Sunday, February 10, 2019 - 07:05 pm, by: Colin Marsh(Cgmarsh)
Hi Folks. I have a 1992 SC400 GT. I now find that at idle, in park, the "engine electrical fault" comes up on the dash. If I increase the rev's to about 1100 RPM, it disappears. I let the car idle, it returns. I have read that after jumpering E1 and TE1 and key to ON, flash codes can be read by looking at the check engine light. My problem is that I have the hologram dash and I have yet to find an engine check light on it. What does happen though is there is a long string of beeps. They are just a continuous string with no apparent coding.
I would be prepared to invest in some sort of scan tool or cable to connect to a computer running scan software, but it looks like any link that I go down, searching for a scan tool seems to be erroneous and untrustworthy. I once lucked onto a site (I think that it was in the U.K.) that manufactured cables, but I lost it and have since been unable to relocate it.
I guess that I have 3 questions for the Brains Trust, 1. Is it possible to read error codes on the hologram display, if so, how? 2. Given that I have yet to win Tattslotto, can anyone recommend a scan tool or P.C. software? and 3. Has anyone heard of/know a company that manufactures a suitable cable? From memory, it was about $50.
BTW. I have used this site as a reference on a few occasions now and have found it to be really good, a big thanks to all contributors. Cheers, Colin
Sunday, February 10, 2019 - 07:55 pm, by: Vincent Chan(Vincent191)
Most scanning tools will not fit into the diagnostic in the port because they did not standardise the port for all cars until years latter. The best way is to jump E1 and TE1 and read the error code. There is a post somewhere in this forum on how to read those squilly messages and beeps. It sounds like it is your ECU. Given time the problem will get worse. If that happens your best bet is Mike Beck. He fixed many ECUs and he fixed mine.
Sunday, February 10, 2019 - 08:22 pm, by: Tim Schroeter(790)
Hi Colin. To me it sounds like an alternator fault. You have a scroll dash, faults are shown where the time is displayed once the car is put in diagnostic mode. Instructions for diagnostic mode: With key off.Find diagnostic port on the engine. Bridge TE1 & E1 with a wire or paperclip. Make sure its a good connection. Turn key to on, don't start. Press scroll button. It will take a minute to come up with codes. Copy down the numbers, it will cycle thru them all till it comes back to the first one you wrote down, it won't necessarily start with the lowest number so make sure you get them all. Pressing scroll again will cycle between efi & ect codes.
Sunday, February 10, 2019 - 10:22 pm, by: Colin Marsh(Cgmarsh)
Hi Tim. Thanks. I initially thought that it may be alternator charge voltage, so I whacked a DVM onto the battery and read 14.4v. I increased rev's and it stayed the same. Now that I think of it, it should have been less at idle and increase with rev's. I should have also checked battery voltage whilst car was turned off. I feel like a complete novice. I am supposed to know a fair amount about electronics. I will try again tomorrow after work. How is the scroll down achieved? I tried the E1 - TE1 link earlier, but the connection was probably not good and the dash gave no sign of being in DIAG mode.
Monday, February 11, 2019 - 05:57 pm, by: Colin Marsh(Cgmarsh)
Hi Tim. Thanks for that. It took me several attempts to load the paper clip, but finally I did. I can see how people get so frustrated with this stuff, particularly doing it for the first time. I turned the key and some Japanese came up. I pressed the clock scroll, ECT -- came up, scroll again and EFI NG came up. Pressing scroll, holding scroll only served to toggle EFI and ECT. I'm picking that -- means no error code logged, NG means No Good. I was unable to go any further until I started playing with the OD button (it was flashing on the dash). Next thing you know (after waiting for a while.....), a big block comes up on the extreme LHS of the display and EFI 31 is displayed. I was unable to get anything else out of it. I either failed to trigger the sequence or there is only one error logged. Talk about trying to hide stuff, I could nearly swear....
Off to get the code now. I will come back and update.
Monday, February 11, 2019 - 06:39 pm, by: Colin Marsh(Cgmarsh)
EFI code 31 looks like air flow. I pulled the plug off and sprayed it with a bit of RP7, then worked it. I changed the (new) air filter. No good. I found it hard to slowly increment revs. It became unstable, went up/down, misfired a little bit and stunk so much that the wife shut the door. Having said all of this, the car has been a bit hard to cold start for a while and I reckon that my economy was part way out the window. From what I have read on various threads, this may be an electrolytics in ECU issue. Has anyone had similar issues? If so, what was the fix, Pretty Please... Also, is there anything out there that might give me cap values, so that I can pre-order the values that I don't already have. I have all the gear and ability to do the job, but never done it before.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019 - 06:46 pm, by: Colin Marsh(Cgmarsh)
Hi Peter, thanks. I have just pulled out the ECU and found C507 has leaked. After a cursory look, there is no apparent damage to tracks or surrounding components. I would like to check the cct and where C507 fits in. If anyone has a copy that I could look at, I would be most appreciative.
Thursday, February 14, 2019 - 09:31 am, by: Mike Beck(Gold_40gt)
I'd imagine there would be leakage in and around HC345 as well which can open up a real can of worms, fairly rare just to have C507 leaking.
From my ECU repair experience, HC345 faults related to idle problems, and directly trigger digital dash electrical error messages, often not relating to specific codes as it's an internal ECU fault.
Saturday, February 23, 2019 - 10:38 am, by: Colin Marsh(Cgmarsh)
Hi Mike. What a prick of a job. Non-lead solder doesn't flow very well second time around and takes 2 to 4 times to solder and suck to break legs free. Had to take my de-solder station to over 400 deg to try to get solder to flow, just so's I could take it off again. I don't like doing that because, as I am sure you know, lands just fall off the board. I am currently about 1/2 way there and lifted a land on C113. It is right beside the dreaded HC345 that you mentioned. Do you know if C110 and C113 connect to track that goes under the HC345?. I don't think so, but it would be a bummer to have to come back later. I don't want to lift it if I don't have to.
Not sure what Japan was thinking about when they covered the boards in lacquer. Looks pretty though. Several squirts of IPA kinda fixes that though, LOL. Also, quite a "nice" touch, soldering the screws to the board that has the hardest to get at cap. Straight out of Management 101, "Minimum effort for maximum inconvenience".....