Okay I'm THIS close to either driving my car off a cliff or putting it up for sale. Getting very frustrated with the problems I've had over the past couple weeks. Overheating, bad ISC, leaking turbo, broken bracket on my top, and now this.

Driving home last night, my CEL, battery, and e-brake light came on. I thought "Great, alternator is dead". Uninstalled my battery, and brought it in to charge overnight. Went out this morning to install the battery and drive the car to my parents to pick up my civic, and now I can't connect to my ECU to load up my Link settings. None of my interior lights and deck do NOT turn on. Some of the dash lights turn on and I am able to start my car (though the ECU would be thinking it is stock) so I turned it off quickly.

Did my ECU die?

Some history:
I had a BAD ISC motor, which I installed the past weekend and all was good. The CEL which came on last night was for an Idle System Control malfunction - So I guess the ISC I got was not good? I was told a BAD ISC can damage your ECU...?

I have an aftermarket sound system in my car. The amp has Battery/Ground/Remote on it. Should the remote wire go to anything? I had it hooked up to a 12v source.

Any help would be great

Yes a bad ISC can damage the ECU.

Have you checked the condition of the battery (load test, like on crappy tire's machine)? When a battery goes bad, all sorts of funny stuff can happen even though the car might start and drive and the battery appears to be charged.

Make sure all connections and grounds are clean too, as well as a good alternator fuse.

The amp remote wire should come from a switched 12v source (like the remote/power antenna lead from your head unit).
If you have this from a constant 12v, then the amp is always on and slowly draining (or de-conditioning ) your battery when the motor is not running.

I haven't tested the battery, but it is only 1-2 years old. My battery light is still on when the car was started for the couple seconds (just faded). So I will bring it to Crappy Tire and have them test it.

So you think because my CEL came on, that could have possibly killed my ECU? Would that CEL code be related to any other sensor?

Ah okay. I'll fix up that remote wire on my amp tonight.

If there's something funny with the electricals, you can get a CEL for any sensor even though the sensors are fine.
Same goes for any light in the dash. This is called a "christmas tree" and normally associated with a dying alt, but the symptoms are similar for a bad battery.

Was the car sitting with the battery connected over the winter? If the battery was discharged it could have frozen and cracked inside.

Nope, I took the battery out over the winter and let it sit indoors. I charged it fully and installed it when I took the car out of storage.

Then again, the remote wire on my amp was hooked up to a 12 constant source for about a month. But this all happened while driving (actually I was sitting at a light when the 3 dash lights came on) so shouldn't my alt have been charging the battery?

Even if my battery is weak, shouldn't I be still able to connect to my ECU? Unless the ISC did damage it?

If there's an electrical problem somewhere I would say all bets are off..

Trying a known good ISC with a known good ECU will narrow it down of course and could keep you from digging around under the hood too much.

So I'll take my battery to be tested first. If it fails - I will get a new one (I think I have the warranty paper somewhere). I'll check the alternator fuse as well. Since I wont be driving the car, I don't think that testing the alt would be relevant right now?

Rob, do you have the part # for the ISC? I'm curious as to what a new one goes for.

The ECU will be the most time delaying process as I need one socketed for my Link chip. I already emailed Thomas @ ECM to inquire if a bad isc can damage the chip as well.

I'll fix the remote wire on my amp, but I won't have my system hooked up to the battery until there are no more problems.

Mike, I have a stock ECU you can try if you want to narrow the problem down.

For me to really do anything, I need a socketed ECU to put my ECM Link chip in

I think I'm going to just send it to ECM and have them look at it. If I need a new ECU - they sell them. But I would imagine that mine can be repaired. I won't put an other ISC in my car until I test it first.

I missed Canadian tire by 12 minutes. Ugh. Will have to go tomorrow to get my battery tested.

But I took my deck out and fixed the wire to my amp.

Then I took my ECU out to inspect it and to my eyes (I'm blind) I only noticed a bit of discoloration around one area. But other than that, I don't see any leakage...

Eprom Picture 1
Eprom Picture 2
Eprom Picture 3

As for the lights that I noticed work
- Headlights
- Brake lights
- Blinkers,
- Lights behind gauges
- Wideband
- Dash lights (CEL, Oil, Battery) when the key is at ON

What doesn't
- Deck (as well as my amp and subs now)
- Interior lights by feet, glove box, trunk, rear view mirror
- Dash lights (Door open, security light when locked)

And I still can't connect to my ECU with my laptop.

Have you checked all the fuses including under the hood? I ask because I read on ECM LINK forums that a blown fuse can cause the program to not connect to the ECU. If your CEL comes on briefly when you turn the ignition on and then dissapears after a few seconds, your ECU is fine.

And to add, I also believe the fuse / relay that holds the ECU's memory is the same that controls the footwell lights, radio etc. At least it's on the 1G's and I believe 2G's are the same.

Okay Serg, you are the man. Lookie what I found...

Under the IOA Radio & Room Lamp are 2 fuses. See a difference?

If this is the cause of my problem, I'm buying you a beer. Or three.

Nice

ISC is MD628051

And I think the battery test at crappy takes at least 30 minutes.

Alt should be irrelevant but the alt fuse matters none the less (without it you can get the christmas tree and other funny business).

Not a problem Mike I hope this solves your issues. I have been there with the same issues and 9/10 ends up being a stupid fuse that's why I had suggested. Let us know how you make out.

What amp is the alt fuse? I might as well pick one up today even if I don't need it. I think I remember seeing 100?

