Computer Box.. How long does it last?

[raikonnen]

hey guys... have a question regarding our car's computer box.. gaano kaya katagal buhay nun? lalang. :D and ano naman ang cause ng failure ng computer box?

thanks!

[orly_andico]

it should last 10 years plus.
death by flooding, shorting... or just plain wearing out of the parts.
ask yourself how long your TV lasts. a computer box has about the same level of complexity.

anyway an ECU isn't that expensive sa surplusan (6000 for a Corolla GLI ECU, 10000 for a Corona ECU)

[van_wilder]

10 yeasr plus? i think depende sa use... it could last more than 15 years... or 20 years... wag lang sana mabasa...

[9MX]

i use to browse a site for the galant vr-4 since i had a gti b4. iirc, computer boxes (at that time) has about 6 years life span. the components to watch out for are capacitors since they tend to leak after 6 years or so. i extracted the box of my gti then, got the capacitor specs, went to raon to buy them then i installed them myself. i'm just not sure if capacitors are still in play on today's ecus.

hth

[theveed]

doesn't that suck, i mean, car manufacturers design reliable car engines, body and suspensions components to last over 100K miles, but the expensive ECU will only last you less than that...

[nicolodeon]

Computer boxes? Hmm...from what I recall sa mga research ko, the six years of 9MX is just about it. Possibly less, even.

And yes, it sucks....big time. Kapag nabasa ang key components sa engine wash or sa flood, pffttt! Good bye computer.

Siguro, Microsoft ang nag-design ng OS ng computer boxes na yan kaya ganyan. :lol:

[coiter]

ganun? kakatakot naman. so far sa 7 yrs na oto ko la pa namang napapansin na problema. any symptoms kapag bumigay nga yung computer box or any of its parts?

[orly_andico]

well-known na may problem yung capacitors on early-90s Galants and Lancers. Yun na nga -- the electrolytic capacitors dry up and blow after a while. wala ka talaga magawa dun, but if better-grade capacitors were used (e.g. tantalums) they would last a heck of a lot longer. Pero para na rin yan yung famous servo problem ng Galant/Lancer -- known problem sa ECU nila.

the ironic thing is, many other cars use Mitsubishi ECU's -- my Mazda 626 ECU (na napalitan kasi nag-short sa kaha... ayun fried) has a great big Mitsubishi logo embossed on it.

[orly_andico]

BTW coiter, symptoms of failed ECU range from bad idle, bad acceleration characteristics (kung minor failure lang like bad capacitors) all the way to complete engine blackout (kung talagang patay yung ECU). It'll just keep on cranking but won't start.

however when you have problems like these, the ECU is usually the LAST thing to check, kasi maraming ibang things which can cause these problems. If you're really paranoid, go to the casa and have them dump the codes. On older cars (1994 or older) using OBD-I (On-Board Diagnostics version 1) you can check ECU trouble codes either via the Check Engine Light (if available) or a simple LED blinker and a jumper. This is what I do. but on OBD-II vehicles you really need a dedicated code reader and only the casa has that...

pero as I said, surplus ECU's aren't that expensive.

[ILuvDetailing]

How about ECUs in newer cars? How long would it last?

[9MX]

ganun? kakatakot naman. so far sa 7 yrs na oto ko la pa namang napapansin na problema. any symptoms kapag bumigay nga yung computer box or any of its parts?

the function of capacitors is to filter voltage which operates on the ECU board and powers up the microprocessor, so if one or more blows up and the unfiltered voltage reaches the microprocessor, its frying time

my suggestion is for you take out the ecu box, if you're not mechanically inclined, take it to those hole in the wall tv repair shops, ask them to identify the capacitor specs, if they don't have it in stock, buy them at deeco in raon, ever gotesco commonwealth, or farmers cubao. then have the technician desolder and solder the capacitors for you. though i haven't done this since i went the DIY route b4, i'm pretty sure the tv shop would charge you lower compared to what they would charge you in banawe.

i'm no expert, but imho ECUs are just like our PCs, the same architecture. Its the software and processing power that varies. Definitely hackable to those who have the time.

[an0nim0us]

Lancer GTi namin 5 years lang inabot - 18,500 nagastos namin dun (sayang di ko lam na pwede irepair yun). so far wala pang ibang ECU na nasira sa iba kasi up to 6 years max lang sa min eh so I'm assumming that more than 9 years life ng mga to (sold my 96 civic to my barkada, ok pa naman hanggang ngayon).

[orly_andico]

definitely 12 years plus for an old car. my friend has a 93 corona 2.0 EX and di pa naman bumigay ECU niya (but the distributor already did -- another IC-laden piece of electronics). yung 626 ko, 12 years na rin, pumutok lang ECU dahil sa ka-engotan ng repair people.

[benzoyl]

may alam ba kayo mabibilhan ng ecu nito?

[Flagg]

Yung car ko 16 yrs and still going....

[albert_b]

Yung car ko 16 yrs and still going....

baka wala kang ecu? :-D yung mga ganoon ba katanda na car merong computer?!

[1D4LV]

baka wala kang ecu? :-D yung mga ganoon ba katanda na car merong computer?!

di naman siguro bro.... afaik, yung mga 1990 na Lancer GTi's meron na.

[StraightSix]

Yung car ko 16 yrs and still going....

baka wala kang ecu? :-D yung mga ganoon ba katanda na car merong computer?!

Siguradong meron ECU yang BMW ni flagg ... 1979 unang na-develop ng BMW yung ECU nila.

[sirkosero]

the function of capacitors is to filter voltage which operates on the ECU board and powers up the microprocessor, so if one or more blows up and the unfiltered voltage reaches the microprocessor, its frying time

my suggestion is for you take out the ecu box, if you're not mechanically inclined, take it to those hole in the wall tv repair shops, ask them to identify the capacitor specs, if they don't have it in stock, buy them at deeco in raon, ever gotesco commonwealth, or farmers cubao. then have the technician desolder and solder the capacitors for you. though i haven't done this since i went the DIY route b4, i'm pretty sure the tv shop would charge you lower compared to what they would charge you in banawe.

i'm no expert, but imho ECUs are just like our PCs, the same architecture. Its the software and processing power that varies. Definitely hackable to those who have the time.

yep! thats a good way DIY! bili ka sa deeca ng parts pero sa raon at cubao. from experience pinaka walang kwenta yung deeco sa ever gotesco commonwealth. wala pa ako nahanap na piyesa na kailangan ko dun! buti pa alexan meron parati

[OTEP]

ECU's don't have a built in expiration date. It doesn't have moving parts, too. The capacitor thing happens to Mitsus a lot but is easy enough to repair if you have the know how (foreign forums are a good source).