Busted My Ecu/ecm

Ripper · September 8, 2008

Hi all

well as you know...i got a 93 ae100 sprinter... yep that's a Toyota and no it's not bulletproof :)

Was having starting problems last friday and saturday it just absolutely refused to start...

Towed it to toyota since they are close by and after checking her up fully... they concluded that i have busted/fried my ECU

Toyota doesn't stock parts for older cars and they roughly guessed a new unit to be over 40k plus unknown delivery times

Now i have two options

1. go to delkanda area and find a recon/used ECU for a 5AFE motor

2. get t he ECU "fixed" by one of those ECU experts, one fella stays quite close to my place in wattala

the only nagging thought for me is that even if i buy a used ECU for the exact model, that unit will still be over 10 years old...upto 15 years actually <_<

so there's no guessing when that too will go bust..

If i "repair" the ECU at least the "parts" used will be "newer" and might hold up longer?????

any ideas on which route to go for???????

One of my friends said that i might be able to find a used ECU from 5k-10k+

No idea about repair costs but i'd guess that too will be falling somewhere over 5k

Help!

Car Maniac · September 8, 2008

Hi Ripper,

Well. I don't know whether its ok to publish a name of a garage but Im sure you already know about this place. Recently when I went to get my car repaired and while I was waiting at Lal Alawa**e's garage in B'tmulla, there was a Toyota Corolla AE100 same as yours with a busted 5A-FE ECU. The technicians there identified that ECU had busted due to a short circuit, and within 5 to 6 hours they brought an ECU from somewhere (As far as I know it should be from a trustworthy place because Mr. L*l is really concerned about the quality of his repairs. So in my experience his repairs are reasonable and has quality) Since they found the replacement ECU from somewhere, they have some sort of guarantee and responsibility. Then within few mts they fixed it and I think they reset the ECU, and then the car was fine and ready to be delivered back to the owner. The repair didn't even take one day. I know some of Auto Lanka guys have had bad experiences with Mr. Lal. But for me he is ok so far. :unsure: So here in your case, I would recommend Lal to you because as far as know his prices are the most reasonable in town and he has some guarantee about what he does. Im not an ambassador of Mr. Lal and Im speaking out of my own experiences since I have been going there for repairs from a long time and I have seen how his work is.

And if you are not sure about the prices of his labor charges for this job, before you go there, you can give him a call and ask how it is. Usually he says his charges via the phone if the repair he has to do is clear.

Good luck and wish you all the best to recover your car back to life.

Edited September 8, 2008 by Car Maniac

Ruslan · September 8, 2008

Hi all
well as you know...i got a 93 ae100 sprinter... yep that's a Toyota and no it's not bulletproof :)

Was having starting problems last friday and saturday it just absolutely refused to start...

Towed it to toyota since they are close by and after checking her up fully... they concluded that i have busted/fried my ECU

Toyota doesn't stock parts for older cars and they roughly guessed a new unit to be over 40k plus unknown delivery times

Now i have two options

1. go to delkanda area and find a recon/used ECU for a 5AFE motor

2. get t he ECU "fixed" by one of those ECU experts, one fella stays quite close to my place in wattala

the only nagging thought for me is that even if i buy a used ECU for the exact model, that unit will still be over 10 years old...upto 15 years actually

so there's no guessing when that too will go bust..

If i "repair" the ECU at least the "parts" used will be "newer" and might hold up longer?????

any ideas on which route to go for???????

One of my friends said that i might be able to find a used ECU from 5k-10k+

No idea about repair costs but i'd guess that too will be falling somewhere over 5k

Help!

Damn! that's bad. :unsure: i think you better get a used ECU than repaired one. cos even if it's older 10 15 years doesn't mean that they've been used for that much years. (Some ECUs might've being removed from wrecks) even if you repaired the ECU, the Original firmware has to be re flashed to the ECU back AFAIK. it even differs from Manual tranny ECU and Auto tranny ECU. why don't u ask from Zaki?

