chu805 0 Posted January 11, 2005 Hi all. I have a 1990 mk2 golf 16V and have a problem with the ECU which keeps blowing. The problem started around 2 weeks ago when my car was struggling to start especially from cold and was running like a 1.3L. I took the car to my local VW specialist (I dont understand engines a great deal) but he located the problem by using a strobe on the timing. The car was running 30 degrees retarded, due to the blown ecu. Luckily I had a spare ECU from my previous 1990 16V so I plugged it in and everythin was running smoothly again. Until yesterday morning, I started the car and again idle was poor and the car struggled to start. There was no power goin to the wheels in 1st gear. I immediately suspected a faulty ECU so I took the car back to my specialist. He did the same check and again the car was running 30 degrees retarded, hense another ECU has blown. He has checked the voltage which is giving out 14V, which suggests that electronics are ok. Can anybody help me because I dont want to simply replace the ECU again and blow another one. :cry: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chu805 0 Posted January 12, 2005 Come on people! I only put a post on this forum cos i was informed that the people here "knew theyre stuff"!!!!! I know I have a golf which is far insuperiour to all your raddos but surely its not above you to help out a fellow VDuber ......? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coolrado 0 Posted January 12, 2005 try checking all of the wiring for damage and check all the earth points are clean and secure it could be that one of the earth points is corroded or a cable is broken and the ecu is drawing more current on a different circuit which cannot cope with the draw try opening up the ecu and check for any burned out tracks on the circuit board the forum has been a bit up and down in the last couple of days you should find we are usually a helpfull bunch, it usually helps if you introduce yourself too Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henny 0 Posted January 12, 2005 'ello chu805, Welcome to The Forum... 8) I don't think it's that it's a Golf that's the problem, I think it's that you've got an interesting problem that is quite specific and not all that common a type of fault... :| I'm a little confused as to the bit about the ECU being blown as a 1.8 16V 1990 Golf should be a K-Jetronic injection system on a KR block and so shouldn't have an ECU as such... :| Personally, I'd do these 3 things in order... 1) check the crankshaft bolt which holds the bottom cambelt pulley onto the crank. If this comes loose (which it's known to do on these cars) then it'll throw your timing out by a mile, eat through the woodruff key and eventually cause the crank to turn over without moving the cambelt... It's easy enough to check, and pretty simple to cure if you catch it before it destroys the woodruff key completely. 2) check the hall sender in the distributor is OK. 3) check all of the vacuum hoses are in good condition and are all connected properly (especially the ones around the air box) as these can cause the timing to go out, but not normally by 30 degrees... :| 4) check that there's no oil inside the internals of the distributor... They're known for leaking and that screws up the signals that the dizzy makes and throws the timing out by a mile. Hope this helps... 8) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supercharged 2 Posted January 12, 2005 I think a missing gearbox earth can cause the ECU to fry... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henny 0 Posted January 12, 2005 Yup, a faulty/loose/crappy main earth will cause the starter to try to earth through anything it can, including an ECU... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ben16v 0 Posted January 12, 2005 hi phil it`s gotta be a dodgy earth as said passing through too much current have you got another ecu to go in it? I'm a little confused as to the bit about the ECU being blown as a 1.8 16V 1990 Golf should be a K-Jetronic injection system on a KR block and so shouldn't have an ECU as such... :| thats what i tought too but apparently there is an ecu but it is only used for ignition not for the general running of the car if that makes any sense?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
h100vw 0 Posted January 12, 2005 I'd question the 14Volts being a bit high. Maybe that did in the ECU. The Alternator could be duff.. Gavin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Bacon 5 Posted January 12, 2005 14V is OK but an AC alterntor output isn't though. Run an extra strap from the battery to the earth cluster on the back of the head, that'll take care of the engine earthing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beavis 0 Posted January 13, 2005 Common problem when replacement clutches are fitted and the mechanic forgets to refit the earth strap Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
