What have you done to your P5 today?

[pcb]

My wife's '93 Civic ECU Arced out to the cover due to old leaking electrolytic capacitors on the main-board that failed due to age/high humidity conditions.

I don't remember that being an issue with our ECU's.
I only recall a couple if people that fixed their car by replacing the ECU.

Our ECU's only have two capacitors, (they look to be electrolytic?) and the entire board itself is dipped in a coating before the capacitors are plugged into the board. (the capacitors aren't coated.)

I suppose the capacitors could still fail and affect the ECU, but the board itself looks acid proof.

When the ECU blows nothing goes...and everything else seems to get looked at/changed out first.

That's true.
The FSM always lists replacing the ECU as the very last thing to do after all else fails...

 

[pcb]

I used to think that our car was running Windows 95, but it looks like our chip was from 92 and 94, so I guess we're running Windows 3.0. Lol

Mazda probably bought all of Bill Gates's old chips when Bill upgraded to Windows 95. Lol

 

[pcb]

Oh, and I ordered one of these this afternoon. I had asked the local technician about flashing it to the latest release and he said he believed he could, but the part I ordered is already the most recent, a "C" revision.

View attachment 299762

Just wondering,...

Is this the ECU that you just installed ^^^ ??

Is that an MP3 ECU or is that another one ?

Did you install a flashed ECU ?

I put in a MP3 ECU this morning. I had the battery unplugged and the ECU will now need to relearn. At this point, I can't tell any difference with the new ECU installed. I haven't done any supporting mods for the intake/exhaust/VTCS, but I am at least running 91+ octane as my JDM FS-DE wants it.

View attachment 300142

PS...
I remember trying to feel the "power bands" kicking in on my car.
I put in what ever gear and hit the throttle then held the throttle steady and let the RPMs climb.

I could feel it start to pull harder somewhere around 3200 RPMs and I could feel the VICS kick in somewhere around 5000 RPMs.
(I kinda forget the numbers, it was years ago.)

The trick is to hold the throttle steady and try to feel it.
You have to use your butt dyno though, which is inherently unreliable. Lol


The MP3 ECU is supposed to kick the power in sooner, smoother, and stronger with less noticeable transitions between first kicking in and when the VICS kicks in.

 

[katapaltes]

Just wondering,...

Is this the ECU that you just installed ^^^ ??

Is that an MP3 ECU or is that another one ?

Did you install a flashed ECU ?


PS...
I remember trying to feel the "power bands" kicking in on my car.
I put in what ever gear and hit the throttle then held the throttle steady and let the RPMs climb.

I could feel it start to pull harder somewhere around 3200 RPMs and I could feel the VICS kick in somewhere around 5000 RPMs.
(I kinda forget the numbers, it was years ago.)

The trick is to hold the throttle steady and try to feel it.
You have to use your butt dyno though, which is inherently unreliable. Lol


The MP3 ECU is supposed to kick the power in sooner, smoother, and stronger with less noticeable transitions between first kicking in and when the VICS kicks in.

That was indeed the one I installed. I found it on car-part.com along with a pic of the donor car, so I knew it would be an actual MP3 ECU. (Some of the parts listed on that site with MP3 ECU part numbers may not actually be MP3 ECUs based on engine size or the Description provided by the seller.) I would have been equally happy with a flashed ECU, but got lucky and stumbled onto this one. It sounds like you put one of these in your car if I'm reading the above correctly? I'm not planning to do any supporting mods at this point, so I guess I'll just go on faith that the new ECU is helping at least a little based on what I've heard from you and others.

I was still getting a little bit of clunk from my exhaust pipe union, so I got the Walker kit shown below (available on Rock Auto and Amazon) and I've replaced just the springs so far. It still makes noise when I go down a ramp, so I will attempt to replace the bolts and collars next. Wait... Can I actually remove the bolts shown in the third pic below, or are they welded to the mid-pipe?

New parts along with old springs:

Can't really compare old spring length to new one since they're spec'd to work with different bolts, collars, etc., but here they are:

Original springs, bolts, nuts, etc.

 

[pcb]

It sounds like you put one of these in your car if I'm reading the above correctly?

No I didn't.
I just remember reading about it and checked my car to see what my car was like.

It still makes noise when I go down a ramp, so I will attempt to replace the bolts and collars next. Wait... Can I actually remove the bolts shown in the third pic below, or are they welded to the mid-pipe?

Original springs, bolts, nuts, etc.
View attachment 300164

I'm pretty sure that they are bolts. (It's been a few years)

In my case, my bolt hole flanges rusted off the front pipe, so I couldn't attach the springs/bolts.



I could have just replaced the front pipe for $50 ...

But it wouldn't have ended there.

The front pipe attaches to the bottom of the pre-cat, and I would have had to cut the nuts/studs off to get it off.

So then I'd need a new pre-cat.

To remove the pre-cat, I'd have to remove most of the exhaust manifold, including the exhaust manifold insulator, and this is what I've got...

Does anyone know what size bolt this is ?? Lol

Every nut, bolt, flange, and connection is rotten and rusted.

I would have ended up have to replace the entire exhaust system and maybe the whole damn engine,... and the whole rest of the car. Lol


I talked to MacGyver and this is what we came up with... lol







PS...
You might need a new one of these in that connection.

I coated mine with high heat copper RTV silicone to help seal it...

 

[pcb]

I still really like my car.

She still looks good under the right light.

(Just don't lift up her dress and look underneath... Eeewww. Lol)

 

[tj4fa2003P5]

Just wondering,...

