In this video, Jorge Morales of Specialized ECU Repair breaks down the top ten reasons why your car's ECU may be bad, damaged, failing, or faulty.
The most common cause of ECU problems is water damage. This is something that can occur simply forgetting to close the hood of the car all the way — which can allow water to reach the computer, break it, and corrode the terminals.
Corrupt data is another frequent reason for faults. This can happen under random circumstances, but a common example is when someone attempts to perform an upgrade or performance turning and a power fluctuation occurs. In extreme cases, this renders an ECU unusable or bricked.
Incorrect programming can also cause failures. This can happen when mechanics make mistakes updating the software in the car with wrong codes or incorrect passwords. The car can become confused regarding its own status with respect to transmission and location-specific part settings, compromising the computer.
Sometimes, manufacturer defects are what lead to a bad ECU. In the process of making hundreds of thousands of vehicles, manufacturers can put incorrect parts such as wrong capacitors or drivers inside the computer. This can cause an ECU to go bad or expire prematurely.
Time is also an important factor to consider. Specialized ECU Repair works with cars going back to the 1960s, and over years or decades of exposure to gradual temperature changes depending on environment, components of any vehicle can wear out. Soldering points on a circuit board in particular will experience this sort of decay when exposed to elements over time.
A more specific electrical issue would be reverse polarity of the battery. When a car's battery needs a jump, if an inexperienced driver hooks the positive and negative ends of the jumper cables backwards, the resulting shock can fry all of the electronics in a car's system.
Another electric-related issue that can occur often is a short circuit in the harness of the car. Wear and tear over time can eat away at the harness components holding many of the computer wires in case. If two wires that are not supposed to touch end up making contact, it can cause a malfunction in the engine computer that causes errors or failure.
A bad ground system is another factor that can cause ECU damage. If the negative portion of a battery has accumulated too much corrosion over time, it can affect how its system grounds onto a vehicle. Bad grounds on other devices attached to the computer that may be loose or damaged can also cause issues when the components attempt to communicate with each other.
Unskilled repairs are unfortunately a common issue. Don't rely on unverified mechanics or friends of friends to tamper with the computers in your vehicle. Leave it to certified technicians to make the repairs you need.
Finally, the last common reason why your engine control unit may be faulty could be a bent pin on the engine computer. After disconnecting the ECU from its harness, some drivers may not be cautious enough about reinserting it, which can cause connector pins to become bent or broken. This may affect the ability for a computer to communicate with the rest of the vehicle, which complete compromises its operation. Always be vigilant for small but vital issues such as these, and exercise caution when putting your ECU bake in place after removal.
If you need help with your European engine control unit, or wish to send your ECU set for testing, please contact us below or kindly fill out this repair form: https://www.ecudoctors.com/pages/repair-and-return-form
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Specialized ECU Repair
(954) 652-1496
https://www.ecudoctors.com
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