oldskewel

iTrader: (1)

WAIT!!! When I said it runs fine, I mean for debugging purposes. Not saying it would have full power or efficiency, but that it runs fine for testing. If the ECU is designed to use the MAF reading to optimize power and efficiency, then of course, when that signal is gone, it will do its best, but it will not be as good.

So if for example, you think your air filter / MAF / etc. are preventing your car from running OK, what I'm saying is that you should be able to remove all those things and it should run fine. And if it does not, then your problem is somewhere else.

It will also run just fine with the serpentine / drive / alternator belt removed ... until the battery eventually dies. And again, not recommended to do that, but useful for debugging. Of course with no belt, you'd have no power steering, so actually driving would be difficult. In particular, removing the drive belt for debugging is helpful in isolating a weird noise that may or may not be coming from one of the pulleys on the drive belt.

JonnyO78

Oh, alright! I thought you were saying you eliminated them, like it's a thing to do. I could unplug it and see if that improves things.

HOWEVER, now it won't start. AND I'm working 2 of these at once now. The other is a 1991. I started a thread on it. I'm thinking I may just send both ECUs, and probably the climate controls as well, to someone to rebuild. TAE maybe? But can the ECU be tested as well? Because I don't exactly want to pay like $90 to have someone replace capacitors in a dead ECU. I'd sooner buy a $200 rebuilt one.

Anyway. I'm stalled for now until next pay day. Going up to Portland to a yard for parts. They have a 91 there, so maybe I'll ****** it's ECU along with about a billion other things.

oldskewel

iTrader: (1)

Again to clarify ...

Correct, definitely NOT a thing to do as a "mod"

It is a debugging step.

And what you'd be looking for is to see if there is any change. Not necessarily an improvement.

So if you've got a problem, and you wonder if it might be something wrong with the MAF, then you do this. You remove the MAF.

I've said that the car will run fine with the MAF, etc. removed. But a bad MAF could be causing problems.

So if you remove the MAF and the problems go away, then that would suggest that yes, maybe the MAF is bad, and is the source of your problems.

But if you remove the MAF and it runs just as bad as it did before, that tells you that there is something else wrong, other than the MAF. You might still have a MAF problem as well, but you definitely have another problem. And it would probably be easiest to find that other problem leaving the MAF off.

And ...

oldskewel

iTrader: (1)

On the ECU's be aware that even from the same model year, there were different versions used. For example TRAC / no TRAC, air suspension / springs, etc. I think Yamae started a thread on here where he was trying to document all the different numbers out there. You might want to confirm a match before swapping or buying.

Also, the capacitor soldering is really not that hard. And the parts cost is just a few dollars there. If you can't do it, maybe a friend could. With any soldering experience, it's an easy job. Even if you don't want to follow that path, just opening up the ECU to do a visual inspection of the capacitors for leaking or bulging might be helpful - then you'd be able to make a better decision about investing in that repair.

JonnyO78

Yep! I got it. Saying it starts back up, can I unplug the MAF while it is running to see if the issue improves?

While I KINDA think that I could probably handle soldering it myself, my son who does more soldering than I feels less than confident, so I'm leaning towards sending them in. I read a good deal of the ECU thread now, and Yamae's model # thread, so I'm aware of all the various models and what goes into replacing the caps. HOWEVER, I'm more interested in if they can be tested to insure none of the other electronics have been damaged due to shorts/surges.

I pulled the one off the 91 and it looks clean aside from a fine patina of white corrosion. Which is kinda disheartening since it's an electrical nightmare. I'm hoping the 91 at the yard has the same model, but I'm thinking it's unlikely since it the features list on the VIN is different. I guess I'll find out next week.

spuds

Why dont you call driftmotion in montclare in end of ecu thread and ask them?

JonnyO78

I'm considering them. However TAE does the LCD replacements as well. I think I only need the cc's done, but I'm thinking one shop for all might net a better price. IF I don't decide to do it all myself.

I'm pretty handy with an iron.