Is this the ECU that you just installed ^^^ ??

Is that an MP3 ECU or is that another one ?

Did you install a flashed ECU ?





PS...
I remember trying to feel the "power bands" kicking in on my car.
I put in what ever gear and hit the throttle then held the throttle steady and let the RPMs climb.

I could feel it start to pull harder somewhere around 3200 RPMs and I could feel the VICS kick in somewhere around 5000 RPMs.
(I kinda forget the numbers, it was years ago.)

The trick is to hold the throttle steady and try to feel it.
You have to use your butt dyno though, which is inherently unreliable. Lol


The MP3 ECU is supposed to kick the power in sooner, smoother, and stronger with less noticeable transitions between first kicking in and when the VICS kicks in.

I believe I felt that kick in when first driving the P5. I felt it had more power in the upper RPM range.
Maybe some kind of Variable Timing or gearing thing?

 

[pcb]

I believe I felt that kick in when first driving the P5. I felt it had more power in the upper RPM range.
Maybe some kind of Variable Timing or gearing thing?

The ECU, kicks in some power at around 3200 RPM, then the VICS kicks in around 5000.

 

[pcb]

The Variable Tumble system only kicks in on a cold start.

 

[pcb]

The Variable Inertia system opens (or closes ?) the butterfly valves to provide a straighter path for input air at high RPMs.

 

[tj4fa2003P5]

I still really like my car.

She still looks good under the right light.


View attachment 300181


(Just don't lift up her dress and look underneath... Eeewww. Lol)

She's a hottie!!

But remember her gauge is pretty much useless after she warms up and she'll go cold on you knowing you'd prefer a bimbo with an idiot light.

 

[tj4fa2003P5]

My wife's '93 Civic ECU Arced out to the cover due to old leaking electrolytic capacitors on the main-board that failed due to age/high humidity conditions.

PCB wrote:

I don't remember that being an issue with our ECU's.
I only recall a couple if people that fixed their car by replacing the ECU.

Our ECU's only have two capacitors, (they look to be electrolytic?) and the entire board itself is dipped in a coating before the capacitors are plugged into the board. (the capacitors aren't coated.)

I suppose the capacitors could still fail and affect the ECU, but the board itself looks acid proof.


Some Honda Civic Fried Electrolytic Capacitor Images

 

[pcb]

She's a hottie!!

But remember her gauge is pretty much useless after she warms up and she'll go cold on you knowing you'd prefer a bimbo with an idiot light.

Lol

She's rotten.

I'd rather walk to where I need to go than drive a cadaver.

I'm spending too much money on palliative care.
It's cheaper to get a taxi. Lol

 

[pcb]

Some Honda Civic Fried Electrolytic Capacitor Images

There's too many parts soldered onto the circuit boards, as far as I'm concerned...

These boards are loaded with capacitors, resistors, diodes, and almost no solid state circuitry...

Our circuit board is almost completely solid state.

This is Mazdas version of resistors, transistors, triacs, and integrated circuits...

The Mazda boards look a lot more resistant to age/high humidity conditions and they're dipped in goo to make them acid/humidity/water proof.

 

[pcb]

But remember her gauge is pretty much useless after she warms up and she'll go cold on you knowing you'd prefer a bimbo with an idiot light.

She never gets hot enough here in the Great White North to pop her gage off





She's cold until spring unless I shovel her off...

 

[BenjiHoggi]

She never gets hot enough here in the Great White North to pop her gage off





She's cold until spring unless I shovel her off...

Man I love that red. Still looks good no matter how much of a rust bucket you say your car is

Finally installed my Denso O2 sensor and new window this weekend.
The O2 sensor fixed the check engine light of course, but also seems like it may have reduced the rattling I hear at startup when the car revs to 2k RPM initially. Doesn't make a lot of logical sense and it could be a placebo effect, but hey, I'll take it.

The window was a huge pain to install. The instructions in the shop manual are basically useless and border on misleading, at least from a quick glance. My problem was getting the window into the rubber seals on the either side that it slides up and down in. I couldn't wedge them apart to get the window in.

The trick was to install the window with one edge in the front-facing side and the other edge not in a slot, then run the window down into the door, then remove a bolt to loosen the sliding rail on the outer quarter-panel window side. This let me maneuver the edge of the window into the groove and slide it up, before installing the bolt again. Confusing description, yes. Here's a photo.

Oh, and conveniently sitting behind is my dad's Toyota T100 which unfortunately got totaled this weekend in a wreck . He's had that thing for 25 years.

 

[pcb]

The window was a huge pain to install. The instructions in the shop manual are basically useless and border on misleading, at least from a quick glance.

That happens a lot, like removing the alternator.
It's quite easy to unbolt it, but it mentions nothing about how it's trapped in the engine bay after you remove it.

Oh, and conveniently sitting behind is my dad's Toyota T100 which unfortunately got totaled this weekend in a wreck . He's had that thing for 25 years.

That sucks

 

[BenjiHoggi]

That happens a lot, like removing the alternator.
It's quite easy to unbolt it, but it mentions nothing about how it's trapped in the engine bay after you remove it.



That sucks

Yeah....I think at least 5 people learned to drive stick on it, myself included. 240k miles and all original drivetrain, clutch included. I think he's getting another T100 beater to replace it. They just don't die.

 

[RPRP5]

another T100 beater to replace it. They just don't die.

Sounds like the perfect Father's Day gift to me!

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

A few weeks ago I gave my p5 (previously @323) to my 18 year old nephew. He just graduated and I have too many cars. It’s a wonderful starter car and should last a long time.