Help! Drove through water, fried ECU, car wont start

[trayscool]

Long time lurker, first time poster, did a search and didn't find anything.

I went on a little off roading trip last weekend and had a great time but I did stupidly drive over a water crossing that ended up being too deep. Water came inside the cabin, soaked the carpet, but everything seemed fine and we made the 2 hour drive home without problems.

The next day I went to start the car and nothing, not even a click or turn over. I had the car towed to my mechanic and he said that the ECU was toast and the stealership would have to order an ECU and install and reprogram.

Now my question is can I get an ECU from ebay and pop it in there and be good? What do they mean reprogram? Im looking at $800 for the ECU + $250 to program instead of $160 from ebay.

What are my options here? The car has 140K miles on it, I really dont want to dump too much $ if I dont have to only because she isnt worth a whole lot.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[DC runner]

Probably'ish.

Make sure you get one from 1. your year and b. your engine/trans combo. I have no idea if, for example, a v8 ecu is coded with instructions for BOTH. I wouldn't think it is.

Be prepared for it not to work and for it to fail. The nice thing about getting an ECU from the dealer is the warranty and the guaranteed "it will work". No, oh no, the Cruise control is out or other crap.

And WOW. If you fried your ECU, you were deep.

 

[trayscool]

ill order one for the EXACT year, 4x4, v6 just like I have. Water wasnt deep enough to get the ECU wet but it definitely shorted something out.

Problem is that the dealer doesnt want to touch any car that was in the water. They will order the ECU and chage me of course but they wont install it, I have to have my mechanic install and then take back so they can program. :crybaby:

Thanks for the reply

 

[chmura]

Keep us updating on the progress.

I think dealer does not want to touch it because other things might be wrong too once the new ECU is installed. Lets hope nothing else is fried or giving problems.

No pictures of you in deep water?

 

[Stuck CAPS]

ill order one for the EXACT year, 4x4, v6 just like I have. Water wasnt deep enough to get the ECU wet but it definitely shorted something out.

Problem is that the dealer doesnt want to touch any car that was in the water. They will order the ECU and chage me of course but they wont install it, I have to have my mechanic install and then take back so they can program. :crybaby:

Thanks for the reply

have you made sure it's not just the starter or the battery? Test the battery, and then try replacing the starter. You made it home afterwards, and i assume the car was running that time. So it didn't start after. It seems more like the starter for that reason, so try that, as if it is the starter, it's gonna be a LOT cheaper.

Edit: The starter's lower, too.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

As DC mentions, you need to get a compatible PCM for your vehicle otherwise it won't match up.

I believe most of Toyota's PCMs come pre-programmed and most often the VIN needs to be re-encoded into the PCM (I do not know if Toyota allows you to rewrite an existing VIN with a new one, as I have only installed brand new units at our dealership). Though there may be some further programming for features like the Immobilizer, transmission, CAN, ect if the vehicle has it (You didn't specify the year, trim, drivetrain, ect).

Personally I would guess its a crapshoot on a used unit, Asian PCMs tend to be a lot more expensive than Domestic units because of a lower failure rate than say a Chrysler unit. (I had a Chrysler Dealer tell me and my coworker their computers never failed... I should have gotten that notarized!)

Personally I would get it done the right way and save yourself some potentional future problems, I think Toyota made many of their newer PCMs very difficult to re-use vs. older ones. I'll check with a friend of mine tonight who runs an independant shop and see if he's dealt with used Toyota PCMs and get back to you. But for now, I'd say do it right the first time and just accept the loss.

Edit- StuckCaps is possibly correct, again you did not state WHICH engine you have, the 2GR-FE 4.0L V6 has the starter mounted traditionally, while the 2UZ-FE 4.7L V8 has the starter mounted in the engine valley. I find it unlikely that the starter would be your issue, but it could be possible.

 

[aha2988]

It doesn't really make much sense for you have been able to drive 2 hours home if your ECU was shorted due to the water entry. I've seen it happen first hand once the ECU is shorted you get nothing engine goes dead right in the water.

I recently well a couple months back got into deep enough water that I was getting a short in the ignition. I would turn the switch nothing, turn the switch nothing, turn the switch click click, turn the switch nothing, turn the switch and then startup it was weird. It wound up sorting itself out but I was getting prepared to pull the intake manifold and address any starter issues.

not really sure what to tell you without knowing how deep, what portions of the truck saw the most water, or symptoms that may have lead up to the truck not starting. If the mechanic says the ECU is dead I'm half inclined to believe him and half inclined to think maybe he has no clue and just assumes it's the ECU.

mean while you could pull the majority of your electrical connections and blow them dry with an air compressor or blow drier reconnect them with some die-electric grease to prevent other electrical shorts from happening. I've even seen people who have completely submerged their ECU, pulled it out used a blow drier to dry it off and then the truck started fine. Best of luck in finding out whats wrong.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

It doesn't really make much sense for you have been able to drive 2 hours home if your ECU was shorted due to the water entry. I've seen it happen first hand once the ECU is shorted you get nothing engine goes dead right in the water.

