SupraRider Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 Hi people, I need some help. I bought this supra from a dealer, ever since it gave me problems, there was a code fault on the air intake sensor that caused the engine indicator light on. got it fixed by toyota dealership, the next day driving home as normal, the engine cut out altogether whilst waiting on traffic lights, the car had to be recovered. brought the car into toyota and its been there since.their electrician was trying to diagnose the problem, then it found that my car has got 2 ECUs! can somebody explain to me why it has got 2 ECUs? is it to improve performance? also can somebody help me find out why the engine just cut out altogether? my car is an auto, jap import, non-turbo. the rev/min dial is still in km, not converted at all. pls help...I cant even get to enjoy driving my car since I bought the vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwayne Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 got any pics?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 If the two ECU's are running in paralle, then I assume you have your standard ECU plus a piggy back ECU, but I have seen Supras with two independant Standalone ECU's but only one is used But back to the most likely, a piggy back ECU Basically to replace the Factory ECU with a standalone aftermarket ECU it can be expensive, and you will loose all your creature comforts (i.e. air con) so therefore we have a piggy back ECU. This loops into your Factory ECU but the piggy back ECU looks after the cars Engine Parameters (i.e. injector cycle, mapping Tables) There are three main parameters (maps) when tuning your car: 1.) Fuel (A/F Ratio) 2.) Cam angle *note* 3.) Ignition timing but it still uses the functionality factory ECU to look after the creature comforts (i.e. aircon), in turn the piggy back ECU sends false signals to the factory ECU to indicate the Engine is running as normal therefore it will not trigger your car to go into limp home mode or Engine light to come on, a piggy back ecu takes signals from your sensors and modifies them to trick your ecu into reading a different value. You Factory ECU still thinks it is running the Car but the piggy back ECU is. Why get Piggy Back ECU You have a greater scope to fine tune your car to its full potential over factory ECU, therefore more performance but this is only as good as the additional modifications you have done to the engine and you require extra funtionality/accuracy to tune these Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 I would have thought it unlikely an NA has anything other than just the stock ECU. We need pics really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 Do they both have Toyota labels on them? The Supra has 2 ECU boxes as standard, the main ECU on the right and the slightly smaller throttle control ECU on the left. This is a pic of a US TT so it's the opposite way around, but you should get the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraRider Posted December 24, 2007 Author Share Posted December 24, 2007 Thanks guys, what bout the engine cutting out altogether? as mentioned previously,I bought this supra from a dealer, ever since it gave me problems, there was a code 24 fault on the air intake sensor that caused the engine indicator light on. got the sensor replaced by toyota dealership, the next day driving home as normal, the engine cut out altogether whilst waiting on traffic lights, the car had to be recovered. brought the car into toyota and its been there since. they couldn't find out what caused the engine to cut out. please advise.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraRider Posted December 24, 2007 Author Share Posted December 24, 2007 As for the 2 ECUs in my Supra, does that mean this car was previously modified? or does it come standard since its jap import? does having 2 ECUs make the car perform better? Also, do you need me to take some pictures? let me know. Thank you for your help so far. I look forward to your reply soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Pics would be good, but we need to know if your Supra is an N/A or a UK TT, as you have mentioned an airflow meter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobSheffield Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 As for the 2 ECUs in my Supra, does that mean this car was previously modified? or does it come standard since its jap import? does having 2 ECUs make the car perform better? Also, do you need me to take some pictures? let me know. Thank you for your help so far. I look forward to your reply soon. Yes, take some pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soonto_HAS_soop Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Pics would be good, but we need to know if your Supra is an N/A or a UK TT, as you have mentioned an airflow meter. Or you could read the first post where he says it's a non-turbo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Or you could read the first post where he says it's a non-turbo. Well thats cleared that up then:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraRider Posted December 29, 2007 Author Share Posted December 29, 2007 Hi guys, thank you for all your advice, latest news from toyota confirmed a piggy back ECU was found in my Supra. (as suspected from yourselves). do u think that might be the problem to the engine cutting out altogether? as well as having the sensor fault on the air intake? what would u advice? removing piggy back ECU completely? or what? if removed, will that solve the problem? please let me know asap..thank u. