Car Fixing

A short post, unrelated to my Photography work, though I did take a Photograph so it’s ok.  A spare time hobby of mine is helping out other members of a few car clubs that I’m involved in.  This particular post relates to electronics and ECU problems in ’90’s Japanese Imports.  One of the issues that they are having is that the life of electronic components in cars is typically 10-15 years.  These cars, now bordering on 20 years old are showing signs and symptoms of these issues.  It can be something as simple as starting a bit weird, right through to not running at all.

The Photograph below shows one of the Electrolytic Capacitors in the main Engine ECU (electronic control unit).  As the capacitor has aged the electrolyte has leaked out.  The electrolyte is corrosive and unfortunately, if left too long it can damage other components or the main circuit board itself.

When I next have some spare time I will be stripping the capacitors out of the board, cleaning it all up and testing the circuits to make sure they’re not damaged.  If it all checks out ok then all the capacitors will be replaced with new ones,  the board tested and sent back to the owner who will no doubt be pleased to have his car up and running again.

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