VZ Berlina 3.6 not starting.

[Brian MacArthur]

My car was sitting for a week, everything was going fine prior to this. went to start & got just the dash lights come on & no clicking sound when turning the key...as if I was trying to start it in gear? Car refused to fire, so tried jump starting, still no go. Had AA mechanic come check it, he found there was power to the starter motor from the starter relay, but no power from Ignition to starter relay. I got it going by running a wire from + & - on the starter relay, everything working fine except "trac off' light stays on the dash. I have just had a local Holden Dealer dignose it at a cost...they said it is a faulty ECM. What causes this to happen, it was only sitting Idle for a week? can I get a second view or cheaper option from any one on this? :surprise:

 

[MYVESSV8]

elec circuit,

here's the circuit, you can test pinouts etc, could be just a relay not switching, could be your neutral switch too hope it helps

 

[Brian MacArthur]

Hi I bought a new relay & put it in, it came up with all the warning signs, take to a holden dealer, low fuel etc, so swapped back old relay & the messages went away. I notice that if I get the car started from the relay switch..it will start with the key for up to 15 minutes later. If it was the ecm wouldnt it fail to reconise this? why is this? Neutral switch?? where do I find that? Thanks.

 

[diysv6]

Hope yours is a more "conventional" fault, relay contact etc.

The VZ Alloytec ECU is showing up as an unreliable part of the car's design, especially in 2004/2005 builds.
They are prone to failure if they are left for a period of time. Maybe your ECU is suffering from that fault.

I have a link to other contributors' findings. There are many other threads dealing with the ECU failure but this one is a primer if you have to go down that track.

http://forums.justcommodores.com.au...-hand-ecu-fit-straight-need-pim-match-up.html

 

[Brian MacArthur]

latest update: I kept starting the car by bridging the starter relay...every time the car was stopped for more than an hour or more. Car has been driving fine...though idles roughly.. @ 500rpm . Then today I went to try starting it with the key & it starts up 1st pop ( New years day...2 weeks after having constant problems) no error messages. So i leave for a few hours & try again, starts 1st time from the key, no problem. What is going on???? I have the car booked in for a new ECM to be fitted on 5th Jan. I needed to give a $500 deposit for them to order a new ecm, it will cost $990NZ + 300 to recode? what do I do, I need answers??? Is Holden dealer dicking me around saying it required a new ECM? who do I beleive?

 

[diysv6]

Wow! You are between a rock and a hard place on this one.

Did the dealer give you the Tech2 reports from any testing they did and reset the memory?
If so, any new codes may be a clear indication of the starting running problems if they reoccur.

Is the car now running well - all key functions working, correct smooth idle speed, positive starting, running well under load, gear changes spot on, hot starting good, cold starting good, aircon working properly etc.

During my ECU problems I thought I had a wiring fault, bad connector, or broken wire in the engine loom that had the lower ECU connector in it. I spent hours checking every wire destination from the lower Delphi A plug on the ECU to all other parts of the engine bay. Very time consuming. My ECU would go well for two or three days, become intermittent for a day or so, or fail for an hour or so then come good. Generally on a cold start the problem could appear, then after about 5 minutes driving it would clear.

I could encourage the miss at idle by firmly moving the lower ECU plug up and down, that's what biased me to the wiring fault. I think the twisting on the ECU socket reflected mechanically into the substrate of the ECU and made the connector appear to be the issue. At one stage, I had a piece of cork wedged between the Delphi connectors, as my wiring tests showed voltage variations to Injector #4 when I pressed on the connector. The cork seemed to work for about two days then the intermittent failures started again. Later on, no amount of twisting the connector would vary the voltage at the injector, and the engine ran well. At least I enjoyed the wine.

Then the ECU failed full time.

If the dealer is patient in waiting to get your money, I'd hold off the ECU purchase, and do any more checking you think you need to do before recommitting for the ECU.
It depends how much you and your friends can interpret from wiring destinations etc. and come to a considered decision for replacement etc.

I'd test as much as I could and then wait for the failure. Worst part is the timing of the next failure.

Good luck with your outcome.