Backfire/Studder under acceleration
- Thread starter T4RFool
- Start date
T4RFool
New member
Yeah, I bought a new igniter on ebay. It didn't seem to change anything.
T4RFool
New member
Update:
So its a little weird to me. I took it to a shop several days ago to be diagnosed. I drove it there, it drove fairly fine with minimal problem except for when it died less than a mile from my house and couldn't go over 2500rpm.... that's the normal for this thing right now though, been doing that for months. Anyway, when I went to go pick it up from the shop after they couldn't figure anything out, it started up just fine. I got about a mile or so and it sputtered off and died. I did the usual 'try to get it to run' procedures. Wouldn't start after 30mins or so of messing around with it, dead on the side of the road. I got a hold of a friend with a truck and towed it on home where it has been sitting for 2 days with the battery disconnected.
So the little weird part is that now it starts right up again, idles fine again and revs fine(under 2500rpm). I couldn't get this thing to stay running for more than a minute when it was dead on the side of the road and now its starting right up!:shrug: It just seems so inconsistent and odd.
Also, I ordered an ECU from eBay that's an exact number match from the one that is in mine. As stated by the seller, the vehicle was running perfectly fine with no CEL before parting out. The donor vehicle was in an accident but was still in running order.
So its a little weird to me. I took it to a shop several days ago to be diagnosed. I drove it there, it drove fairly fine with minimal problem except for when it died less than a mile from my house and couldn't go over 2500rpm.... that's the normal for this thing right now though, been doing that for months. Anyway, when I went to go pick it up from the shop after they couldn't figure anything out, it started up just fine. I got about a mile or so and it sputtered off and died. I did the usual 'try to get it to run' procedures. Wouldn't start after 30mins or so of messing around with it, dead on the side of the road. I got a hold of a friend with a truck and towed it on home where it has been sitting for 2 days with the battery disconnected.
So the little weird part is that now it starts right up again, idles fine again and revs fine(under 2500rpm). I couldn't get this thing to stay running for more than a minute when it was dead on the side of the road and now its starting right up!:shrug: It just seems so inconsistent and odd.
Also, I ordered an ECU from eBay that's an exact number match from the one that is in mine. As stated by the seller, the vehicle was running perfectly fine with no CEL before parting out. The donor vehicle was in an accident but was still in running order.
spectre6000
New member
I for one eagerly await your results.
T4RFool
New member
I finally made it to North Carolina, I got here just after my ups package arrived ( had the ECU shipped where I was gonna be stay for a week and a half). It came in a HUGE box compared to the size of the ECU itself. Now I just have to wait to install it. I did have a question about the ECU....Why did it come with a key? It might seem like a stupid question but I didn't realize a key swap was necessary for an ECU swap.
theizzardking
New member
i guess so, in the later models we have one of those RF ID type keys, i never knew it was directly tied to teh ecu though, thought it had something more to do with the ignition control....good to know...
spectre6000
New member
To make the job more difficult and/or expensive.
I don't know what year yours is, but my '99 has a conventional stamped steel key... That's WITH a factory security system, mind you. No RFID unless it's in the clicker (and I find that hard to imagine).
theizzardking
New member
i think it depends on the trim level or something mine is a '99 and it has that security lock things around the keyhole...
T4RFool
New member
I dont believe that my original ECU has the RFID thing. I have a backup walmart key that I've used in the past and it worked just fine... maybe this new one has that feature or the company I bought it from send the key with it just to be safe. Another curious thought, when I change out my ECU, will that effect my keyless entry at all?
Whackmaster
New member
I was talking to my brother about your problem and he reminded me of having the same issues(- the code) with my Jeep Cherokee a few years back. It turned out to be my fuel pump. Even when checking the pressure on the rail it always was in specs.. I don't know how I forgot that problem since I had to pull my tank and reinstall by myself...Good luck...It will be a big relief when you finally get it fixed.
spectre6000
New member
Is the key that came with it an RFID-type key? Maybe theizzardking is right and it's just a security kind of thing they felt they needed to do. Could have just been someone made a mistake or something...
Where is the receiver for the clickers?
If it is an RFID thing and you don't want to change your locks and such, just secure the key somewhere inside the dash (where it's not going to rattle or be somehow annoying). If the ECU is tied to the clicker, get the code and get some new clickers.
Naturally, you're primary goal is to just plug the thing in and see if that is your problem in the first place. Just about everything else has been ruled out one way or another.
zcruiser
Senior Member
The RFID system requires a transponder around the ignition cylinder that picks up the RFID chip inside the head of the key. Not quite a proximity-based system where you can have the key anywhere in the vehicle like they do now.
If you don't have a transponder around your key cylinder, you don't need the chipped key because there are no signals going back to the ECU.
If you change the RFID identity of the transponder but continue to use the old key cylinder, you have to fool the system by holding the chipped key against the side of the functional key to couple it into the transponder pickup on the key cylinder.
A chipped key without the transponder in the key cylinder is pretty much worthless / unnecessary.
theizzardking
New member
good info there, i had no clue as to where the transponder actually lived, goo to know it's not ecu based, so hypothetically if you lose your rfid key you could just remove the transponder and call it good? or do the two (transponder and ECU) work in tandem and cannot be separated? i.e. is there a difference between a transponder compatible ECU and any other ECU?
i hope you can see what i am getting at here. :hatsoff:
T4RFool
New member
Long awaited update:
I just got back from my trip this morning, drove through the night to get home. I crashed out for a few hours and then eagerly went and put the new ECU in, and the result...... as usual a big nothing, still does the same thing its been doing with absolutely no change.
So now the question is, what now? I spent $180 on this ECU and it did nothing, so now what?
I just got back from my trip this morning, drove through the night to get home. I crashed out for a few hours and then eagerly went and put the new ECU in, and the result...... as usual a big nothing, still does the same thing its been doing with absolutely no change.
So now the question is, what now? I spent $180 on this ECU and it did nothing, so now what?
chris_96runner
New member
I had this similar problem with my 96 Runner! I think it might be a fuel problem, mine had a rusted out filler neck that I didn't know about right away, so a bunch of mud got in the tank and started to plug up the pump. This is when the sputtering and popping/backfiring started under acceleration, the fuel pump was not able to sent enough fuel to the engine so it was running lean and thats why it was popping.
Last edited:
chris_96runner
New member
Wow that's weird! Have you had the fuel pressure tested at the motor?
chris_96runner
New member
Ok, well I would either check it myself or ask the guy who worked on it to see if it had proper fuel pressure to the injectors.. I don't know, the only possibilities I can think of would be: maybe bought a bad pump, maybe clogged fuel line, some sensor somewhere, or a clog in the fuel rail or injectors, but you said the injectors were checked so again I don't know. This is mind boggling!
