ECM Failure - Dodge 12 Valve Cummins

The OBD1 computer got fried on the 1994 12 valve Cummins, so we try out some DIY repair techniques on it. Bad capacitors are a common problem with older electronics like this, so that's always a good place to start. Bonus feature is a 1988 F-150 ECM that also failed. Not every unit is an easy repair, but there's a good chance some simple repairs can get you back on the road.

[@Astorath_the_Grim]

Dodge electrical issues are contagious.

[@toocheaptosmoke]

Haha

[@bradwinter156]

Nice to start my Sunday with a barn fresh video.🎉

[@CompleteToiletGarage]

Literally got nothing to loose and knowledge to gain by opening up a broken anything... especially electrical. It amazes me how many people don't want to learn for 0 dollars. Another great vidya bud!

[@jasonmushersee]

changed out ecm my 91 silverado last year come to find out few years back when i let my brother use it his kids spilled something inside glove box the ecm just under that was all sticky/stained/burnt the inside glove box door has cup holders built into it how wonderful

[@toocheaptosmoke]

Man, that sucks, haha. Had a bad computer in my '90 suburban also, that makes 3 bad in the past year...

[@MidnightPolaris800]

Typical chevy engineering

[@Ciulster]

I rebuilt the PCM on my 92 12 Valve not too long ago, same board you have. As I understand it the capacitors have to do with the way the PCM powers on when it recieves ignition on signal. They tend to overheat and pop open. I got my engine bay really hot going up a hill one day and after that incident my ECU would intermittently come to life after a while of driving as it warmed up again. If the temperature outside was below freezing however it would completely fail to boot. Pulled mine apart and found the same capacitors you looked at had the plastic outer shell had completely melted off into the potting material. It was pretty hard to source the proper 25V caps in my case but I put a set of good panasonic ones in and good as new. Unfortunately in your case it looks like they REALLY overheated and the damage actually put so much strain on the main connector that it burnt up too, I believe the pins that were burnt in yours were the main 12V power as well as 12V ignition switched and a couple of the 5V outs. Another common failure for them is for the internal voltage regulators where those big heatsinks are to overheat and burn out or sometimes even take the board out with them. These PCM's are really sensitive to heat!!!

[@ecurepair]

Your pretty much a pro now on those older 80-90's ecu's. Its pretty much always bad caps with them. The cummins ecu can be repaired if you really wanted. Its a pretty basic board and rather easy to make new connections for everything. I used to do those ones once in awhile back in the day and they all typically looked like that. Don't usually accept them these days. The potting makes it take too long so there is just not much money to be made for the amount of time invested.

[@Ash1978E]

I needed to hear that. Just cuz you don't know how to do it don't let that stop you from doing it.

[@LusiTron]

My hopes went up when I saw the exact same burned areas as mine, the dual condenser and resistor on the corner, and the small area behind the connector... I was so bummed when you concluded no fix... I did come to the same conclusion, but was hoping the KZbin gods would smile uppon me... I found out for sure I had a PCM issue when I jumped the relay to see if the alternator would charge. As soon as I did that, the PCM started smoking... :( Anyway, I guess I'll have to look into PCM delete videos now... BTW, I have a 93 12v manual.

[@pakkelly]

Brilliant…”to boldly go where no man has gone before…”. I will have to look under the hood of my ‘96 12V for that “computer.” Thanks for the education.

[@wcmwfab935]

Right on great vid.learned a few things about my 12 valve lol

[@tarstarkusz]

According to shango066, these ECMs will function without the caps. If you anything approaching the age of this, go in and cut the caps out. It's the leaking caps that cause all this damage.

[@JulianA-tr6pt]

Nice, Shango's the best. Was just watching him before this. Going in and preventatively replacing the caps with good quality parts would be even better. Have done this in other equipment, but I can't say I've ever worked on one of these, or how the caps contribute to the circuit.

[@tarstarkusz]

@@JulianA-tr6pt I watch him for the TV/Radio stuff, but he also occasionally uploads ECM videos.

[@toocheaptosmoke]

That's interesting to hear, will have to check it out.

[@davedemo8229]

that's how you learn. I learned a bunch of stuff just taking things apart as a little kid.

[@kenuber4014]

You must mean, "Breaking things,as a little kid"Lol

[@davedemo8229]

@@kenuber4014 yeah that too. Most of the stuff came from trash day

[@kenuber4014]

Hey, I have an old "Barn fresh" 8 track player that needs a little help. You down? Lol

[@toocheaptosmoke]

Only if its got some Sugar Hill Gang and Led Zeppelin tapes with it!!!

[@bildough2775]

The title of this video highly confuses me, do you mean PCM? 12 valves only had a PCM no ECM

[@toocheaptosmoke]

Yeah, most references use ECM/ECU/PCM interchangeably. I'll just start referring to it as a POS... haha

[@bildough2775]

@@toocheaptosmoke 😂😂

[@vtwinaddicted5852]

So what do you think about yamaha SRV,s?

[@toocheaptosmoke]

not bad sleds, never had one though

[@BigBeavrSlayer]

We all know anything on the shipping crate you can just hear pegs voice "yooouuuu dont need... (fill in the blank)

[@toocheaptosmoke]

Oddly enough, he was the first person to tell me to just toss the computer and bypass everything, lol!

[@johnmilner7603]

IMO once computers were installed in vehicles is when the auto went to the shits. More BS options on todays vehicle is nothing but future failures and disaster.

[@ford300rippergarage]

Manual trans swap

[@toocheaptosmoke]

Can't swap if it's already got one. 👍

[@ford300rippergarage]

@@toocheaptosmoke I had no idea dodge was that weird.

[@Tomcat71]

had the same issue with a 90 dodge van with a bad ecm once.

[@8tyeightify]

Send it to me please, I'll repair it.

[@AndyL940]

Relive the 12 Valve of its Dodge please .. put in something decent

[@toocheaptosmoke]

Haha, trying to keep the shipping crate on the road a bit longer