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New ECU, now No Start?

Iggy

Well-known member
Joined
May 7, 2015
Messages
50
Location
Ashland. Wi
I was have lots of problems with my car and found that my ECU had melted itself. Picture here.

I bought a replacement ECU and the sell who I'll leave nameless(I don't think this is their fault) said he had been running it on his GVR-4. But after installing it my car will not start at all. It had been running previously. Am I missing a step? Everything is plugged in, the three ground wires are bolted back in place.
Could it be, that my previous ECU was an Eprom and the replacement isn't?

For reference this is the "new" ECU
 
Last edited:

Iggy

Well-known member
Joined
May 7, 2015
Messages
50
Location
Ashland. Wi
Yes I fact it turns over harder than it did before. I also noticed that with the key into the on position the check engine, and 4WS idiot lights do not light up. Also this ECU has a blow cap. I'm hoping the seller just accidental sent me the wrong one as it's also not in the same case as the one pictured in the ad.
 

GSTwithPSI

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2012
Messages
3,460
Location
SoCal
Who the f*** sold you that?

1) It's not a USDM GVR4 ECU since it's not EPROM.

2) PN # 4474 (affixed with E2T3) is for an early model 1G DSM Turbo FWD car ---> click . For a 90 ECU to work correctly in a 91+ car ECU pins 6 and 14 need to be swapped. So, no, it's not plug and play for your Galant.

3) That capacitor sh*t all over the board, and is probably the reason the car won't start.

4) I'd message the seller and arrange a return.

5) Replace your ISC. Looks like IC105 blew, which means coil pair B on the ISC is shorted ---> click . If you plug a new ECU into your car with the bad ISC installed, it will just blow the driver again.

6) Lastly, your ECU can probably be repaired for under $100 bucks. Send it in to ECMtuning and they will get you squared away. They will repair and test the ECU to ensure it's good to go ---> click


To recap:
-Send that junk ECU back to whoever sold it to you
-Send your ECU to ECMtuning for repairs
-Replace your ISC
-Reinstall your ECU
-Be happy forever
 

Iggy

Well-known member
Joined
May 7, 2015
Messages
50
Location
Ashland. Wi
First of all thanks for the very helpful reply. I really should have Don't more research, before I bought this replacement ECU,
Also, what is an ISC? Idle speed control? Is that something on the throttlebody?
 

thomcasey

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 24, 2014
Messages
907
Location
Indianapolis, IN
I will jump in here as the person who sold him the ECU.

1. I advertised it as a 1990 Turbo ECU, not a GVR4 ECU. I had two at the time of the advert start, this was my last one.

2. This WAS running my GVR4 without any wiring changes up until fall of 2015 when I bought a socketed VR4 ECU. I never had an issue when running it except it was in a 1g case and had to leave it against the firewall. I did not have switch any pins around. to get it to run. If that is required, then I don't see why this worked, but it did with a 2gMAF and 560's.

3. I sat for about a year on the shelf, I didn't bother to check the board to see if the caps leaked while sitting there. I see I should have.

4. He is returning it and getting a refund. No issues with that from me.

Quoting GSTwithPSI:
Who the f*** sold you that?

1) It's not a USDM GVR4 ECU since it's not EPROM.

2) PN # 4474 (affixed with E2T3) is for an early model 1G DSM Turbo FWD car ---> click . For a 90 ECU to work correctly in a 91+ car ECU pins 6 and 14 need to be swapped. So, no, it's not plug and play for your Galant.

3) That capacitor sh*t all over the board, and is probably the reason the car won't start.

4) I'd message the seller and arrange a return.

5) Replace your ISC. Looks like IC105 blew, which means coil pair B on the ISC is shorted ---> click . If you plug a new ECU into your car with the bad ISC installed, it will just blow the driver again.

6) Lastly, your ECU can probably be repaired for under $100 bucks. Send it in to ECMtuning and they will get you squared away. They will repair and test the ECU to ensure it's good to go ---> click


To recap:
-Send that junk ECU back to whoever sold it to you
-Send your ECU to ECMtuning for repairs
-Replace your ISC
-Reinstall your ECU
-Be happy forever

 

GSTwithPSI

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2012
Messages
3,460
Location
SoCal
Quoting thomcasey:
2. This WAS running my GVR4 without any wiring changes up until fall of 2015 when I bought a socketed VR4 ECU. I never had an issue when running it except it was in a 1g case and had to leave it against the firewall. I did not have switch any pins around. to get it to run. If that is required, then I don't see why this worked, but it did with a 2gMAF and 560's.



In most cases, not swapping pins 6 and 14 won't cause the car not to start/run. Those two pins are for the idle switch input. The obvious problem will be crappy idle if the pins aren't swapped. If you don't swap the pins, the car doesn't receive a signal from the IPS, and therefore doesn't know it's supposed to be idling. If you're running ECMlink and simulating the IPS from the TPS, then this is a non-issue.

I don't believe the pins not being swapped are the cause of the starting issue. I think it's more likely the result of the leaky capacitor.

As an ECU seller I always inspect the board, and as a buyer I always request pics of it. Cheap insurance for both sides. I'm sure the buyer appreciates you refunding him.

I apologize for my tone, Thom, I can see it may have come across the wrong way.
 

thomcasey

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 24, 2014
Messages
907
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Quoting GSTwithPSI:
In most cases, not swapping pins 6 and 14 won't cause the car not to start/run. Those two pins are for the idle switch input. The obvious problem will be crappy idle if the pins aren't swapped. If you don't swap the pins, the car doesn't receive a signal from the IPS, and therefore doesn't know it's supposed to be idling. If you're running ECMlink and simulating the IPS from the TPS, then this is a non-issue.

I don't believe the pins not being swapped are the cause of the starting issue. I think it's more likely the result of the leaky capacitor.

As an ECU seller I always inspect the board, and as a buyer I always request pics of it. Cheap insurance for both sides. I'm sure the buyer appreciates you refunding him.

I apologize for my tone, Thom, I can see it may have come across the wrong way.




No issues here, just wanted to clarify. There have been some shady deals that I have seen in the bad guys thread, so I understand jumping in there as he is a fairly new forum member.

The galant "seemed" to idle OK when I ran the ECU, but when I swapped to ecmlink I also replaced the harness, so maybe this harness was already modified? It had some iffy wiring for sure. Once he sent me a pic of the mo-board I knew the caps had leaked. Guess I will be replacing caps and testing the runs to be sure the ECU is ok once it gets back.

There have been some shady deals that I have seen in the bad guys thread, so I understand jumping in there as he is a fairly new forum member.
 
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