Garages . My 90 rangie early Lucas EFI wouldnt run past idle & rev counter & alternator stopped working . i got EFI spec sheets & tested the parts individually checked fuel flow/pressure & iinjector pulse all within spec . But no go . Took it to garage 6 weeks later says "recond" the airflow meter, alternator ,replaced coil & ign module , TP sensor , temp sensors & now says ECU has gone away for" recondition ' . the cost is already over $1500 & expect ECU to be $500 & still have to get it Vined /regoed . HIs excuse is it doesnt have on board diagnostic system so only way to fix it is to replace parts . Reckon I should walk away from it & let him have it & buy something else?
richardmayes,
Jul 25, 10:52am
Still better than that $6,000 injector pump for a common rail Holden Rodeo we heard about on here a year or so ago.
I still have nightmares thinking about that thread.
thejazzpianoma,
Jul 25, 11:50am
Nope, not the case at all. It just requires using your brains a bit, ideally having a scope and proceeding in much the same manner as you explained. OBD really only makes things faster, but an old machine like that isn't going to be that sophisticated.
It would be interesting to find out what the real issue was in the end. I have sympathy for left field odd ball problems, but if it turns out to be something straight forward, not so much.
strobo,
Jul 25, 3:41pm
Any ones guess . Probably had a new drive belt fitted up wrong around the tensioner and is turning the alternator the wrong way! among other things , . voltage stabilizer unit,or , melted solder joints ,aternator , or even the fuel pump! See one coming Run for the hills fast .
franc123,
Jul 25, 4:06pm
If its had an alternator that's been playing up it could have caused all sorts of issues, not all ECUs are blessed with much over voltage protection. Any injected engine that's not accepting throttle usually has issues with its fuel supply or load sensing system ,be it MAF or MAP. All of this stuff can be time consuming to track down when you dont have access to live data like modern cars. Given its age a check of power supplies and grounds to these components should also be done.
intrade,
Jul 25, 4:17pm
so if the ecu is faulty why did they replace all the other parts? because you get no signals to the sensor from the ecu if it was dead . if you read my case study of the pile of crap mazda i had no comunication to the ecu and i tested everything before i made the call on the ecu, i did not replace all parts like your friggen swaptron moron did. i would not be surpriced if it still wont go after the ecu had been tested , if they have not even got a clue how to test sensors without a scantool.
strobo,
Jul 25, 4:59pm
richardmayes wrote: Still better than that $6,000 injector pump for a common rail Holden Rodeo we heard about on here a year or so ago.
I still have nightmares thinking about that thread. [/quote
Nothing beats Avon City Fords Falcon xr6 list price of $22000 for a T3 series Garrett turbo charger,(No ford name on it or ford part number ) although a little cheaper for $18000 at Hutchies For " The turbo charger not the car" ! I requested they fax the price thru. just for shits & giggles . The quote was faxed thru and of course a new genuine one was acquired elsewhere for $3500 . True :-) Tis the parts people ya gota watch out for not Garages.and who would take their vehicle to a garage that has no diagnostic gear anyway!
intrade,
Jul 28, 9:01am
i am just whatching a vid where it gets explained why some of these olde cars burned up computers , with 3 burned out computes in the same car high resistence ohms law matters ! resistence goes down amparage goes up. Engine ecu cant handle much current when they ground the connection internally , so some had clamping diods to restrict current flow in to the ecu later on.
i would fit a whole new aftermarket injection system on it if i was the owner of that thing and i wanted to keep it. otherwise your better off to call it quits when you got clearly friggen morons swapping parts. The ecu will be fried again if it dont has a clamping diod and the problem was a wiring loom issue causing over amparage and not cause by parts they already swapped out.
elect70,
Jul 28, 11:10am
^^ yep Im so ,pissed off with the useless swapatron garage &the Lucas crap im going to bring it back & convert it to carburetor as ignition system is separate , Prev owner even put in new loom & spent $$ on it yet rest of the car is is very good nick .Although the SU s & manifold are rare as now , can buy aftermarket manifold & downdraft carb . easy enough to do just have fit adjustable fuel pressure regulator Most of the serious off roaders do it to rr s for reliability . fuel consumption isnt an issue .
mram,
Jul 28, 12:59pm
The 14cux system was actually reasonably reliable for what it was, and simple. True they are pre OBD but it is possible to download rovergauge onto a pc and connect via a diagnostic plug on the loom. Can view inputs from afm tps and see which fuel maps are being used. Seems like you really needed someone who knows these well, instead of swapping and hoping
elect70,
Jul 29, 8:48am
^^^I was just reading some of prev owners bills . 1 example --- 8/6/2008 "ECU removed injector drivers & relays replaced by others refit test drive OK $386 ." dont know about drivers but sure as hell aint got relays for injectors , its a pulse fed to resitsor bank & to 3 v injectors . ?
tamarillo,
Jul 29, 12:20pm
Case book example of needing to use a specialist for older cars, especially complicated ones. I'd hope a specialist would have store of working used parts to test out, plus have better idea of problem. Ouch.
elect70,
Jul 29, 12:32pm
^^^ shouldnt have to , any garage should be able to correctly diagnose problems without resorting to swapatron , the info is available & should at least have a scope . Unfortunately EFI/ECUs arnt diy , everything else i can & have fixed myself .
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