rb20 maf short, computer fried?

[eddiegordo]

hey all, im new to this forum but i have a question. I have a 92 rb20det in my 90 hatch and after replacing a power steering hose the other day, my maf wires seem to have fallen onto my downpipe, thus melting them. the car died less than ten miles after i finished the power steering line( and dropped the wires on the exhaust) and ran great beforehand. The car sputtered once or twice then died immediately, and i noticed a buzzing sound coming from pass. kick panel(ecu/ relay). So assuming the maf wires getting fried caused the car to die, what could i expect as a result of the short in that circuit? Is my computer fried? Also: no spark, no injector pulse, but the motor cranks and i have fuel pressure. thanks so much guys i appreciate any help

[Krazykouki]

RB20 ecu's are sensitive from what I remember. If you do not have spark or injector pulse, change out the CAS with a known working one first and if that does not cure the problem, I would be willing to bet the ECU is cooked...that is if you checked all fuses, relays and the wiring harness for other shorts or breaks.

[pepegurr]

Since you are hearing a buzzing sound from the kick panel area I would suggest you figure out which one of the relays you fried and then go from there. Sounds like when the wire shorted, it backfed to one of the relays and killed it. That would cause what you are experiencing, i.e. no spark, no fuel.

[RustspecS13]

I shorted out my maf wires on the first test drive. I had to open the ecu, and solder in a jumper wire in place. Its easy, or any electronics shop could repair it.

I HAD them zip tied out of the way, had to move something else and un did that zip tie, then didn't put it back on. DOH. Gave a nice panic when nothing would work.

Find the cause of the short, then fix the symptom. Dont just fix the immediate problem it could get worse.

~Alex

[DustinZ]

if you open up your ecu you should have a burned trace on your board. Hopefully you dont have any other burned components. Sometimes there is a resistor that also cooks. If you cant fix it email me at [email protected] and I can help. Good Luck.

DustinZ

[eddiegordo]

thanks guys, i bought a used ecu for $95 so it wasnt so bad, plugged it in, started right up nice for that to happen once in awhile... oh and btw i did open up theold one and it did havea burned trace but i couldnt tell if anything else was bad... im gonna jump it and if it works then ill put it back in.. anyone want an rb20 computer? you can see it run? lol

[klh6686]

Had the same thing happen, opened the ecu up, fixed the burnt trace and been rocking it for 5+ years now. Glad you found out the problem and got it fixed!