Yep 100A and if it's like the 1G it bolts in at the bottom of the fuse box.

Now this ECU business has me thinking.. Mine doesn't hold memory, I wonder if it could be a blown fuse too.

Maybe! I'll be back at my parents tonight to put the new fuses in as well as the battery. Crossing my fingers that everything works fine afterwords.

I'm probably still going to send my ECU to ECM and have them check it over before I begin driving it again. Here's what Thomas sent to me in regards to the ISC.

interesting info Mike,
If your ECU is not visually blown I would keep it and enjoy the spyder especially tomorrow

I want to keep her Alex - I really do. My Spyder has been my favorite car I've owned, but the amount of problems I've had so this season so far... might be a sign to let it go after I get it back to working order. I haven't come to a decision yet though. Having just bought a Condo, I can't afford to randomly spend $799 on a turbo

I'll post back with any success/issues later tonight

14b is your cheap alternative but it's a downgrade

Yeah I know, we'll see what I do. I wouldn't be selling it with problems, nor would it be easy to part with at perfect running condition. I'm not going to think about it right now. First is this electrical problem to deal with lol.

Mike, there is another fuse under the hood you should look at. It's the "Fusible Link" 60A fuse, have a look at that.

The question still remains, why did that fuse blow? Check your wiring harness for any areas it may have rubbed. Check your deck to see if any wires have grounded out.

Would the mixup on my amp remote wire have anything to do with a blown fuse? Or would it simply drain my battery?

I agree that now is the time to double check for any issues in the wiring harness, so I will do that as well. Thanks Ryan

It wouldn't blow the fuse unless that's the circuit you ran it from and you grounded it out (maybe while installing it). But then the amp wouldn't turn on and I guess you would have noticed some time ago?

Hmmm... then yeah. Must be something else

To update:

Replaced both of those 10A fuses and put my battery back in. Walked around to get a wrench inside the car to tighten the terminals and what do I notice when I open the door? Dome lights and the door open light on my dash! Woohoo!

Then I plugged my ECU back in as well as my deck with fixed wiring to the amp and she works! The light on the amp turns on/off as it should.

I haven't checked the other fuses yet, nor tried to connect via Link. I will do that after I eat dinner

But the real question... should I still drive it with the ISC in there? Even though I got the CEL for it?

Damn those fuses LOL. Glad you got part of the problem fixed Mike. If the ISC already damaged the ECU, then you will find out once you start the car or try to connect via link. My suggestion would be to simulate the ISC through DSM LINK and call it a day. The ECU doesn't know any better and as long as it sees a working ISC one way or another it doesn't care. That's just my opinion anyways, you do what you think is best.

Lol yeah eh.

I tried to do that last time and my RPM and Speedo gauge stopped working? (I know, wtf?!)

So I unchecked it, and they still didn't work. Unplugged my battery, plugged it in, loaded the settings (without simulating the ISC), and they still didn't work. Then I came back out 20 minutes later, and it worked.

What the hell, I'll try again.

WTF? LOL!!!!!

Your car has a weird case of DSM gremlins lol. Another reason to keep it. What other car gives you this much fun?

Lol. Yeah that was up there on the weirdest things to happen. It took awhile to kick in as to wtf is happening. I sat in my drivers seat for a good 30 seconds with a blank face.

Edit - Maybe that option is not fully supported by v2.5? or does the program automatically disable options for you when you tell it thats the chip you're using?

LMAO!!!! That's a Kodak moment man, I wish I would've seen your face. Sounds like you got it all under control now though and you are almost home free.

So it says

[x] Enable Idle Switch Operation
[ ] Disable Idle Switch while moving
[ ] Simulate Idle Switch from TPS

What should be checked off? Both 1 and 3?

Car started and is idling okay now. My battery light is on though... I will charge it for a few hours and see if it goes away.

Use only the 3rd option. Simulate idle switch from TPS and leave the other 2 unchecked.

If the car is idling okay with none of the above checked, leave it alone.

BTW, while on the battery light topic, does your fuel light come on at all when you are near empty? I have ran mine near empty and the stupid thing does not turn on. I replaced the bulb, checked the wire and still no light. Must come on when the car finally stops due to lack of fuel lol.

Not sure! I haven't ever seen fuel light. I always top'er up before I'm at empty.

This is the first time I've ever seen my battery light as well.

Yeah the battery light is not something that comes on too often. Thank goodness. At least you can narrow it down to battery or alternator but sounds like it could be a bad battery.

Shitty AWD fuel tank gauge sender, you guys probably have close to 100KM of gas at the bottom of your tanks

You mean shitty 'FWD" sender Rob

Are they that bad? I wasn't aware.

Oh yeah my bad I forgot you are a pegleg too.

Even my 1G FWD goes right down to the empty line before the light turns on, and then I have at least another 20 or 30 KM.
From what I read the AWD gauges are all over the place, because of the baffle in the tank and some funny electrical business Mitsu did to "make it work".

I always say I'm going to try and run my car till I run out of gas and just remember what the miles say. Of course keep a jerry can of gas with me... but I never have tried it.

So my battery is charging now and everything is back together. I didn't realize the 60A fuse Ryan was talking about was held in by screws. The one I got was just a press-in. Didn't look blown so I just left it. The 100A alt fuse looked okay too.

My trickle charger shows 0 now. Does that mean its charged? I believe it started around 4-5? I'll put it back in after the 2nd period of the detroit game if so..

Yeah I think it shows the current draw in amps? So if it's zero the battery is charged because it's not "taking" anything.