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Injectors aren't firing, possible ECU failure

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well,
I'm sharing this mainly to hear if any other users have encountered a similar issue and what was their outcome if any.

I have the GO EFI 4 600hp (30002). i've done around 1250 miles on it (installed for a year now).
it is installed with a walbro 255 in tank pump feeding it through a 30 micron hyperfuel filter and a return line to the tank.
the issue I'm having now - is that no fuel is sprayed from the injectors. at all. no prime shot, not during cranking. nothing.
handheld still functions - and all the data is updating like it should (RPM while cranking, MAP,coolant temp,TPS etc.) except for the injectors duty cycle - which remains 0% at all times (does it change when prime shot is happening? or when cranking on a good unit? let me know if anyone can test that, thanks =)

anyways, things I've checked:

  • fuel pressure - goes to 60ish psi when fuel pump is priming, than gets to 20psi after 10-15 seconds slowly.
  • fuel flow - return line flows fuel if disconnected and pump is priming.
  • when fuel was poured into the intake - engine ran for a few seconds - so spark is fine too.
  • all 4 barrels are completely dry.
  • tried loading default calibration, re-flashing the ECU with FiTech files, nothing changed.

some events that occurred leading to the above failure:

  • about a year ago, after a long drive - i parked at home. 1 hour later I went to the car and it barely fired up then sputtered and drove badly- injector 3 was filling its barrel full with fuel (it's pretty common from what i saw in forums). left the car and a day later everything worked fine. FiTech sent me 2 injectors - but i didn't replace any since everything was working again.
  • a month ago (almost a year after said incident) - same thing happened - injector 3 was pissing fuel. I replaced it with a new one that FiTech sent (numbers on the injectors were different - but looked the same, so i hoped they sent the right ones), the old one does not click when applying 12v - so it was dead.
  • a few days ago & 125 miles later - drove for 30 minutes, parked for 4 hours - and that's when no fuel appeared anymore. from that moment, nothing i did help and the car is stuck at that parking lot for now...

 

still waiting for a response from FiTech after my last attempts of flashing the ECU - which wasn't successful - the entire procedure went well, but when loading the default calibration file - the ECU didn't respond. no communication in any menu. I restored the old files - re-flashed and communication was back. I even tried the last files from a previous time they sent me the SW - that resulted in no communication as well.
The support tech did hint that it could be an "injector driver" failure - which i assume is part of the ECU and is inside the epoxy... so maybe they'll offer me a complete ECU (in exchange for $$ of course, around 250$ as the internet suggests), don't know yet.

let me know if any of you had similar issues, or if you have any suggestions other than what i already tried..

thanks!

P.S - did anyone ever plug a PowerAdder ECU to a non power adder? maybe it's possible? - that way AC rpm bump can be added, second fan control, and other inputs? could be nice if prices are similar..

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Jean-Georges has reacted to this post.
Jean-Georges

I have been using the same unit for 5 years. if the cranking voltage is too low it will do this. Jump it off and see if that lets it start.

Jean-Georges has reacted to this post.
Jean-Georges

The battery did feel a bit low, but even when connecting a battery booster and running car with welding wire fat jumping cables - it still wouldn’t squirt any fuel.

also- as I said- the prime shot isn’t happening either - and it’s suppose to happen before cranking.

Jean-Georges has reacted to this post.
Jean-Georges

We are having the same issue.  If you resolve please keep this thread going.  I have fuel pressure in and out but no Prime Shot, the injectors don't seem to function at all suddenly.  I can pour fuel into the throttle body and it will start momentarily,  but the injectors never perform.    I have happily put a few thousand miles on the Fitech... but recentlly made a short 1 mile trip to the store, and it wouldn't restart... i assumed vapor lock, i let it sit for 15 minutes and it reluctantly started, seem to run fine so I went straight home and it hasn't started since.   I Checked all connections and fuses... i think the ECU is the likely culprit.   Fuel pump has power, there is fuel in the tank, battery is new and fully charged, i have spark, i have boosted the battery thru start attempts (as i saw that below 10v can create problems)... its a new build that was working well, and suddenly nothing.

Jean-Georges has reacted to this post.
Jean-Georges

Hi, as I talked with fitech tech support - and did all of the things mentioned above, they offered me a new ECU even though my warranty is over - so that was really nice of them. Since I’m not from the US, they only charged me for shipping - which is fair.

