problem with ECU and fueling

[southend summer cruiser]

the other night my 1.6 GSI nova broke down on me.i called out da AA and he couldnt find the fault, took it into vauxhalls,they put it on a diaognouis machine and it came up 7 fault codes and "replace ECU" but vauxhalls dont stock or sell them anymore

went to a vauxhalls spares shop and got another ECU for ?25.same as mine

plugged it in and jumped started my nova off my dads vectra sri.at first the nova wouldnt go as the battery was dead but then it started but ran lumpy and juddery.when u held the revs at 3000 it was ok and the pedel felt more responsive

but it still kepot dieing out and me dad had to go out so i left the nova until my m8 came round in his 1.4 sr

we jumped it again and this time it was turning over but not firing...took the plugs out and they was sooted up (over fueling) so i cleaned them up wiv a wire brush and tested them and they sparked.but the nova still aint firing even tho its on jump leads........there must be a fuel problem causing this or is it the ECU..does it need re programming..vauxhalls said its a plug and play ecu which means u plug it in and u can drive off.................any ideas?????????????? cheers

[stugsi]

hi mate i had the same sort of problem but my car never cut out on me

have you tryed the flash test on it your self to see if that ecu works right

i did mine and found out my first ecu was faulty and lots of other codes which was not needed on the car eg automatic gearbox

i still have a problem now mangement light still comes on and car don't feel right no power

[southend summer cruiser]

whats the flash light test mate????

[dave.gsi]

theres a guide on topbuzz.co.uk about reading the fault codes.

by connecting a few pins together with a bit of wire the light flashes up with the codes. you can then find out from the list what the code means and hopefully fix the problem

[Aragorn]

the starting issue is normal with low/flat batterys

the injectors are spraying fuel in but its not turning over quick enough to fire

by the time uve hooked the jump leads up engine is flooded

put yer foot FLAT down on the gas pedal and keep cranking it

it WILL start... eventually - just make sure u keep it floored

u need to look at your fuel system - try replacing the relay for the fuel pump (and make sure u can hear the pump runing when u first turn the ignition and when your cranking it)

could also be a faulty coil or coil amp

the last thing is check your gearbox earth strap - mine was fucked but still intact - engine startted hesitating like fuck and then just diedstarted fine 20mins later and done the same again - the strap LOOKED fine but was worn out and ready to snap at one end - easy way is to clamp a jump lead between the battery earth and the engine itself - bypassing the strap alltogether

[stan*]

the reason why ur car was running poor after u fitted the new ECU is because the battery had been disconnected (cos it was sat on the parts shelf!!). the ECU needs a constant power supply to keep its memory (KAM-Keep Alive Memory). if this memory is wiped all its fuelling and ignition reference points are wiped. as soon as u get it goin take it for a good old blast 4 a few miles-this will allow the ECU to run the engine properly

[Dicko]

that wouldnt stop it from starting!!!

any more info on which model it is? we a,so need to know if your getting spark/fuel!!

[Zak16v]

I am suffering probs with my nova gsi at the moment also, poss related to ecu.

See my new post :)

[Dicko]

well you need to test that the engine is creating a spark! test all the leads with a spare plug. next check that fuel is getting into the engine. so maybe take the plugs out and try start it, shoiuld be able to smell petrol fumes from the engine, or even see the pistons r wet!

the engine will at least try to start as long as the dizzy/coil/airbox/fuel pump are conencted to it. it doesnt need any other sensors just to start