Body ECU swap, problems fixed

[jross20]

I ended up staying screw it and let my mechanic swap it. I ordered a new oem body ecu from mcgeorge Toyota for like 250 or something I think. Lovely Japanese made goodness.

My symptoms were:

-Intermittent door lock buttons (fob always works) ; fixed
-Intermittent dome lights ; fixed
-Door buzzer (door ajar, key in) not working anymore ; fixed
-Cluster, thankfully not often, suddenly freezing requiring a battery pull to fix. ; Time will tell if it is fixed


Thank Lord.

 

[gamefreakgc]

No writeups that I am aware of but it's not a hard job at all. You can do it.

Once you remove the lower dash panel, you'll see the fuse box right there. Go ahead and completely disconnect the hood release cable and fuel cap cable. I think you also will need to remove the driver's side door step trim (a few screws) and then the driver's side kick panel (no screws).

There's a couple of 10 mm bolts on the junction box. Make sure you disconnect the negative terminal of the battery before continuing since one of the plugs you need to unclip is the air bags (explosive device). Each plug is a bit different, you'll want a small flathead screwdriver and a pair of plyers to help. Trust me, by the end of unplugging everything your hands will be cramping! Note that the aig bag plug is a multi-step process of undoing the cap, then pulling the plug out. Don't rush this one.

The hardest one is a whitish/yellow plug on the top of the box. Go slow and you'll see there's a tab you have to pull up INSIDE the plug to get it to slide off. Once all the plugs are off, move over the fuses in the exact same position with the exact same values and plug it all back in. Every plug is unique so you can't mix them up, they will only go in one place.

I suspect it's the Integration Relay that clips on the front of the fuse box that failed. I had another Toyota do that and the tell tale sign is that the buzzer all of a sudden stops working. Brake lights went out too.

 

[jross20]

No writeups that I am aware of but it's not a hard job at all. You can do it.

Once you remove the lower dash panel, you'll see the fuse box right there. Go ahead and completely disconnect the hood release cable and fuel cap cable. I think you also will need to remove the driver's side door step trim (a few screws) and then the driver's side kick panel (no screws).

There's a couple of 10 mm bolts on the junction box. Make sure you disconnect the negative terminal of the battery before continuing since one of the plugs you need to unclip is the air bags (explosive device). Each plug is a bit different, you'll want a small flathead screwdriver and a pair of plyers to help. Trust me, by the end of unplugging everything your hands will be cramping! Note that the aig bag plug is a multi-step process of undoing the cap, then pulling the plug out. Don't rush this one.

The hardest one is a whitish/yellow plug on the top of the box. Go slow and you'll see there's a tab you have to pull up INSIDE the plug to get it to slide off. Once all the plugs are off, move over the fuses in the exact same position with the exact same values and plug it all back in. Every plug is unique so you can't mix them up, they will only go in one place.

I suspect it's the Integration Relay that clips on the front of the fuse box that failed. I had another Toyota do that and the tell tale sign is that the buzzer all of a sudden stops working. Brake lights went out too.

Oh shit I need to check my brake lights! Thanks for the reply man. This makes me feel a bit better, though the air bad does make me nervous... But it sounds like unplugging the battery and going nice and slow should get me there.

 

[phattyduck]

I suspect it's the Integration Relay that clips on the front of the fuse box that failed. I had another Toyota do that and the tell tale sign is that the buzzer all of a sudden stops working. Brake lights went out too.

I think you can swap *just* the integration relay pretty easily. Make 100% sure the part numbers match. There were changes through the years.

Nevermind, looks like you need to swap the whole fuse box: Body ECU test bad, or does it?

I must have had other older Toyotas on the brain.

-Charlie

 

[gamefreakgc]

I think you can swap *just* the integration relay pretty easily. Make 100% sure the part numbers match. There were changes through the years.

Nevermind, looks like you need to swap the whole fuse box: Body ECU test bad, or does it?

I must have had other older Toyotas on the brain.

-Charlie

You've got a good memory! The 2nd Gens you can just remove the IR and be on your way. It was my 91 Pickup that did that and a trip to the junkyard solved it.

 

[jross20]

Alright guys me mechanic quoted $120 do swap the thing so I said f*** it and let him do it. It's hot outside and I don't have much free time.

It pretty much fixed all of my issues!