 

any way- since there’s a chip shortage all across the world- the ECU is back ordered - so there’s about 4-6 weeks until I can confirm the issue is resolved by replacing the ECU.

 

could you share details about your engine/intake/fuel delivery and anything relevant? I would like to see what similarities we have and maybe figure out a common cause for said failure. I suspect heat soak

Jean-Georges has reacted to this post.
Jean-Georges

I have exactly the same problems as you ...

My Fitech installation # 32002 is about 1 years old 2000Km…

I left home, did about 10 km, stopped the engine, and wanted to leave after 2 hours, but I couldn't start my truck.

I towed it home, and started checking:

Ignition OK
12V white files during start-up, (even tried on the + direct on the battery)
Try another fuel pump… No change
The gasoline comes out of the return hose ...
I do not hear a prim shoot and gasoline does not come out of the injectors ...
I disassembled all the injectors, putting + & - 12V have heard them clicked, but reconnecting them: nothing!
There is 12V on the red line with the 5Ap fuse ...
What amazes me is that there is 12V on both sides of the fuse terminal ..!
I blew the ECU several times, nothing has changed

Anyone have an idea?

Sorry for my bad English, I'm French…

Thank you for your answers

JG

no worries about the English - 1- yours is good. 2- I'm from Israel so it's not my native as well =]

I emailed FiTech tech support - and they guided me as i said in the original post. but although my warranty was over- they did send me a new ECU eventually. so it's worth a shot. paid for shipping only (106$ to Israel!, damn fed-ex).

It's due this Wednesday, so - I'll let you know as soon as i install everything and if that actually "fixed" the problem. I sure hope it will =]

 

It still scares me though, because it happened once- and it could again. and what could be the cause? the heat?
I did think of maybe trying to mount the ECU remotely - lengthen the wiring and such. but the map sensor is hard to extend. also , changing wire lengths may interfere with how the ECU gets/creates the signals, so i neglected that thought. i wish it was an option though. just a thought anyway...

Jean-Georges has reacted to this post.
Jean-Georges

Use a heat shield gasket between the FI-Tech and the intake. In my case it lowered the ECU temp by 30 degrees. Just make sure to run a ground wire from the battery to the FI-Tech.

Jean-Georges has reacted to this post.
Jean-Georges

Thanks for your feedback...
Looking forward to your reply after changing the ECU
I also sent an E-mail to FITECH, I await their response ...
I don't think the heat is involved, it's not very hot in the north of France, and I only drove a few minutes before stopping the engine and trying to restart 2 hours later ...

JG

Quote from b1ackth0rne on July 11, 2021, 11:11 am

no worries about the English - 1- yours is good. 2- I'm from Israel so it's not my native as well =]

I emailed FiTech tech support - and they guided me as i said in the original post. but although my warranty was over- they did send me a new ECU eventually. so it's worth a shot. paid for shipping only (106$ to Israel!, damn fed-ex).

It's due this Wednesday, so - I'll let you know as soon as i install everything and if that actually "fixed" the problem. I sure hope it will =]

 

It still scares me though, because it happened once- and it could again. and what could be the cause? the heat?
I did think of maybe trying to mount the ECU remotely - lengthen the wiring and such. but the map sensor is hard to extend. also , changing wire lengths may interfere with how the ECU gets/creates the signals, so i neglected that thought. i wish it was an option though. just a thought anyway...

 

Quote from b1ackth0rne on July 11, 2021, 11:11 am

no worries about the English - 1- yours is good. 2- I'm from Israel so it's not my native as well =]

I emailed FiTech tech support - and they guided me as i said in the original post. but although my warranty was over- they did send me a new ECU eventually. so it's worth a shot. paid for shipping only (106$ to Israel!, damn fed-ex).

It's due this Wednesday, so - I'll let you know as soon as i install everything and if that actually "fixed" the problem. I sure hope it will =]

 

It still scares me though, because it happened once- and it could again. and what could be the cause? the heat?
I did think of maybe trying to mount the ECU remotely - lengthen the wiring and such. but the map sensor is hard to extend. also , changing wire lengths may interfere with how the ECU gets/creates the signals, so i neglected that thought. i wish it was an option though. just a thought anyway...

 

Electronics dont like heat and it greatly shortens it's life. I am a IT Tech and I can tell you heat causes components to fail prematurely. Especially graphic processors.  Also electronics require stable grounds and voltage. The heat shield gasket is a cheap insurance and makes a big difference in ecu temps. Just my 2 cents...

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b1ackth0rne
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