at the board to see how it looks.. Note it had an unbroken AES seal meaning it had been repaired/rebuilt in the past. (AESmodules.com)

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The backside looks a little sketchy. Is this how a normal ECU should look or one that was serviced? Or does this also look damaged? I never tried it in the car yet

 

[TurboLaserRS]

You're wasting your time with an ECU like that. It honestly looks like it was burnt or something. There are many points on that board that look damaged, and there is corrosion/ rust on some of the contacts. I would venture to say that this board is trashcan bound. If the capacitors burst the electrolytic fluids corrode the board and if it sits on the actual PCB part itself (the green part) it will destroy it beyond repair, which is what appears to have happened with that ECU.

 

[Breezio69]

Botb of them appear to need repair.

If you need something right now you can try the "new" ecu, I wouldn't rely on it though. It looks to be almost as damaged as the first one you sent in.

 

[eclipsyco]

Hmmm both ECU look "ok" sure have some rust spots and that thing you see on top all over the place is just old coating you can take a tooth brush and some contact cleaner and brush the ECU a bit, you also could use thinner but take it easy cause is going to remove the coating! Also check for cold solder spots. Overall they look ok. Your staring problem must be something else.

 

[Arthris]

I can tell most of the people that replied have absolutely no idea what there talking about. So far I havnt seen a single fried chip. That discoloration you see is a conformal coating that is applied to keep moisture drom causing any issue with the ecu. This is a very common practice in automotive electronics. You can try to aomewhat clean this using isopropal alcohol and a tooth brush or a acid brush with trimed brissel to shorten them and make them stiffer to help clean it up. But as stated I would look into other issues causing your problem. Such as crank or cam position sensors. And blown fuses bad grounds that soet of thing.

 

[horizontalkev]

Well I guess the only thing to do now is put it in tomorrow and see what happens. I hope its the ECU because I don't want to dig around anymore... Torque would no longer connect to the computer which leads me to believe my original ECU was toast.

 

[boost97gst]

Just looks like too much coating. No apparent breaks in the traces or popped solder joints. No components actually look damaged in either pic. The replacement you got actually appears worse. Most likely due to the repair, doesnt mean its broken either. I see boards of all shapes and sizes almost every day. Most dont look like that but rarely do i run into a problem i can literally see on a board.


Edit: The component closest to "D308" has damage. That could be a diode. Give the new one a shot and report back. Im interested

 

[steve]

Just looks like too much coating.

The component closest to "D308" has damage. That could be a diode.

I can't tell if D308 is popped or if it's just the same buildup of conformal coating as you see on D72 and D101.

 

[horizontalkev]

The ECU is put in, check engine comes on as normal but no start. Damn. I noticed my fuel pressure died down slowly. Ill spray some carb cleaner into the cylinders and see if it fires after I change the oil. Smells like fuel. Oh and here's a close up of D308

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[steve]

I don't think this latest picture is of the original ECU. Is it?

 

[horizontalkev]

I don't think this latest picture is of the original ECU. Is it?

No, this is the used replacement

EDIT: Oh okay I see, looked at the original one.. Let me get a close up of that one

 

[horizontalkev]

The original one

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[steve]

Looks like you were picking at it.

 

[horizontalkev]

Yeah, I did pick at it some..

So if my problem isn't the computer, what can it be?! Compression is fine, I am getting spark and fuel is getting to the rail. Can the fuel pump/filter be bad, but still allow decent amount of fuel flow to the rail but not enough to start?

The last time it ran, I ran the tank dry and it was hesitating, bucking and trying to die. Shut it off, then it sat for 2 weeks.

 

[99bluegst]

you can check for proper grounds to the sensor on the engine bay and power to with the key on! just my thoughts