VAFC KILLED MY ECU!!

[teh_mugen18]

everything was going along normally today, i had just gotten an alignment done, and had some other new good things going on with the car then suddenly it goes kaputt! on the entrance ramp to i-85... i take a look at my vafc, and the screen is completely dark.. i then look to my obd0 ecu to see if the light is blinking... its not; even though the dashboard is showing a CEL. idk wtf happened... :cussing:

[punkr6]

vafc's=garbage

[teh_mugen18]

I was actually thinking...what if i take my vafc off and return the ecu back to stock, if that might fix things...?

[punkr6]

ecu may be toast. nothing beats a good dyno tune by Scotty, throw that vafc at some one you hate

[teh_mugen18]

ecu may be toast. nothing beats a good dyno tune by Scotty, throw that vafc at some one you hate

hm i wonder is there any way to test and verify for sure that its toast... because i think my vafc is toast as well. The screen doesnt even show up anything when the engine is off and the key in the On position..

[punkr6]

hm i wonder is there any way to test and verify for sure that its toast... because i think my vafc is toast as well. The screen doesnt even show up anything when the engine is off and the key in the On position..

borrow a friends ecu and see...What ecu are you runing ?

[BABY J]

1st of all --- I am NOT a fan of these tools --- only the gauge fucntions to monitor parameters are useful... but NOT for tuning.

However, I've installed probably 15 of these in the last 8 years (SAFC/VAFC). I have never heard of one cooking an ECU --- have you tried the ECU in another car?

[teh_mugen18]

wow i just narrowed it down to a main relay issue.... there is 2 sets of "main relays" in my car though :???:

One is the stock, brown box in its original position... the second one is a black box with the same plug on it that says "RELAY ASSY MAIN" but its not bolted to the car...:thinking:


borrow a friends ecu and see...What ecu are you runing ?

I'm using an obd0 pr4

[teh_mugen18]

1st of all --- I am NOT a fan of these tools --- only the gauge fucntions to monitor parameters are useful... but NOT for tuning.

However, I've installed probably 15 of these in the last 8 years (SAFC/VAFC). I have never heard of one cooking an ECU --- have you tried the ECU in another car?

Lol, im not using it for tuning... no i havent tried the ecu in another car

[BABY J]

it's actually pretty hard to burn down a Honda/Acura ECU --- so check those relays and let us know what you find - I'd bet that they both are still working just fine.

[speedminded]

Might help to pull the plug and see if it's even getting power lol! I highly doubt something that is only manipulating what the ecu reads is capable of harming it.

Who spliced the wires? Some of the worst electrical hack jobs I've ever seen were on piggybacks. I'd recommend making or buying a harness with OEM connectors, just like a conversion harness, rather than cutting and splicing into the main ECU harness. it makes everything plug and play and easily put back to stock. Solder and heat shrink is your friend, not twisting wires and wrapping in electrical tape. :2cents:

[scttydb411]

probably some wiring, relay, or fuse issue. if installed properly they don't kill ecu. however, it's not the right way to tune so consider this a blessing in disguise.

[teh_mugen18]

if installed properly they don't kill ecu.

its been running with the afc since about last december or so...

[Barefoot]

1st of all --- I am NOT a fan of these tools --- only the gauge fucntions to monitor parameters are useful... but NOT for tuning.

However, I've installed probably 15 of these in the last 8 years (SAFC/VAFC). I have never heard of one cooking an ECU --- have you tried the ECU in another car?lol u remember derick right. he wired his ass backwards toasted his shit. but that was on the first turn on the key.

[teh_mugen18]

I also noticed that when i turn my key to the on position without the engine running, it doesnt show the battery or oil indicator lamps like it did before...

edit: it only shows the check engine lamp but there are no ecu codes to go with it... also there is no spark. So at this point, theres no fuel, and no spark to go along with the other things i mentioned before.:(

[£G2♣]

it gotta be those relays, have you checked it/

[teh_mugen18]

it gotta be those relays, have you checked it/

Well, i dont have a mutimeter available to do an official check on it, but the reason i think its them is because theres no fuel pump action when i turn the key to the ON position but dont try to crank the motor, the main relay does not make the 'CLICK' noise after the fuel pump would normally stop, and the CEL in the engine bay doesnt turn off after 2 seconds... Also, my ecu is not recieving power, which would lead my vafc to not recieve power because its sourced off the ecu...
So i can only go off of the behaviour of the way the part is acting.

Doesnt the main relay control power to the ecu, fuel pump, injectors, and ignition systems?

[teh_mugen18]

bump?

[BABY J]

Why bump? We have told you the things to check homey.

[teh_mugen18]

Why bump? We have told you the things to check homey.

lol sorry, i thought that the absence of lights in the dashboard would be another good clue to the problem. Because, when my valve cover ground would be missing, this same thing would happen also. Its not missing in this case, but seems like a ground could be off :???: from the way the dash isnt lighting up.

[£G2♣]

borrow a friend relay and see how that goes, most likely its that. go do that and see what happens

[teh_mugen18]

borrow a friend relay and see how that goes, most likely its that. go do that and see what happens

Alright man, ill do that...

[dc 4eva guy]

sucks man.... that is why it says professional installation highly recommended