All modern cars feature an ECU or Engine Control Unit. In a nutshell, the ECU is a vehicle's electronic computer brain. It's a much-needed component of any car. You won't find them fitted to most cars built before the 1990s. Today, all cars have them.
On this website, we talk a lot about diagnosing faults. In particular, electronic ones. Some of the posts on here will speak of plugging in diagnostic equipment to a problematic car. The tools are used to get connected to a "port" that communicates with the car's ECU.
You might have a little knowledge about the ECU. But, how much do you really know about it? Many faults that get flagged up by your car get recorded by the ECU. I'd like to give you a quick course on what the ECU is and how it works in today's blog post. That way, if you get any future faults, your ECU knowledge can help resolve them quickly.
What is an ECU?
As I've mentioned, the ECU is the electronic brain of any modern vehicle. It doesn't look like a typical computer that you'd use at home or work. As you'll see from the image above, the electronics get encased in a small metal box. The ECU is usually found in the cabin of a vehicle where temperatures are cooler than the engine.
The ECU is a control unit that manages a series of actuators or sensors on an engine. It does so to ensure optimal engine performance. There is a plethora of data that the ECU reads from all those sensors and it does so thousands of times per second. If your car's ECU didn't work, you wouldn't be able to start your vehicle let alone drive it!
Your car's ECU reads data from what we call a map. In technical terms, it's a table of data with minimum and maximum values for each sensor. If the ECU determines that one of those sensors has a value that's out of the defined range, it will log an error.
You will usually know when that happens because a warning lamp will illuminate on your dash. The symbol is often an orange iconic representation of an engine.
Life before the ECU
The ECU's main job is to control and adjust the air-fuel mixture of your engine. It also dynamically adjusts the idle speed and ignition timing.
In pre-1990s cars, those items got adjusted mechanically. Usually, car owners and mechanics would need to adjust screws on things like carburetors. Nowadays, electronic fuel injection negates the need for such manual and frequent adjustments.
Thanks to the ECU, today's car engines are more efficient and offer better fuel economy. They also emit fewer carbon emissions as a result.
Why is it important to know what the ECU does?
The sad truth is that many people are unaware of how their cars work. It's important to have basic, low-level knowledge of how vehicles operate. That way, it makes it easier to diagnose problems and find solutions.
ECU software updates
ECUs are, to all intents and purposes, computers. Sometimes, the faults a car exhibits can be down to the software the ECU has installed on it. As a result, vehicle manufacturers sometimes release ECU updates periodically.
Those ECU updates are usually only available to dealers such as the Pentagon Group. Having said that, some larger independent dealers subscribe to manufacturer ECU update programs. When your car gets serviced, the technician will check if any ECU updates are available.
The advantage of having the latest ECU software is obvious. There is a lower risk of rogue faults getting reported by your car. And that means less money spent on diagnostic checks!
DIY fault-finding
When your ECU flags up an error on your dashboard, what should you do next? The answer will depend on the severity of the problem. Sometimes, your car will go into limp mode. If that happens, you'll only be able to drive at low speeds to avoid damaging the engine. In those situations, you might need a tow truck to come and recover your car.
If your car is still driving okay, you could plug in a fault code reader to the diagnostic port. Sometimes, that port is known as an OBD-II (on-board diagnostics) port. Fault code readers are inexpensive and will give you a clue to the source of the issue.
Some car enthusiasts use diagnostic tools specific to their make of car. For example, you can use Tech2 or OpCom on certain GM brands (Opel, Vauxhall, Saab). And VAG-COM is a tool that can get used on Volkswagen brands including Audi, SEAT, and Skoda.
I hope you’ve found today’s blog post enlightening. Thanks for reading it!
