We are seeing a disturbing trend with many high end cars built in the 1980s and 1990s. Their auxiliary control modules are failing, and replacement parts are not available. You can still buy engine control modules for Jaguar, Land Rover, and Rolls Royce cars, but many of the other electronics have been discontinued.
We can fix some issues on these controllers, but one thing we can't fix is extensive corrosion damage from failure of the "permanent" backup batteries many of these modules carry inside.
If you have a collectible European car, and it's 12-15 years old, it's time to pull the modules apart and address this issue BEFORE you have irreparable damage. As much as it may cost to fix something that's not broke, it will cost way more once it is broke . . .
Posts
2 comments:
Very interesting. Do you expect to see this, or have you seen it on Landy's, especially those that see heavy use as they were intended--dirty back roads, hauling outdoor gear & people?
If so, do the same precautions apply?
Dermot Harvey said:
I have seen ECU problems on 1980 Rover SD1 saloons. They are sometimes intermittent which is particularly frustrating. I had one such UK spec ECU which worked fine for about 7 years. Then one day the car wouldn't start, but it would fire. An exchanger ECU worked fine, but we never discovered what was wrong with the original ECU. I had a friend who is an electronics designer check it out, but he couldn't find any fault!
Post a Comment