Please help me! My car is dead!

[sx4dude2013 10+ year member]

So i have a 2008 Suzuki Sx4. Everything has been great until now. Today i was driving to work and all of a sudden my car RPM need went krazy, Check Engine light came on, and it wouldnt accelerate. This happened when i turned on my headlights....i pulled over and called a rollback. They towed it to my dealership.

The dealer ship looked at the problem and ran the code, it said the update the ECM which cleared the code. Everything went fine. while i was on the interstate i turned on my headlights and it was fine.

Got back in town and went to a store. Went to leave, turned on the car, and then the headlights. The car went krazy again??!?!?!

I do believe this is a voltage issue. I have two amps and a security system, and led lights, and HIDs, and headunit, etc. THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IS STOCK!!! WHAT DO U BELIEVE THIS IS???? it is being taken back to the dealership 2morrow morning. WHEN MY CAR WENT CRAZY IS WHEN I WAS NOT REVING THE ENGINE...it was IDILING?

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[FlexnInLa 10+ year member]

Computer?

 

[Maxipads 10+ year member]

you car is going to assplode

 

[The HACKER 10+ year member]

ECM is an engine control module, i believe your car being so new would have PCM which is a powertrain control module. But it sounds like it could be the brain of the car (PCM) could be a lose wire, one that got too close to the headers or manifold burning or shorting out on somthing. Could be a bad pcm in general, did they at least tell you what the code was that popped up? they might know more then you think..

 

[sx4dude2013 10+ year member]

the code said that "a previous ecm update failed" and to re update the computer. from a lot of car parts stor people....they believe that when turning on my headlights. it causes a surge in the electrical power. and the car can't produce the power for my accessories? could this be tru? my car is about 2 yrs old so could it be the battery?

 

[The HACKER 10+ year member]

did they update the ECM? it could be that the update didnt install right and now whenever it goes to use that piece of code or instruction that should be programmed in right isnt programmed right causing it to malfunction. I seriously doubt your car would do what its doing due to a load on the electrical buuuuuut you could give it a shot by some how drawing a huge amount of current from your car somehow....maybe try to jumpstart another car (to test that theory)? because headlights causing it makes no sense to be honest. messed up wiring or the ecm is messed up or needs to be reprogrammed...thats seriously all the dealer did/said?? did they do anything besides reset the code??

 

[sx4dude2013 10+ year member]

yea. they just scanned it and i came back with code saying there was an issues with the ecm programming. IDK!! id rather be a battery so it would be an easy fix...pray for me! keep ur fingers crossed!!!

 

[sx4dude2013 10+ year member]

im a 17 "bout to be" college student...dont have money to pay for krazy stuff! IM SCARED! lol

 

[miska_man 10+ year member]

You're 17 and you have a 2 year old vehicle? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wow.gif.23d729408e9177caa2a0ed6a2ba6588e.gif

Anyways, I definitely agree with a PCM issue. May have had a voltage surge and the PCM fried? Not necessarily due to having a sound system, but it could happen. Also, it wouldn't hurt to start simple (check all grounds going to PCM, double check battery terminals, battery wires, and wires running to alternator).

But the fact that it throws a code is also suspicious. It seems the update (flash) may have gone wrong and "bricked" the system. A "brick" happens when a firmware update is incorrectly installed and crashes the system into oblivion. When was this update done? Was it at a dealer? May want to check for a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) for issues/complications that pertain to PCM updates. These should be able to be obtained by your local dealer.

 

[osl 10+ year member]

Check your grounds starting at your battery terminals and chase them to the frame. Make sure they're tight. Check grounds at the amps to frame and make sure they are tight. Computers these days are sophisticated. They'll tell you X and XX is wrong if something simple loosens up. Have your battery tested just to be sure. You might have a short in your power going to the turn signal switch too.

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

it would be a good idea to check to see if your getting voltage drops at your battery/alternator with a multimeter. that sounds like a lot of stuff to be running off a factory electrical system. if you are getting drops and all your grounds are fine, doing a large gauge big 3 or a better battery up front could very well take care of the drops.

not saying that will get rid of the problem,but it could very well help things

 

[ace_800 5,000+ posts]

If its a 2 year old car you should be under warrenty still. Take it to a dealership and have them fix it...