Boo-Koo-Z 10 Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) Hey all I made a deal tonight on a 92 VR6 single owner car 147k Miles. The car comes with a complete history and from what it sounds like has been well taken care of up until a few months ago. This is where the problem began I was told. The owners daughter went out to start the car and realized the battery was dead so she enlisted her boyfriends help to get it started. The daughter and boyfriend went to jump the car and could not get it started. The PO then had the car taken to the shop where they spent about an hour on it... They found that it was not a fuel issue and it was electronic. The car chugs but no fire. The mechanic pulled the ECU and found a brown spot on the board so he ordered a used replacement. When the mechanic got the replacement ECU he put it in but still no start. At this point the PO had this car as a 4th car and really had no need for the car and I had dropped him a card some 3 years back on the windshield inquiring. He gave me a ring and we made what I think is a good deal at $1k for the car. I'll be bringing her home on my flatbed in the morning and would like some advise on where to start. NOTE** the PO mentioned there may have been a chance that they jumped the car improperly with positive on negative and negative on positive.. Don't rule that out he said... Here is what I was planning on doing first... -Charge up the battery -Check all Fuses -Install replacement ECU From here I'll look for your help to find a logical hit list so I don't go chasing my tail. I've been playing with old air cooled VW's for years but never played with FI much. Thanks for the help Joel Edited March 27, 2012 by Boo-Koo-Z Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted March 27, 2012 Obviously need to find out what the garage has done that got them to the point of changing the ecu, but tbh, I'd start from scratch. check to be sure its getting fuel and spark. Have a look in the wiki section on buyers guides, because common problems include coil packs, crank sensors, ignition switches etc etc. All will cause the car to turn over but not start. Get it plugged into vagcom if you can, otherwise its just a process of elimination and use of the mk1 eyeball! good luck. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boo-Koo-Z 10 Posted March 29, 2012 So I spoke to the garage today and they told me they followed power and determined that the ECU's output was not there so they took off the cover and found a burnt spot on the board. They mailed it off to a company to see if it could be repaired some months back. They never got a response back from the company fixing it and even after leaving them messages they didn't respond... so the replacement ECU was searched and found. So here is where I am at and some things I have noted.... -I don't have the original ECU Codes/Numbers -Replacement ECU is from a 1995 Jetta VR6 but my car is a 1992 Corrado??? -The mounting bracket that was on the replacement ECU I don't think is the same... Does the ECU need to be in its bracket grounded to work properly? -I charged the battery for a few hours and tried it... battery won't take a charge so I got a new group 42 battery and installed it -I went though the entire engine compartment and checked all wires and connections to ensure they all had good contact -Installed a new air filter -Installed the replacement 95 Jetta VR6 ECU -I attempted to start the car a couple cranks but didn't even try to fire. It cranked but no go. Below are a few pics and numbers from the car / motor and the tag that came with the replacement ECU. Figured someone can help confirm the ECU replacement should work or not. Give me your thoughts. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
