Help! What's the ECC Light All About?

SentraGirl · May 2nd, 2004, 12:40 AM

Hi, I'm new to the forum and very new to cars.

I was given an 85 Nissan Sentra E16s Automatic with about 200,000+ miles on it. I NEED it to pass a California Smog Test.

The numbers on the pre-test were horrible. The mechanic rebuilt the carburetor and put on a new catalytic converter today 5/1. He also lowered the RPM's. When driving it home the ECC light was still on. What is this light? What does it mean? What needs to be checked?

I've looked through the 22 pages of threads and haven't seen it mentioned. I even checked the SENSOR light mentioned in so many threads. It's wires are disconected and the light is off.

I was hoping to get it smogged on Monday 5/3 but that little light is worrying me.
I would appreciate any help. Thanks, SentraGirl

Myetball · May 2nd, 2004, 12:46 AM

It may have just been left in diagnostic mode. There's a little toggle switch on the front, see if it's in diagnostic or run mode. Unless the car has had any engine work lately, chances are you'll need a valve job to pass emissions if all your other fixes don't work.

Almost forgot...welcome to the club. You'll like it here, there's a great bunch of people on this forum.

SentraGirl · May 2nd, 2004, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myetball

It may have just been left in diagnostic mode. There's a little toggle switch on the front, see if it's in diagnostic or run mode. Unless the car has had any engine work lately, chances are you'll need a valve job to pass emissions if all your other fixes don't work.

Hi Myetball,

Thanks for your help.

Where, in the front, would I look for the toggle switch and on what part? I'll check it the first thing in the morning.

According to old repair bills it had a ton of engine work done in '01. I understand that the car was run very hard. It passed smog last in May of '03; DMV said I needed have smog re- done to complete the registration.

Valve job, at least I know what might be ahead of me.

I'm glad to find a forum that can help me care for this beast.

Thanks Again, SentraGirl

Myetball · May 2nd, 2004, 02:14 AM

It's on the front of the ECU under the drives seat. A couple other things you might want to check/replace:

- PCV Valve...total pain since it's screwed into the intake manifold under the carb.
- Compression...have a compression check done on the cylinders...this will tell you if you have a problem inside the engine. Low compression could be valves that aren't sealed or worn rings
- Oxygen sensor...fairly inexpensive and worth the money to change
- Check all vacuum lines for any cracks or leaks

I know there's more but it's late and I've had a couple drinks.

SentraGirl · May 2nd, 2004, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myetball

It's on the front of the ECU under the drives seat.

Hi Myetball, Good Morning.

I checked under the drivers seat. There is a silver box about 7" x 6", with two bundles of wires that are clipped in on the side by the door. The back 1/3 of the box is covered by a black plastic hood; I'm guessing it's a "kick guard".

I don't see a toggle switch anywhere.

If this helps the numbers on the info plate on top are as follows:

102
23710 32M01
FBM - 16 A
5308

I appreciate your help. SentraGirl

Myetball · May 2nd, 2004, 04:43 PM

Ya know what? I read the first post wrong....I was thinking you meant ECU light.

The ECC light on the dash stands for Electronically Controlled Carburetor. Of course the main component of the sytem is the ECU...the box under the seat.

There is a single wire connector located right next to the brake master cylinder used to check the ECU for errors. The connector should not be connected. Also, there is another 3-wire connector attached to the windshield wiper motor that is for O2 sensor diagnostics, this one should also be disconnected.

Check for any other carb/emissions connectors that may have been left disconnected.

B11sleeper · May 2nd, 2004, 09:38 PM

CA emissions on those aren't too bad. People complain about them being hard to hook up right. On mine, the ECC light was mostly caused by either incorrect vaccuum hookup, or the O2 sensor, there isn't much for the computer in those old cars to control.

Another thing i remember casuing the ECC light was the water temperature sensor screwed into the intake manifold, near the alternator. It's a 2 wire connector, and the sender might be bad or simply unplugged.

there should be a good mechanic who can do this stuff, but I don't know where. I got a carb rebuilt by a good shop and they installed it and couldn't get the car to run right, because the vacuum stuff wasn't hooked up right. I fixed it but... i'm not a mechanic

SentraGirl · May 3rd, 2004, 12:41 AM

Hi Myetball,

I did just as you said and the light went out. Thank you so much for your help. You saved me from going to a Nissan repair shop and having them charge me a nice piece of change to do what was done with several e-mails and a few seconds work. Thanks once again. I appreciate your time and effort. I'll be getting it smogged on Tuesday. Wish me luck!

All The Best,
SentraGirl

SentraGirl · May 3rd, 2004, 12:45 AM

Hi B11sleeper, Thanks for the information. I made a copy of the thread just in case it doesn't pass. You and Myetball gave me a place to start running down the problems if needed. I appreciate your help.

