Did i kill my ECU?

JD3020 · **Posted:** Sat Jun 13, 2015 10:31 pm

My MPPS cable showed up today, got everything installed and working. Pulled the Jeep up to the garage to read the ECU and flash a tune, but realized i don't have my battery charger here so i didn't want to flash it. I went ahead and read the ECU which went fine, but now the Jeep is dead! Fuel gauge isn't working, won't turn over, and when i try to re-read the ECU it keeps giving me an error. I haven't tried hooking AutoEnginuity up to it yet to see if it'll connect. So did i just kill the ECU?

flash7210 · **Posted:** Sun Jun 14, 2015 8:02 am

Whats your battery voltage? Is the battery in good condition?

When you turn the key on and all the dash board lights come on. Is there a red dot that comes on and stays on, never turning off?
If so, check the ASD fuse and ASD relay.
If the fuse and relay are good, either your SKIM module is bad or your key lost its programming. Try your spare key to see if that works.

I dont know why this happened to you. Everytime I have flashed the ECU I have never had the battery cknnected to a charger and never had a problem.
Your issue may be totally unrelated.

JD3020 · **Posted:** Sun Jun 14, 2015 9:03 am

MPPS showed battery voltage in the 12.5-12.8 range the entire time, battery is in pretty good shape. And yes the red light comes on and stays on, occasionally blinks. Unfortunately i bought this CRD a couple weeks ago and it only came with one key, i ordered 2 new ones the other day to go have cut/programmed but they haven't showed up yet.

JD3020 · **Posted:** Sun Jun 14, 2015 1:41 pm

Just went out and checked it over, all fuses look good and swapped relays, no change.

And it is doing some weird stuff now. When i turn the key on the radio comes on fine and stays on, but when i tried hooking up my laptop/AE to scan it the radio shut off. Unhooked it and the radio came back on. Then i turned on the headlights which turned off the radio and air bag light, but turned the ABS light on. Turned the lights on it and reversed. BTW AE isn't connecting to the PCM. :banghead:

Heres a video, every time the radio shuts off its from me turning to the key to start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XQCNPkxyUg

Mike92104 · **Posted:** Sun Jun 14, 2015 10:40 pm

JD3020 wrote:

Just went out and checked it over, all fuses look good and swapped relays, no change.

And it is doing some weird stuff now. When i turn the key on the radio comes on fine and stays on, but when i tried hooking up my laptop/AE to scan it the radio shut off. Unhooked it and the radio came back on. Then i turned on the headlights which turned off the radio and air bag light, but turned the ABS light on. Turned the lights on it and reversed. BTW AE isn't connecting to the PCM. :banghead:

Heres a video, every time the radio shuts off its from me turning to the key to start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XQCNPkxyUg

Maybe the BCM has gone wonky. Try disconnecting the battery for a while. Maybe it will reset.

JD3020 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 15, 2015 8:33 am

I let it sit with the battery unhooked last night, and no change. The key fob still works fine though.

I found a wrecked 06 CRD, and it got me to thinking. Could i swap the ECM and SKIM/ignition tumbler to get it up and running again?

papaindigo · **Posted:** Mon Jun 15, 2015 9:29 am

I don't like weighing in on modern vehicle electrics but...
1. just because fuses "look" good doesn't mean they are good. Only ways to test a) pull and look but that can be deceptive or b) check for continuity with volt/ohm meter (can be done with vehicle off by touching each of the 2 metal "nubs" on the outside surface of each fuse.
2. per owner's manual "During normal operation, the “Sentry Key/Security Alarm Indicator Light” (located in the instrument cluster) will come on for 3 seconds immediately after the ignition switch is turned on for a bulb check. Afterwards, if the bulb remains on, this indicates a malfunction in the electronics. If the bulb begins to flash immediately after the ignition switch is turned on, this indicates that an invalid key is being used to start the vehicle." That bulb appears to be staying on hence "malfunction in the electronics" but exactly what I cannot offer a decent opinion but would guess BCM rather than ECM as I think the BCM controls all this stuff. Might want to locate BCM and check/clean its electrical connections.
3. ECM/ECUs are programmed to a specific VIN and cannot be swapped without reprogramming. Keith at GDE would know if 05/06 ECUs are interchangeable with reprogramming. I "think" you can switch the SKIM antenna at least but I don't think that's your issue. Wild thought - drop plastic cover on bottom of steering column and check the plastic "rod" that goes from the key to the ignition switch on the left side of the steering column (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5m31g0 ... plpp_video) on the off chance that rod is cracked but not broken and hence causing weirdness.

