Author Topic: ECM is done (Read 6096 times)

bigbody · « **on:** February 09, 2009, 02:53:38 PM »

Mechanic says the ECM needs replacing, recommend a wiring harness as well. Would swapping the MarkD chip slove the problem or are these two separate issues? I prefer lemonade to lemons. Thanks in advance.

tjts1 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 09, 2009, 03:19:13 PM »

Take it to a different mechanic or find someone with the same car and swap computers. Either the computer is toast or the wiring harness is toast. Not both. Your mechanic doesn't know what he is doing.

Whats problem with the car?

bigbody · « **Reply #2 on:** February 09, 2009, 04:08:25 PM »

It get worse than that, I brought the car in for a right rear axel. While the mechanic had it, the car stopped starting. He checked the cam sensor and said it was out. He also checked the crank sensor and said that it was weak. He recommend replacing both, with the idea that the cam sensor was causing the staring issues but the crank sensor would be good to fix while we were doing the work. So he replaces those parts after a series of receiving the wrong parts (taking days), after which the cars idle is erratic. His diagnosis: the ECU. Aparently I had two gremlins come out while it was in his care. The mechanic is just recommending the wiring harness, he said it looked deteriated.

Either I'm extremely unluckly or this mechanic is horrible.

Danny707 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 09, 2009, 04:27:54 PM »

Get a second opinion

tjts1 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 09, 2009, 04:31:16 PM »

Try to find another independent BMW mechanic in your area. Good luck.

Cobra Jet · « **Reply #5 on:** February 18, 2009, 02:25:39 PM »

dude - that mechanic is RAPING YOU....

Did you ask him for the specs on the old cam sensor after he TESTED it on AND off the car w/ a multimeter? Did you ask him for the specs on the old crank sensor after he TESTED it on AND off the car w/ a multimeter??? For crying out loud, does he even KNOW the specs for those parts both good and when bad??? Do THIS when you see him - ask him what the specs were on each sensor when he tested them - he should know, after all, he did TEST them to determine they had failed....

There is NO way at all that you would have (4) problematic areas that would cause a single non-start issue in a single instance....

Tell your mechanic to stop feeding you the BS, stop throwing money at the car (and costing YOU MONEY) by not knowing what the hell he is doing AND by misdiagnosing the non-start issue... It would be HIGHLY, and I mean HIGHLY coincidental that you have a bad cam sensor, bad crank sensor, bad ECM AND bad wiring all occuring AT ONCE... Vehicle ECM's RARELY go bad - if they do go bad, it's due to the internal circuit boards failing due to bad solder joints where the electronics meet the board or water damage...

If the vehicle did not start - did he even attempt to pull ANY CODES to figure out why it was not starting, rather than start randomly replacing engine sensors and telling you it needs a new ECM and wiring work???

Tell your mechanic to go HERE - http://www.m42club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5462 - then pay me the difference he would have charged you for all of his mis-diagnosis BS...

rough idle upon start up - hmmmm... when was the last time the ICV was cleaned out or even replaced?

Seriously - you need to tell him you're not paying for parts that were NOT the cause of the non-starting issue... and ask for the old parts back... He's taking you for a ride - a very long & painful ride...

Sorry to hear that you have a mechanic that knows NOTHING about vehicles - any smart mechanic, even one that has never gone to ASE schooling would know the FIRST thing one does is to throw a scan tool on the vehicle to determine WHY it's not starting BEFORE throwing parts at it....

bigbody · « **Reply #6 on:** February 18, 2009, 07:58:52 PM »

I got the car towed back to my house today. The cam and crank sensors have been replaced, but the car still dies immediately after barely catching. He's swapped ECUs. No change. Clearly the mechanic was just throwing parts at it. The mechanic's final diagnosis: the wiring harness is compromised.

