Common Symptoms of a Cummins ECM Failure What Is an ECM? The ECM is the engine control module. It is also known as the engine control unit ECU. It is referred to as the brain of the engine management system. It is responsible for controlling the ignition timing, fuel mixture, variable cam timing, and emissions control. It monitors emissions performance constantly through the Onboard Diagnostics (OBD) programming. The ECM oversees the operation of the engine cooling fan, charging system and the fuel pump. The engine control module interacts with the stability control system, transmission controller, climate control module, body control module and anti-theft system. The engine control module, controls series of actuators present on the internal …show more content…
When load conditions are steady, the valve opens, fuel is injected, and the valve closes. If there is a sudden increase in throttle, the valve opens up in the same stroke intake and a greater amount of fuel is injected. This permits immediate acceleration. For the next stroke, the engine control module calculates the engine load at the new higher revolution per minute and decides to open the valve late or early, half-open or wide-open. Common Reasons for Failure in Cummins ECM The Fuel Solenoid The electronic solenoid is the valve in which fluids pass through. It is located at the top of the fuel pump. It could be one of the reasons for an ECM failure. This is because the solenoid is capable of causing a short in the ECM due to corrosion in the wires that run from the solenoid to the ECM harness. If you realise your truck runs fine then you shut your engine off and it refuses to restart, this could be an indication that the ECM has been short out by the starter. Moisture and Corrosion Damage as a result of moisture or corrosion as one of the reasons for ECM failure, should not be …show more content…
This affects the grounding in the battery. The dead cells in the batteries can result in the failure of the ECM. Starters When you replace your starters with a wrong problem, it could be the beginning of a new and big problem with the ECM. It would interest you to know that so many starter rebuilders usually bypass the override sensor in the starter. The override sensor is responsible for regulating the voltage that goes to the ECM. In a situation where the override sensor is bypassed, voltage problems in the ECM will develop. This voltage can cause generation of faulty codes or other problems. It is important to note that you can only assume the starter is the root cause of ECM failure when the problem starts after installing a new starter. Sensor Wiring Harness One of the things that can result to a failure in the ECM is the sensor wiring harness. When there is a break in the internal wiring in the harness or corrosion, it results to a short in the ECM. Grounding Issues One of the problems that result to failure of the ECM is grounding issues. This occurs when there is corroded or loose ground wires connected to the battery or the frame of the