Citroen c3 mk1 ECU main power plug

[Dman]

Hi everyone my Citroen c3 mk1 had coolant spilt into the ecu plug when I brought the car I know it’s sounds stupid but that’s what happened to me I got sold a car with coolant inside the ecu plug everything was fine when I checked it I just didn’t think to check for water in side the ecu plug that’s not one of the things u check when buying a car well I didn’t call me silly I know but anyway I just wanted to know if I could cut the ecu plug out and rewire a new one in or is that not possible because the car is is losing power and rough start up and idle and I know for a fact it’s that ecu plug and just wanted to know if that was possible thanks

[xantia_v6]

Just in case wheeler doesn't notice your post...

Does it smell like coolant? Its not uncommon on these for the coolant temp sensors to crack & coolant travels up the harness & into the fusebox or ECU.
Unplug the coolant temp sensor & check for signs of coolant in the connector.

[Dman]

Yes definitely coolant it’s pink and now the car don’t run right misfire rough idle the lot I can’t seem to find a crack in the temp sensor cos I come across this fault on here so checked that and dosmt seem to be cracked but just wanna know if I can completely cut the main power plug from the ecu and rewire a new one or will that make the car scrap if I cut them wires

[xantia_v6]

Did you look in the coolant sensor connector?

Is there visible corrosion in the connector pins?

If the coolant has worked its way into the ECU, then your main problem could be corrosion inside the ECU, which may require specialist repair or replacement.

[Dman]

Nah luckily iv had the ecu open and there no signs of corrosion inside the ecu just the the main wire plug

[wheeler]

Yes it wont have bee spilt in the ECU, there will be a hairline crack in the coolant temp sensor that has allowed pressurised coolant (along with capillary action) to travel up the wiring harness, You could chop and splice in a new connector however i would completely replace the wiring from the coolant temp sensor. It also worth noting that you can actually remove the terminals from the connector & swap them over if there are not too many corroded.
You must also replace the coolant temp sensor or the same thing will happen again.

[Dman]

Right I get ya Yh i think im gonna replace the clooant senior so just to clarify it will be ok for me to cut and splice a new ecu cable plug in

[ozvtr]

Nah luckily iv had the ecu open and there no signs of corrosion inside the ecu just the the main wire plug

Are we talking about the engine ECU here? Or are you talking about the BSM (the engine bay fuse box)? The post title says "main power plug". The engine ECU will have 3 plugs, none of which could be described as the main power plug. However the BSM does have one big 2 pin power plug?

Can you post a photo of the plug that you are talking about?

If it's pink coolant then there shouldn't be any corrosion (at least not from the coolant, it has corrosion inhibitors). There maybe malfunctions from electrical conduction. But is there any actual corrosion?

Did the engine ever run well? Or has it run badly ever since you obtained it?

[Dman]

Yea I mean the ecu the front molex I just want to know if I’m able to cut it out and rewire a new one in that’s all really if anyone knows I can do that or not and there isn’t and coolant in there anymore al I have cleaned it all out and it’s the molex that has the corrosion that’s why I wanna replace it

[Dman]

I just want to know if I can cut this out and put a new one in

[wheeler]

No reason why you couldn’t just chop and connect the whole plug.
If it was me & not too many contaminated terminals I would just remove and replace the affected wires/terminals. The reason is if you join all those wires that part of the harness could end up up very bulky