Ripper · September 8, 2008

thanks guys for all the replies

car maniac

well maybe the guys is good but don't think i can tow it back to some other place now since toyota have already started on the job. got a friend there too so he's sorta looking after the job extra set of eyes at least

Ruslan

yeah man it sucks... worst time too due to bad weather etc,,, don't have an extra set of wheels so having to cab/trishaw it these days

toyota folks too said to get a used unit but wanted me to make sure all the numbers match perfectly.

apparently i have a small shortage in the EFI system for the ECU to commit suicide like this out of the blue

I would trust toyota folks to sort it out perfectly so that the new unit too won't get fried... that's the reason i gave it to toyota in the first place despite possible higher charges...

plus they might be able to do a proper ECU setup and re-tune or whatever they have to do without too much of a fuss...

the only hitch is higher service charges etc...hell a tuneup there costs over 12k apparently :unsure:

VVTI on AL has offered to take me to delkanda area for a ECU hunt tomorrow... guess i'll be buying a used one after all...

Hopefully i won't have to break a bank to fund the bloody thing

will keep you guys posted

Edited September 8, 2008 by Ripper

Pericles · September 8, 2008

I would have a chat with Zakie first too. At least see if he knows where to get one.

Velocity · September 9, 2008

Hi all
well as you know...i got a 93 ae100 sprinter... yep that's a Toyota and no it's not bulletproof :)

Was having starting problems last friday and saturday it just absolutely refused to start...

Towed it to toyota since they are close by and after checking her up fully... they concluded that i have busted/fried my ECU

Toyota doesn't stock parts for older cars and they roughly guessed a new unit to be over 40k plus unknown delivery times

Now i have two options

1. go to delkanda area and find a recon/used ECU for a 5AFE motor

2. get t he ECU "fixed" by one of those ECU experts, one fella stays quite close to my place in wattala

the only nagging thought for me is that even if i buy a used ECU for the exact model, that unit will still be over 10 years old...upto 15 years actually

so there's no guessing when that too will go bust..

If i "repair" the ECU at least the "parts" used will be "newer" and might hold up longer?????

any ideas on which route to go for???????

One of my friends said that i might be able to find a used ECU from 5k-10k+

No idea about repair costs but i'd guess that too will be falling somewhere over 5k

Help!

I know a chap who even redid a Evo 9 ECU.

Only problem is he is in matara.

Unless you can courier it to him.

I guess its a matter of busted IC's or some small thing with your ECU,

If you want i can give his number.

The fact is if its short circuit its like a Fuse going in your House. There should be safe guard or something like which takes the jolt and it burns of so that the current does not leak to more vital parts of the ECU,

So you cannot infact call your ECU is busted unless its completely burnt off !!!

I am not a electro guy at all, but i have seen this chap is redo a busted ECU by just replacing a IC worth a around Rs 250/=

charitha19 · September 9, 2008

i say get a second opinion as well.. i have an astina.. and i had the same starting problem.. she was not firing at all. but the engine was turning over... everyone thought it was the ECU... but finally it was a just bad wiring from the ECU to the distributer.... these lines get oxidesied with time and refuse to send signals acorss somtimes.. just my two cents on the matter.. and by the way my car is 18 years old now....

unless u are sure the guy is an expert i dont recomened fixing up the ECU as u never know other ripple effects it might bring.. but if the guy has the expertise and knows toyota ECU's then fixing ur own one would be better as u said before u will know what excatly went in... because once one of my friends repaored his ECU and after some time.. the car would just acclerate withoy us pressing the gas... thats scary in our roads... thought the car became KITT or something..

dinosh · September 9, 2008

Hey Ripper... I would recomend you to get the ECU checked by an expert. Probably it may be something minor that would be causing the ECU to malfunction & will not require to change the complete ECU it-self. The agents always find the easy way out by replacing parts.

Ripper · September 9, 2008

thanks guys for replies.

according to toyota the ECU basic test signal or whatever is not coming. they are 100% sure it's burnt out. Checked with an ECU repair guy close to my house in wattala.

I've got him to fix the ECU on my XR and to date no issues. he's known for ECU repairs and gives you sorta 1 year warranty on his work... at least that was the case for my bike ECU.

however when i met him he couldn't promise me a delivery time or a rough cost for the job.

And also he said that a recon ECU might be cheaper too 5k-8k according to him...

So i thought i'll get a recon ECU if i can find one...use it for the moment since i need the wheels asap...

If i can't find the bloody thing then i will give it to this guy get it fixed...

apparently unless the main chips are busted all else is quite easy to fix and relatively cheap...

charitha19 · September 9, 2008

thanks guys for replies.
according to toyota the ECU basic test signal or whatever is not coming. they are 100% sure it's burnt out. Checked with an ECU repair guy close to my house in wattala.

