Are you having trouble with your car? If for some reason it behaves unusual like engine turning off on its own, loss of fuel injection, check engine light stays on, and many others, it might be solved by doing a simple solution.
ECU Reset!
So how to reset your ECU you might ask? Let me teach you how on this short but detailed post.
What is ECU?
ECU stands for engine control unit or sometimes called engine control module (ECM).
This module is a type of electronic control unit that regulates a series of actuators on an internal combustion engine, to help ensure optimal engine performance.
It works by reading values of parameters or codes from various sensors found inside the engine bay and underneath your car. It is then interpreted the code or data using mechanical and pneumatic means to address a particular car issue.
ECU controls pretty much everything in your car. From throttle response, oxygen delivery, idle speed, ignition system, fuel to air ratio, fuel system, intake and exhaust system, transmission, electrical components and many others.
Now as mentioned above, there are a lot of things that can cause the ECU to malfunction. ECU goes bad due to some car owner’s neglection of safety and not taking care of their cars properly.
Some ECU gets wet as their owner is dumb enough to drive through deep flood waters thinking that their cars are submarines. Some overheats due to insufficient air flow to the ECU.
And if your car’s suddenly became erratic, the most likely culprit is a bad ECU.
But most of the time when our car’s suddenly goes crazy, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the ECU has gone bad, but may only require a quick reset.
So how to reset the ECU? It’s very simple actually!
How to Reset the ECU?
You don’t need a special mechanic tool to reset your engine control unit. You don’t even need a special skill to perform this simple do-it-yourself job!
What you need is only to focus on what I will tell you from this point onwards.
Two Ways to Reset Your ECU
The first way is simply disconnecting the negative terminal of your battery. You may want to remove the entire battery if you wish too.
After disconnecting the battery, wait for at least 5 minutes as there are still electrical current in the system. To fasten this procedure, just turn on your headlights to drain the stored electricity.
So how does this procedure help reset your engine control unit?
Disconnecting the battery for a long period of time is the most common way of resetting the ECU of any car. It causes the processor to forget everything it has learned.
This is the reason why all your dashboard settings goes back to default when you remove the battery.
Depriving your engine control unit of power for right amount of time will cause it to go back to its original setting, yes that is how simple it is to reset your car’s ECU.
But wait, there’s another much simpler way to reset your car’s ECU, and I promise that there is no waiting time for this procedure.
And this is through removing the engine control unit’s fuse itself!
Yes, our car’s ECU are fused so it is much easier to cut its power source.
The fuse is commonly located in the engine bay’s fuse box, together with other system fuses. Open the fuse box and locate the fuse of your car’s ECU.
If you don’t know where to look at, simply check the cover of the fuse box as they commonly contain details on where to find the ECU fuse.
Otherwise, you can check your owner’s manual and see the exact location of the fuse. Basically, it is names as “Engine Control” or ECU.
Locate the number on which the fuse is inserted. Once you found the fuse, pull it out using a fuse clip or a long nose plier.
Once you removed the the fuse, just wait for 1 to 5 seconds and you are done resetting your ECU!
Conclusion
So the next time your car’s breaks down or goes unusually crazy without any reasons, don’t panic and you might just need a quick ECU reset!
Below is my video tutorial on how to do this simple DIY trick. The video is in Tagalog but has English subtitle, enjoy!
