Nissan FB 15 ECU Problem

[Sanjeewa_Wijetunge]

Dear Guys,

My car is Nissan FB 15 and since yesterday the engine check light is indicating from time to time.

So today I went to Auto Miraj and connected to a scanner and checked. According to the scanner, it shows the fault in "ECM - Engine Control Module"

Does this mean the car's ECU is Faulty?? Also kindly provide me a reliable person who can repair ECU faults.

Thanks.

[Davy]

  On 8/30/2018 at 4:00 AM, Sanjeewa_Wijetunge said:

Hi Guys, 

Yesterday I went to the agent and got it scanned again through the Nissan Consult 2 scanning system... 

Believe it or not it was not the ECU that is having the problem, it is the Ignition coils that is faulty.

After the scanning it showed error code "P1320" which is related to Ignition coils. So A*W asked me to replace all 4 ignition coils. I'm confused because at Auto Miraj when they scanned it showed error in the 'ECM - Engine Control Module".  Here it showed it is the ignition coils. At A*W, one ignition coil costs Rs 16,000.. 

Anybody have an idea how much it will cost if I can buy it from outside?

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Good job on getting it scanned by the agent. This again proves that getting a second opinion can save you from a random makabass ripping you off on replacing a good ECU. I would trust A M W's result over AutoMiraj's one mainly because their scanners are brand specific, hence more accurate. I also trust that they would make informed recommendations about how to proceed. 

P1320 is an ignition signal issue, so it may or may not be the ignition coils themselves. Since the agent said that the coils need to be replaced, I assume they tested them to make sure the cools get power and resistance in the coils themselves. If not, I suggest checking power to each ignition coil before replacing. 

From memory, the QG15DE engine on the FB15 has 4 ignition coils, one over each spark plug. Each coil should have a 3 pin connector. Positive, Ground and the ignition signal pins. Turn on the ignition switch and measure the voltage between the Positive terminal of each connector and the chassis. It should indicate 12V. You can also check continuity in the coils by switching the multimeter to Ohms and measuring resistance between the Positive and Ground terminals of each coil. These are steps the agent should have done before recommending you to replace coils. In addition to all this, there are tools to even graph the ignition coil voltage to figure out if one of them are behaving abnormally. 

If the issue is in the coils, you should be able to find recon (used) ones in Delkanda, but you never know the mileage of these used coils, so be prepared to deal with faulty units if you are unlucky. I suggest just getting one coil first and plugging it to each cylinder and clearing the error code to see which cylinder has the faulty coil. It's very unlikely that all coils failed at once. 

[Davy]

I suggest getting it scanned from a different place just to get a second opinion before opening up the ECU. Do you know what exact message was displayed in the scanner? Did you get a printed report?

Also, does the car start and run?

[MrCat]

Do you experience an actual issue with the car? Hesitate to start or accelerate, misfire, etc…?

Also, did they reset the error code(s)? If they did, has it come back since?

 

[vag2]

Yes, ECU fault is a very broad error and can be thrown also by faults in other conencted components like Sensors,Wiring harness..

[Sanjeewa_Wijetunge]

  On 8/27/2018 at 5:58 AM, Davy said:

I suggest getting it scanned from a different place just to get a second opinion before opening up the ECU. Do you know what exact message was displayed in the scanner? Did you get a printed report?

Also, does the car start and run?

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No, they didn't give me any printed reports since it was a quick scan. Yes, the car start and running without any issues. Also the ABS warning is also indicating in the dashboard.

[Sanjeewa_Wijetunge]

  On 8/27/2018 at 6:09 AM, MrCat said:

Do you experience an actual issue with the car? Hesitate to start or accelerate, misfire, etc…?

Also, did they reset the error code(s)? If they did, has it come back since?

 

Expand  

Yes the car is hesitating to start in the morning (Cold Start) but starting without any problem in the hot start. Also accelartion is not very good (pulling power).  Yes they reset the error codes and scanned the 2nd time also. Still the same error in "ECM" is coming.

[Davy]

  On 8/27/2018 at 7:29 AM, Sanjeewa_Wijetunge said:

No, they didn't give me any printed reports since it was a quick scan. Yes, the car start and running without any issues. Also the ABS warning is also indicating in the dashboard.

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Go to a proper garage and get it scanned. There should be specific errors that are revealed by a diagnostic scan. Not just "ECM issue". Take it to the agent and get it scanned and they will use their proprietary NISSAN tools to scan and identify the issue. If the car runs and drives, it might just be a loose connection somewhere or a faulty sensor. It's just that you need to rule out all other possible causes to think about ECU repair or replacement as it's a significant repair.

If your ABS warning light is also indicated, then obviously there is an issue with the ABS system which also should be revealed in the same diagnostic scan. It could be something as small as an open circuit in one of the wheel sensors to a faulty ABS module. 

