tg95

1992 SC300 with 140,000 miles
Has been giving me many troubles, ecu has been repaired (car used to smoke and smell like unburnt gas which is now fixed after it being repaired), new tps correctly calibrated, and regular maintenance done (spark plugs and wires, oil change, fuel pump and filter). All the fuses were the wrong amps also, previous owner threw in all 30 amp fuses in the kick panel so i went through and corrected them all. I did this while the ecu was gone and getting repaired, after i get the ecu back i fire the car up and my CEL, TRAC, and the "trac off" light in the bottom left of the dash cluster stay on while car is running. Car will also not go over 2500 rpms but does idle good. So i go to jump the diagnostic box to check the CEL te1 and e1 with my key on the "on" position, CEL turns off and no flashing. My CEL is only on when the car is running but doesn't flash for any codes.

Any help is greatly appreciated i've read all over these forums and can't find one with my case and im tired of throwing money at this thing and it never being the fix. thanks!

LeX2K

You sure the jumper is making good connection?

tg95

Fairly sure, i pushed it in as far as it would go and pulled it out and put it back in many times to make sure it wasn't me.
Any recommendations on anything better to use for the jumper other than a paperclip?

LeX2K

I use pins out of an unknown connector. Another method is solder some multi strand wire then flatten with pliers. Either way try something besides a paperclip just to make sure it isn't a bad connection.

Can test your paperclip by jumpering B+ and FP this will make the fuel pump run you'll be able to hear it.

tg95

Just tried that with the paperclip and it didn't kick on my fuel pump. Would the key need to be in the car for it to kick on? Would the fuel ecu bypass trick affect the outcome of it not coming on?

LeX2K

Key on engine off for all tests using the jumper. Fuel pump bypass has no effect on the CEL.

tg95

So I made a new jumper wire with copper, used it in te1 and e1 and didn’t get any CEL flashes with my key on the on position again. I was messing with the jumper trying to reposition it again and it sparked, so i know it’s got some current going to the jumper. Yes i have dielectric grease in the ports, guess it just got through.

tg95

Just tried the diagnostic box under the dash te1 and e1. Still no flashing.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

LeX2K

TE1 and E1 shouldn't spark that is a low current connection going to the ECU. Maybe your computer is simply bad, after all that fiddling you should have got the CEL flashing.

tg95

hm. I've had it repaired twice by a reputable guy, he put it in his supra with a non vvti and showed proof it was my ecu plugged in and it ran fine. Should i try opening up the ecu myself and giving it a look over to see if anything melted or went wrong? or could my wiring harness just be screwed? if so are there any common areas where i should check for charred wires?

LeX2K

Since you can't read codes from either diagnostic port that would seem to rule out a wiring issue. Why was the ECU repaired twice? Should only take 1 try.

tg95

The first time he sent it back i plugged it in and the car cranked but didn't fire the motor only turned and my fuel pump was on constantly even with the key out the car i had to unhook my battery for it to kick off. There was also light white smoke coming from my steering column. He told me to send it back to him and he would relook at it and fix it.

LeX2K

Okay this is ominous it's possible a fuse block or connectors have been damaged.

tg95

Yes i knew it was a very serious sign and so i immediately knew to unhook my battery. That is when I went to check my kick panel to see if i had any blown fuses and to my surprise they were all 30 amp fuses, very scary thank god i unhooked it immediately. The smoking hasn't happen since i put it back in from the 2nd repair, should i pull off my steering wheel off and check back behind where it was smoking from or what?

LeX2K

Fried fuse boxes are tricky because they often fail internally. If you ever open one up (they are not actually designed to be opened) you'll be surprised how complex they are how many bus bars there are. One thing you can do is look at as many connectors as possible especially the male ones, look for toasted pins or melted plastic.