Speed sport. Ecu

[Dave1954]

Hi everyone just joined  WSCC,  recently bought a speed sport 1.8  silver top on jenvey throttle bodies,very low mileage car, was purring along,went out today only went 100 meters and started running like a pig ,it was like  it had gone into limp home mode, I know sweet FA abound fuel injection,although I know my way around carb cars.  Tomorrow i thought I'd check the plugs ,make sure there's spark and that's how much I know.so if anyone can help would be appreciated, although I pick things up quickly keep it simple for now ( so what's the next step).  I was told to buy a code reader ,but I noticed they were 16 pine can I get a 9 pin, found the ecu  the make is MBE.   The car factory built in 2000.   All half appreciated. Cheers. Dave

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Welcome.

A code reader will be of no use here, these aftermarket type ecu’s do not have OBD ports for them.

The nine pin port you’ve found is an RS232 serial port to plug a computer into. You can, I believe still download, for free, the mapping software for the later MBE ecu’s of thethpe I believe Westfield used on the Speed Sport. However, it is quite old software, so might need to be running on Windows 98! Or you may get away with XP! 

It is handy for diagnostics but not vital. There’s no limp home mode with these as such, though if a sensor fails for either water or air temperature, they do just assume a standard “safe” reading.

The fuel injection systems are actually pretty simple. There will be a crank position sensor (CPS) that tells the ecu how fast the engine is turning over, a throttle position sensor, (TPS) that tells the ecu how wide open the throttle is, then just water and air temp senders. There may be a lambda sensor too, in the exhaust.

It could be quite a few different things, many of them simple! So as you say, check basics first. Note Westfields with the Zetec engine in, can be a bit prone to water, or even oil, with a slightly leaky cam cover, building up in the wells the spark plugs sit in. So worth checking these are all dry and clean.

[Dave1954]

Hi Dave thanks for reply, i noticed plug wells are dry, wantto crack on tomorrow, if problem with spark I'll assume lead.problem, or coil pack, if ok what would be my next step, as I could not plug a code reader in. Cheers. Dave

[Thrustyjust]

Welcome Dave, as Dave 'The Boss' says , its not that simple, but there are basics to check. Sensors are plugged in, wiring connectors are good. Earths are made. ECU's dont usually (unless your name is @IanK (Bagpuss)) do anything silly. So basics to start with. Also, if you have done short runs with overfuelling ( such as on cold start) Zetecs do fuel the plugs and can run like dogs. I found the best way was to always replace the plugs. They are about £15 for platinums, so cheaper than a coil pack. Also, zetecs are prone to earthing sparks down the porcelain, so a tiny bit of silicon plumbers grease ( really, just a tiny bit) with insulate and make the spark go into the plug. Coil leads can be an issue as well. So, we have avoided any complex computers so far with just the basics.

[TAFKARM]

Has it got fuel in it? You wouldn't be the first...

[Dave1954]

Cheers mate makes good sense, only done short runs lately and left the car tick over in mornings with cold weather, give me something to do tomorrow on my day off cheers. Dave

[Kingster]

1 hour ago, RussH said:

Has it got fuel in it? You wouldn't be the first...

Yes and note that the fuel gauge will be more of a fuel “guide”