I'm pissed. Car doesn't work anymore.

[Nervous]

Oh well.... Sh#t happened. Today was the first day I tried my wagon as a commuter. I drove from Columbia to Glen Burne's MVA and then from there to College Park, total about 50 miles. Car was running just great! I really enjoyed the ride. I parked the car and left to the office.

However, tonight, anticipating a pleasant ride back home, I started the car and... It idled about 3 seconds and died. Hmmm.... I tried again. And again. And again. Finally I managed to start it, but it doesn't worked confidently. I tried to get it go. As soon as I push the gas pedal more firmly, RPMs started to swing wildly. I was able to run about 200 yards and it died. Moreover, the temperature gauge behaved wildly as well - at the end of my super short ride it was jumping between 0 and MAX as crazy.

After that I was unable to start if for long time. I checked the temperature of engine (by hand) - it was ok (of course it was impossible to overheat during 5 min ride). Now, when I turn ignition key to the first position, the "Check engine" light is kinda flickering. I mean it doesn't light steadily; instead, it lights with about 50% of it usual brightness, and I see it flickers at about 40-50 Hz. Moreover, if I try to start the engine I hear clicking sounds (like relays) from the glove compartment.
I managed to start it again, and engine worked intermittently and "check engine" light (it is ON now) again flickered with frequency about once in 3 seconds. Each flicker I saw RPM drops and returns back. I shut down the engine and I saw how temperature gauge jumped up to the MAX right after I turned the key in "OFF" position.

So, luckily I didn't go far from my work and now sitting here waiting for tow truck (thanks to Nationwide road assistance - I have free 100 miles towing).
I assume, this is failed ECU? I'll read the codes once I get home, but this might be anything unrelated since ECU is bad. Yeah, btw, I tried to reset ECU by removing EFI fuse - no help.....

Any insights HIGHLY appreciated!

[peshwa]

feel your pain...pull the code and let us know. Do let us know the codes. Below questions crossed my mind:
-Is the coolant ok?
-Is the ECT sensor shot causing wild swings? Can you swap it out with other camry and see the result?
-Could there be air in your cooling system causing hot spots of air to pass over the ECT thereby resulting in the wild gauge swings?
-RPMs needle swing could indicate an intermittent vacuum leak.
Experts please comment and help him. I am just trying to help him with my limited knowledge!!

[fenixus]

sorry to hear that bro ...

read the codes, they will point exactly to why ECM was behaving crazy. might be an electrical issue (e.g. broken wiring or some bad sensor) as that rapidly flickering CEL is not normal unless the problem was happening with such frequency ? doubt it though.

i've got a spare ECT for EFI sensor 89422-35010 if you need it, check toyodiy.com/parts if it fits our ride. but read the codes first!

[71Corolla]

Sure sounds like a bad connector or harness. When you get a chance, I would take a look at all the connectors near the ECU. Seeing as you drove the car and it ran normally, then all of a sudden it went nuts, it sure sounds like the ECU is have a stroke due to flaky power and/or connections to the rest of the car.

Also check your battery connections and voltage, cars do strange things when the electronics don't get a reliable power source.

[mr.nitro]

do you have a pos+ wire shorting out somewhere,or a bad ground?

[Nervous]

Coolant is fine, ECT sensor is fine (at least was fine a month ago: I tested it recently). I don't feel this is related to cooling system at all. Because this doesn't explain:
1) flickering/low brightness of check engine light
2) clicks coming from the glove compartment.
You know, it looked like a very bad contact somewhere (between ECU and harness?). Like, if you have a bulb and it has a bad contact in socket then it starts to flicker and sparks appear between the bulb and the socket. That looked very much like it.

[Nervous]

Yeah, thank you guys! I'll definitely read the codes and for sure will check connectors around the ECU. Also will check voltage, however, starter never gave up during my attempts to start the engine: it cranked with confidence all the time.

[fenixus]

try checking the battery voltage at engine off and then IGN ON and then engine running (if possible). relays clicking while engine not cranking is usually a bad alternator/battery or a shorted wiring (i've got this on 02 solara v6). just read you post above, so starter is cranking normally (at normal pace?) ?

check the ECU ground point, it's on the rear of intake manifold. check also the one on the passenger side of intake manifold (it might be for ECT sensor).
also another crucial and important ground point is behind the driver side head lamp, check it too.

[71Corolla]

I would be careful not to run the car for too long with this problem, you could end up frying things, electronics don't like intermittent connections generally. My money is on a connector not snugged in properly, or a bad ground problem. With some luck you can get the car to idle normally, and with it running you can check for failing connections, when you find it the car will pull another spaz attack.

edit - and what fenixus is talking about, wires shorting to adjacent wires in a harness will definitely cause your symptoms.

[Nervous]

Like I said - starter cranked with confidence all the time, I heard sounds similar to relay clicks from the glove compartment (where the ECU is located). Not the starter relay (driver side, engine compartment)
Thanks for the idea with ground points, will check!

[fenixus]

edited post on ground point, updated it for you. check the 3 most important ones i listed. either of them bad means trouble.

71corolla makes a good point about wires shorting to each other somewhere in the harness, this would be a problem to find, look for cracks in harness insulation, it might be something obvious (i hope).

[Nervous]

I was unable to sleep, so I went down to a garage to read codes and to quickly check the connections. (now I am writing from the netbook that I use as an OBD reader from the garage) Like I said, codes are random and unrelated - P0753, P0758, P0773 (different solenoids, electrical).
BUT! I found bad connections! That was exacly gorund points! I found 3(!!) loose ground connections Two on the side of intake and one on the back of it. All loose. (fenixus, right on target! Will check the forth tomorrow, but since I didn't unbolt it I guess it is fine) What I was thinking of? Seems to me I just forgot to tighten them when assembling everyting. Before real ride they were tight enough, but after 50 miles ride they just became loose due to vibration. I've tighten them all and now engine runs like a champ again! (but still - )
THANK YOU GUYS A LOT! You saved my night!

[AliRazoR]

good job

[Nervous]

Yeah, right... Hopefully, this time, it is.

[73sport]

I was about to elude to wires burning on something during the drive and loosing the grounds. Although all related to the big problem, it sure looked as if each was its own individual problem.

Glad you chopped through to the heart of it and found the issue!
Ya, Unfortunately I'm just like that. Brain won't stop until problem is solved.