ECU RECAP(might help some)

amraks · Post by **amraks** » Sun May 06, 2012 2:38 am

This what I am thinking of doing to my ecu is opening it up and desoldering the capacitors and replacing them with brand new ones.

I know after a few years capacitors go bad and give very poor results.

I will let you know how I go.

might even make a how too.

Post by **shanec86** » Sun May 06, 2012 10:25 am

do you have any bulging or leaking caps?

amraks · Post by **amraks** » Sun May 06, 2012 3:16 pm

Its not the point if they are leaky or bulging.
after a few years they lose capacitance and sometimes their value will change. so if you was to desolder them and test them with a capacitance meter you will might find a bad one amongst them.

our cars are nearly 29 years old you think them capacitors will last forever, these things dry out after time.

Post by **shanec86** » Sun May 06, 2012 8:24 pm

thats true, but if its running fine i couldnt see any point in changing them. Not like the reliability or performance of the car will change. Ive never seen an e15 ecu fail from caps, Seen a few dry joints but thats about it

Andjeti · Post by **Andjeti** » Sun May 06, 2012 9:04 pm

As long as the caps are put back in the right way it can't hurt...

Damo · Post by **Damo** » Sun May 06, 2012 10:48 pm

Andjeti wrote:As long as the caps are put back in the right way it can't hurt...

Sure, but it would be like trying to take apart a swiss watch, clean or replace the cogs and hope to hell you haven't lost a spring or bent an arm when you put it back together (on a working timepiece). Sure, you may have swapped out a component which may have been giving a error of 5%, but now have a 50% chance of destroying a functional ECU for naught gain.

My 2cents

Damo

Andjeti · Post by **Andjeti** » Mon May 07, 2012 9:22 am

Damo wrote: Sure, but it would be like trying to take apart a swiss watch, clean or replace the cogs and hope to hell you haven't lost a spring or bent an arm when you put it back together (on a working timepiece). Sure, you may have swapped out a component which may have been giving a error of 5%, but now have a 50% chance of destroying a functional ECU for naught gain.

My 2cents

Damo

It depends on how well you know electronics. I've de-soldered and replaced bulging capacitors on everything from electronic keyboards to the latest AMD/Intel main-boards. It's really not that difficult, you do one cap at a time and re-solder the new one in before moving on. Repairing electronics isn't for everyone and I am not trained to do it, it's just something I've picked up working with computers for years.

I don't see much benefit from replacing the caps myself, but as I said, it can't hurt. Never know it might make just enough difference to save a Litre of fuel every couple of weeks. I'm not sure what role the caps are playing in our ECU's, but with the current fuel prices, I'm all for anything that could save even 10mL of fuel.

Timmzy · Post by **Timmzy** » Mon May 07, 2012 10:37 am

Hey mate if you wanna save a litre of fuel every couple of weeks I'd use your expertise to wire in an aftermarket ecu and dial in whatevr values u like

Darren

amraks · Post by **amraks** » Tue May 08, 2012 1:11 pm

Yup I have fixed tv's fixed monitors.

So I know the rocket science of of taking stuff off a PCB.

Just don't do dry solder joints and it will be fine everything will function.

xr6eta · Post by **xr6eta** » Wed May 09, 2012 2:39 pm

Go for it dude, ecu's are a dime a dozen, if you fuck one, there'll be plenty more on here. How are you monitoring your results, what's your before and after references.

dexi_styles · Post by **dexi_styles** » Thu May 10, 2012 12:06 pm

xr6eta wrote:Go for it dude, ecu's are a dime a dozen, if you fuck one, there'll be plenty more on here. How are you monitoring your results, what's your before and after references.

Im sure i still have one or two to part ways with.

Dex