[MrCat]

Unfortunately on board diagnostics on these older cars can be extremely limited and can return confusing codes/messages.  I can’t even get proper sensor readings on my N17 with an OBD2 port, the same code reader with the same app returns better/more data when connected to my Mazda 6.

But the good thing is that older cars are much simpler with a few basic sensors and simple reliable fuel injection. There is a higher chance that the error is actually ECM related (anything from wiring harness or ground to internal memory), so yes, getting it scanned from the agent is a good idea. If you have access to a spare ECM (i.e. friend’s car), can try swapping the ECM, it will work as long as there is no immobiliser module/code within the ECM itself. Additionally, a competent auto electrician may be able to check the basic supporting sensors such as O2 sensor (since you mentioned cold start issues), air flow, throttle position (if there is any) etc…

One more thing about the ABS warning, in an older car, there is a higher chance that the ABS module is completely independent of main OBD (i.e. ABS module and ECM does not talk to each other). I don’t know about this particular model in detail, but it is a possibility.  If you are waiting to get it checked/fixed, just pull the fuse and completely disable the module. It`s extremely dangerous if ABS kicks in when it`s not supposed to (ask me how I know). You can get a second opinion if you like, but I would always run a car with an ABS warning with the ABS fuse pulled off OR after disabling the ABS modulator by disconnecting the plug that connects to the modulator.

[Sanjeewa_Wijetunge]

Hi Guys, 

Yesterday I went to the agent and got it scanned again through the Nissan Consult 2 scanning system... 

Believe it or not it was not the ECU that is having the problem, it is the Ignition coils that is faulty.

After the scanning it showed error code "P1320" which is related to Ignition coils. So A*W asked me to replace all 4 ignition coils. I'm confused because at Auto Miraj when they scanned it showed error in the 'ECM - Engine Control Module".  Here it showed it is the ignition coils. At A*W, one ignition coil costs Rs 16,000.. 

Anybody have an idea how much it will cost if I can buy it from outside?

[TG10E24]

  On 8/30/2018 at 4:00 AM, Sanjeewa_Wijetunge said:

Hi Guys, 

Yesterday I went to the agent and got it scanned again through the Nissan Consult 2 scanning system... 

Believe it or not it was not the ECU that is having the problem, it is the Ignition coils that is faulty.

After the scanning it showed error code "P1320" which is related to Ignition coils. So A*W asked me to replace all 4 ignition coils. I'm confused because at Auto Miraj when they scanned it showed error in the 'ECM - Engine Control Module".  Here it showed it is the ignition coils. At A*W, one ignition coil costs Rs 16,000.. 

Anybody have an idea how much it will cost if I can buy it from outside?

Expand  

Again, old thread. Adding information for future reference.

P1320 is common on most of Nissan engines and If you do a Google search most of them will suggest you to change all 4 or 6 coils in first place. Changing all 4 coil packs costs more than 10,000 (reconditioned).

But, this error will also be thrown if the ECU detect a misfire. Not only the primary side (transistor or capacitor issue). This is according to my experience on my own Nissan.

So, first: you have to check power to the coil (pin 2 is ground and pin 3 is positive). You should have power, 12V always after turning the ignition ON. If the issue is intermittent, this will be hard to track. You may toggle the connector and see whether the wires or the connector faulty or not.

If the power supply is OK, then you can check the resistance of the coil  pack.

Pin 1 - 2: ~1.5Kohm, Pin 1 - 3: ~6Kohm, Pin 2 - 3: ~5Kohm (Sample data from 22448-6N215, 22448-6N015, 22448-6N011 ...etc.)

If any power drop even after disconnecting coils, move to the 0.47uF capacitor tapped in to the wiring harness (if any). Capacity should be match the written capacity on the capacitor itself. Also check for shorts.

If all OK, inspect coil tube for any leaks. With time, these plastic tubes will develop cracks and spark leaks (can be fixed with few heat shrink tubes). Some coil packs includes a 2.2Kohm resistor inside the tube and needs to be checked.

Next step is to check plugs for issues or check fuel trims for any rich or lean conditions which can cause a misfire.

Finally you can decide to replace one or more coil packs. You can get a known good coil pack and put it in one cylinder first and check the issue is solved or not. Likewise you have to move the known good one  to all four cylinders. This is to save money without throwing money away for unnecessary parts.

Tip: If you want to check for  spark, you can lift the coil up and listen for the spark and do a cylinder balance test. Never try to disconnect and connect coils from the chip when the engine is running it may fry the ECU if you mistakenly short or if the coil pack failed while re-connecting.

PS: You can read, erase codes without a scanner. Do a Google search I also have uploaded a video.

Hope this helps.