MTR

Yesterday I changed out my stock D2s bulbs and ballast for some morimotos. I started the car twice throughout the process to keep the battery good. (I was listening to music the whole time) The car started without no problems. Once I had everything back together I tried firing up the car again and no luck. It turns and turns but won't fire up. Now to throw in a side note I did by accident hit a terminal on the battery causing a spark right before I tried starting it the last time. Also when I turn the key the accessories the radiator fan goes into high and stays on every time. I also hear a click coming from the engine bay. The battery is new, I bought it 3 weeks ago, the headlights, signals and radio all work. Checked all fuses and are good

Here's a video of what going on. Please excuse me in advance for the shotty camera work and lighting as I just made this video. Its more so for sound


Any suggestions Please feel free to chime in
Thanks

ChrisMan287

iTrader: (34)

You shorted out something, I'm just not sure what. I'm not a 6th gen guy.

joecurr

Not sure, try leaving the battery disconnected for an extended period of time, maybe everything will reset. I'm not sure what would turn the fan on like that, unless it somehow thinks it's overheating or something?

MTR

I'm going to go disconnect it now and I'll check back in a hour or so to let you know if it worked or not.

Pfc Woody

Hmmm well if I guess correctly, possibly the thermostat by some complicated thought process? Car thinks its over heating so it shuts off fuel and turns on the fans?

mrjasonlyrics

Ouch. If you really want your car you should take it to a mechanic, hopefully it's something he dealt with before or he can tell you exactly what it is and if it's a DIY fix. It can't be the battery because it's attempting to start, the engine wouldn't even crank if it was. Maybe it's in some kind of safe mode and by not allowing the car to start it's probably doing you a favour.

ChrisMan287

iTrader: (34)

I'd leave it disconnected overnight.

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

Did you check your fuses in the engine bay and under the steering wheel? Can you test your battery voltage?

mrbat

I agree, i had a friend do almost the same thing and blew EVERY fuse in his is300. Check the main fuses and work your way around.

Sent from the batcave

MTR

Thanks, I'm going to voltage test the battery tomorrow.

twentyeggs

screw disconnecting over night. turn on your headlights, disconnect terminals from battery, take the negative terminal and touch to positive terminal. Any residual voltage will discharge in the headlights. everything will reset.

ah the unorthodox...

smokin5s

I'm with the check fuses team

taz394

iTrader: (2)

you sure you didn't mess with anything else ?

next time unhook battery before mess with any elecs on the car people !

MadMax07SL

Any news? Been a few days!

MTR

I blew the computer

I found an ecu at a local junkyard for $75 that matches all 13 characters of my currently blown ecu. Would my car fire right up or does it still have to be programmed?

L36

iTrader: (4)

How do you know you blew the computer? IT can be a simple bad ground somewhere. Had same issue where car would crank and not start.

MTR

My mechanic did a pinpoint test and all the grounds and fuses were good

L36

iTrader: (4)

If all fuses are good i doubt the computer is blown, might be some other issue your mechanic overlooked.

Although you can try getting another ECU, but i doubt that will solve your problem. You'd have to really screw up to fry the computer.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

He did... he shorted the battery to something. That can cause the ECU to blow up when you do that. As soon as you turn the key on, the ECU tells the radiator fan to run - something is not right in that ECU.

L36

iTrader: (4)

False.

I shorted the + terminal on the alternator which blew the main fuse on the battery. Fuse cost me $20 from dealer. Shorting out battery terminals is not enough to kill anything in the car. That's why there is the main fuse on the battery for. For the radiator fan, do you mean does it turn on right away when he turns the key? Did he check the fan relays? Is his climate control module hooked up?

joecurr

It really depends on WHAT he shorted to. If you apply too high of a voltage to something that goes straight to the ECU, then yes the ECU can go bad. And yes, if it's just the battery terminals it's unlikely (although possible) the ECU is bad. It's unclear what exactly was shorted...

L36

iTrader: (4)

If he really fried the computer, the airbag light should not come on , not even blink or just stay lit all the time. Besides, how can he send high voltage to the ECU while changing out the headlights?

I'm pretty sure its some other electrical problem, its unlikely the computer is dead. OP, pull out one sparkplug, insert it into the coil and see if the car fires a spark while cranking. If it does not, bad ground because i had that issue on my 6 gen.

joecurr

By going bad it doesn't have to be dead, just not functioning properly. He said he shorted something and there was a spark, but like I said it's not clear what exactly happened. I don't know how the ECU works, I'm just speaking from a general electric point of view. If you send 12V to something that's expecting up to 5V, you'll damage that component. I'm not saying whether his ECU is bad or not, just that I wouldn't exactly rule it out.

L36

iTrader: (4)

Right, but there might be other factors like maybe he shorted something that's part of the injector circuit causing injectors not to send fuel to the combustion chamber or maybe the spark not firing or both or fuel pump not working.

OP should diagnose more areas before dumping money into not well though out problem.

joecurr

I KNOW there may be other factors. All I'm saying is a bad ECU shouldn't be completely ruled out. It's possible wiring could have been damaged from a short from excessive heat, but it doesn't sound like it was for very long and he said his mechanic checked the grounds. YES he should check whatever he can, I just don't think a bad ECU should be ruled out. Should it be the first thing he tries/changes? No, I never said that. All I said is it's still a possibility...

MTR

Thanks everyone for the input.

Today I went to talk to my mechanic and I he showed me the ECU. I didn't see any obvious signs of it being fried however, he did have me smell it and it definitely had a burnt odor to it. The new should be in tomorrow so hopefully that'll be the end to this costly screw up. I'll keep you all posted

joecurr

Burnt electronics stink. I know the smell all too well.

ShocknAwe

iTrader: (3)

If you dont think it is possible to fry an ECU then you have problems ahead of you. ALWAYS remove the negative when doing electrical work, if the OP had done this it probably wouldnt have happened. It takes 5mins. Kind of like jack stands. Most of the time it does not matter but the time it does you are in serious trouble

L36

iTrader: (4)

I never said its impossible anything.

tmorales509

How did it turn out? Was it the ecu?

BRUISER

I had a related issue on my '04. Decided I wanted to put LED's in the integrated fog lights. They did not work, and in disconnecting a wire to the fogs, saw a very small spark. Now both fogs (back to the stock bulbs) do not work. No blown fuses, and the bulbs still look good. Any answers?