The dealer just called, my ECU was replaced and the car is running fine. They say they don't know why it failed but it may have been due to my shift light and they recommend not hooking it back up. Is it possible for for the shift light to cause an ECU failure? Has anyone else had an ECU fail and be told it was caused by the shift light?

I am using a harlan shift light and it was tapped into the Grey wire with a red strip off the ECU.

This was a very expensive repair that I do not want to have to do again

 

How much did they get you for?

SuDZ

 

bad ECU? what were the symptoms anyways??

 

So you ran it off the tach wire from the ECU? I suppose it *could* have drawn enough current to fry something on the ECU. To avoid that possibility in the future, you can draw the signal off of a coilpack.

 

It's very possible. None of the wires coming from the ECU is fused. If you happen to short it out by touching it againest a hot +12V source. You will fry the main processor. I did that before.

 

I am the biggest ****ing retard in the world and just paid dearly for it. I was trying to wire my cigarette lighter to be on all the time to charge my cell phone. My shift light is also tapped off the cigarette lighter, I must have touched the 12 volt to the wire that was tapped into the ECU wire.

 

That will definantly do it.

SuDZ

 

Why not hook it up this way?

 

A good thing to note, too, as well, is whenever you tap an accessory of any kind to another component, ALWAYS FUSE the accessory. This will protect the component as well as the accessory if the accessory will shorten out. Then again, you must be vey careful of what your tapping into. Some components are so delicate, such as the ECU, it is not recommendable to alter this unit whatsoever. Sorry to hear that you had to replace the unit. It could have been worse if the whole ECU made other components to go awry at the same time!

 

Thanks exactly how I hooked up mine, works like a charm.

 

I like that pic...

 

Chunger...eventhough I am an auto, I'm just curious what are those contact points on the gauge cluster you tapped into. Can you elborate what wires are for what? Don't worry...no monster tach meter in the plan for me :laugh"