14 replies to this topic

[dvscoupe]

Hey all,

I'm seeing anyone can point me in the right direction.

Yesterday afternoon I was driving home on the M1 in the EVO and the exhaust temp light came on in the cluster whilst doing 110k's then all the lights came on and the car just shut down doing 110k's

I pulled over and managed to get it running again and got it home.

I popped the bonnet to hear the coolant in the over flow bottle bubbling. I had checked the coolant level prior to taking it out and the temp on the gauge was perfectly fine.

I let the car cool down and it took over a litre of coolant which I have think there is 2 small coolant leaks so I will fix those today.

But

as for the car shutting down I took it for a quick drive to have it do it again and coolant levels are perfectly fine and the overflow bottle was not bubbling this time so it was nothing to do with the heat issue but there was a sound of something shorting out hardcore from behind the stereo.

I had a quick look to find the ABS ECU? I think it was. Would this cause the car to have the said issues?

I also replaced the socketed ECU back with the EVO1 RS ECU I have and the car ran again.

Honestly I'm completely over this fkn car and I'm sick and tired of constantly fixing it

Any ideas what the latest issue is??

Is it a over heating issue again?
Is it an ABS ECU issue?
Is it an Engine ECU issue?

or is it something else completely?

[ONPSI]

i think you took on the problems buying it as a BARGAIN. you usually get what you pay for. at some stage there has to be a limit as to selling it off or dealing with it...sorry mate you'll get there

[dvscoupe]

thanks for your help

I will consider offers if someone wants to buy the fkn thing

[CLuTZ]

I have had the exact same thing- bought an EVO that was fucked and it so many more problems underneath the surface. Lucky for me though, most of these problems have been rectified, but it's a lot of work, time and $$$$ Hang in there I reckon.

Back to the issues- I thought the car was fucked? I wouldnt be driving it far if you have cooked it and its blowing smoke! Sounds like the coolant system isnt working properly though......!

[BMGTZ]

yep a short in a component active only when ignition is on will rob power from other components in the same circuit and cause them to shut down.

so are you saying it only ran after you changed the ecu and not before? if so then this makes me think the short has also taken out that ecu. take the cover off it and look for fried components......if there are any....best disconnect your good one till you isolate the fault..

as far as the abs goes.....very nice to have for city driving when some idiot cuts into your lane on a wet road and you jam your boot on the brakes in reaction.....but not essential. can you just unplug the abs computer?

if you want another abs computer have one.

[mannynz]

Coolant thermostat probably needs replacing.
An old unit will sometimes jammed shut/half way before completely failing.

[dvscoupe]

the entire cooling system has been replaced, just the radiator hoses to be replaced. I'm still waiting for them to arrive

[Liberoz]

Thats sucks balls bigtime about the ongoing problems to date, (thats why it was cheap I believe)
Persevere mate as its just something that will happen buying second hand older model cars the older they get the more they just let go one after the other.

In some ways I can understand the frustration of not having the coin to buy a later model evo and going the budget that you can offord kind of a trade off really. I would hate to add up all the reciepts I've spent on my car in all of its stages no doubt way more than a Evo5-6 thats for sure.

Just to add what I haven't replaced on my car with new parts is suspension bushes which I have just done & wheel bearing's and guess what now drivers rear and passangers front are giving me the glorious clunk clunk to remind me they need replacing, so far fronts are ready to be swapped out with new evo hubs and seals and just waiting on the rear re-build kit for axle bearings retainers and seals (thanks RALLIART NZ Dave)

So far I could have bought a evo7 or 8 with what Ive spent on my car so far and there's no way in hell I'd get 15g for it

Unless there's a very slight chance that someone out there wants to take advantage of a car which has had a shed load of love and care + mods for a bargin price which is always the case.

But unless I get close to that I'm not selling as I know it has been built to last another 10 or so years reliably

Its what we do "Evo Restorers" Not "Evo Modifiers"

[JAP63]

In some ways I can understand the frustration of not having the coin to buy a later model evo and going the budget that you can offord kind of a trade off really.

Unfortunate fact, a good Evo=$$$$$$$$$
Even if you get it to a good level, still cost $$$$$ to keep it there...hence why i drive the Barina now and gave the III the ass.

If the avearge price for a good example of a car is 25k, and you can pick one up for 18K..bet your bottom dollar you spend the extra 7K somewhere along the line fixing things....there is a point where cutting your losses IS the best option..sad to say it, but it always balances out in the end..If you love the car, and I mean LOVE it..keep it, if you have any doubt, get it going best you can and sell it...no more headaches....even if it is a good car (as my III was) abuse it enough and when it breaks, its a mortgage extension to repair it, as the lad the bough mine has unfotunately found out...

All the best with the fault finding....and like someone else said earlier, inspect the thermostat..boil the keetle, drop it in the water, check the core moves.

Jamie.

Edited by JAP63, 19 September 2009 - 06:05 AM.

[dvscoupe]

After doing some checking of all sorts of stuff I found 2 minor coolant leaks which one involves removing the turbo

As stated above the thermostat, radiator and radiator cap are all either brand new or reconditioned

The car shutting down at this stage appears to be the flash tuned ECU so that is going back next week to be checked. Lucky for me I had a spare ECU here which i dropped in and the car has been fine

[BMGTZ]

what about the short in the abs computer ?

Edited by BMGTZ, 19 September 2009 - 03:10 PM.

[dvscoupe]

honestly that has me buggered but i'm hoping there was something major going on with the engine ECU that was causing an issue with a solonide or relay under there and it was just me thinking it was the ABS ECU

[BMGTZ]

there is a big brassy looking relay in there as well......I think its called an mpi relay or something. its close to the abs control computer.

[ENGINR]

Check all your earths too Dion. Mine cut out on me because I fried the ECU due to not connecting up an earth on the main engine control loom.

[dvscoupe]

Will do, sorry i didn't see this post till late last night. I'll check them all tonight.

I have now driven the car for 2 days with the other ECU back in and it has not given me any issues. I've got the socketed ecu in the car to be checked WTF happened