38 replies to this topic

[Braus]

Good evening Gentlemen,

The ECU in my VX220 turbo has failed to provide power to the no. 4 injector and a replacement ECU appears to be required. I sent the faulty unit to a specialist UK ECU repair shop but it was returned as beyond repair. They claim that the Z20LET OEM ECU is notoriously unreliable. Is this really the case? I can't find any complaints to this effect on the forum. I looked into replacing it with an after market Link ECU but was quoted upwards of $NZ 7K for the ECU, wiring, mapping from scratch and tuning, so that course of action appears to be out of the question. The fact that there is only a handful of VX's in NZ doesn't help. Any advice on how to proceed from here would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

[Ivor]

Good evening Gentlemen,
The ECU in my VX220 turbo has failed to provide power to the no. 4 injector and a replacement ECU appears to be required. I sent the faulty unit to a specialist UK ECU repair shop but it was returned as beyond repair. They claim that the Z20LET OEM ECU is notoriously unreliable. Is this really the case? I can't find any complaints to this effect on the forum. I looked into replacing it with an after market Link ECU but was quoted upwards of $NZ 7K for the ECU, wiring, mapping from scratch and tuning, so that course of action appears to be out of the question. The fact that there is only a handful of VX's in NZ doesn't help. Any advice on how to proceed from here would be much appreciated.
Thank you.

More knowledgeable others will comment I'm sure but I've heard of very few if any ECU failures, had my turbo 10 years, no failure.

[martinroger]

Adding to that, I would be surprised if another ECU couldn't be flashed for your car...

[aquilaproejct]

Hey Mate. As from our previous messages. Holden NZ will be able to help you out. You just need to know what to ask and how to ask. If the ECU is the same as the Holden turbo astra you can link that and get Holden to program it properly. Hit me up on PM if you want to discuss further.

[aquilaproejct]

Hey Mate. As from our previous messages. Holden NZ will be able to help you out. You just need to know what to ask and how to ask. If the ECU is the same as the Holden turbo astra you can link that and get Holden to program it properly. Hit me up on PM if you want to discuss further.

[Exmantaa]

Good evening Gentlemen,

The ECU in my VX220 turbo has failed to provide power to the no. 4 injector and a replacement ECU appears to be required. I sent the faulty unit to a specialist UK ECU repair shop but it was returned as beyond repair. They claim that the Z20LET OEM ECU is notoriously unreliable. Is this really the case? I can't find any complaints to this effect on the forum. I looked into replacing it with an after market Link ECU but was quoted upwards of $NZ 7K for the ECU, wiring, mapping from scratch and tuning, so that course of action appears to be out of the question. The fact that there is only a handful of VX's in NZ doesn't help. Any advice on how to proceed from here would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

 

Normally power to the injectors is coming from a switched 12v source and then the ecu grounds the injectors when firing.

See => https://www.speedste... Z20LET - 2.pdf

 

If you don't measure 12v on 1 injector, the problem is somewhere else...

 

 

Edited by Exmantaa, 08 June 2020 - 12:13 PM.

[TheRealVXed]

Been frequenting this forum for over a decade and never heard of anyone even grumbling about their standard ECUs.... I would have checked the wiring first.  This is much more likely, as are the connectors, the injector itself etc etc.  ECU failure wouldn't have even crossed my mind...

 

Good luck, and don't bin your ECU just yet!!!

[ayresyy]

  I would suggest ruling out all other possible issues first, as mentioned. Then, absolute worst case, the ECU 'could' have a failed injector driver (hugely rare as others have said). You can still lift your current map from the ECU, then buy a cheap replacement from a 1.2 Corsa C (Holden Barina circa 2002) for around £30, they are so cheap as they so rarely fail! Then just drop your map onto the New ECU and off you go again. 

[Pidgeon]

Standard ECUs don't like standing and I've had two not recover from standing idle for a period.  One may have been a bad pedal, but other other was certain ECU.  Speak to Liam at MMG he was a critical link in the resolution of both problems.  The solution was a three part set from Ebay, ECU, key chip and sensor.

[Braus]

 

Good evening Gentlemen,
The ECU in my VX220 turbo has failed to provide power to the no. 4 injector and a replacement ECU appears to be required. I sent the faulty unit to a specialist UK ECU repair shop but it was returned as beyond repair. They claim that the Z20LET OEM ECU is notoriously unreliable. Is this really the case? I can't find any complaints to this effect on the forum. I looked into replacing it with an after market Link ECU but was quoted upwards of $NZ 7K for the ECU, wiring, mapping from scratch and tuning, so that course of action appears to be out of the question. The fact that there is only a handful of VX's in NZ doesn't help. Any advice on how to proceed from here would be much appreciated.
Thank you.

More knowledgeable others will comment I'm sure but I've heard of very few if any ECU failures, had my turbo 10 years, no failure.

 

 

[Braus]

Agreed, I've never come across it on the forums.

[Braus]

Hey Mate. As from our previous messages. Holden NZ will be able to help you out. You just need to know what to ask and how to ask. If the ECU is the same as the Holden turbo astra you can link that and get Holden to program it properly. Hit me up on PM if you want to discuss further.

 

[Braus]

G'day Anth. Yes, it does sound like Schofield Holden in Auckland are onto it. The local GM dealership here however haven't got a clue. They categorically state that they can't do it as their software is 'region locked.'

[Braus]

 

Good evening Gentlemen,

The ECU in my VX220 turbo has failed to provide power to the no. 4 injector and a replacement ECU appears to be required. I sent the faulty unit to a specialist UK ECU repair shop but it was returned as beyond repair. They claim that the Z20LET OEM ECU is notoriously unreliable. Is this really the case? I can't find any complaints to this effect on the forum. I looked into replacing it with an after market Link ECU but was quoted upwards of $NZ 7K for the ECU, wiring, mapping from scratch and tuning, so that course of action appears to be out of the question. The fact that there is only a handful of VX's in NZ doesn't help. Any advice on how to proceed from here would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

 

Normally power to the injectors is coming from a switched 12v source and then the ecu grounds the injectors when firing.

See => https://www.speedste... Z20LET - 2.pdf

 

If you don't measure 12v on 1 injector, the problem is somewhere else...

 

 

[Braus]

Good info, thank you.

[Braus]

Been frequenting this forum for over a decade and never heard of anyone even grumbling about their standard ECUs.... I would have checked the wiring first.  This is much more likely, as are the connectors, the injector itself etc etc.  ECU failure wouldn't have even crossed my mind...

 

Good luck, and don't bin your ECU just yet!!!

 

[Braus]

Yes, we did check the wiring, connectors and replaced the injectors, so the verdict was the ECU which was subsequently confirmed by sending it to ECU Testing UK for repair. They returned it saying it was beyond repair. 

[Braus]

  I would suggest ruling out all other possible issues first, as mentioned. Then, absolute worst case, the ECU 'could' have a failed injector driver (hugely rare as others have said). You can still lift your current map from the ECU, then buy a cheap replacement from a 1.2 Corsa C (Holden Barina circa 2002) for around £30, they are so cheap as they so rarely fail! Then just drop your map onto the New ECU and off you go again. 

 

[Braus]

Wow, that is interesting advice. Will certainly look into that - thank you!

[Braus]

Standard ECUs don't like standing and I've had two not recover from standing idle for a period.  One may have been a bad pedal, but other other was certain ECU.  Speak to Liam at MMG he was a critical link in the resolution of both problems.  The solution was a three part set from Ebay, ECU, key chip and sensor.