Hey guys, this is the second time my ecu has failed. I have done a 5spd tranny swap on my 05 Corolla S. This pcm fault has caused me to keep the car off the road which sucks alot. I want to fix this permenantly.
Will converting to drive by cable resolve this issue? I currently have drive by wire, which i believe is all electronically done.
Hey guys, this is the second time my ecu has failed. I have done a 5spd tranny swap on my 05 Corolla S. This pcm fault has caused me to keep the car off the road which sucks alot. I want to fix this permenantly.
Will converting to drive by cable resolve this issue? I currently have drive by wire, which i believe is all electronically done.
Please let me know
Thanks!
I had this fault - TOYCAN replaced the ECU 3 times. turned out, it was the LED bulbs I swapped in to my tail lamps. Too much voltage on the line, all manufacturers use lighting wiring to pass ECU data for monitoring. TOYCAN said to chack the ground in about 10 places on my 05 Corolla, the mechanic saw the LED bulbs and put back the original bulbs - haven't had P0606 ever again.
yes, that was the same problem with me. I believe my 2nd gen altis taillights were causing some kind of fault in the ecu(P0606). I put back OEM taillights and havent had any problems.
What kind of soltion would you recommend to fix the LED's? Resistors? Relay kit?
yes, that was the same problem with me. I believe my 2nd gen altis taillights were causing some kind of fault in the ecu(P0606). I put back OEM taillights and havent had any problems.
What kind of soltion would you recommend to fix the LED's? Resistors? Relay kit?
Let's understand the problem first. As I was given to understand, the ECU uses the base wiring in the auto to transmit some sensor data to save on cabling (ex: bank 2 O2 sensor data travels the same wire as the left tail lamp). There are two theories on the actual problem - one is that there is too much amperage on the line. LEDs use far less energy than it takes to power a tungsten lamp, so the thought is that the ECU actually gets a surge of power and that's what causes it to freak out and go in safe mode (and summarily, return a P0606). This is a common problem amongst all vehicles with CANBUS systems - damn those japanese engineers and their efficiency!
It also explains how you auto knows to turn on the brake MIL when you've got a burnt out tail lamp - it knows by detecting over voltage/amperage.
The other theory is that LEDs may cause RFI or EFI, again this RFI/EFI travels back to the ECU and confuses it. I think this theory is bogus myself.
I believe a relay would not fix the issue. A resistor may fix it, although I have not tried it myself. I believe this is what they call 'a load balancer' on the LED sites. My fix, and again, I have not tried this yet, is to simply keep the OEM bulb in the circuit and hide it in the boot, or for the front, under the bonnet. You can add to the load on the circuit, it's taking away too much load that is the problem.
Let's understand the problem first. As I was given to understand, the ECU uses the base wiring in the auto to transmit some sensor data to save on cabling (ex: bank 2 O2 sensor data travels the same wire as the left tail lamp). There are two theories on the actual problem - one is that there is too much amperage on the line. LEDs use far less energy than it takes to power a tungsten lamp, so the thought is that the ECU actually gets a surge of power and that's what causes it to freak out and go in safe mode (and summarily, return a P0606). This is a common problem amongst all vehicles with CANBUS systems - damn those japanese engineers and their efficiency!
It also explains how you auto knows to turn on the brake MIL when you've got a burnt out tail lamp - it knows by detecting over voltage/amperage.
The other theory is that LEDs may cause RFI or EFI, again this RFI/EFI travels back to the ECU and confuses it. I think this theory is bogus myself.
I believe a relay would not fix the issue. A resistor may fix it, although I have not tried it myself. I believe this is what they call 'a load balancer' on the LED sites. My fix, and again, I have not tried this yet, is to simply keep the OEM bulb in the circuit and hide it in the boot, or for the front, under the bonnet. You can add to the load on the circuit, it's taking away too much load that is the problem.
cheers!
denovan
'05 Corolla 1.8 CE
Oh i see. that makes alot of sense. thanks!
So if i leave the bulb connected and also connect the LED taillights, that should work fine? Your saying that under amperage is the problem, not over amperage?
That wont cause any problems if it is connected like that? Would it dim the LED taillights?
Appriciate the help.
Last edited by Toyotaboy87; 03-07-2010 at 05:20 PM.
So if i leave the bulb connected and also connect the LED taillights, that should work fine? Your saying that under amperage is the problem, not over amperage?
Too much enegry in the line (over amperage) is the problem.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Toyotaboy87
That wont cause any problems if it is connected like that? Would it dim the LED taillights?
Aye. The OEM lamp should provide enough resistance (load) to keep the ECU from becoming overwhelmed. Consider that your standard auto circuit is rated for about 15 amp for a set of lamps as there *could* be that much draw on the system. The LED is only going to draw 20-100 mA. A tungsten lamp is essentially a resistor - resistance causes heat, heat generates light. This is the basis principle of a light bulb. LEDs on the other hand use a more complex movement of electrons generating light. There should be more than sufficient amperage on the line to keep your LED at max brightness.
So in theory, you can simply replace the OEM bulb with a resistor of equal value to the resistance of the light bulb. But the short and dirty answer is just move the OEM bulb.
Really didn't intend to turn this in to a science class... hehe.
Too much enegry in the line (over amperage) is the problem.
Aye. The OEM lamp should provide enough resistance (load) to keep the ECU from becoming overwhelmed. Consider that your standard auto circuit is rated for about 15 amp for a set of lamps as there *could* be that much draw on the system. The LED is only going to draw 20-100 mA. A tungsten lamp is essentially a resistor - resistance causes heat, heat generates light. This is the basis principle of a light bulb. LEDs on the other hand use a more complex movement of electrons generating light. There should be more than sufficient amperage on the line to keep your LED at max brightness.
So in theory, you can simply replace the OEM bulb with a resistor of equal value to the resistance of the light bulb. But the short and dirty answer is just move the OEM bulb.
Really didn't intend to turn this in to a science class... hehe.
Appriciate the help.
not at all mate... rather enjoying the chit chat.
cheers!
Okay, so best situation is to add a resistor, equal to OEM amperage or ohm? So you would solder this resistor to the existing connector, correct? Do you just tap into the wire? Where would you actually put the resistor?
Oh and i dont mind the science class at all. Love to learn new things.
BTW you were having the same situation as me. How did it go for you? Did you have LED's too?
Last edited by Toyotaboy87; 03-07-2010 at 08:59 PM.
yes, that was the same problem with me. I believe my 2nd gen altis taillights were causing some kind of fault in the ecu(P0606). I put back OEM taillights and havent had any problems.
So, would it be safe to assume that installing any aftermarket headlights/taillights would not be a wise decision because of this problem? I was looking into installing the smoked altis led tailights and headlights for my make and model vehicle. I am trying to find ways to make the car my own and to give it a more sportier look and those headlights/taillights caught my attention...
__________________ Joey ~ 2007 Toyota Corolla S Silver Streak Mica No Mods As Of Yet...
Some of the aftermarket lamp assemblies / LED bulb assemblies (inside the base) already have a load resistor installed. So that the overall power pulled by the aftermarket assembly will mimic the originial one.
Otherwise, you'd have to wire load resistors / add some load yourself (not always a good idea to chop into the OEM wiring - could lead to problems down the road).
A 25 ohm resistor wired in parallel to the tail light circuit and possibly a 6 or 8 ohm one in parallel with the brake light circuit should solve this.
you can get resistors from Radioshack for DIRT cheep (5/$1) or .25/eh for individual resistors.
We discussed this on 9thgencorolla.com and have had positive results so far.
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Joey ~ 2007 Toyota Corolla S Silver Streak Mica
Linear Mode