Do you guys have any suggestions? Which circuits/parts should I check?

ghoulama · « **Reply #7 on:** February 18, 2009, 08:17:21 PM »

you should do a stomp test to see if there are any codes. take the icv off and clean it. go from there...

ghoulama · « **Reply #8 on:** February 18, 2009, 08:19:53 PM »

also, you should get the parts that were replaced by this parts changer that had your car

JoeDellio · « **Reply #9 on:** February 18, 2009, 10:28:15 PM »

Learn to do your own work. Lifes a long ride and mechanics will fuck you every chance they can get. And when you get a brand new car and dont need a mechanic because the car is under warranty the dealer will fuck you. I cringe when I have to take my car in to get tires changed or alignments. The thought of someone else touching my.....anyways, goodluck with the car and good thing you towed it outta there quickly it coulda got REAL ugly.

bigbody · « **Reply #10 on:** February 23, 2009, 09:14:52 PM »

thanks for all the help,

I pulled/cleaned/replaced the ICV yesterday without luck. the gate was about 2/3's closed both before and after cleaning. The electrical connections were slightly corroded. I did my best to clean those up before reconnecting. I liberally sprayed WD-40 into the housing and used a q-tip to get at the harder to hit spots. The liquid coming out had very fine black specs. I didn't soak it in electrical cleaner (I didn't have any around and it was late). The no start condition remained the same. (Turns over, a few weak fires, stalls out).

The spark is a bit yellow, and the car still didn't start after spraying engine starter directly through the TB.

The one thing that sticks out to me is that the mechanic reconnected the wiring to the starter a day before this condition began. I'm not sure how to check that, but it seems like a striking coincidence.

It's probably worth doing a full cleaning on the ICV, but I was hoping to attack the problem from multiple angles. What are your guys thoughts???

AcSchnitzer318is · « **Reply #11 on:** February 26, 2009, 01:53:34 AM »

Well, make sure he connected the wiring to the starter correctly then...

I think there are 4 wires coming off of them... guess he could have flipped some around.

Voluted · « **Reply #12 on:** February 26, 2009, 12:16:11 PM »

If the wiring on the starter is incorrect the car wouldn't turn over would it?

Cobra Jet · « **Reply #13 on:** February 27, 2009, 08:20:39 AM »

definitely check the starter wiring - however, if he hooked it up wrong, there is the strong possibility that fuses could be blown, or the possibility of damaging wiring (worst case scenario).

Have you checked any of the fuses in your fuse box for blown fuses? It's quite possible there is a bad fuse (or more than 1)... most obvious, but still worth a check.

Who knows what the mechanic really did...

Are you absolutely sure that he replaced the cam & crank sensors, that those are new parts and he did not just charge you and never installed the new parts? Test those parts and see what specs you get after testing w/ a multimeter (follow the steps in that other linked thread). Post your test results here. If when testing your results vary greatly from those in the other thread (either higher or lower), then the sensor (either one) could be bad. If the sensors are good, they should spec out either exactly or very close to the original Bentley specs for those sensors.

When you turn the key to "on", do you hear any fuel pump whine? Usually when you turn the key to on the fuel pump primes instantly - you should hear a short buzz or hum. If you cannot hear it, pull the lower rear seat cushion out and try it again (the fuel pump is located on the left side under the rear seat cushion, w/ the cushion removed you can hear any pump whine better). If you don't hear any fuel pump whine, then you need to pop the cover to the fuel pump, unplug the factory harnesses from it and try to get power directly to the pump. If you are able to power the pump directly via an external power source (not using the car's wiring), then the fuel pump is working fine... If the pump powers up w/ the external power source, then you need to start checking the fuel pump relay, fuel pump fuse and/or the wiring for the pump.

Was the car running when you dropped it off to the mechanic?

bigbody · « **Reply #14 on:** March 08, 2009, 06:08:34 PM »

quick update on the situation: No blown fuses, the stomp test gives a "1444," and yes the car was running when I dropped it off.

I'm not sure what comes next . . .