What are symptoms of a bad PCM?
What are symptoms of a bad PCM? I'm trying to help out a friend to get his car running, its a 95 Camaro LT1 A4. He bought a rebuilt short block from me and put his cam and heads back on with a new tune and had all installed by a mechanic. He didn't know you couldn't pressure wash the engine and engine bay. Car was running great prior to the trip to the carwash.
Basically, from what I understand talking to him on the phone is that the car wouldn't start. Starting fluid would help get it started but wouldn't stay running so his mechanic changed the fuel pump. Same problems still existed. Changed the opti, coil, and icm. Same problems. Brought it back to the mechanic and 2 weeks later he said it was good to go, ready to pick up. He picked up the car and it was running, but the transmission is shifting sporatically like it has a mind of it's own and the intake elbow got torn up and some of it got ingested by the intake. Needless to say he's done with that mechanic.
He's going to bring me the car so I can data log it and I have a pcm we can swap out to see if that clears up the problem, but I was just seeing if anyone else had experience with a wet PCM and what kind of symptoms you experienced?
Basically, from what I understand talking to him on the phone is that the car wouldn't start. Starting fluid would help get it started but wouldn't stay running so his mechanic changed the fuel pump. Same problems still existed. Changed the opti, coil, and icm. Same problems. Brought it back to the mechanic and 2 weeks later he said it was good to go, ready to pick up. He picked up the car and it was running, but the transmission is shifting sporatically like it has a mind of it's own and the intake elbow got torn up and some of it got ingested by the intake. Needless to say he's done with that mechanic.
He's going to bring me the car so I can data log it and I have a pcm we can swap out to see if that clears up the problem, but I was just seeing if anyone else had experience with a wet PCM and what kind of symptoms you experienced?
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2009
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From: Clearwater
that had to be one hell of a pressure washing. i cracked open two that i thought for sure were water damaged and they were all sealed up really freakin well. one ended up being a shorted harness and the other water in the vent tube.
I went through a HUGE puddle during a downpour in my 99 Firehawk (I know not a LT1) that blasted my engine compartment with water...the next day I had all the idiot lights coming on randomly, blinking, going ape **** basically. The car even stalled out a couple times....then 2 days later everything is back to normal like nothing ever happened....apparently if you get some water in the PCM it will go crazy but it just might dry out and work fine not unlike a wet cellphone.
I thought they were sealed up pretty good myself, but when he explained all his symptoms, the PCM seemed like the logical culprit. That's what I'm hoping for since it's so easy to swap and I have an extra for him. And it's been at least 3 or 4 weeks since he washed it, so it's had time to dry out.
I guess we'll see if and when he brings me the car.
I guess we'll see if and when he brings me the car.
