cursed vr4

[460GVR4]

new fully built motor + my $450 gvr4= 3+ years jack stand time. fired her up after motor install the other day and ecu went bad over downtime. replaced ecu with 91-94 awd ecu and now it hardly starts lots of hesitation without idling and throws a code 12 maf and code 14 tps... maf is stock and tps has never been touched. Throttle body sat attached to intake manifold for years. Why would both these now throw codes? I have a full 2g maf setup i was going to install 4 years ago that i'm going to try tomorrow but i don't know. any ideas? car ran flawless for 2k miles before ecu went out last.

 

[thedsmguy]

Two bad ecu's?

 

[ktmrider]

Two seconds on VFAQ will give you the answer ( hint: pins 14 and 6 ).

First verify the ECU type by opening the case ( external one can be misleading ). Then swap those two pins/wires if you stay with it plus verify Federal or CA type ( or another CEL will pop up for no EGR ).

Swapping like you did is for troubleshooting a bad ECU ( startup only ).

 

[460GVR4]

bought from brunoboy he said it was in good condition as i believe him it looks perfect and he says 91-94. Now i replaced my old ecu also because it would not ever bring the check engine light up even with key in on position engine off. new ecu doesn't throw egr code, just maf and tps. headed to work now hopefully i have to time to mess with it a bit after a 12hr day.

 

[Diego]

You're cursed? Come meet my car.... I cant even get 2k miles worth of driving before I replace something. This weekend it will be my Trans and Xcase and starter, possibly a new clutch and pressure plate, as well as new TOB and whatever else was trashed while doing a nice casual 30mph drive.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

 

[mikus]

oh jesus, my vr4 can't make it round trip to mamby-pamby land

 

[Hondakiller]

Well I'm glad to see I'm not the only one it's like everyday I find somthing. Sometimes I wonder why I keep the car.

 

[ktmrider]

Quoting 460GVR4:
bought from brunoboy he said it was in good condition as i believe him it looks perfect and he says 91-94. Now i replaced my old ecu also because it would not ever bring the check engine light up even with key in on position engine off. new ecu doesn't throw egr code, just maf and tps. headed to work now hopefully i have to time to mess with it a bit after a 12hr day.

Could very well be right like mentioned those external cases get swapped around all the time. Pop the cover and verify what chip and motherboard are there. Do it on your old ECU too, coulda had a 90 model one that has the wires switched.

 

[dmj]

Not Cursed just old age .I took my car off the road for a few days to fix a oil leak now it has been 5 months JSB . this lead to a total engine reseal, new motor mounts , All new wheel bearings and seals, new brake hoses pads and rebuilt calipers. . New timing belt, cam gears and bsek. evo8 valve springs, new oil drain, Engine harness repair, rebuilt brake master and refurbished Booster. 4ws elimination .4bolt rear with axles. Reworked trans, rebuilt shifter assembly, new radiator, new tie rods and balljoints and now my p/s rack is leaking. Already replaced all coolant hoses .rebuilt the entire drive shaft and clutch pedal assembly , rebuilt alternator , all new drive belts. It seems as soon as I fix one problem another pops up.

 

[JCorbo25]

MAF might have a dirty connector or honeycomb and the TPS may have died or got bumped way out of wack. There is a test for your TPS and I believe there is a test for the MAF. Check VFAQ.

I got 3,400 miles out of mine this year, but I work on it every other weekend or so. It's running 10x better than when I bought it in December 2011, but still has a ways to go before it's 100%.

 

Ha, I put 94 miles on mine, and had it a year... somethings going on.. starting to work it now...

 

When I first bought mine
It needed a radio and a few new fuses,
That lead to a new battery that lead to finding a short
In my alternator, which lead to frying the ECU

I also attempted to take an emissions test.
I failed... The car wouldn't go any faster then 40 mph.
I didn't know the thermostat was bad so when they were testing it; it overheated
And coolant blew everywhere. So they pushed it outside and let it sit until
I could come get it..
I then sold it to a friend... He replaced the ECU,plugs,wires,fuel lines from the tank,
Brake lines in the rear, timing belt, interior and the tires....

He drove it for 20k miles and sold it back to me...
The day I got it back 1 of the fuel injectors went out and I spent a week
Looking for one I could afford..needless to say I bought 4

Now after all this.... I still need an alternator, rear calipers,
Paint job(of course) and a new valve cover gasket.

 

[460GVR4]

So i installed maf codes went away... but ohmed out the tps and it seemed to be fine except as i moved throttle sometimes it would read 1 on my voltmeter and then keep raising or lowering depending on which way i moved throttle...still runs like ish... need to make a boost leak tester again.

 

[doggietom]

The driver went out on a ecu I owned and it did the same thing. I pulled it and put it away, got it out about a week ago and now it works fine.....

 

[DR1665]

Cursed? This is character-building, son. It's painful now, but think of how useful these lessons learned will be in the future!

Years ago, I had about 5,000 miles on a fresh, forged bottom end when a wrist pin lock failed, roaching a Wiseco (and more).
Ordered new pistons from a friend's shop in Chicago. Car sat disassembled in a friend's mom's back yard for 7 MONTHS while I waited for my pistons.
3 days after installing fresh engine, flywheel bolts failed (didn't chase before Loctite)... at 9000rpm.
Flywheel became circular saw blade, slicing into the transmission, requiring a 4" aluminum weld.
3 days after we got it all back together, the input shaft roller bearing failed.
Within a couple months of all this, the MLS headgasket began to leak... on a new, $2000 race head (from same shop as pistons).

Oh, and maybe I should mention this was all on a 420A in a base model Talon about 8 years ago. Back when the 4G63 crowd was deep into "yeah, me too" mod lists requiring no thought whatsoever, while we had maybe three vendors and everything still had to be custom-ordered for the 2GNTs.

When it rains, it pours. Life is pain.