ECU questions 96 Legacy - water involved plus

[moosens]

Ok I'll get the funny part out of the way. My son got his car drunk in NJ. Car got yanked out, brought home, and dried out. All carpet and padding is gone.

 

I took apart the ECU and it looked bad but I remained committed to an attempt at making it useable. After a toothbrush and water cleaning I used WD40 and dried it out. Looks really great with one exception. One of the pins corroded and broke off at the base where it comes up from the circuit board.

 

I'll try to add a pic later if Shawn hooked me up on the photo gallery deal.

 

But when looking at the connector from the pin side it's the 6th from the left and 3rd row up from the bottom.

If you have a manual handy it should show which function that pin handles.

 

Anyone ever dry one out and make it work again? I know one of our old group did that one weekend in NJ back around 2005 or earlier.

 

Anyone ever fix a broken pin on an ECU?

Thanks for any help.

[moosens]

That is from the plug in side of the connector as if you were about to plug in the male connector.

 

NOT looking at it from the inside of the unit outward.

 

Third row up , sixth pin from the left. Thanks

[Fairtax4me]

Is there wire in the wire harness that meets that pin? 

Is it 2.2 or 2.5?

 

Haven't ever fixed one in that manner. The housing for the pins doesn't easily come off though, so you may have to go inside and solder a wire to it and run the wire out through a hole in the case. 

Edited May 11, 2016 by Fairtax4me

[idosubaru]

i've disassembled water logged laptops that were running while the compromise happened.  pieces all across a table with a fan blowing across them for 2 days (moving dry air is ideal) and assembled with good results. 

 

if the pin was corroded from water logging are you not concerned about anything else corroding?

 

was it salt water or freshwater?

 

i've got extra ECU's. 

[idosubaru]

soldering wire internally and running it externally is a nifty idea - i did that to a McIntosh amp. 

[moosens]

Is there wire in the wire harness that meets that pin? 

Is it 2.2 or 2.5?

 

Haven't ever fixed one in that manner. The housing for the pins doesn't easily come off though, so you may have to go inside and solder a wire to it and run the wire out through a hole in the case. 

That was thought number one on my end.

 

I'll have to double check but i'm pretty sure there is a wire for this pin.

[moosens]

soldering wire internally and running it externally is a nifty idea - i did that to a McIntosh amp. 

Its such a tight spot I'd need some special tiny iron. But yeah , that's parallel to idea number one above. Either use a wire to jump or solder that pin back down. But I'm thinking the base of the pin might have to be cleaned up a bit and that would be tricky.

[moosens]

And I can't upload pics yet.

[Bushwick]

If I were you, I'd just find a junkyard ECU and work off that. You can get them for $15-25.

 

A cellphone or smaller electronic device can often be dried out and salvaged to at least get files/contacts, but when talking about 20 year old ECU that had 12v going through it, there's a strong chance it's junked or will cause running issues as it won't work correctly.

 

Replace it, then see if it runs. 

[moosens]

Yeah I see several already plucked on eBay. One that was a perfect match too.

 

I'm going to be a knucklehead and try mine first.

 

I'm counting on this being a parts car and anything I might get beyond that is a dream.

[Bushwick]

If it doesn't immediately run right (stumbles, misses, throws a ton of codes, cranks no start) don't waste any more time of that ECU as you'll be chasing phantom gremlins that appear to be other things.

 

I'd also yank the seats (sound like they are already out) put some box fans in their place and blow towards the dash. Leave them running 24/7 for a couple days AND leave the doors open with windows down to get the interior as dry as possible. Leave doors shut and windows up, and it'll get moldy and moisture will hang on the windows indefinitely. ALL the wires/connectors need to be bone dry before trying to start, and letting it air out is the best way.

[forester2002s]

I have read about a technique used to dry out wet cell phones etc.

 

Apparently, if you put the item in a sealed plastic bag with uncooked rice, it will dry out. The rice is hydroscopic, and will absorb the moisture.

 

I've never tried this myself, so I don't know if it really works. It might just be one of those urban myths.

[WoodsWagon]

Yup,  had a friend that shorted out an 02 WRX ecu in a pond to the point that the engine stopped running. Stupid ECU's mounted lower than the intake! Washed all the mud out of it in a brook, tossed it on the dash of my truck with the defroster on, and had the car back running in half an hour. It did smoke the traces off the board for one of the EVAP solenoids, but a Tactrix cable eliminated that code. It ran fine for a couple years after that.

 

I used to take my lifted subaru swimming all the time in fresh water. Other than wheel bearings pretty frequently, no ill effects. Deep water too, had it in rivers where the water was coming sideways over the hood. Check the rear diff oil level, if it's overfilled it's got water in it.

[Bushwick]

I have read about a technique used to dry out wet cell phones etc.

 

Apparently, if you put the item in a sealed plastic bag with uncooked rice, it will dry out. The rice is hydroscopic, and will absorb the moisture.

 

I've never tried this myself, so I don't know if it really works. It might just be one of those urban myths.

 

Rice can absorb moisture, but you'd be better off using dry heat and you really need to disassemble a phone and lay it out otherwise it'll hold water longer, which is also bad.

 

I've dried phones on defrost vent blasting hottest heat for a couple hours on at least 2 phones I found over the years and can verify that actually works, one of which had been packed in snow and the guy that lost it, said he lost it 3 weeks prior so it apparently sat in the snow pile I found it in and became visible once it started melting. IIRC, both phones had screen issues from the water and weren't 100%, but I was able to get into the contacts and call people at get the phones back once they said who it belonged to.

 

Also, 1st thing you should do if your phone ever gets dunked is pull the battery and dry that in a paper towel, then air dry. Once disassembled phone guts are dry, reassemble then insert the battery, then try charging it. 

Edited May 13, 2016 by Bushwick

[moosens]

Hey the dry out the cell phone post is over on Pintrest with a bunch of women. Lol

 

But thanks. Rear diff I hadn't thought off.

 

So um , you think this engine will run? It swallowed. I hand cranked it with the spark plugs out , that was cute. And drained the oil , hand cranking again. I'm letting it drip overnight. I put MMO in the spark holes before the second hand crank.

 

Fuel tank may be an issue too. Somehow fuel leaked out into the water which was a large puddle about 2' deep or so.

 

I don't have a garage and am doing this at my condo so it's really not cool to do major work. Regardless , tomorrow I need to drop the exhaust and drain it. I have the front Y pipes off the heads.

Check the fuel tank and lines, rear diff, what else?

[Fairtax4me]

It'll probably run, assuming the wire harness connectors aren't full of water.

 

How long it runs depends on if it hydro-locked and any rods got bent.

 

Air filter and filter box should be dried out.

Intake tube dried out.

 

If fuel got out, it was probably through the evap canister. Though if one of the seals on top of the tank is bad it could easily fill with water.

[moosens]

Cranks by hand well enough.

Yes the intake was soaked. Or at least the air cleaner filter was soaked.

 

The car was tilted passenger side down , about mid door depth. The driver side was just barely in the water but enough.

 

I'll post pics as I can.