I've Mended Something!

"SPAMBot - Horse Doctor" (spambot2002) 07/23/2019 at 14:15 • Filed to: Shits fixed, Ferrari, More than I can afford pal, Horse Doctor

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I finally got my car running well again. Then met up with some OPPOS for a canyon drive. I did about 125 miles that day and the car never missed a beat.

With ze Germans

I tracked down the misfire to no spark on cylinder 6 and 7. I changed the coil pack on that side (cylinders 5-8), the igniters, checked the wires, and changed the spark plugs to no avail. After looking a little deeper, I realized 6/7 were (eventually) driven off the same wire from the ecu. So I checked continuity in the harness and pull the ecu. I am greeted by this lovely corrosion :

From there, I clean off the pins with a combination of contact cleaner, brushes, sand paper, and swearing. I hit it with some air duster and threw the ecu back in the car. The car fired right up and ran well. From there I changed the oil because I was worried about fuel dilution. After a quick shakedown run late Friday night, I parked her in the garage, ready for the oppo meet. I dug pretty deep into the car and learned a lot. I’m glad I was stubborn enough to keep tracing the problem, even though it was out of my expertise. It feels good to actually fix something.

Obligatory:

Shot out to TFritch to answering my questions along the way.

CaptDale - is secretly British > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 14:19

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Nice job man! 

BeaterGT > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 14:22

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Well done, sir!

Reminds me of the time there was some crud on the resistor embedded in my key and I spent more time than I wish to admit trying to figure out why my car wouldn’t turn over .

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 14:31

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Electrical problems are just the best aren’t they.  They are generally a 5 minute fix but anywhere from 10 minute to 10 hour troubleshooting marathon. I’m currently diagnosing why my F150 won’t charge the battery.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 07/23/2019 at 14:33

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They are a pain for sure! Ended up spending close to $400 dollars on parts that turned out to be a free fix lol. Oh well, I’m not upset I replaced a ton of 30 year old electrical components.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > BeaterGT 07/23/2019 at 14:34

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Oh man! That would be a serious head scratch er!

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > CaptDale - is secretly British 07/23/2019 at 14:34

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Thanks! Can’t wait to go on a some drives!

CaptDale - is secretly British > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 14:37

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Same! Will be lots of fun. Sadly all my suspension parts will not be here before IM’s bbq. I was hoping to have that a little better dialed in. 

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 14:40

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Wonderful!

Is Ferrari too good for a distributor or something?

VincentMalamute-Kim > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 14:55

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I realized 6/7 were (eventually) driven off the same wire from the ecu

That actually took intelligence. I’m not good at connecting dots like that.

How is the ECU installed? On my Transit, those connectors are slanted up. And the Transits have issues with rain overflowing the windshield base gutter and getting onto the ECU connectors.

Any obviously visible fuel dilution when you did the oil change?

Just thought of:  how about throwing some dielectric grease on there to try to increase the time to the next misfire?

His Stigness > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 15:27

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AND I MISSED IT! But if it weren’t for the shit traffic I could have stopped by before going to Disneyland, but nope! I have to leave my house by 5 AM to get there in time, not hit traffic, and get an EV charger. But I did get there at 0632. And then proceeded to dick around for an hour waiting for my mom and sister to get there. 

But I did get another droid at Galaxy’s Edge.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 15:41

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Nice find. That’s just about the most classically Italian car electrical problem I can think of.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > VincentMalamute-Kim 07/23/2019 at 15:45

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Lol thanks, I have my (rare) moments.

I plan on doing the other ECU and hitting both with something to inhibit corrosion and bump the connection.

The car has two ECU’s, one per bank, and the engine basically is controlled like two I-4's that share a crank. The ecu’s are behind the seats, and pretty much in line with the back seal on the targa top. The entire engine compartment is open to the elements. I normally wash the car with a sheet of plastic over the engine because there is just some mesh on the bonnet. So I’m sure at some point, water followed the harness. Here is the driver’s side with the ECU ripped out. You can see the other one too because I have both covers off.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 07/23/2019 at 15:45

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Something like that ;)

Not good enough for coil on plug, though.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > His Stigness 07/23/2019 at 15:46

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There will be more opportunities! Disneyland sounded fun and I certainly can’t blame you haha

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > CaptDale - is secretly British 07/23/2019 at 15:47

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Something tells me you’ll be back over there once you get the car sorted haha

His Stigness > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 15:49

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Galaxy’s Edge was basically empty, it was AWESOME!

But apparently, Disney is taking advantage of nerds and raising the prices on all of the legacy lightsabers at Dok Ondar’ s. I’m mad because if I had known this, I would have bought them all last month when I got my Jedi Temple Guard one.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 07/23/2019 at 15:50

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That’s just the character/soul/passion seeping through. LOL

I’m just glad it corroded instead of shorting and catching fire

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > His Stigness 07/23/2019 at 15:51

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Bastards! But Disney going to Disney.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 15:52

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Okay, the latter option there would’ve been THE most classically Italian car electrical problem.

VincentMalamute-Kim > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 15:59

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oh... Italian engineering. (although you’d think Ford would know by now how to design cars so water doesn’t get in. )

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 07/23/2019 at 16:36

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Hahahaha right? Italians are going to Italian. I’m just glad the fix didn’t wipe out my rainy day fund

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 16:38

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It was definitely fun chasing you around in the Z4M

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > VincentMalamute-Kim 07/23/2019 at 16:38

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Giovanni must have thought he spilled his wine the day they were rain testing the prototype haha

His Stigness > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 16:56

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I know! I’m kind of surprised they didn’t raise the price of the custom ones at Savi’s, but I think that’s because everyone who has reported on it has also reported on the price of it, so they would have gotten a ton of shit if they had jacked up the prices already.

But.. it may very well be due to tariffs . Maybe they smuggle in the parts for Savi’s? I don’t know. But I can’t wait until Abigail Disney rails against the price hikes on lightsabers.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) 07/23/2019 at 17:11

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This is a cool picture! Saturday was fun for sure. I’m glad you all were able to join. Nothing like two red cars without power steering, even if one was unintentional haha

CaptDale - is secretly British > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 17:17

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Oh I am taking it anyway. Just won’t be as nice as it could be. 

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > His Stigness 07/23/2019 at 17:23

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I don’t know what half those words mean but I get the overall sentiment haha. I was never big into star wars, but I do have a Luke Skywalker master replicas light saber lying around somewhere. BC light sabers are badass.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > CaptDale - is secretly British 07/23/2019 at 17:25

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Nice! Well bummed I’ll miss it. We’ll certainly cross paths soon though.

His Stigness > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 17:35

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Lightsabers are the best! I was talking to some guy in Galaxy’s Edge and his wife had bought a lightsaber too, but she had no idea what we were talking about, she only got a lightsaber because it’s awesome. 

CaptDale - is secretly British > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 07/23/2019 at 17:35

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Oh. I know we will!

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > VincentMalamute-Kim 07/23/2019 at 18:33

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Oh, I forgot to touch on the fuel dilution. The oil smelled a bit like gas and was darker than it should have been. I changed the oil RIGHT before the misfire started (like, 25 miles prior) so it should have been perfect. It still seemed viscous and everything, but I’m glad I got it out of there. Not willing to chance something like that.