I have had headways with my car problems i posted here before and hope that there will be help for this one. The car was brought from Cotonou on 22 Dec. It arrived Kaduna with no issues whatsoever.

My Coz who brought the car noticed oil leaking so he took it to mechanics who confirmed a bad seal. It was changed and the car was started. Unfortunately the belt cought and ripped sensors wires. The mechanic joined the wires and started the car this time with no issues. So he turned off the engine to put tape on the wires and secure them so it wont happen again. But the car never started again till date.

Fuel pump was checked, ok. No fuse was broken. Nothing seem to be wrong but it wont start. Electricitian checked for lights almost everywhere but no issue.

I did a small internet research which suggested immobilizer issues. The car came with 1 key and remote for keyless entry which didnt work right from purchase. The key light flashes continously when ignition is on (II position ). My coz cant remember the status of the key light before the problem.

I do understand that the car may carry an immobilizer which is a usual cause of problems for the car when its coil fails or other issues. My question is who knows for sure if the particular car carries immobilizer and precise steps to diagnose it? I saw a method but need confirmation to try it though it and its not completely clear to me.

We ordered for an ECU but wrong 1 was supplied.

I think ur ECU has been partially damaged by d so called mechanic for not removing the key from the ignition when working on ur car. Try and scan it to know wots actually wrong. Next time if u're working on your car, try to remove the key. Better still you might need to reprogrammed ur Ecu.

your ecu might have been fried he made an amatuer error of running the car with naked wires, high risk of wire making contact to the each other or the car body which is the negative terminal

as for ECU how did you find it out that it was the wrong one ? remember when an ECU is swapped you need to swap with keys as well becoz the keys are programmed to the ECU so in your case it might be the right one but you used the original key to start the car using the ECU you bought, the car wouldnt start becoz the ECU wont recognise your key

So easy the way these clowns decieve you people! The engine drive belt didnt just break. It was broken by the mechanic, his carelessness.

The car manufacturer were not daft when they designed and produced that car. They knew the belt would break someday. So, there is no how they would run design it such a way that whenever the belt breaks, it will damage the sensor harness around.

The mechanic, while replacing the failed oil seal, must have removed the sensors harness from their secured locations and left them hanging around the belt or the pulleys, without putting them back as they were after the work was done. When the engine was started, help me guess what must have happened.

Engine ECUs usually have a constant supply of ground,as long as the negative battery terminal head is connected. If the ECU ground wire touched any naked positive wire or the wires were wrongly connected, it will damage the ECU without a blink. This where Peugeot beats other brands. Peugeot has each wire in their cars stamped with numbers for easier identification. For issues like this, one will simply trace the sensor the cut off wires should go to or connected by checking the source.

Its always advisable to disconnect any of the battery terminals while working on a car electric. Even a small spark on any of the ECU wires is enough to fry the ECU.

The best way to find out the state of your ECU is by testing the ground pulse wire from ECU on any of the injectors with Digital multimeter, to know if the ECU is still sending ground pulse to the injectors. Likewise, i would test to know if the spark plugs are still getting volts from coil packs or distributor by grounding any of them and crank the engine. The result of these tests will tell you whether you engine ECU is the culprit or not. Also, there are other ways of testing ECUs manually. But you can simply scan it. But i can tell if the scanner will connect with the ECU, if the ECU is dead.

Ikenna

Thank you for your replies.

as for ECU how did you find it out that it was the wrong one ?

The one brought has 4 connectors while this one has 3.

I have read from Mazda forums and got a mazda immobilizer manual which states exactly the problem we are facing with this car. Specifically it said that if the immobilizer is activated
1. Security light (key light) will flash constantly even after key is inserted and switch to on (acc on).
2. No fuel supply whatsoever (fuel pump is deactivated)
3. No spark.
4. No starter movement (no cranking) 2000 models and above

The 4th applies to Mazda cars from 2000 and above which the starter will be deactivated (no cranking).

Considering that its a 1999 model it means we will get cranking but will no start which is the case. 1 and 2 are confirmed but for 3 i assume from 1.
Assuming its an immobilizer failure, how to go about it? I did understand that their is a diagnostic mode but i have resume work and presently far from the car. My coz may not understand the procedure the way i do. Also, the immobilizer consist of the key, coil and the immobilizer module which has the key codes and transmits the kill order to the ECU. According to the manual, scanning ECU for errors may not yield any meaningful result. Forums suggested using the spare which might correct possible error of the 1st key.

Every thing i have learnt is inconclusive especially that this is Nigeria. Most ppl on foreign forums took their cars to dealers which was started in less than an hour by either reprogramming the keys/immobilizer module, changing the coil(receiver) or reprogramming the ECU.

