ECM FAILURE POLL AND DISCUSSION

ECM Failure poll

  • Year 2002 thru 2007 Failure - POLICE BIKE

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    61
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
1,428
Location
Houston, Tx
Bike
2003 ST1300
STOC #
5952
It is not the same, and there is no stock for the one from st.
Not very good news!

What would then be your plan for getting the ST ECU out of thinking that it has lost communication with the Sensor?

Or are you hoping to discover a different failure mode?
 

MPR

Joined
Apr 4, 2024
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ESPAÑA
Not very good news!

What would then be your plan for getting the ST ECU out of thinking that it has lost communication with the Sensor?

Or are you hoping to discover a different failure mode?
I'm sorry but I'm not here to teach, I'm just trying to solve the problem.
 

askadolph

MM2(SS)
Joined
Mar 13, 2022
Messages
41
Age
62
Location
San Antonio, TX
Bike
2007 ST1300
This will be something that is more an more common, already is, as time goes on.

I'll use this thread to:
1 - track what category of bikes seem to have the issue - seems obvious the oldest bikes will have this first but maybe not.
2 - track the symptoms (FI codes) and trouble shooting steps before taking the big step towards a new ECM
3 - Discuss possible workarounds.

Also, no one here is an expert in spite of what they may think and a forum exists to discuss subjects and collaborate on those subjects. Anyone that does not adhere to that level of collaborative respect will be banned from this thread and possibly more.

I'll try to keep this thread updated as we move forward.

Symptoms:
- FI Code 26 - Right Knock Sensor - this is the code most will get and sometimes it is the sensor.
- Other FI codes have also appeared but 26 is the is the common one
- Reduced gas mileage, more heat.

Troubleshooting/Causes:
- HERE is a link for checking and resetting the code
- FI Code 26 - Right Knock Sensor - this is the code most will get and sometimes it is the sensor.
- The Honda 070MZ-MCA0100 ECM, Test Harness currently goes for over $2000 and there's probably other proprietary software you can't get unless you're a dealer
- Some have said the ECM fails due to age, heat, moisture, vibrations, etc... basically external environmental affects.

Solutions/Workarounds:
- Repair or Refurbish options - The ECM is sealed therefore not typically something serviceable.
- Replacement ECMs are currently anywhere from $600 to $1300 new, cheaper on ebay but you don't know the history and impossible to check if it has issues. Also, pre 2008 ECMs are tough to find.
- 2008 and newer ECM Part number - 38770-MCS-R12
- 2002 thru 2007 ECM Part number - 38770-MCS-L01 - Police version (38770-MCS-A31) will have a 120mph speed limiter
- A member noticed: "The only time it flags a light is when I push it over 4000 rpm in high gear. It kicks the timing back as soon as it flags the light, and that brings more heat and poorer mileage. Anything below that rpm in high gear and its fine. I can run it up red line through the rest of the gears, no problem."
- Manufacturers typically have to keep making replacement parts for 10 years after the last model - not sure how stringent that is but could be a big issue in a few more years as parts become more rare.
- It may be impossible for a company to create a replacement ECM or some type of bypass to fool the ECM into thinking all is ok as the market is a small one and the development effort will probably never be met.
- It's also possible the code 26... might be an electrical short and an accurate code, however that short may be what takes out the ECM. The knock sensors are close to the exhaust headers and the wire insulation doesn't last long in those areas, check yours as it may just crumble... perhaps some heat tape in that area will be a preventative maintenance issue?
- Also one possibility is some wire that has nothing to do with the knock sensor corrodes and grounds/shorts out and the knock sensor portion of the ECM is just the weakest path and that kills the ECM so the knock sensor could be a false indication of what is happening.
has anybody used carmo electronics in uk to repair ecm
 
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
1,428
Location
Houston, Tx
Bike
2003 ST1300
STOC #
5952
has anybody used carmo electronics in uk to repair ecm
Yes.

But as it looks like the repair would require replacing a chip that is no longer available, they had no better luck than all the other shops that have been approached all over the world.

From the Carmo site:

1714025921621.png
 

Jambriwal

2016 ST1300PA
Joined
Nov 6, 2020
Messages
221
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72
Location
Hamburg NY
Bike
2016 ST1300 PA
Impossible to prove or for anyone to admit to.. lol

Here's one... I did have to buy an ECM for my 2008 ABS... why? Lightning struck my house, took out strange things like the washing machine, not the dryer, an electric toothbrush but not the electric shaver on the same circuit.. it took out the bikes ECM because a battery tender was attached and even though it blew the fuse that had direct to the battery it must have jumped and hit the ECM via some other wire... I replaced it and it never had an issue after that. Lightning follows some interesting paths...
Lightning hit a tree in September on my property. Took out the circulation control on our boiler. Found out in December. Brrr! Fortunate to get a rebuilt aquastat board because they are obsolete.
 
Joined
Jan 22, 2023
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508
Age
68
Location
woodinville wa
Is there anyway I can get a failed ECM and wire harness so I can build a breakout plug. so it will be easier to troubleshoot the electronics. At this point in time the wiring is aging and intermittent problems can be hard to find with static testing.
I can tell you that the harness and ECM will not survive the build process, all I am after is the male and female ends with a chunk of wire on it.
My intention is to build a loaner tool and it can be sent anywhere...... unless there is one available out there now. Which means .......nevermind
 
Joined
Sep 26, 2006
Messages
118
Location
Arnold, mo
Bike
2005 ST-1300
got it ....will try all options first before i set the bike on fire
I've put 13,000 mile on mine with the code 26 light on, seems fine(I just leave it in diagnostic mode). I do have another harness and a good ecm to try out when I get the time.
 
