Today I installed a used Power FC with commander on my 94 FD. This ecu which I picked up here on the forum from a member that swears it works and states that it came off his running FD. The serial # corresponds to the correct application 93-95 fd3s.
I have not cut the 4 wires that need to be modified in order for emissions purposes as that does not stop the car from starting on. Now this is what's going on. I put the ignition on the on position and no apexi logo or display on the commander. The only thing that lights up are the commander buttons prev and next. If I crank the car it doesn't start only turns over. If I plug the factory ecu it turns on every time. I've open the ecu and the commander for any signs of anything burn but its clean. What's going on im stumped. The forum member says he simply removed it in favor of a haltech sprint re.

Sammy

 

I would start by eliminating possibilities.

Remove the PowerFC. Connect the commander. Find some alligator clips that you can use to connect to the pins of the PowerFC. Connect the pins below and see if the commander turns on and goes to the default menu. If it doesn't, you likely have a faulty unit or commander. Try to borrow another commander in this case, and if the other doesn't work, the unit itself is likely dead.

Look at the following diagram and connect the following pins:

Pins 1A and 1B - 12V+
Pins 4C and 4D - GND

 

I'm not getting nothing I'm assuming this unit is bad. Dam

 

So connecting those 4 pins, just get lights but no display? Could be a faulty commander, but that's hard to test without another.

 

I need to see how I can get a second hand commander. But what drives me nuts is that it doesn't want to start the car either. With microtech almost any map would at least turn the car on. Maybe I should just buy a commander and pray alot that's its the commander. This is My first experience with power fc. I've always been a microtech guy for the last 7 years and being curious and wanting to learn something new is backfiring on me lol ....

 

If it were the commander, it should at LEAST fire with the commander unplugged... You may need to either try to get APEXI to service it (may take forever) or find someone who can try to fix it.

 

Did you properly attach the grounding wires for the ecu to the chassis?
If so, I would say the PFC is bad.

 

"Did you properly attach the grounding wires for the ecu to the chassis?"



Why is there a separate wire from the powerFC that must be grounded other than the stock ECU plug?

I had the same issue before....I bought a powerFC from someone here and he said its working but found out later it's not communicating with the commander. No spark fire and will not start. I sent it to someone in Japan to be fixed and cost me $350.00. Hopefully, when I get it next 2 weeks I will be able to see a spark. I don't know why some people sell bad stuff.

 

If you ground the two pins I showed, and apply power to the two others, the ECU will turn on. I do this all the time when I'm building datalogging boxes for the PFC. As the OP said he tried this and got nothing, it suggests the PFC itself is dead.

 

Thanks Sonic -- when I get mine back I will try it again.
So I should check 1A & 1B if there's a juice?
Also check the 4C & D for ground.
I will do this....

 

Well, if your old ECU works, chances are those wires are just fine. But, it never hurts to check.

 

Sorry to hi-jack the thread.

Sonic, well when i bought it from someone...there's no spark. I sent it back to japan and the tech said they tested it with no problem. Then, I put my stock ECU to check first if it will run. The stock ECU & the engine ran. I put the powerFC back and no spark - no sensor value either.
Either the original owner lied - or the tech did not do anything or the problem is me.

The 2nd time, I sent the powerfc to JapanDyno (different shop) and they said they found the problem. They did not tell me what the problem was (i assumed it was a spark driver or something). I'm still waiting to get the ECU back. Since the stock ecu works, I assumed there's a juice in 1A & 1B....but I will check it....thanks

 

In your case, it sounds like the PowerFC would power on, just not spark? In that case, I would have payed close attention to see if it registered RPM or anything of use while cranking. It could have been that it didn't pick up the crank angle signal, but with the stock ECU working just fine that would be odd. Hopefully the other shop found the issue and all will be well!

 

so what was the update on this??