I recently well a couple months back got into deep enough water that I was getting a short in the ignition. I would turn the switch nothing, turn the switch nothing, turn the switch click click, turn the switch nothing, turn the switch and then startup it was weird. It wound up sorting itself out but I was getting prepared to pull the intake manifold and address any starter issues.

not really sure what to tell you without knowing how deep, what portions of the truck saw the most water, or symptoms that may have lead up to the truck not starting. If the mechanic says the ECU is dead I'm half inclined to believe him and half inclined to think maybe he has no clue and just assumes it's the ECU.

mean while you could pull the majority of your electrical connections and blow them dry with an air compressor or blow drier reconnect them with some die-electric grease to prevent other electrical shorts from happening. I've even seen people who have completely submerged their ECU, pulled it out used a blow drier to dry it off and then the truck started fine. Best of luck in finding out whats wrong.

Aha has a point here, I am deferring the diagnosis to your mechanic since you seem to trust him. But, a very possible situation is that residual water is causing issues in the vehicle.

Liken it to dropping your phone in the toliet. It may not turn on for a day or two until it dries out.

 

[trayscool]

OK its a 2005 4runner 4.0 v6 4x4

He jumped the starter and it turns over all day but will not start, so its not the starter.

He is not getting a response from the ECU when they run the diagnostic software is why they think its the ECU.

It was deep enough to get the carpet wet but not the ECU compartment. I pulled off the kick panels and the wiring was soaked....bummer. They think that some connection may have shorted out the ecu but the ecu itself did not get wet

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Well, since the truck isn't going anywhere, start checking all the fuses for anything blown... maybe fill the truck up to the windows with rice and come back in a week? LoL

 

[having fun]

I also would say, remove the ECU and blow dry. And any other connections and fuses. Even under the hood.

I also have done similar, ran and all. Lights went crazy on the dash, but, air dried and everything was good. Had to replace down the road, the starter and belt tensioner do to sandy water that got in there.

It's only time and can't hurt to try first.

 

[wnelax04sr5]

i could be way off track when it comes to yotas cause ive never experienced it first hand, but i had a friend in a silverado that went pretty deep and it ruined his starter solenoid, his mechanic told him specifically, just presenting possible options

 

[BlackWorksInc]

So I spoke with some friends who do this type of heavy duty work. They said used Toyota modules of this year can be reprogrammed pretty easily, you just have to find an experienced guy who has the aftermarket/factory tools to do it. So if you can get a module that meets your vehicle's specifications you can probably get it done pretty easily.

 

[Troymclure]

OK its a 2005 4runner 4.0 v6 4x4

He jumped the starter and it turns over all day but will not start, so its not the starter.

He is not getting a response from the ECU when they run the diagnostic software is why they think its the ECU.

It was deep enough to get the carpet wet but not the ECU compartment. I pulled off the kick panels and the wiring was soaked....bummer. They think that some connection may have shorted out the ecu but the ecu itself did not get wet

I had a similar thing happen when I hydrolocked my engine about a year ago. I took it to toyota and they put in the wrong motor...twice. I know this couldn't have happened to you, but when they were trying to figure out why my car would crank and crank but not fire, they replaced the ecu...twice. And both times, they weren't getting a signal from the ecu. In the end, they figured out it was the wrong motor and the camshaft and crankshaft position sensors werent matching up to what the ecu expected to see since the motor they put in used a different type of sensor. Because of this, it wouldn't start. So maybe try taking a look at the cam and cranks position sensors, I know its a long shot, but worth a shot if youre stuck. Good luck!

 

[trayscool]

Thanks for the replies, you guys are AWESOME! Its not the starter or solenoid because the car will crank all day when jumped but will not run. Its gonna be an ECU problem and they have verified the ECU is toast.

So I spoke with some friends who do this type of heavy duty work. They said used Toyota modules of this year can be reprogrammed pretty easily, you just have to find an experienced guy who has the aftermarket/factory tools to do it. So if you can get a module that meets your vehicle's specifications you can probably get it done pretty easily.

Thats good news. I ordered an ECU from ebay and Ill keep this updated.....

 

[trayscool]

heres a crap pic taken from a video

 

[chmura]

heres a crap pic taken from a video

That does not seem too deep. Usually pictures are deceiving though. When going through deep water the key is to go slow not fast.

I have had water up to the top of my hood once during a creek crossing. It was a short creek though and in my previous Tacoma.

Where did you go off roading? Azusa Canyon?

 

[wnelax04sr5]

heres a crap pic taken from a video

have you opened up your air box and taken a peek since?

 

[trayscool]

just a quick update, got the ECU in the mail and dropped it off to the mechanic, still waiting for a response.

Also this pic was a screen grab from a video, the car actually went much deeper, water over the hood, and inside the doors. Checked the airbox, no water thank god.

This was in Gorman

 

[A_HuL]

just a quick update, got the ECU in the mail and dropped it off to the mechanic, still waiting for a response.

Also this pic was a screen grab from a video, the car actually went much deeper, water over the hood, and inside the doors. Checked the airbox, no water thank god.

This was in Gorman

Dude you must have bad luck i was framed out in a watery mud hole with water right below my door seals for 30 minutes having to leave the car on so it wouldnt suck air in my exhaust so my fan blade is throwing water all in my engine well and i havent had a problem with it, knock on wood. Granted when it is on now my car is really loud which i thought was the starter but my mechanic that does all our starter work said he was 99%sure it was the AC pully. Best of luck to you man hope that ECU works