hey all, im having some issues with dads old EA, a few weeks ago we lost the gearbox completely, the reverse went, then in D we only had 1st. then it sat out the front for a few weeks, then i went to move it. now on idle it was all jumpy as if it was in drive, when i moved it ran smooth but as soon as i stopped it tried to stall. the dash lights would then flash on and off at the same time the motor was cutting out then back in... we finially got it down the side.

a few days later we tried to move it again and we got nothing... no even a click or light. thinking it was the battery i changed it with mine and still nothing. i checked all fuses and relays and ended up swapping computers. the dash lit up and i turned the key and it started. i put my foot on the brake to drop it into drive and it all died. again no lights. another computer prooved no different. finially after 4 computers dieing i have put it down to either a deadly short in the braking system weather it be wireing or booster itself (altho only replaced 6 months ago) or the gearbox computer is gone.


if it is the gearbox computer it wont explain why it blew the computers when i touched the brake.

oh also when i finially got it running before it killed computer number 2, i planted my foot to the firewall and it sat at 2grand spluttering for about 20 seconds then hit redline...


anyone know whats going on?

i am going to put a new computer in it with new gearbox computer and cross my fingers. if when i touch the brake it stops ill know its in the brake department

im hoping it was one of the computers which was stopping the gearbox from changing so i dont have to buy a new box but i dont think lady luck is on my side this time

Joisus Christ! Have you done some looking through your wiring mate? Does that ea have a tow pack on it? Check the trailer harness wiring for rubbing, mate if you have a short somewhere it’s likely that!
Check the earths on the battery and the active feeds also. It does sound like a wiring gremlin. I did hook up a battery to my CFI 4 speed ea 30th anniversary when half the engine loom was not hooked up. Man that thing made some scary noises, buzzing and lights on the dash all lighting up etc. scary stuff!

yeah i think i might have to. the earth from the block was upgraded to a 4g wire when we had issues with it. it does have a tow pack but we had to change it as the rear lights didnt work so we added a new t piece in the wireing (behind rear left) and added an external plug u throw out the boot and put it back in when done. i think i might have to source a new one and replace it.

i need this sorted as if i can get it running again my parents said i can have it for 200 bucks with the rego left on it. like its not a good looker, it does have dents ect but i can fix those soon enough

kewl cheap car is fun.
yes, so those few things you said i would look straight at those mate. especially if you noticed problems arrising as soon as some work was done on the car

well it wasnt as soon as it was done but i think it may be the cause. brake lights come on and short out. but surely it shouldnt blow the computer

you'd be surprised at what will s**t itself when there is a short somewhere.
fix that, then let us know how you go with it. I used to have headlights that would flicker on and off and i couldnt work out what it was that caused it. found out that there was a dirty connection on the thermal cutout there and it was getting very hot because of the resistance from the corrosion and eventually would cut the circuit out untill it would cool and that caused the flickering

my old ea had a similar problem with dash lights flickering and the whole car stopping for a second then going again. sometimes (not often) it would flatten a new battery within days if the car wasnt being used.

i took it to an auto electrician and he wasnt interested in finding the fault because it was time consuming and sugested replacing the whole main loom from the ecu back. i probably could have done this myself but being an ex-taxi it had other problems that was going to cost too much to fix so in the end i decided to wreck it for parts.

yeah usually problems with falcons arent the initial ford design its wankers and no nothings stuffing around with aftermarket s**t such as LPG, amps, lights, trailer plugs, in car entertainment, aftermarket fans etc that cause dramas elsewhere if not put in properly.
so imagine the ex taxi's wiring after a zillion kays heh
el birdo nesto

I'd suggest getting a multimeter, and checking the voltages on the ECU as someone presses the brakes, and then going from there.


Cheers

yeah i have a new gearbox on its way as it needs replacing anyways (going an EL one) and a box computer.

im going to remove all the wireing for the trailor plug too to see if it helps. ill recheck the computers that it blew to see if it was just a safety thing where it stopped working (fingers crossed)

wouldnt be a good idea if he keeps 'blowing' ecu's everytime he puts the brakes on shorted/cut/frayed wires should be pretty easy to spot. could also be the connection inside the plug itself of the trailer wiring.

im going to remove the whole trailor plug itself. ill be using some CFI computers to test the car as it doesnt matter how many i blow lol.

i knock off work at 4pm tomorrow so ill be checking it all out then.

tried unplugging the brake switch? (above brake pedal)

if you unplug this switch, then your brake lights won't come on. Then you will know if your fault is in the brake light circuit or not

i think i got it... i dont have an EA computer to test it with as the others got thrown out. i currently have an EL computer in it so it wont start but when i switch it to on and press the brake the lights dim as battery is almost dead but it didnt blow the computer... all i done was disconect the trailor plug from the loom

oh and it was a factory fitted kit not aftermarket.

so as soon as i get another computer ill be able to test it properly.

Why wouldn't it start on an EL ECU?


Cheers