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
3,546
Location
kankakee
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R1200rt
Is there anyway I can get a failed ECM and wire harness so I can build a breakout plug. so it will be easier to troubleshoot the electronics. At this point in time the wiring is aging and intermittent problems can be hard to find with static testing.
I can tell you that the harness and ECM will not survive the build process, all I am after is the male and female ends with a chunk of wire on it.
My intention is to build a loaner tool and it can be sent anywhere...... unless there is one available out there now. Which means .......nevermind
Now you need to identify all the circuits with specifications, 5v ref wires, sensor signal wires, KOEO, KOER . Along with resistance specs. Not a fun task If you can find them all. Then if the intermittant problem isn't there when your testing what then?
 
Joined
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woodinville wa
Your testing under operating conditions with the breakout so you will see what the ECM sees, the intermittent problems might be able to show up with wire wiggle and you can also look for low voltage readings during operating conditions. Frequently bad wire plug ends show up as ok with OHM testing but fail during operations. And yes I have run into this exact problem. The intention is to make the pigtail long enough to be able to ride and possibly duplicate the failure ( with the memory on the volt meter only, not watching of course) The expectations on the sensors are similar across almost all FI systems. The circuits are identified on the wiring diagrams for each year and can be separated from the harness and directly accessed for troubleshooting.
The nice thing about the ST is the back seat can be removed and ridden without having to throw a towel over the front to ride.
Intermittent problems crop up and be difficult to find, but the threshold for low voltage and ok voltage reading can be hard to read also. Everything at your disposal helps
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
1,428
Location
Houston, Tx
Bike
2003 ST1300
STOC #
5952
Your testing under operating conditions with the breakout so you will see what the ECM sees......
....but not what the CPU sees.

As suggested by "Dark Sun" on the GL site (see post from @Mellow on that) and illustrated by some of the instructive schematics that @DannoXYZ had posted (but now gone), it appears that a discrete component on the ECM board is causing the malfunction: The chip that pings the Sensors and passes the Sensors info/status on to the ECM's CPU.

The CPU is doing its job: Triggering a "Knock Safe" default mode because it is being fed garbage info from the failed chip.

For troubleshooting, you'd have to tap into the traces at the board level, to check the signal flow between this component and the CPU.

Once the shape of this internal signal on a healthy ECM board is known, it can be compared to the one of a malfunctioning ECM.

And then what?

All we would have achieved by then is confirm we have a chip that needs to be replaced.....and there is no replacement available anymore (hence none of the most reputable ECM repair shops are able to fix the issue).

Even if trying to implement a "Ping Chip" emulator, it would still need to be connected at the board level, to talk to the CPU. Then we are better off with what @DannoXYZ once talked about (and suggested by others): Replacing the Honda ECM with a MicroSquirt type device.

@DannoXYZ indicated he once packed a MicroSquirt on one of his bikes into the bike's original ECM case, that would be a dream solution for the ST.
 
Joined
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woodinville wa
I haven't found yet a way to check your conclusion without disassembling the ECM and hoping that I covered all the inputs to the ECM. How many ECMs have been replaced 1st before any complete troubleshooting, this offers a way to test circuits without disturbing most of the wiring as well as checking the load drop. The sensors in the ST are all the same as in any Fuel Injection systems and don't offer anything unusual in their readings, even the outputs don't differ from other systems. being able to watch the knock sensor to see if it actually triggers a code.
I cannot see a downside to troubleshooting a system without back probing or piercing wires to get voltage sensor readings or drop readings. Simple OHM reading can be misleading
I have always found it easier to fix problems when they are identified completely' The knock sensor is just a small part of the fuel injection system and the last thing I want to do is concentrate on one circuit. I have run into too many parts changers that will go after a problem by buying parts. For instance a speed sensor can go bad if it gets enough build up on the end, an out of range coolant sensor will cause bad fuel mileage. and the list goes on.
 
Joined
Jan 22, 2023
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s this what you want to make?
test-harness.jpg
At one time I knew the Honda part # but now I've lost it
YES THAT IS IT EXACTLY. I looked for one and could not find one for the ST, maybe I will have to drag my butt deeper into the web, can I get a Doctor to connect a probe to the back of my head to make it easier to search!
 

Andrew Shadow

Site Supporter
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Jan 28, 2012
Messages
5,078
Location
Montreal
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2009 ST1300A9
I looked for one and could not find one for the ST
I posted the Honda P/N for it in post # 131 above. It would probably be a good idea to check to see if there has been a revision to the P/N.
I came across a site a few years ago where someone has already done a lot of the research to make one of these test harnesses. They posted what connectors were needed to make one yourself. If you poke around long enough on the internet you will probably find it eventually.
 
Joined
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woodinville wa
Found a couple of breakout boxes on Ebay, they call them pin-out harness. One was 297 Terminology matters on search. Missed a few steps on my searches. Thank you for the bump in the another direction
 
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