I've checked my wiring short off ripping the whole harness off to try and locate a short but without success. I finally installed an ECM I bought on ebay, same part number as that of my 98 XLE, I took the van for a spin with some confidence and it seemed to be OK. But then took it on a 20 mile ride in the hot Arizona sun and lo and behold came to another stop and on take off the motor died again, exactly how it had been dying before. The same problem, blown EFI fuse.
A good samaritan helped me push it out of the street and I am back to square one. After getting roasted in the 95 degree heat and bypassing the fuse again, I drove home and got me a six pack and am trying to weigh whether I should go ahead and take it to a shop.
This van has 230K and was hoping to get another 100K or so out of it. This is the first time since I bought it in 99 that it has had any problem. I've taken care of it and it reciprocated. Everything else is quite ok despite the van's age.
Anyone has an idea I can try?
I seem to recall reading about someone that had a similiar problem recently. They did the same thing and bought one off of ebay and had the same problem. I think they had to spend $$$ on getting a new one to solve the problem. I've been reading so much on this stuff for months my mind is getting overloaded, but it does seem like that was their case. Sorry I can't help any further, but there are those on here that can. My understanding is those can be pretty squirley. There may even be a company that can rebuild your old one or maybe they sell remanfactured, again not sure.
What part of AZ are you in? If you take it to a shop I would take it to a shop in the Mark Salem network of preferred shops.
I'm in Gilbert in the East Valley. Never heard of Mark Salem network. I'll google them and find out where they are located.
I'm beginning to think that the ECMs are ok and that there's something else that I'm probably not aware of. I've tried two ECMs already and the second one I was assured it was in good working condition by a reputable seller. Can I vouch that it works as mentioned? No.
If the problem is not the ECM what could it be? that's the question I'm asking myself right now and at the same time if I were to buy a refurbished one and find that still doesn't solve the problem, then I'll have gone deeper into the hole $ wise.
I have the wiring diagram for a 2001 Sienna which although a bit different from 98, I can see enough similarities to have a clue as to which wire goes where. So far I've not detected any groundings on those wires which I had thought would be the case.
I'm stumped.
As far as trouble shooting goes what other devices are hook up to the ECM fuse circuit?
As far as the Mark Salem network goes...
Mark Salem is the host of the radio and public access show: Under the Hood.
He has a list of reputable companies in the valley that he recommends. He guarantees that if they won't help you satisfactorily he'll give you your money back. On the show they talk a lot about not guessing when it comes to electrical repairs. This way you don't just throw parts at the problem.
As far as trouble shooting goes what other devices are hook up to the ECM fuse circuit?
As far as the Mark Salem network goes...
Mark Salem is the host of the radio and public access show: Under the Hood.
He has a list of reputable companies in the valley that he recommends. He guarantees that if they won't help you satisfactorily he'll give you your money back. On the show they talk a lot about not guessing when it comes to electrical repairs. This way you don't just throw parts at the problem.
I live in the far west valley. In Buckeye.
After the fuse one branch goes to the Batt terminal on the ECM, the other goes to the terminals of the
Last edited by zazman; 05-04-2011 at 03:59 PM.
Reason: not finished with the reply
After the fuse, one branch goes to the Batt terminal on the ECM, the other powers up the the EFI and Circuit Open Relays, the fuel pump as well as the ECM +B terminal. The branch that feeds the +B terminals also branches to two other places that my schematic does not include but from the full schematic of a 2001 sienna, one of these two goes to either the heated o2 sensor and (pressure switchng valve and canister closed valve) or to the Transponder key Amplifier. The other branch goes to the intake air control and idle air control. The 98 schematic is not full and does not show where the branches go after the terminal.
I'll be taking the van in tomorrow to be checked at the place you recommended.
I recently bought an 01 Sienna with 74,000 miles. I looked up it's
service history on My Toyota and at 51,000 miles(4 years ago)it
had this done under warranty with the previous owner.
"ENGINE CONTROL MODULE R&R ~|~CUSTOMER STATES CHECK ENG LIGHT ON DASH CHECK SYSTEM FOR CODES AND REPORT ~|~HAD TO REPLACE ECU DUE TO DTC CODES"
I recently bought an 01 Sienna with 74,000 miles. I looked up it's
service history on My Toyota and at 51,000 miles(4 years ago)it
had this done under warranty with the previous owner.
"ENGINE CONTROL MODULE R&R ~|~CUSTOMER STATES CHECK ENG LIGHT ON DASH CHECK SYSTEM FOR CODES AND REPORT ~|~HAD TO REPLACE ECU DUE TO DTC CODES"
On mine the CEL will not come on because power to the ECM get cut off when the EFI fuse blows. Anyway, today I took it to a shop to have it checked out. At 230K I was very reluctant but I had tried all I could without any headway so I gave in and took it to the shop.
Update!
