Need to replace engine computer

[Rudie]

For a work assignment I transferred to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea in September 2017. Shortly thereafter, Trust Corporation Japan delivered a 1999 LandCruiser V8 petrol (chassis no. UZJ100-0058429, engine no 2UZ-0076521, GF-UZJ100W 4,660 cc) with just over 100,000 km which I had purchased from them online some two months earlier. During the past 2,5 yrs it was used very lightly, clocking up only 3,000 km. Initially, I got a small local workshop to service it once a year but since I'm leaving my job in August I decided in January of this year to give the car full maintenance at Ela Motors, an official Toyota dealer where our service cars are maintained as well. After the servicing I took the car back to my apartment, parked it there and went for lunch. Upon my return the car was completely "dead" so I had to call the garage which eventually managed to start the engine and took it back to the workshop for checking out the problem. After several weeks I was informed that the central computer box had failed, due to a short circuit, and needed to be replaced. Meanwhile, COVID-19 required me to temporarily return to Belgium where after almost two months the Toyota workshop informed me that they were unable to find the part in country or in Australia so I was advised to buy it in Belgium and bring it with me when I return to PNG in August. Unfortunately, a helpful Toyota dealer here in Belgium told me the part is no longer produced so he couldn't supply it. I've contacted second-hand online spare parts websites in the Netherlands and Belgium but so far did not get any reaction. The part I'm looking for is TO8966160630 computer engine DNR. I've seen some offered on e-Bay but am hesitant because I have no idea how reliable these offers are. Any advice from this Forum will be most appreciated! Rudie

 

[flint]

One option might be to have the ECU sent to you and have it repaired, there are various firms that do this.

 

[Rudie]

Thanks, I thought about that but right now the logistics are hard to organise due to COVID-19. Since the part is no longer produced (even though my Landcruiser is only from 1999) I've decided to look for a second-hand one.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Hi Rudie. There's a common fault in the engine bay fuse box on UZJ's, on the fuse to power part of the engine ECU, that can be mis-diagnosed as an ECU fault. The symptoms are that the engine will crank but not start, and on closer inspection you see the security light flashing, indicating that the ECU hasn't recognised the key which is why it won't start. Also, when the battery is disconnected, or goes flat, you get a similar problem until you leave the ignition on for 6 minutes and then the ECU will work again.

Does your truck have ATRAC or a rear diff lock? I think I still have 2 ECU's for a 2000 with ATRAC that I bought to solve an ECU problem on a previous truck. I'll check their part numbers later. You really need to get a master key with any ECU you buy so that you can program it to accept your existing keys. It is possible to reset the ECU key coding without a master key, but it's not the kind of thing a dealer will do for you.

 

[Rudie]

Hi Jon, thanks so much for your valuable advice. The problem is indeed what you describe: engine cranking but not starting. I'll ask our driver in PNG to double-check this with the garage although that's an official Toyota dealer so I would be surprised if they hadn't checked that already. My truck is a 1999 one from before October (at which time, if I understand it correctly, the production of the V8 petrol version stopped) and I don't think it has ATRAC but probably a rear diff lock. Since I frequently travelled in and out of PNG I had a flat battery on more than one occasion but that never caused the car not to recognise the key anymore. Just before your message arrived I purchased a used ECU from a Russian supplier on eBay (one who has been around several years and has a good rating) but it won't come with a key. If the dealer can also do it I think they probably will, my driver can check that as well.

 

[karl2000]

I do wonder how often Mr T misdiagnoses ECU problems on these old trucks. My 120 was misdiagnosed by the dealer as having an ECU problem, when in fact it was a problem caused by dodgy parking sensors.

I think when they follow the diagnosis flowcharts, the ECU is often the last thing they reach - so that gets blamed when they've run out of ideas.

Also how useful are the dealers working on these old vehicles? Do they still have people around who know about them - seems to me all they want to do is play about with Toyota Yaris's on mobility etc

Sorry if this hijacks the thread but it seems sort of relevant! Good luck.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Unless the dealer is a bit of an enthusiast or sees a lot of these vehicles then I doubt they will know about the fuse issue. Here's one of the threads about it on ih8mud:

My immobilizer fix

I got the famous crank but not start immobilizer problem. I replaced the 20A EFI fuse with a 30A fuse and it started right away. However, it was a temporary fix. I had the same problem again 4 days later. This is what I did to get the engine started. It has been working with no problem for...

forum.ih8mud.com

I had a problem which in the end did turn out to be a faulty ECU, but when I searched I didn't find a single other instance of it being an ECU fault - it was always that fuse. I suspect my problem started with that fuse though.

Here's a link for erasing the ECU key memory to start again, otherwise you can't program the immobiliser to accept keys without having a master key that the ECU was already programmed to accept ...

DIY: Immobilizer Hacking for Lost Keys or Swapped ECU

DIY: Immobilizer Hacking for Lost Keys or Swapped ECU: DIY: ImmobilizerHacking for Lost Keys or Swapped ECU Here's how to reprogram your car's engine immobilizer to program new keys in the invent of lost keys or a swapped ECU. DIY Video: Disclaimer: The engine immobilizer is a security device...

www.instructables.com

If yours is an older pre ATRAC truck then I don't think there's any chance of the ECU's I have being of use. I'm pretty sure the connectors changed to accommodate ATRAC, but I'll still check just in case.