I've got him to fix the ECU on my XR and to date no issues. he's known for ECU repairs and gives you sorta 1 year warranty on his work... at least that was the case for my bike ECU.

however when i met him he couldn't promise me a delivery time or a rough cost for the job.

And also he said that a recon ECU might be cheaper too 5k-8k according to him...

So i thought i'll get a recon ECU if i can find one...use it for the moment since i need the wheels asap...

If i can't find the bloody thing then i will give it to this guy get it fixed...

apparently unless the main chips are busted all else is quite easy to fix and relatively cheap...

yep sounds like a good plan.... hmmm.. maybe if u find a recon ECU u can do some chipping with this one see what u can do... hmmm..... :rolleyes:

Ripper · September 9, 2008

yep sounds like a good plan.... hmmm.. maybe if u find a recon ECU u can do some chipping with this one see what u can do... hmmm.....

thanks but what mods for the ae100 machang :) the fella hates to take turns which is my biggest gripe against it...

Using the car within it's capacities...

next change defa something with "handling" so that i don't have to clutch it in corners so the wont go into a spin :lol:

charitha19 · September 9, 2008

thanks but what mods for the ae100 machang :) the fella hates to take turns which is my biggest gripe against it...
Using the car within it's capacities...

next change defa something with "handling" so that i don't have to clutch it in corners so the wont go into a spin

hmmm... wider tires pehaps if u have the money for the extra fuel and tires... hmm.... :unsure: wish we could do projects like people in first world countries... we still can but dont have the "greens" to do it i guesss.

Elvis_Pil · September 9, 2008

thanks but what mods for the ae100 machang the fella hates to take turns which is my biggest gripe against it...
Using the car within it's capacities...

next change defa something with "handling" so that i don't have to clutch it in corners so the wont go into a spin

An AE100 Sprinter was raced about 6 years ago... it had a reasonable level of success in gravel as well as the circuits. Have owned one before and its 'decent quick' for a 1.5

charitha19 · September 9, 2008

An AE100 Sprinter was raced about 6 years ago... it had a reasonable level of success in gravel as well as the circuits. Have owned one before and its 'decent quick' for a 1.5

see man.. never under estimate what u have... :rolleyes: we are lucky to own at least what we have...

check this out if i had the money what i could do to my 1990 astina.

http://sturtevant.com/reed/323pics/323dwalsh.htm

now thats sweet.. completely looks stock from outside...

The Don · September 9, 2008

Hi all
well as you know...i got a 93 ae100 sprinter... yep that's a Toyota and no it's not bulletproof :)

Was having starting problems last friday and saturday it just absolutely refused to start...

Towed it to toyota since they are close by and after checking her up fully... they concluded that i have busted/fried my ECU

Toyota doesn't stock parts for older cars and they roughly guessed a new unit to be over 40k plus unknown delivery times

Now i have two options

1. go to delkanda area and find a recon/used ECU for a 5AFE motor

2. get t he ECU "fixed" by one of those ECU experts, one fella stays quite close to my place in wattala

the only nagging thought for me is that even if i buy a used ECU for the exact model, that unit will still be over 10 years old...upto 15 years actually

so there's no guessing when that too will go bust..

If i "repair" the ECU at least the "parts" used will be "newer" and might hold up longer?????

any ideas on which route to go for???????

One of my friends said that i might be able to find a used ECU from 5k-10k+

No idea about repair costs but i'd guess that too will be falling somewhere over 5k

Help!

Hi Ripper,

I've been there, done that, except in my case the cost of repair was much higher, as it took a long time for 3 specialist garrages to identify the problem. My problem was slightly different, the car started having hunting idle problems and then the check engine light came on and it didn't go away. A chap who repairs ECU's sorted out the hunting idle problem but could not sort out the check engine light problem so after a lot of hunting found a ECU and replaced it !

I do not think you should have too much difficulty finding a ECU as your car is so popular. The 2 places to look at the Engine Watte in Panchikawatte, or the many body parts shops spread across the country. I know there are a few places in Peliyagoda so worth having a look before hitting Delkanda.

