Celica Overheating and ECU Error

Hey, I've got a 2005 Toyota Celica with a gasoline engine that's giving me some grief. It's got about 117k km on the clock. The check engine light is on, and it overheats quite quickly. I've also noticed coolant spilling underneath, looks like pressure buildup in the cooling system. I'm suspecting a control unit communication error, could a defective cable or plug to a module cause this?

4 comment(s)

Sounds like a tricky one. Control unit communication errors can be a real pain. When you say "control unit", are you seeing any specific CAN bus errors? Have you scanned it with a car diagnostics tool? Could be a connectivity issue somewhere.

Yeah, I pulled some codes related to the ECU not talking to other modules. I was just curious if a dodgy plug, like on the ECU itself, could lead to all the symptoms I'm seeing, especially the overheating and coolant overflow.

Okay, ECU communication issues, combined with overheating and coolant issues, that definitely points to a connectivity problem. A faulty plug or wiring harness grounding out, can cause all kinds of weird issues on the CAN bus. That could cause modules to misread sensor data. I'd recommend getting it checked out by a workshop that has the right diagnostic tools. It will speed things up and you'll have more peace of mind.

Alright, thanks for the advice. I took it to a local mechanic, and you were spot on. Turns out it was a corroded connector on the ECU. They cleaned it up and replaced a short section of the wiring harness, and the total bill was only 95€. Everything's running smoothly now.

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