Just got the van back from the shop. After tracing the source of the short, the mechanic found that the wires going to the O2 sensor were shorting against the power steering rack. This he found out was because the motor mounts were worn and the motor was sagging and pinching the wires.
He put an insulation tubing to protect the wires and adviced that I get new mounts installed. I could not have guessed that there were wires back there since I dreaded even changing the valve cover gasket that side because I could not see what the heck I was doing. I changed the front one a couple months back and left that one even though I have oil leaking on the gasket.
My steering fluid also leaks too and have been ignoring it and just topping it up all this time. I gues one of these days I'll have to bite the bullet and see if I can get that fixed after or while installing the motor mounts.
What's the best way of accessing that side of the engine so I can also change the gasket?
Thanks Sunshine for recommending this guy!!
The Following User Says Thank You to zazman For This Useful Post:
Glad he was able to find the problem. Check out the info. Wiswind gave me in my post about the oil light on if your going to attempt the rear valve cover. Wiswind has the best write up and pictures. Black Sunshine has been a big help too. I labeled each part I unplugged(both sides with tape and a letter, A,B,C, etc.), and put every screw/bolt in a bag and labeled it(ex. windshield cowl, intake manifold, etc.). That may be overkill, but it made the job much easier for me when it was time to put it all back together.
I'm thinking while at this, go ahead and change the timing belt. It looks like it is not that hard to change it when looking from outside. If advisable, I would like to change it. One shop which specializes with toyota and honda said it would cost $800 to change the belt and I thought, screw him!!!
I also just checked the mounts and the rear mount and the torque rod look like crap. The rear mount cost $133 and the rod $52. The rear mount has a rubber insulator which I don't know if it can come out by itself or is glued to the rear bracket. The insulator by itself costs $47.
I'm thinking to myself, "I just lost my job last week. Would it be a good idea to plunk so much money into this repair?" I'm mulling over what to do right now but the mount has to be installed.
How much do you plan on driving with no job? You're in deep as far as doing these repairs yourself. I've done every repair that you've mentioned in the past two years. Valve cover gaskets, timing belt replacement, motor mounts, axles, shocks and struts.
I've done some timing belts before and this one is pretty much the same as most other FWD vehicles. With a very detailed repair manual it took me four hours. The most complex part that you don't think about if you haven't done a FWD before is that the motor mount goes through the center of the belt. The engine must be supported and the mount removed.
WisWind is the Valve cover gasket/sludge guru. The only thing that I'll say about that is the wiper cowl is easy to remove and will come out in about two minutes once you know the procedure.
I replaced the steering rack in our Sienna. It had been leaking for a while. I assumed that the hose was leaking but a bushing on the rack went bad and the rack started moving on the frame. SCARY! I jumped in and replaced the rack and no more leak. This job is lengthy and complex. It took me about 10 hours taking my time and eating dinner and going to get the new rack from the store. Once unbolted and it's time to remove it, it conveniently slides right out the driver's side.
The motor mounts were the biggest trouble I've gotten myself into in a long time. The bottom rear mount located on the passenger side can be a real PITA. If you want tips on how to get it out check the CAMRY/AVALON/ES300 forums from the same years as our vans. The tricky part is that the bracket has the carrier bearing for the axle passing through it as well as the mount that you mentioned. The axle is supposed to be able to slide right out but it gets stuck from being in there a long time. The bracket has pins that won't let it slide. There are two options: a special attachment for a slide hammer will pull the axle free. The other option is a really strong bar to pry the bracket until the pins are clear and the bracket and axle can slide out together. There are a lot of posts about this in Camry forums. If you have a grinder that will fit in there you can cut the axle. The other mounts are simple just support the motor and replace. Replacing a few is probably a bad idea. I figured that replacing all of them together would get me the most life out of the replacements.
Now you scared the bejesus out of me with the horror story of the mount Sunshine. I've changed the struts and shocks three or four years back. Yeah, I was looking at that mount and wondered how I'm going to yank it out given the small space to work within. I decided to replace just the insulation and not the whole bracket. I'll be driving it quite a bit but I plan to replace them one at a time so I can absorb the cost over time.
I can't remember the book that Wiswind recommended. I tried looking through the threads to find it but can't remember which thread it was. Should have written it down then. I'll try by searching each of these threads one at a time again.
Just PM WisWind. I'm sure he will tell you the best book to get. My problem with the mount was that I didn't know the correct strategies for removing it in the first place. Like I said you can find detailed write ups on it in the forums for other models. The motors and the mounts were the same in those vehicles. I don't think that I mentioned once you have the mount out you have to take it to a shop and have the old one pressed out and the new one pressed in. My local Napa did mine for $10. Anywhere that has a real hydrualic press can do it easily. You just have to make sure that the new mount is oriented in exactly the right direction or the motor will eat it really quickly. The rubber bushing piece is kind crescent shaped and it has to face the right direction.
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