The reason why ECU's fail most often is water damage, either due to water getting in to the ECU or plain old condensation ! Sometimes oxidisation also causes failure or at times the capacitors just give up (the most common reason behind Mitsubishi ECU failures !) !

Devinda_Z · September 9, 2008

An AE100 Sprinter was raced about 6 years ago... it had a reasonable level of success in gravel as well as the circuits. Have owned one before and its 'decent quick' for a 1.5

aaah yes i remember that car!

Driven by Javid Wahab it came in 3rd place over-all at the FIA sanctioned MRA rally of 2002 if i recall correctly!

Ripper · September 9, 2008

aaah yes i remember that car!
Driven by Javid Wahab it came in 3rd place over-all at the FIA sanctioned MRA rally of 2002 if i recall correctly!

man what's wrong with you remember such fine details :)

anyhoo.. life aint easy even when you own a bulletproof toyota and try to fix it at the agents themselves

went to yunikon delkanda and got meself the ecu... the box was for auto tranny but when we opened it up the circuit board numbers matched...

cost 9k and lot of grief during school time traffic...

Managed to get it to toyota within couple of hours but when i went to the workshop my distributor was taken apart :unsure:

apparently they needed to replace something in there plus an O-ring... re-assembled the thing back, hooked up the "new" ecu and fired her up... but no joy. starter would fire but motor just didn't start...

after fiddling with the spark wires they figured out there was no spark... took the distributor apart and got to the ignition coil... they connected the coil to the battery to get a spark... no luck there too

Finally they got another distributor from another as a test and with that one on...motor fired right up

according to them i need to clean my injectors "properly" and do a full tuneup but leaving that aside motor was running A ok...

So now...I'm beginning to wonder whether the ECU was actually fried in the first place??? Can only the distributor cause all the trouble it gave me???

On the hunt for a 110 distributor since i though i'll get the relatively newer 110 distributor over the older 100 one cos both parts match...

The parts kade right opposite toyota wanted 12.5k for the distributor and wires cos it was fixed to an engine they had

I aint after cosmetics so told him to bugger off and hitting delkanda again for the thing hopefully at a lower price

The Don · September 9, 2008

man what's wrong with you remember such fine details :)
anyhoo.. life aint easy even when you own a bulletproof toyota and try to fix it at the agents themselves

went to yunikon delkanda and got meself the ecu... the box was for auto tranny but when we opened it up the circuit board numbers matched...

cost 9k and lot of grief during school time traffic...

Managed to get it to toyota within couple of hours but when i went to the workshop my distributor was taken apart

apparently they needed to replace something in there plus an O-ring... re-assembled the thing back, hooked up the "new" ecu and fired her up... but no joy. starter would fire but motor just didn't start...

after fiddling with the spark wires they figured out there was no spark... took the distributor apart and got to the ignition coil... they connected the coil to the battery to get a spark... no luck there too

Finally they got another distributor from another as a test and with that one on...motor fired right up

according to them i need to clean my injectors "properly" and do a full tuneup but leaving that aside motor was running A ok...

So now...I'm beginning to wonder whether the ECU was actually fried in the first place??? Can only the distributor cause all the trouble it gave me???

On the hunt for a 110 distributor since i though i'll get the relatively newer 110 distributor over the older 100 one cos both parts match...

The parts kade right opposite toyota wanted 12.5k for the distributor and wires cos it was fixed to an engine they had

I aint after cosmetics so told him to bugger off and hitting delkanda again for the thing hopefully at a lower price

Ripper, if the ECU did not respond to diagnostic equipment, there was probably an issue with the ECU as well as other things, though to be honest I share your scepticism .......

Only one way to test your theory though, after the Distributor is repaired plug the old ECU and see if the car works

I'm surprised they after taking the distributor apart could not fix it ....... they had obviously realised there was a problem with the distributor on a car without an ECU so something smells a little bit fishy ..... perhaps its just me being cynical !

Most auto garages, agents are a rip off, not to mention spare part shops particularly body part and used engine part chaps !

Edited September 9, 2008 by The Don

Ripper · September 9, 2008

Ripper, if the ECU did not respond to diagnostic equipment, there was probably an issue with the ECU as well as other things, though to be honest I share your scepticism .......
Only one way to test your theory though, after the Distributor is repaired plug the old ECU and see if the car works

I'm surprised they after taking the distributor apart could not fix it ....... they had obviously realised there was a problem with the distributor on a car without an ECU so something smells a little bit fishy ..... perhaps its just me being cynical !

