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Quick question, I am doing some powder coating on the interior center console supports. I dont think they do, but want to make sure, does the ecu or mfi relay ground through their metal brackets at all? I would take my ecu case off and see myself but its rebuilt and under warranty. Thanks
Not that I know of. I have had ECU's just laying on the floor to test things and the car fired right up.
I can't comment on ours but usually yes they do. Usually the screws that hold the ecu into the housing are ground points so then the housing is screwed/bolted to the car. I could not change the contact points of any major component.
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99 ECU's have a plastic case......
I've run my car with no case or MFI relay grounding before.
Alright well if anyone knows for sure, please post up. I know for a fact that these cars run with the ecu lying on the carpet. I also know that the ptu is supposed to ground through its metal bracket but I have seen a car running fine with it just dangling there with no bracket at all. Just want to make sure it is right, I know there are grounding wires at their connectors, just wondering if they were designed to be grounded through the casings as well. I thought of the 99 ecus case being plastic, but after looking at some pics of them, they have metal brackets to mount them.
My question is... why would you be powder coating brackets that no one can see anyway? :)
All of those brackets are bare steel, no protective coating of any type to prevent rust and most of them have lots of surface rust. I am redoing my whole car and I would like it to be entirely rust free if I can. I hate spray paints durability so powder coating is the next easiest thing for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by $$$PIT
I would just mask off the mounting areas for the ecu just to be safe but I found that those bare metal areas that were masked off start to rust, and then the rust can creep under the powder coat. So now I'm trying to only mask what is absolutely necessary. I have been searching for a secondary coating to put on the masked areas that prevents rust, is electrically conductive, dries, and lasts long but it doesn't seem to exist outside of zinc plating first and then powder coating.
For now, I have just been polishing the masked areas and applying a light coat of antisieze, but I hate how messy it is.
My ecu is not bolted to the mounts either without issue.
Can anyone verify the ptu grounds through the bracket, how about the coil packs?
i am 99% sure the ptu DOES ground through the bracket. there is a metal plate on the bottom of the ptu itself, so if it doesnt i would be amazed.
Metal plates are also used as heat sinks in a lot of applications.Quote:
Originally Posted by futurevr4man
I know for a fact they don't.Quote:
Originally Posted by 99ishVR-4
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.
So you are saying it needs to be bolts to the brackets?Quote:
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.Quote:
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg E
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Beef6
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.
apparently im wrong, but it also looked like there was some electrical grease on mine, so that also worked towards me believing it did.Quote:
Originally Posted by anyonebutme