Questions on ECU's (again)

Jet-Fighter7700

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Hi all, so those of you who know me and my threads, probably know too much about my POS little Picanto by now, and I hate to bore everybody with my incessant prattling on and on about it...
And I realize I'm using up my car "support" credits very fast here.

But I wanted to ask something that I not sure if a mechanic actually really knows.
And I want to dig deeper into what "could" cause it to happen again so I avoid it(if its something I'm doing wrong)

Something related to ECU's with modern cars.

Now, I do want to make it clear my car is 100% and working and all OK,
But, I wanted to know, what can make a ECU damage inside the car?

In most cases, what damages a ECU?
Slow driving?
Idling?
Leaving key in ACC position for long without starting the engine?
Stop start traffic?
High speeds?
Water/flood damage?


Or can it be something more deeper like injector faulty or something else?
I'd like to know, especially in the simpler cars, what is the usual cause of ECU failure in most basic cars?

I'll explain my situation, that happened a few months back, ECU went again, but this time I actually heard it go pop, and it happened at a parking lot at slow speeds, last time, very similar, was in traffic underneath modderfontein bridge, (didn't mention it here, as I at least knew the cause this time)

Now, like I mentioned before, car is 100% fixed and I'm driving it and all is well,

But I'm curious, what is the "root" cause? Slow traffic? Overheating alternator? Electrical short? Or is it a random thing one has no control over?
Last time it did happen, mechanic said my ECU box was very hot
And he had to replace something inside the alternator, besides the ECU and the whole shebang (again)
Was that why it happened before as well? Does the ECU box usually get hot? Could it be water damage or shorting wires inside the engine?
(Last time the mech did try pull apart my entire wiring loom to trace the problem, could he have damaged something?)

Or is it as per usual, I asking "why" too much and "over analyze" situations, and people should just put me on ignore, or I should get an infraction to shut me up once and for all....
And if it's that I ask "why" too much , as somebody once told me, you'll never know until you ask, and as I have no idea I thought I'd ask again, even if somebody Will slap me for asking again.....
 
ECU failure will most likely be an electrical problem - so a power surge, or water damage.
 
Hi all, so those of you who know me and my threads, probably know too much about my POS little Picanto by now, and I hate to bore everybody with my incessant prattling on and on about it...
And I realize I'm using up my car "support" credits very fast here.

But I wanted to ask something that I not sure if a mechanic actually really knows.
And I want to dig deeper into what "could" cause it to happen again so I avoid it(if its something I'm doing wrong)

Something related to ECU's with modern cars.

Now, I do want to make it clear my car is 100% and working and all OK,
But, I wanted to know, what can make a ECU damage inside the car?

In most cases, what damages a ECU?
Slow driving?
Idling?
Leaving key in ACC position for long without starting the engine?
Stop start traffic?
High speeds?
Water/flood damage?


Or can it be something more deeper like injector faulty or something else?
I'd like to know, especially in the simpler cars, what is the usual cause of ECU failure in most basic cars?

I'll explain my situation, that happened a few months back, ECU went again, but this time I actually heard it go pop, and it happened at a parking lot at slow speeds, last time, very similar, was in traffic underneath modderfontein bridge, (didn't mention it here, as I at least knew the cause this time)

Now, like I mentioned before, car is 100% fixed and I'm driving it and all is well,

But I'm curious, what is the "root" cause? Slow traffic? Overheating alternator? Electrical short? Or is it a random thing one has no control over?
Last time it did happen, mechanic said my ECU box was very hot
And he had to replace something inside the alternator, besides the ECU and the whole shebang (again)
Was that why it happened before as well? Does the ECU box usually get hot? Could it be water damage or shorting wires inside the engine?
(Last time the mech did try pull apart my entire wiring loom to trace the problem, could he have damaged something?)

Or is it as per usual, I asking "why" too much and "over analyze" situations, and people should just put me on ignore, or I should get an infraction to shut me up once and for all....
And if it's that I ask "why" too much , as somebody once told me, you'll never know until you ask, and as I have no idea I thought I'd ask again, even if somebody Will slap me for asking again.....
Water Damage obvious causes
Low Battery - Amperage Spike/Surge can cook ecu
Damaged Harness - Short Circuit can cook ecu
Lowered Suspension/Low Profile tyres/freeflow exhaust causes lots of knocks and rattles... solder joints cracks loose and cause intermittent problems in ecu.
 
This guy really need to learn the beauty of a wonderful modern invention called the CARBURATOR!
 
*ahem*

8260673bc4669487775c397c5d56996e.jpg


 
ECU failure will most likely be an electrical problem - so a power surge, or water damage.


Water Damage obvious causes
Low Battery - Amperage Spike/Surge can cook ecu
Damaged Harness - Short Circuit can cook ecu
Lowered Suspension/Low Profile tyres/freeflow exhaust causes lots of knocks and rattles... solder joints cracks loose and cause intermittent problems in ecu.


Basically the above. Though I'm not so sure about the lowered suspension etc. - not impossible though.
My money would be on an electrical issue of some sort. Get the car checked out by a qualified auto elec.

Edit: also a possibility is using fuses of incorrect ratings- have these checked as well.
 
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You struggle to find an autolek who wants to work on this kind of problems. They make their money off of sorting out lighting and repairing alternators.

They usually send you back to the agents for ecu problems.
 
Definitely anything electrical like a surge or short of some kind or even jump starting it from a car with a much bigger battery or more powerful alternator.

Otherwise just bad luck and a craply manufactured unit.

That is of course if the ECU is genuinely faulty and it's not one of a myriad of false positives.
 
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Water Damage obvious causes
Low Battery - Amperage Spike/Surge can cook ecu
Damaged Harness - Short Circuit can cook ecu
Lowered Suspension/Low Profile tyres/freeflow exhaust causes lots of knocks and rattles... solder joints cracks loose and cause intermittent problems in ecu.

That last one, my sides :D
Do you know what testing new cars go through? The test track will make any of that stuff seem like a walk in the park
 
Just do us a favour.

Drive that car into the pillar of Modderfontein bridge, use the payout and buy your bloody Brio. Then don't post about how amazing your vrot Brio is.












:twisted::D
 
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