Most auto garages, agents are a rip off, not to mention spare part shops particularly body part and used engine part chaps !

no machang...they did fix the distributor back just that it wasn't working

the funny thing was that initially they only told me that the ECU was fried... it's a bit shocking to hear that they claim to that conclusion without first checking the ignition coil... which seems to be the problem now :unsure:

also on diagnostic equipment... shamefully i didn't know until today that the motor has to be running for the diagnostic computer to "diagnose" the issue I can understand on certain issues this is really helpful but it's downright absurd you absolutely have to have the motor running to do the test...

lesson learnt... no more agents unless it's such a job that only agents can do... wasn't impressed with them at all..

i would've expected them to check the ignition coil and the distributor cos that seemed like a first step before checking the ECU... maybe i'm wrong but everytime my XR refuses to start... i always check if i get spark and take it from there...

Now i have to go again to delkanda to hunt 4 the distributor and had they told me earlier...would've saved me another trip there

btw... i'm giving the ECU to be tested by electronics folks and will make an official complaint if it turns out to be healthy

The Don · September 9, 2008

no machang...they did fix the distributor back just that it wasn't working
the funny thing was that initially they only told me that the ECU was fried... it's a bit shocking to hear that they claim to that conclusion without first checking the ignition coil... which seems to be the problem now

also on diagnostic equipment... shamefully i didn't know until today that the motor has to be running for the diagnostic computer to "diagnose" the issue I can understand on certain issues this is really helpful but it's downright absurd you absolutely have to have the motor running to do the test...

lesson learnt... no more agents unless it's such a job that only agents can do... wasn't impressed with them at all..

i would've expected them to check the ignition coil and the distributor cos that seemed like a first step before checking the ECU... maybe i'm wrong but everytime my XR refuses to start... i always check if i get spark and take it from there...

Now i have to go again to delkanda to hunt 4 the distributor and had they told me earlier...would've saved me another trip there

btw... i'm giving the ECU to be tested by electronics folks and will make an official complaint if it turns out to be healthy

I think the fact the decided to check the distributor, while you were away hunting for an ECU means that at some point they realised something !

It is exceedingly difficult to get your money back from these motor parts places, but I suggest you give it a try should the original ECU prove to be working. Perhaps you should establish that before you go hunting in Delkanda again and save you another trip !

I think you are owed at least money off the repair for the hassle they put you through needlessly which might turn out to be a school boy error !

singithi · January 5, 2012

I also have AE100-1993 car.My problem is little different.It start fine for 2,3 minutes and miss the engine.

I tried to get used 5A FE ECU, but i couldn't find.

Then I replaced with 4A FE, then the engine miss not more there. Engine is seems to running Ok.

But I'm not sure what side effects will come from this 4A FE ECU.

Ripper · January 5, 2012

I also have AE100-1993 car.My problem is little different.It start fine for 2,3 minutes and miss the engine.

I tried to get used 5A FE ECU, but i couldn't find.

Then I replaced with 4A FE, then the engine miss not more there. Engine is seems to running Ok.

But I'm not sure what side effects will come from this 4A FE ECU.

If the car runs fine as you say, i wouldn't worry about it too much. toyota is renowned for using the same part as much as they can across their lineup.

But i find it odd that finding a 5a-fe ECU proved to be hard.

When i wanted one...delkanda side breaker shops had them in bucket loads!

nexus · January 5, 2012

I also have AE100-1993 car.My problem is little different.It start fine for 2,3 minutes and miss the engine.

I tried to get used 5A FE ECU, but i couldn't find.

Then I replaced with 4A FE, then the engine miss not more there. Engine is seems to running Ok.

But I'm not sure what side effects will come from this 4A FE ECU.

is your car is a manual gear one? if so finding ecu for it is difficult i don't think 4A FE ecu is gonna match your car so the best solution to you is find a ecu from a ae110 or carina at192 both of those cars comes with 5AFE engine

singithi · January 6, 2012

Yes it is Manual. I have changed with a new Coolant Temp Sensor and plugged the 5A FE ECU and after that the engine miss gone and I drive two days about 50km s. After that the same problem again came.

What would be the reason.

Is it a problem with a ecu?

Edited January 6, 2012 by singithi