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ecu concerns

Posted:
Thu May 31, 2012 8:14 am
by musicfien
is there any repercussions to disconnecting your ecu every night?????

Posted:
Thu May 31, 2012 2:26 pm
by bradleyg
Why do you do it? I'm guessing to deter theft?

Posted:
Fri Jun 01, 2012 12:38 am
by musicfien
Yup.

Posted:
Fri Jun 01, 2012 12:43 am
by musicfien
I'm gOnna install an alarm but till then I've just been unplugging the ecu. And do I have to keep unplugging the battery everytime?

Posted:
Fri Jun 01, 2012 3:34 am
by teal_dx
No need to unplug the battery when unplugging the ecu. Unplugging the ecu is the same as unplugging the battery as far as resetting CEL's.
Unless you're unplugging the battery as an extra security measure


Posted:
Fri Jun 01, 2012 3:51 am
by TrailerTrash
hell if your going to unplugg it might aswell just take it with you

or switch it out with a gutted one

Posted:
Fri Jun 01, 2012 5:01 am
by musicfien
oh hell ya i take the ecu with me every time i unplug it. I wasn't sure if unplugging my ecu so many times would do anything to my electrical system

Posted:
Fri Jun 01, 2012 2:12 pm
by teal_dx
Those big wire clips take a little wiggling to get out sometimes. I'd be sure you hold it by the clip and not the wires (even though the wires are a lot easier to grab). When you're unplugging something that was only meant to be removed a few times in the life of the car on a daily basis, that's a good amount of additional wear & tear. Eventually you could loosen a pin/wire if you're not careful.
But that's still better than having your car stolen


Posted:
Sat Jun 02, 2012 7:01 pm
by suspendedHatch
Removing the ECU does nothing to deter theft. Car thieves have ECUs and any OBD1 ECU will run it. Accord, Integra, VTEC or non. I've tried it.
If you doubt me that thieves have ECUs, steering wheels, plug wires, fuses, etc etc etc with them then I invite you to read the theft forum at my local forum (utahhondas.net). Just a couple days ago there was a car chase in a red GSR like mine that ended in a crash. It was full of Honda parts. Also interesting to note is that the stolen car had a defeated wheel lock and a fuel kill switch. Plenty of other examples in there.
Constantly removing the ECU will jack up the harness pins and the clips. I commend you for trying... so many people are defeatist when it comes to car theft. I hope you find my DIY security site useful (click my signature).

Posted:
Sat Jun 02, 2012 7:19 pm
by rtegra92
the only thing i would worry about is connector wear and terminal wear
, the looser things get will be more prone to a intermitant soft set connection, even with the connector fully in.

Posted:
Sat Jun 02, 2012 7:41 pm
by teal_dx
Removing the ecu would help if you had a chipped ecu and custom tune. Say you had a gm 3 bar map sensor and larger injectors. If a thief tried to run the car with a stock ecu, the engine would run horribly.


Posted:
Sun Jun 03, 2012 5:03 am
by TrailerTrash
maybe you could to some modifying so it runs with an old quadrajet 4 barrel carb. i know nobody will ever be able to steal my old chevy pickup truck because that dam carb sucks so bad they will never be able to figure out the special trick to starting it