Sincerely,
SentraGirl

Myetball · May 3rd, 2004, 08:56 PM

Wow...it's very rare that we actually are able to help fix problems like these. Very difficult to diagnose over the internet. So what exactly was it?

Break a leg at the smog station

B11sleeper · May 3rd, 2004, 09:28 PM

can you post your smog check print out or the measured pollutants? I think i can dig up my results, I failed on my first pass and all it required to be done was putting a new catylitic converter on. I think i blew up the engine the next day after i got it to pass.

i'll look for my printouts.

I was re-reading, if you just got a new cat and the carb was just rebuilt then it should be easy to pass if the ECC light isn't on. ( unless you need a PCV Valve or EGR Valve )

Gsolo · May 3rd, 2004, 10:32 PM

...figured i'd mention that a good mechanic can tell from the vacuum reading if you need valve work or not. Well, actually anyone can tell if they know what to look for. If you don't pass the test ask about how to check your valves cause that would be my next guess.

SentraGirl · May 7th, 2004, 12:22 AM

Hi, IT PASSED!!! I had to do a re-test on the second round and took it back to the carburator shop to adjust the float, I think that is what it's called, in the carburator. They adjusted that and the numbers were better.

I will post the numbers for the very first test when I got the car,they showed Gross Polluter Limits (GPL) , then the results from the second test at a different test station,this was after the carburator was re-built and a new catalytic were put on and then the re-test after the carburator was adjusted, this shop showed Averages (AVG) and not GPL . Hope this makes sense.

TEST #1 *DIAGNOSTIC*
---------
15MPH RPM - 1879; %CO2 - 9.1; %O2 - 5.5, HC(PPM) -- (MAX ALLOWED) 157, (GROSS POLLUTER LIMIT) 332, (MINE-MEASURED) 187; CO(%) -- (MAX.) 0.93, (GPL) 2.43, (MEASURED) 3.63; NO(PPM) -- (MAX.) 1227, (GPL) 2282, (MEAS.) 704 ---- GROSS POLLUTER

25MPH RPM - 1879; %CO2 - 9.3; %O2 - 5.3; HC(PPM) -- (MAX.) 132, (GPL) 282, (MEAS.) 180; CO2(%) -- (MAX.) 0.73, (GPL) 2.23, (MEAS.) 3.39; NO(PPM) -- (MAX.)1057, (GPL) 2082, (MEAS.) 846 ---- GROSS POLLUTER

TEST #2 *RE-BUILT CARBURATOR & NEW CATALYTIC CONVERTER*
---------
15 MPH RPM - 1873; %CO2 - 9.8; %O2 - 6.4; HC(PPM) -- (MAX.) 157, (AVG.) 41, (MEAS.) 101; CO(%) -- (MAX.) 0.93, (AVG.) 0.13, (MEAS.) 0.83; NO(PPM) (MAX.) 1227, (AVG.) 399, (MEAS.) 25 ---- PASS

25MPH RPM - 2299; %CO2 - 10.8; %O2 - 4.3; HC(PPM) -- (MAX.) 132, (AVG.) 29, (MEAS.) 129; CO(%) -- (MAX.) 0.73, (AVG.) 0.11, (MEAS.) 1.59; NO(PPM) -- (MAX.) 1057, (AVG.) 332, (MEAS.) 26 ---- FAIL CO(%)

RE-TEST *ADJUSTED THE FLOAT IN CARBURATOR*
---------
15MPH RPM - 1874; %CO2 - 9.9; %O2 - 6.6; HC(PPM) -- (M.A.) 157, (AVG.) 41, (MEAS.) 20; CO(%) -- (MAX.) 0.93, (AVG.) 0.13, (MEAS.) 0.00; NO(PPM) -- (MAX.) 1227, (AVG.) 399, (MEAS.) 686 ---- PASS

25MPH RPM - 2300; %CO2 - 11.6; %O2 - 4.4; HC(PPM) -- (MAX.) 132, (AVG.) 29, (MEAS.) 16; CO(%) -- (MAX.) 0.73, (AVG.) 0.11, (MEAS.) 0.00; NO(PPM) -- (MAX.) 1057, (AVG.) 332, (MEAS.) 221 ---- PASS

I hope this is helpful to those who are interested.

Myetball thanks again for your help. I really appreciate it. Got my new tags today!

All The Best To Everyone,
SentraGirl

p.s. The first shop checked the sensors and the vacuume and said they were good.

Myetball · May 7th, 2004, 01:03 AM

Glad we could help...real nice to see someone actually get a problem fixed with our advise. I'm sure we'll all be here if something else goes haywire.