What is this epoxy like stuff in my ECU?

[dsmalaska]

So today I decided to open up my ecu and to my surprise I have an EPROM ecu, pretty happy about that but what is this stuff? It's like hard expoxy the best I can explain it. I attached a picture below thanks in advanced.

 

[miliman13]

Ive never seen that in ANY ecu EVER.
but that some foreign stuff there.

 

[dsmalaska]

Ive never seen that in ANY ecu EVER.
but that some foreign stuff there.

That doesn't sound good haha.. It runs fine, idk if its some cheap computer shop fix or something.

 

[boost97gst]

Looks like rtv. I see circuit boards on a daily basis practically. Ive seen old school phone batteries glued to boards for PROM memory but theres nothing in a dsm ecu that requires any of that . If it runs, dont worry about it. Nothing you can do to "fix" that except break it.

 

[dsmalaska]

Looks like rtv. I see circuit boards on a daily basis practically. Ive seen old school phone batteries glued to boards for PROM memory but theres nothing in a dsm ecu that requires any of that . If it runs, dont worry about it. Nothing you can do to "fix" that except break it.

Well alright then pretty simply answer! Thanks boost97gst

 

[EagleTalonTim]

Lol, wow! That is the first time I have ever seen anyone do that before. It looks like the glue they used to hold down components or keep them from vibrating too much. Apparently, someone has replaced the caps in your ECU and decided to make sure they were held in really good! I, personally, would check under the board to make sure the solder was properly done to those caps before an issue actually arises. If the solder looks like a ball on the leads, then it is probably not done right and I would recommend getting that fixed before it breaks loose from the circuit board pad. Just my 2 cents

 

[dsmalaska]

Lol, wow! That is the first time I have ever seen anyone do that before. It looks like the glue they used to hold down components or keep them from vibrating too much. Apparently, someone has replaced the caps in your ECU and decided to make sure they were held in really good! I, personally, would check under the board to make sure the solder was properly done to those caps before an issue actually arises. If the solder looks like a ball on the leads, then it is probably not done right and I would recommend getting that fixed before it breaks loose from the circuit board pad. Just my 2 cents

how would I check? just unscrew it completely and look on the underside of the board?

 

[EagleTalonTim]

Yes, remove the circuit board from the case and look under it to see the solder joints where the capacitors go through the board. If they don't look like the rest of the solder joints, it may need to be repaired. It is a simple fix if you have a solder iron and some solder flux (Not plumbing flux as this will corrode the copper).

 

[dsmalaska]

Yes, remove the circuit board from the case and look under it to see the solder joints where the capacitors go through the board. If they don't look like the rest of the solder joints, it may need to be repaired. It is a simple fix if you have a solder iron and some solder flux (Not plumbing flux as this will corrode the copper).

Thank you eagletalontim, I will check that right now. do you have any idea why they would put whatever that is on the board though? theres no stickers on the ecu cover saying a shop did it, so im assuming one of the owners or a friend of theres did it.

 

[EagleTalonTim]

I would think it was because of vibration. That is really the only reason why the putty is used. It is an excessive amount on there for sure! For such small caps and the little amount of vibration they would see, I could not see a reason why they would be installed especially be a "through hole" component that should sit flush on the board. In your picture, it does not look like they sit flush. Kind of hard to tell.

 

[dsmalaska]

I would think it was because of vibration. That is really the only reason why the putty is used. It is an excessive amount on there for sure! For such small caps and the little amount of vibration they would see, I could not see a reason why they would be installed especially be a "through hole" component that should sit flush on the board. In your picture, it does not look like they sit flush. Kind of hard to tell.

Here are some photos, I circled two post that looked out of the ordinary from the others.

 

[EagleTalonTim]

A little excessive on the solder, but they look like they will hold just fine. I would run it like it is and not worry about it

 

[dsmalaska]

A little excessive on the solder, but they look like they will hold just fine. I would run it like it is and not worry about it

Awesome, thank you for your help! Really eased my mind about it.

 

[DSM1G90]

The one pict looks like a trace wire was added to make a complete connection - done these a few times to get the connection completed..

 

[JusMX141]

I've seen entire boards smothered in RTV in the past after the capacitors have been replaced. I believe it's done for two reasons- minimizing vibration to keep the capacitors from leaking again, and if they SHOULD leak then the RTV will protect the rest of the board in theory.

The bad news is that shit is about impossible to get off, so anyone considering doing an ECU repair in the future would likely turn away a mess like this as soon as the cover is removed.

 

[dsmalaska]

I've seen entire boards smothered in RTV in the past after the capacitors have been replaced. I believe it's done for two reasons- minimizing vibration to keep the capacitors from leaking again, and if they SHOULD leak then the RTV will protect the rest of the board in theory.

The bad news is that shit is about impossible to get off, so anyone considering doing an ECU repair in the future would likely turn away a mess like this as soon as the cover is removed.

Would this cause a problem if I sent it out to ecmlink?

 

[dsmalaska]

The one pict looks like a trace wire was added to make a complete connection - done these a few times to get the connection completed..

So it's not exactly done right but it still works basically?

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Boy would the guys scratch their heads when you send it off. I have never seen Mitsu Bond used in the computer....jeeze. It can have Link put into it but they may charge somewhat extra to clean up the board or might suggest that you go with a different ECU. I know those guys have seen alot of "things" but this may take the cake. Talk to Thomas at ECU Tuning and have him take a look at the pictures then see what he has to say. They are a supporting vendor on here so hit him up and good luck.

 

[DSM1G90]

So it's not exactly done right but it still works basically?

Ya, if it works, it's all we need to be concerned about

If one gets a leaky cap, acetone and a good brush cleans that corrosion off the boards quite nicely.

 

[DSM Chase]

I guess rtv really does fix all, that's it I'm fixing the hole in my block with it