Does the ecu ground through its brackets in any way?

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Originally Posted by 99ishVR-4

I know for a fact that these cars run with the ecu lying on the carpet.

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I know for a fact they don't.

When you do your coating, keep a bolt in every threaded spot so the threads stay clear. You should be fine if you do it that way.

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Originally Posted by Greg E

I know for a fact they don't.

When you do your coating, keep a bolt in every threaded spot so the threads stay clear. You should be fine if you do it that way.

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So you are saying it needs to be bolts to the brackets?

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Originally Posted by Beef6

So you are saying it needs to be bolts to the brackets?

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What I'm saying is use bolts as a way to mask the threads. They also sell high temp plastic plugs which can survive 10-15 in the oven too and work well for masking threads.

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Originally Posted by Greg E

What I'm saying is use bolts as a way to mask the threads. They also sell high temp plastic plugs which can survive 10-15 in the oven too and work well for masking threads.

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Sorry my last post did not make sense, I meant to ask if you were you saying the ecu needs to be bolted to the bracket to be grounded. I wasn't sure if your reply of "I know for a fact they don't" was agreeing with 99ishVR4 saying that they do not ground through the bracket or saying you know for a fact they do not run if not grounded by the bracket. Sorry for the confusion I just wanted to clarify it.

You need the bracket connections for proper grounding. Although things might appear to work without it, failing to connect bracket grounds can result in voltage levels far above the actual ground level. It can also lead to increased noise voltage and ripple and may cause the ECU to fail prematurely.

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Originally Posted by Beef6

Sorry my last post did not make sense, I meant to ask if you were you saying the ecu needs to be bolted to the bracket to be grounded. I wasn't sure if your reply of "I know for a fact they don't" was agreeing with 99ishVR4 saying that they do not ground through the bracket or saying you know for a fact they do not run if not grounded by the bracket. Sorry for the confusion I just wanted to clarify it.

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The ECU does NOT ground thru the brackets. Can't say for sure about the earlier model MFIs but I know the 98/99 MFI relays (there are 2) do not use the bracket as a ground.

However, there is a ground (wire) on the passenger side lower portion of the bracket which is there. I don't remember which components use that ground off the top of my head. If you're going to powdercoat that piece make sure the threads for this bolt are squeaky clean so the current can still pass thru the bolt.

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Originally Posted by anyonebutme

Metal plates are also used as heat sinks in a lot of applications.

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apparently im wrong, but it also looked like there was some electrical grease on mine, so that also worked towards me believing it did.