Joined
·
1,839 Posts
In the year since I purchased my car it has only been water washed twice. On both occasions the following day or 2 have seen repeated indications of catalyser issues resulting in 5 - 8 slow down indications and a few limp modes. The frustration and fear caused by these indications led me to wash the car with detailing spray only. Today I decided that it was time to get to the bottom of this. I accessed my favorite web sites to figure out the problem and concluded that the issue is caused by moisture.
I removed my 5 - 8 ECU located near the left side rear coil spring and inspected it closely. The wiring connector associated with the ECU were noted to have triple seal silicone and a very solid connector assembly. I can't see how moisture could get in there so I moved on. On even closer inspection I found that the filler material used to seal up the ECU had seperated from the plastic ECU housing allowing moisture into the assembly directly. It was difficult to see until I used a fingernail to pull the case away from the seal. (I wish I had taken a picture then)
My repair was executed by placing a small shim between the case and the seal (paperclip) and working a small amount of RTV Silicone into the seperation. I then applied a light coat of silicone to the surrounding edge as a preventative measure.
The ECU was re-installed and a dab of stabilant 22 was applied to the connectors for posterity. We all own some stabilant 22...right.
These ECU's are near $400 each. A little preventative maintenance always goes a long way. I'll update this thread if it doesn't work but I don't expect any more problems.
Off to wash my baby.
Lane
I removed my 5 - 8 ECU located near the left side rear coil spring and inspected it closely. The wiring connector associated with the ECU were noted to have triple seal silicone and a very solid connector assembly. I can't see how moisture could get in there so I moved on. On even closer inspection I found that the filler material used to seal up the ECU had seperated from the plastic ECU housing allowing moisture into the assembly directly. It was difficult to see until I used a fingernail to pull the case away from the seal. (I wish I had taken a picture then)
My repair was executed by placing a small shim between the case and the seal (paperclip) and working a small amount of RTV Silicone into the seperation. I then applied a light coat of silicone to the surrounding edge as a preventative measure.
The ECU was re-installed and a dab of stabilant 22 was applied to the connectors for posterity. We all own some stabilant 22...right.
These ECU's are near $400 each. A little preventative maintenance always goes a long way. I'll update this thread if it doesn't work but I don't expect any more problems.
Off to wash my baby.
Lane
