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Ok so the $1500 lightning has been a challenge which was expected. I was trying to figure out why I was getting 0 fuel pressure except one time when trying to start it. Decided to trouble shoot a few things before throwing money at it and read on here that one possible problem could be a bad capacitor in the ECU. This is what I found and it looked like inside, can this be saved/ rebuilt? What are my options if this is toast?? Overall board Damaged capacitor #1 Underside of capacitor#1 Damaged capacitor #2 Different angle of #2, board looks burned and melted. Underside capacitor #2
That's not much damage on your ECM board. That capacitor residue really is not that corrosive and will clean up with alcohol or one of the many sprays sold for cleaning circuit boards.Some soldering skills and a few dollars in capacitors may yield results.
As far as troubleshooting goes, I would verify your fuel pumps, relays and wiring using the fuel pump test point by the EECIV test connector. This can be done even without an operational ECM.
I want to try and save it but the board is worse in person than the pictures show. The residue ate through the film over the board, the green plastic base its plugged into and ate through some of the conductive pathways breaking the circuit on a few paths. I'm going to try and solder in a few capacitors and clean it up this weekend but i think its bad and wont be repairable. I'm buying another one to replace.
I'll have to google how to run the test you mentioned. that way i can rule out a few items or put some on my radar to fix/replace. I checked the relays and wiring, harnesses, fuel switches and even the kill switch/red button (cant remember the real name right now) in the passenger side kick panel. this test will help though, thank you for the tip!
Last edited by JamesJ4; Jun 11, 2019 at 12:16 PM.
Reason: spelling/re-word
With the PCM disconnected just ground pin #6 of the self-test plug and turn on the key.
The selected fuel pump will run as long as the key is turned into the run position.
Test the fuel pump circuits with an loading non LED test light if the selected fuel pump does not run.
I'm a 25 year electronic tech and the board is fixable ... not that bad. May look like it is bad but I've seen worse.
Take pics of each cap to note the orientation "the strip down the side" and remove them one at a time. Scrap the "green" conformal coating off, it is there to protect from moisture. Inspect the area with a magnifying glass and repair broken tracks with a wire bridge and install a new capacitor back into the holes noting the negative side "strip" in the proper position.
You can use a multi-meter to check the continuity of the trace if not sure its broken. Reflow solder on top of trace to reinforce it.
Apply some kind of coating to protect the naked board. I think clear coat might work just fine.
Don't know the values you need but I just posted today for another similar problem with there computer and he had these:
I'm a 25 year electronic tech and the board is fixable ... not that bad. May look like it is bad but I've seen worse.
Take pics of each cap to note the orientation "the strip down the side" and remove them one at a time. Scrap the "green" conformal coating off, it is there to protect from moisture. Inspect the area with a magnifying glass and repair broken tracks with a wire bridge and install a new capacitor back into the holes noting the negative side "strip" in the proper position.
You can use a multi-meter to check the continuity of the trace if not sure its broken. Reflow solder on top of trace to reinforce it.
Apply some kind of coating to protect the naked board. I think clear coat might work just fine.
Don't know the values you need but I just posted today for another similar problem with there computer and he had these:
Good information man, thank you. I bought a soldering kit and some capacitors from Amazon and I’m going to give it a go when I get time off in a few weeks but I don’t have high expectations lol. I’ll give it a try though. Thank you for the links and reply, I appreciate it.
They did my 92 GT's A9L for less than a Cardone unit from Rock Auto for my truck.
Nice! I had planned on getting it repaired if it was possible. Now that byronbgs said it’s not to bad I’ll give a go and if i can’t fix it I’ll give these guys a shot for sure. Thank you.
With the PCM disconnected just ground pin #6 of the self-test plug and turn on the key.
The selected fuel pump will run as long as the key is turned into the run position.
Test the fuel pump circuits with an loading non LED test light if the selected fuel pump does not run.
Note shorting pin #6 to pin #2 (paper clip) will not work with the PCM unplugged (removed).
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Well I did this test tonight, I can’t thank you enough for posting this.
So mixed results....relay is good, front fuel pump did not come on, but the rear fuel pump actually came on! To me this proved the ecm needed to repaired which I think was obvious. I saw another diagram that looked like one of the bad/damaged caps was related to the fuel pumps. So, the new ecm is on its way, new fuel filter came today and a fuel pressure regulator is ordered and should be here within a few days.
plan is to install new fuel regulator from lmr, install new ecm, replace fuel filter next weekend, then eventually pull the bed and replace the front fuel pump as a $500+ each motorcraft fuel pump is a bit much right now after all the other stuff I’ve been buying. The wife is starting to notice more and more boxes coming in lol. Hopefully with what I’m replacing I can actually get her running and take the first ride around the block in it....and typing this I just remember I may have to replace the MAP sensor too. I can just pull the one from my 92 F150 though to test it if need be for now.
To everyone on this thread, again thank you very much for taking the time to reply. It’s a huge help.
Due to almost 10 year old fuel, I replaced both fuel tanks and pump assemblies with Spectra over four years ago and haven’t had any problems. No complaints about the accuracy of the sending units.
