My car stalled today and wouldn't turn over. my mechanic's initial thought was that it was a problem with the igniter. He replaced that and still wouldn't turn over. It's throwing a code 15...ignition output signal. if the igniter doesn't fix, should i throw in a new ecu? is it the relay? help!

 

Before he got you a new ignitor, did he check to see the wiring was OK from there to the ECU?? Your ECU can't tell the difference between a bad ignitor vs. a busted wire.

 

That usually means a bad ECU. Sorry.
-PHiZ

 

Do you have fuel pressure?? If not check your main relay.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PHiZ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That usually means a bad ECU. Sorry.
-PHiZ</TD></TR></TABLE>Is it really that unusual for the wiring from distributor to ECU, or the grounds at the t-stat, to be messed up? I don't see anywhere that says someone checked that the wiring was OK.

knocnemdown...
You said in your first post that it won't turn over. That means the starter isn't cranking the engine... Is that what you meant?? Because if so, then you gotta start looking at the starter or ignition switch or battery cables or something like that.

 

it's cranking as if it almost wants to start. i'm gonna try the main relay as someone suggested. i think that may even allow for stronger startups because all of sudden, they were weaker. at least that's what i'm hoping.

 

What does 'weaker' really mean? If the starter spins the engine slower, that could be simply corroded battery cables or a weak battery. That's easy stuff.

I'd have thought a main relay either works or not. I don't know how it can cause 'weak' starts.

You know you got code 15, so the ECU isn't seeing the ignition signal. Have you checked out that circuit? If the ECU doesn't see an ignition signal, it won't fire the injectors. A new main relay won't fix that...

 

well....it was initially a code 15, yesterday my mechanic said it threw a 16 instead. there's a certain diagnostics tool he doesn't have to really pinpoint, so now we're kinda shooting in the dark. the next step would be to take a good ecu to eliminate the possibility of it being the ecu. i suggested main relay since it was throwing a code 16, but honestly i'm hope it will work. i'm kinda torn as to what to do. i don't wanna have my car towed to another shop....what to do, what to do....

 

Have you checked fuel pressure?? I don't remember you saying if you had fuel pressure or not? Good luck to yall.

 

Ok, let me just add my experiences, I had a customer send me an ECU throwing a Code 15, Igniton Output. I tried it in my known good car, it threw a code 15. I switched back to the ECU that I daily drive the car on. No code. So in my case, it was isolated to the ECU.
Just about any (obd1 civic/integra) ecu will work, for DIAGNOSING if the code 15 is thrown by the main relay, or by the ECU itself.
-PHiZ
-PHiZ