Mike92104 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 15, 2015 1:56 pm

Papa is right as usual. Check fuses with a multimeter. I would specifically be looking at fuse 6, 13, and 34. My BCM was doing all sorts of crazy things. I checked all of its fuses, found 1 blown, and now all is good.

Mike92104 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 15, 2015 2:07 pm

Double post. Sorry.

ebbnflow · **Posted:** Mon Jun 15, 2015 5:10 pm

Glad you found the problem. Can you share which fuse was the culprit for future readers? Thanks.

JD3020 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 15, 2015 7:48 pm

I had swapped some fuses and relays around the other night with no change. Just checked it and its below 11v, since i've been messing with it so much i ran the battery down. Threw the charger on it and everythings acting fine, aside from the original ECU issues.

Is there a preferred company to send my ECU off to get diagnosed/repaired? Or is my best bet going to be throwing the Jeep on a trailer and hauling it to a dealer?

Makes me appreciate my older Powerstrokes, the ECU does just the engine, doesn't communicate with any other computers, and very hard to hurt. And if you do, you grab another one for $100 and continue on with your day.

flash7210 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 15, 2015 9:49 pm

Read through this thred.
http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=82181

Although the symptoms are different, it goes through the diagnosis of the BCM (not PCM).

However, if the problem is in fact the SKIM or ignition key programming, only the dealer can fix that for you.

Yeti · **Posted:** Tue Jun 16, 2015 5:55 pm

try to unplug the cable from the ECU and leave it overnight .
the mpps software It does not recognize the unit ? model and vin ?

Mike92104 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 16, 2015 6:13 pm

ebbnflow wrote:

Glad you found the problem. Can you share which fuse was the culprit for future readers? Thanks.

I swapped a fuse into slot 6 and the SKIM light went out. I then replaced 34 and my key fob began to work again. My guess on the OP is that fuse 13 is blown or needs to be replaced. Or just replace all 3 I mentioned earlier.

JD3020 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 16, 2015 8:24 pm

Yeti wrote:

try to unplug the cable from the ECU and leave it overnight .
the mpps software It does not recognize the unit ? model and vin ?

No, it only reads the Chrysler File # and the Chrysler Software #, nothing else.

And i'll try to re-check those fuses tonight if i get any time.

Mike92104 · **Posted:** Fri Jun 19, 2015 7:47 pm

Have you had any luck?

JD3020 · **Posted:** Sat Jun 20, 2015 4:23 pm

Not yet, been raining all week and working when its not, i haven't had any time to mess with it. I did track down an 05 PCM which will be here in a couple days, so worst case i'll throw that in and then try to find a dealer that will work with me and re-program everything.

Which i guess on a plus side i currently only have 1 key and no cruise control, so i'll get myself all the cruise hardware and a couple more keys ordered and cut before i go to the dealer.

JD3020 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 22, 2015 9:39 pm

"New" ECM should be here in a day or two so it has me thinking. I know the SKIM and VIN info won't match up with the new ECM, and i've read that if theres a skim failure it'll start but shut down and eventually lock the PCM down. But will i be safe to put the new ECM in and turn the ignition on(not starting it) to see if in fact the ECM is communicating? From what i've read i should be ok as long as i don't start it.

JD3020 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 06, 2015 7:54 pm

Well i now have a new issue. :banghead:

Got my ECM in, sent it to GDE and it had the VIN changed. Showed up today so i swapped it in. Heres where the new issues start. All seems to go well, turn the key on and the gauges are normal, SKIM light goes on and then stays off like it should. Turn the key and sometimes it will crank for exactly a second, sometimes it won't crank at all. Just clicks. And the times it does crank, if you hold the key in the start position it will click again. Sometimes it will turn over for another second.

So now what the hell is going on? Tried hooking up AE but i've had 0 luck in the past couple weeks getting it to hook-up to any of my vehicles. And yes i've had the charger on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVs9lBBTbjk

GreenDieselEngineering · **Joined:** Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:10 pm **Posts:** 1111

Check the battery health and state of charge. Could also be a wiring issue, make sure the grounds are good. It does not sound like a typical ignition switch issue, but I would not rule it out.

Did i kill my ECU?

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