Hi folks, well my ECU just keeps on giving problems. Can anybody on here advise me who is the hands down best person I can send it to to fix? Seems to be lots of frauds out there. Additionally can anybody tell me how I can go about importing a new one from Toyota in Japan?

I have to do something or my car is out...

 

Your profile location provides "TT"
Trinidad & Tobago?

Before sending your ECU out for replacement capacitors, due to supply chain issues, assemble the correct quality Japanese capacitors ahead of time...
The brand, series, uf and voltage are located on capacitor case. The manufacturer can advise you regarding superceding series.

Have found Nichicon, United Chemi-Con and Rubycon accessible... Panasonic not at all.

One thing to mind is newer capacitors offer improved performance with smaller case size.

I acquire capacitor case measurements, if necessary to maintain same case size, purchase higher voltage.

If unable to find a local vendor, there are several excellent resources in Chicago.

They prefer not to hunt down capacitors..

 

Problem is that I have sent it to repair twice already and its still not working.

 

Scant information which to offer assistance...

The ECU is original problem??

Post a timeline containing issues and if available before and after images of components that were serviced on ECU

 

Well it all started when the car went to get the transmission rebuilt. When that job was finished the car wouldn't start. I had a spare ECU that I put in and got it started and working. From there I sent the one that wasn't working to a business in the US that rebuilds them but when it came back it still wasn't working - but the spare was.

So then I got the name of another guy in Texas who rebuilds them and sent it up to him and when it came back - no joy. So I'm now looking for a really good tech who really knows how to rebuild these things or maybe even a way to buy a new one for Toyota.

I don't have any before pics but I am attaching a couple I just took.

 

what business in the US did you use? there are a few but not that many.
also who in texas did your work?
if you don't want to disclose, i understand.

at this point, it would be opportune to look at other parts of the engine outside of the ECU. what are your symptoms? no start? starts but runs poorly? high idle? etc.

 

Hey Timmy, no I have no problem mentioning the name of the ones who worked on my ECU. The first place I sent it to was Automotive Scientific Inc, in Tennessee and the last person who worked on it was Josh Beaumont in Texas.

And yes and yes. I have been thinking the same thing. The spare iffy ECU I have is not showing any codes and the one I just got back from Josh is showing code 14 which I believe is igniter no 1. Neither of them are starting the car now (fuel flow is fine but no spark). So I just went ahead and removed the igniters and will try to replace the no1 tomorrow and see what happens. I will post my results when I have them.

Thanks.

 

I like this approach because I'd want to be sure it was the ECU before going any further in your situation.
Problem you have with this ECU when you call around to have it worked on is when you disclose it has already had a failed repair attempt.

It would be different if this was a working ECU that recently failed but no good tech wants to work on someone elses screw ups for many assorted reasons- mainly because the odds of succes are drastcally reduced and there is no money in it and meeting the customer's expectations.
Biggest reason why is if parts were changed or traces were repaired that were not correct the tech will need a working spare to compare to.
Other concerns the next tech will have is figuring out what did the last tech screw up that has to be redone before getting to the issues at hand.

I put minimal time into a repair that someone else has messed up because the odds of customer satisfaction are drastically reduced already- if I can quickly find the mistakes I will do it but if not in my experience it was usually a huge waste of time to sort it out.
Same goes with cars, try towing a car to mechanic shop that has already been torn down or someone else's mess. lolol
Personally I wouldn't touch this ecu unless it was for a friend or family or I had a car to plug it in and check my work.

 

Hey Margate, what you have written makes a ton of sense to me and it seems that you are also talking from experience as a rebuild technician in your own right. I agree completely with you but, in reality, what I am reduced to is - what choice do I have? I had to try to have it fixed.

The fact that my spare ECU was starting and running the car but suddenly stopped made me think, as Timmy suggested, that something else may be the problem so I'm going to work on that angle to start with. As soon as I have something concrete I will let you guys know.

Thanks to everyone for all the interest.

 

It's hard to know what to do at this point until you can maybe do more tests and decide whether or not the problem is the ECU.
From what you are saying the repaired ECU throws a code 14 and the other ECU throws no codes.
And the car won't start with either ECU.

Impossible to now at this pont but just some observstions and maybe a little wishful thinking.
1) Maybe the "repaired ECU" is working ok and throwing a code like it should and there exists a problem that is not ECU related that needs attention.
Add- if I understand correctly, you already tested this "repaired ECU" when the car was running good but it wouldn't run with this ECU- if so it's probably ready for the junk bin.

2) The "spare ECU" that was working good until recently may be a good candidate for possible repair, only problem is the downtime of not using the car until it is repaired/returned.

3) Best case scenario- problem is not ECU related and you find an easy fix

Just some ideas and interested in what others think about this too.

 

Very interesting, informative and to the point Margate. Just the kind of info I was looking for. As both you and Timmy have suggested I am looking into a problem other than the ECU now.

I'm trying to get an igniter to replace the one that the code on the repaired ECU is showing (14). So far I have had no luck but I'm going to take a drive to the area where all the foreign parts suppliers hang out and hopefully I might get it there. Failing that I'll have to order one from Ebay. I'll keep everyone posted.

 

I worry that the engine harness was stressed and partially damaged when the AT job was done. If I were you, I would check signals from the crank position sensor and cam position sensors first using an oscilloscope other than the visual check of related harnesses. If those are OK, I'll check the igniter signals measuring both the timing and the amplitude.

Regarding the availability of a 93 Celsior's ECU both new and used, I've searched here in Japan but so far there was no luck at all.

 

Hey there Yamae, great to hear from you and Happy New Year.

Thank you for your advice. I am in the process now of doing some of the testing you suggested and I will post the results to this thread when I have them.

Regarding the unfortunate news about the availability of ECU's for my '93 Celsior all I can say is please keep trying and if you ever happen to come across one do make any arrangements you can to secure it until you let me know and I will send you the money immediately.

Thanks and have a great year...
Anthony

 

If availability is this scarce I'd keep the old ECU even though it's had 2 failed repair attempts already because it may have parts that are obsolete that can be used to rebuild another unit.
Since these units appear to be scarce to non-existent you may be able to get a tech interested in working on it but I wouldn't expect much for less than $200-300+ because it will need work and may have to ship back and forth until it's right(due to previous failed repair attempts) unless the tech has another unit to compare to or a car to plug it in and check their work. This is of course if the repaired unit is actually faulty, still waiting to hear.

I understand everyone does things different and that's ok but my preference is I dont like to see people's property marked up with colored markings all over the components, I think it looks trashy but that's just my opinion. I like it better when a tech goes in like a stealth ninja surgeon and you can barely tell anyone's been there. Can't help it if traces need to be run but why mark the board and components all up I don't know.
* Note- I have seen components marked up from that factory and nothing anyone can do about that but don't like seeing tech's doing it. If the red marks on the caps came from factory there are many caps that can be suspect. Aside from caps if it's deeper than that it will need deeper work.

OP's pic.

 

Yep. I didn't like all that red paint myself. Too ostentatious, but that's how that guy is. I haven't been able to get my hands on an igniter here although not for want of trying so I ordered one from Ebay. Soon as I get that I'll do some more trouble shooting and let you know.

Thanks a lot for your interest and all the other guys as well. This members in this forum have been, and still are, an incredible resource for me in this country where there are almost no proper Celsior/Lexus electronic techs or if they are, they are well hidden. My car is probably the only one of its type still on the road also. But then again this is a really small island country anyway so no probs. I find ways to work with it.

Thank you all. If it wasn't for you guys my car would have been on the scrap heap by now.