Computer Testing??????????????

myaltimaskillingme · Feb 5th, 2005, 08:49 PM

Hey does anyone know if you can take out you're computer and have it tested, because I have been recently working on replacing all the fried wires in my wiring harness and I'm finally finished and everything is hooked back up, but when I was working under the hood my friend decided he would try to start it up, but the FUSE BLOCK was not bolted to the METAL so it wasn't GROUNDED now I have no power at all ?????? but my lights turn on & so do my tails & brakes. What happened I don't know if the computer fried, the fuse panel fried, or if it tripped some switch, or if it tripped the fuse breaker.

The manual I have is the HAYNES MANUAL and it is pretty in-depth it shows how to do a full rebuild but when it comes to electrical it tells you just the basics. I have checked every wire in the whole entire harness, and all the wires are fine, so I am wondering if the computer fried, but I thought there was a FAIL - SAFE system that made that impossible.

Does anyone know if you can take the computer out and have it tested or hardwire it to the battery to see if the power turns on ????? I have taken the computer out and opened it up and there was no smoke damage or anything burnt on the circuit board, and I checked both sides....

Someone please help me...................THANXXX

KA24Tech · Feb 10th, 2005, 03:07 AM

First try to get the ECU into the diagnostic mode, the Haynes manual will have the procedure. I think that I would check the power to the ECU if it does not flash or anything then check the fuse inside. Usually the protection circuits will keep the ECU safe so after you replace the damaged harness more thorough diagnosis can be made. If you need more info I can check the factory service manual if I know what year you have.

Troy

myaltimaskillingme · Mar 6th, 2005, 03:38 AM

The ECU used to work fine and then one night my METER FUSE started popping at first it was once and awhile then it was every week then it was every day then it was twice & three times a day then It was 24/7 so now I can't drive the car because for some reason when the METER FUSE blows it shuts all my gauges off besides the fuel gauge then the engine would shudder very lighlty for a mili-second and I weren't mechanically inclined I wouldn't even notice it.

I also noticed when the METER FUSE blew that my windows would slow to a crawl and the lights would almost dim out, and my electric fans would not turn on, my transmission would act real funny too, because sometimes the METER FUSE would blow while I was on the freeway and I would be forced to drive a little bit and the transmission would start kicking down automatically but it didn't feel like the kick down it actually felt more like it was shifting into 2nd gear all by its self, and it only did this when the METER FUSE went out when I replaced the METER FUSE the car would run like a dream. Also when my brother took my car I told him about the METER FUSE problem, and that if it blew how to replace the fuse, well he forgot and drove the car for maybe 2 miles and when he brought my car back I tried to start it and it either wouldn't start or would hesitate for a minute but the engine would always start up though.

Anyways about the computer since the METER FUSE has been blowing all the time the computer light only turns on for a mili-second, just enough time for the METER FUSE to blow, and a couple of my relays that are hooked to my fuse panel clicks when the METER FUSE blows. This METER FUSE seems to control everything, because when it was just blowing every month I would notice that when my car was running and the METER FUSE blew, I would replace it while the car was running sometimes and the engine would at like it was coming back to life, it would shudder for a mili-second but then all my gauges would work and the engine would just feel like it had more power.

I have checked all the wires in my car one by one, and I mean the whole harness hunreds of wires and none of them were burned. I think it's the Instrument Panel thats causing all this because the guy I bought it from said he messed up the instrument panel by putting a small screwdriver in one of the lightbulb holes because the instrument panel had no lights, the whole gauge cluster was dark at night but everything else worked fine.

I have also checked all the BROWN METER FUSE WIRES, and there is 6 total (3) of them runs to the instrument cluster, they run to the (3) clips that run to the instrument cluster & there are only 4 clips that run to it.

1 other BROWN METER WIRE runs to the transmission which explanes why the Transmission acts up when the fuse blows.

1 of the other BROWN METER WIRES runs to the metal box under the steering column which I don't know what that controls.

I even traced the other wires that the BROWN METER WIRES connect with like the clips that clip to the Instrument Cluster, most of the other colored wires run to the ECU or the COMPUTER whatever you want to call it, and I think thats why the computer shuts off when the METER FUSE BLOWS???

So it's a big dilemma trying to figure out what is causing all this. If anyone has had this problem please E-Mail me at michael_o_helms@yahoo.com

KA24Tech · Mar 7th, 2005, 02:55 AM

I'll do some research to track down the cause but it definitely is something shorting out.

Troy