throttle05

my acura el 2003 stalled, engine turns but wont start ! tryed ether and engine runs, so gas issue ? when key is turned on i dont hear relay click or fuel pump buz, taken to garage after two days mechanic tells me i have a faulty ECU !! i was thinking of a faulty fuel pump relay since the engine starts with quick start ( ether ) any opinions ? i

ezone

Was it acting funny before it stalled?
Gauges acting weird? Warning lights?

throttle05

nope nothing funny, stoped, turned a corner, started going straight and stalled !

Civic4me

Could be lots of things - fuel pump, wiring, relay, fuse ( if there is a fuse ). Pump should make some noise when you turn the key. If pump is quiet, I would take of rear seat and pump cover, to check with miltimeter if there is any power. If there is power, then pump is dead. Assuming you are in Canada ( Acura EL ), Hamilton junk yard have these pumps really cheap, they remove these pumps from fuel tank, and leave them in the trunk.

ezone

With only a couple well known exceptions, those PCMs are usually real freekin reliable.

Without any obvious symptoms noticed by the driver (gauges acting weird and no scanner communication are some big clues) or conclusive proof through detailed testing (got specific test results?), I'm very skeptical when anyone says the PCM failed. That's an expensive box to pull the trigger on.


Does your mechanic understand a replacement PCM will not allow the engine to run without first programming the immobilizer to it?

If the PCM has truly failed......What ruined the present PCM? If the root cause of failure is not correctly diagnosed and repaired, it's likely to ruin the next PCM in a very short time.

So apparently it's still got spark....but fuel isn't getting delivered.....WHY NOT?
Pump not being activated by the relay or something? (Hondas original pumps are damn reliable IMO)
Injectors aren't being activated?


Did the PCM decide "WHOA, SOMETHING IS WRONG, GOTTA SHUT THE ENGINE OFF!!"
Example: If the timing belt jumps time more than about a tooth, the PCM may detect cam-crank signals out of sync and shut down fuel injection at the two second mark. Most of the time, no codes set when this happens.

NDNV

Check the timing as mentioned. My car stalled when the timing was off.
Try another key - does the immobilizer light in the dash flash then go out as normal upon startup?
Bad electrical contacts in the ignition switch?
Bad relays?