Am at lost which step to take. My coz is putting all his effort in getting another ECU since the person who scanned told him the ECU is fried. I think it may not be the final solution as the immobilizer made the other ECU seem so or may activate again. Most forums are saying their is no way around the immobilizer. Time is going as my mum needs the car badly. I need reliable advise.

i've gotten similar issue wif a customers car, same mazda, after several times trying different ecu(brainbox) which didnt give a positive answer, some of the symptoms i was getting were,
fuel will supply for like 5 seconds and stop
all the nozzles will be spraying the same time for the short period the fuel supplied
the engine will try to start but wont,
and some other electrical malfunctions which made me conclude on the brain box.
to cut it short i decided to open the engine top cover to set valve only for me to observe that the inlet(IN) and exhaust(Ex) shafts where inter-switched and this was a Belgium engine, i asked who has worked on it the owner said nobody, he bought and they drove it down for him, the problem of the not starting came up they told him i was good, he decided to give a try, which almost fell my hands. anyway i changed them and it work perfectly, so u can give a try too open the top cover and observe the cam shafts if they are in other as in Ex for exhaust and IN for the inlet manifold if u dont have an idea get an auto technician to help u out contact me for further advice or appreciate this if it works. im engr bob doing things in port-harcourt 08034094226 is my contact

Thanks Oroz.

I do not believe its a mechanical issue since the car was actually turned off next minute it didnt start.

Am attempt was made to scan it but there was no communication with the equipment.

Its confirmed there is immobilizer in the car. The immobilizer module was found.

I cant seem to find a definite process to follow in starting the car after immobilizer activates. The only solutions i have seen is to try the spare key or take it to a dealer (ofcourse not in Nigeria).

The guy who attempted the unsuccessful scan said he will proceed to 'ground reprogramming'. I do understand reprogramming but not the 'ground'.

It seems only Mazda dealerships have the proper way to restart the car.

On Friday, we got some1 with the same car and begged to try his ECU on our car. It started with one kick.

Now, sourcing for it is another problem. We called a dealer in Lagos who said it will cost 17k only. Unfortunately, it was discovered that the one he has is for Mazda 3 2003 model. He contacted a fellow dealer and he has our type but the guy is asking for a whooping 50k.

I have just edited the title of this thread after a recent turn of events. This car's story has taken a new but definite dimemnsion.

We were so displeased that two months + after my mums coz brought her the car from Cotonou, the car is yet to be delivered. We could not say he was particularly honest. So we staged an intervention.

I got a mechanic, took him unannounced to the garage where the car was, told the mechanic incharge of our car that we were taking this car today by any means. He called my mums coz who was avoiding us to come. They did everything to convince us that the car will start as soon as the programmer who took away the keys, immobilizer unit and ECU comes to install them back. The programmer was called and put on speaker phone but refused to come saying he is busy in his workshop. Our mechanic insisted that even without the keys the car must be towed out since these mechanics have seen them they could vandalize the car after we left. The keys were retrieved from them and the car towed that very day.

Now, this new mechanics are loyal to us not our dealer. After inspecting the car by the new mech, the true situation of the car came out but not without the dealer(my mums cousin) pleas to them not to divulge their find.

This is their find;

1. Immobilizer is activated
2. ECU is ok
3. Because immobilizer was activated,there was no power supply to the fuel pump and ignition coils which was the normal thing for the immobilizer. They ran wires directly from the battery to the fuel pump and did the same for the ignition coil system.
4. Head gasket was burnt and replaced with a modified one
5. Timing belt was replaced but not the replacement size
6. The engine block is permanently damaged with pistons, rings and bearings

The first 3 were solved in less than 24 hrs. The car tried to start but could not just run stable nor constantly. That was when they checked for valve setting which they discovered problems all over the engine as they opened it up. This was what my Uncle/dealer was trying to prevent us from knowing.

Now that we need a new engine, we were told we must buy it with its very own ECU, Immobilizer unit and Keys. This instruction goes against my understanding of the car computer system.

I do believe from my understanding that the Immobilizer unit and the keys are a pair. This pairing does not include even the coil which reads the codes in the keys. Also, i do understand that the immobilizer unit operates on its own separate from the ECU but only communicates to the the ECU to stop or proceed with certain functions depending on its recognizing code from key.

On the other hand, i think the ECU should work fine with a new engine which is exactly the same in size and functions with the old as all inputs and outputs will remain the same. Like the 1.6 engine ECU cannot work with 1.8 engine vice versa.

So, i was of the opinion that, a new engine is what we need but even better with its own ECU only not including immobilizer unit and key. Am I right with this opinion?

Anyone with an idea where in Lag to get it and how much it cost for either the engine alone or engine with ECU? Engine capacity is 1498cmcube