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The ECM on my Honda Accord is located on the passenger side footrest. A few years ago, the car was flooded. Water was well above the footrest area. I removed the water and tried to start the car. It didn't start right away, but started a few hours later. I think either the water or my trying to start the car so soon might have fried the ECM. However, I don't know this for sure. Is there a simple way to check?
Since the car has been running fine (relatively), I am thinking:
1. Maybe the ECM does not directly control engine performance. It is just there to monitor various components and tell you when they fail. If this is the case, a car with a broken ECM is just like an older car without one.
Anyway, I would really appreciate your experience, opinions, expertise on this. Thanks.
The ECM on my Honda Accord is located on the passenger side footrest. A few years ago, the car was flooded. Water was well above the footrest area. I removed the water and tried to start the car. It didn't start right away, but started a few hours later. I think either the water or my trying to start the car so soon might have fried the ECM. However, I don't know this for sure. Is there a simple way to check?
Since the car has been running fine (relatively), I am thinking:
1. Maybe the ECM does not directly control engine performance. It is just there to monitor various components and tell you when they fail. If this is the case, a car with a broken ECM is just like an older car without one.
Anyway, I would really appreciate your experience, opinions, expertise on this. Thanks.
It probably wasn't damaged, if the car is running all right, and you don't have an indication of malfunction. The car won't run without it.
That said, failure modes aren't necessarily either run/no-run. It's a complex device and the failure mode of one circuit won't necessarily keep the car from starting. There would usually be degraded performance, malfunction indicator lamp, etc. In other words, you'd notice a problem.
You did not say if your car is OBD I (pre 1966) or OBD II (≥ 1966). Sounds like your car is OBD I. An OBD II can be reflashed by the dealer for about $200.
The ECM on my Honda Accord is located on the passenger side footrest. A few years ago, the car was flooded. Water was well above the footrest area. I removed the water and tried to start the car. It didn't start right away, but started a few hours later. I think either the water or my trying to start the car so soon might have fried the ECM. However, I don't know this for sure. Is there a simple way to check?
Since the car has been running fine (relatively), I am thinking:
1. Maybe the ECM does not directly control engine performance. It is just there to monitor various components and tell you when they fail. If this is the case, a car with a broken ECM is just like an older car without one.
Anyway, I would really appreciate your experience, opinions, expertise on this. Thanks.
If your car has fuel injection, the ECM controls the firing of the injectors. If your ignition is coil packs and not the traditional rotary distributor, the ECM also controls that.
If your car has an ECM and it is also factory carbureted and factory rotary distributor, the ECM just helps to keep a good air/fuel mixture and also controls the advancement of the timing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zea mays
You did not say if your car is OBD I (pre 1966) or OBD II (≥ 1966). Sounds like your car is OBD I. An OBD II can be reflashed by the dealer for about $200.
They didn't have OBD I in 1966. Heck they didn't even have any ECM's that I know of until the 1980's. And if they did have ECM's back in 1966 they'd be bulky as hell with all those vacuum tubes on board.
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