thirsk66

iTrader: (2)

Here are pictures of my chipped p28 ecu that I use on my 98 Prelude. I have had this ecu for about a year and a half and just noticed last night that the pins on it are corroded and full of dust. Does this mean the ecu is bad and its time to replace it? Keep in mind I bought it like this and have not had any water damage or dirt in my car. Any advice with this would be greatly appreciated.

thirsk66

iTrader: (2)

Bump need some advice on this issue

myEKsedan

iTrader: (1)

Looks normal to me...any issues with it?

thirsk66

iTrader: (2)

That's not normal to have corrosion on the pins like in picture 1. My other two ecus which are obd2 don't have that or the dust build up like the pictures above. I do have some throttle issues ever since I bought the p28 ecu kinda hard to explain exactly whats happening but its along the lines of not being as smooth as Id like it to be. To be more specific I know this sounds crazy but to me sometimes the throttle or gas pedal will feel smooth and easy to press down and other times it feels like there is resistance going on down there. And when the gas is easy to press down the car seems to pull strongly and smooth and when the pedal is hard to press its as if the strong pulling disappears. I have tried switching out different chips to see if that helps but it has no effect. So this is why I am leaning towards it being an issue with the ECU itself.

I have replaced the TPS sensor twice and have adjusted my throttle cable to its max spec just to get the proper slack in the throttle cable, so the cable I think is safe to say ruled out on my issue. I have also cleaned the throttle body really well and cleaned my gas pedal area and lubed up the spring and moving parts assembly, still no difference. I think I might be loosing my mind trying to figure out what my issue is whether its ECU related or something entirely different.

JRCivic1

The ECU has no ability to make pushing the gas pedal easier or more difficult. The only chip that should be used to judge the proper engine operation is one that is TUNED for your car specifically. If you have minor driveability issues, these can be sorted out with tuning. As for the throttle sticking... I suggest replacing the throttle cable first. Make sure that your TPS voltage is set correctly (key on but not running, .495-.505 volts on the middle wire of the TPS plug) and also check to see if the throttle cable is binding anywhere like pinched in a bracket or improperly routed around other objects (brake booster, around a strut bar, through intake runners, etc) "tucked" style.

The corrosion is a sign, but it doesn't mean that the ECU is bad at this point. You can always try another KNOWN GOOD ECU to rule it out. If the symptoms that you describe here continue, the ECU is NOT your issue. Clean the corrosion with a toothbrush and blow the dust off of the board and close it back up.

thirsk66

iTrader: (2)

First off thank you to the few who have replied on this thread to help me sort out my issue. And I have only ran good basemaps that were made for my h22 euro-r just so that it is known I am not running random chips and testing the results.
I have to agree with you JRCivic1 that I should look into replacing my throttle cable but first checking out its routing from the gas pedal to the mount location on the throttle body. As far as my TPS goes it is an OEM Honda unit with correct calibration. I will also try to clean the corrosion off the pins on the ecu and see if it helps anything, but I am just worried that since there is corrosion in the first place that its a sign that this ecu may fail on me in the future at some point.

thirsk66

iTrader: (2)

I took some advice and cleaned the ecu tonight with a soft*bristle*tooth brush and all the build up on the ecu pins is gone and the computer looks brand new. Super happy with it now.

thirsk66

iTrader: (2)

I ended up making some head way on the drive-ability issue with my car that left me feeling like something was robbing the power out of my engine. I replaced my worn out and burnt distributor rotor with a new one. My car seems to be a bit better now.I really need to go get my car tuned soon so I can get these bugs out. Here's a picture of the old rotor.

thirsk66

iTrader: (2)

I figured out my throttle pedal and sluggish issue. It was my fuel filter, it was so badly clogged that I couldnt blow any air through it. I installed a new one in and my car runs so much better. I assume this had to of been the original filter on my car it looked past its expiration date of 30,000 miles.

holmesnmanny

Its not often to hear that a fuel filter is actually the cause of an issue lol

im curious if you got a before and after fuel pressure values ?

thanks for the update

thirsk66

iTrader: (2)

Sorry I didnt get a chance to take before and after fuel pressure values. Im just shocked because my car honestly runs so much smoother and feels more alive.