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Raven Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Piggy back ecu is an after market mod. Made in increase the performance of the car. Insurance companys would need to know you have it fitted. I would take it off if you dont know where it came from and or how well its working. If it will solve the issues you are having i dont know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Hi guys, thank you for all your advice, latest news from toyota confirmed a piggy back ECU was found in my Supra. (as suspected from yourselves). do u think that might be the problem to the engine cutting out altogether? as well as having the sensor fault on the air intake? what would u advice? removing piggy back ECU completely? or what? if removed, will that solve the problem? please let me know asap..thank u. Do you know what brand and model the ECU is? Do you have photos you can post? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean1933 Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Firstly check to see if any broken wiring in the piggyback/stock ECU wiring loom. If there is nothing obvious then i would disconnect the piggyback for now as you dont know if it was mapped or even wired up properly, then atleast thats one less thing to worry about when trying to diagnose the problem. Its really hard to diagnose problems like this without seeing the car. Personally i would get it to a tuner that knows what their doing...clearly Toyota dont have a clue, which has nearly always been the case with supra's, ESPECIALLY modified ones as they cant refer to the workshop manual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraRider Posted December 30, 2007 Author Share Posted December 30, 2007 thanks guys, I'll get to the garage when they are open in the new year for the brand and make of piggyback ECU. oh does anybody know a reputable tuner located in west lothian, scotland? and approximately, how much would they charge to have it removed or solve this engine issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraRider Posted December 30, 2007 Author Share Posted December 30, 2007 okay, lets figure this out again, engine indicator light came on, checked into toyota, diagnosed as code error 24 on air intake sensor. toyota replaced it, next day whilst driving home, engine cut out totally at traffic lights while engine on idle (this happened when I inserted the stereo headunit on), car wont start (but I had the headunit weeks before and it never happened, I had the car installed with Toad alarm/immobiliser as well) brought into toyota. never had this problem before only after they replaced the sensor. electrician couldn't find out the fault,they thought it could be a miswiring on the alarm or the stereo, but it wasn't. so then they strip to find 2 ECUs,we know its a stock and piggyback ECU. what if they can't find the fault from here? what else can they do? any expert advice? I just want my car fixed. bought this car in november and didn't get to enjoy it at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean1933 Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Is there any error codes atall now? Does the engine check light come on? Has the new sensor been checked for wrong fitting/faulty...its possible (but slim) that the new one was faulty too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 I'm still waiting for photo's of this "piggy back ECU". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Raven Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 There is a chance toyota are being monkeys. Not un heard off for them to refuse to work on an import full stop. I also wonder how many of them have ever seen a supra much less worked on one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tDR Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Absolutely agree - is this Toyota in Sighthill you're talking about? They will not have a scooby about Supras and you will just be running up a big labour bill with them whilst they try to learn. There is little to no point in an NA having a piggyback ECU so I'd be doubting their diagnosis RE: 2x ECU's / a piggyback in the first place. But without you giving us details on the full spec of your car it's hard for us to help. Are there any noticeable mods? Does it have a stock exhaust system for a start?? If you can give pics of the passenger footwell where the standard ECU lives that would help. It could even be that Toyota fitted an intake sensor for a TT to your NA, given the UK only got a TT. Do you still have the old sensor and do you know where it was fitted? Who was the dealer that sold you the car? Calder? Mackay Trading? Can they not give you information on the spec of the car? Cheers, Brian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 I suspect we'll all be long dead before we see any photo's... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Raven Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 I suspect we'll all be long dead before we see any photo's... Or before toyota work out whats wrong with his car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraRider Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 hi people, sorry it took so long to reply, yea we're all gonna be dead before toyota works out what wrong with my car. but hey good news, got the car back last week. the fault arises with that piggy back ECU, so they took it out and fitted back my default stock ECU. so now my car runs with only one ECU. thanks for all the help and advice, appreciate it. I better go buy breakdown cover just in case...lol. now that my car is fine, I'm thinking about giving it some added performance. but I'm not intending on splashing out money for this cos Im not planning to race anyway, just daily driving, and overtaking sunday drivers.. u get the picture. So what would you all recommend me do? I dont want any engine mods. I thought about a full exhaust plus air induction kit to boost a lil bhp? then go save some money to buy a bodykit to fit. what do u guys think? look fwd to your replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 If it's a TT then read here: BPU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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