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2007 Camry Instrumentation ghost
#22
05-16-2019, 07:57 PM
I found a solution to this issue.
Problem:
Camry 2007 with ABS, no Traction Control or Skid Control. The instrument cluster goes haywire intermittently. Speed drops to 0, Tachometer jumps up and down. AC blows warm air. ABS and BRAKE warning lights on the Cluster always light up when this happens. Odometer does not increment miles traveled. Other than that the car is fully operational and can be driven no problem. The key word here is intermittently. The car does not seem to have any issues for say 10 minutes, and then for the next 10 minutes it has all the issues listed above. Additionally when scanning OBDII codes - no trouble codes can be found! However when the intermittent problem occurs the OBDII CAN protocol communication also seems to fail.
Solution:
I found the problem on my Camry was BOSCH ABS ECU. And thankfully I was able to fix the ECU problem without having to go to the Dealer or purchasing the new ECU unit... Which I am guessing would have cost me over $1000.
I bought Torx E5 socket at a local auto parts store for $20. This is needed to remove 4 "Female Star" bolts that attach the ABS ECU to the ABS block. Be very careful when removing the ECU. Pull the ECU from the block gently - no force required once the screws are removed. Also remember that this is a sensitive electronic device - you need to work static free. Also make sure the engine is off and perhaps remove the battery negative terminal for safety. I did not run the engine until I put everything back together.
Once the ECU is sitting on your table - you will need to pry the cover open to get to the main board and the microprocessor. The cover is glued to the plastic body using some sort of rubberized silicone glue. This is very difficult to do unless you have proper tools. I used box cutter blade to cut away as much rubber as I could. Then I tried to push the blade in and pry the cover open. The pieces of the blade broke until I finally succeeded - applying like 20 lbs on the blade...
Once I opened the cover I immediately saw where the problem was (although I could not believe in such an easy solution until the whole thing was over) Inside you will find the main board and the microprocessor sitting on top of a heatsink. There are about 8 hair thin 1/2 inch long bare jumper wires that connect the microprocessor to the main board. Well it turned out that two of those jumper wires were almost touching each other - curious I thought. I pulled apart the jumper wires and give them a good distance. I tried to look for other clues like a broken solder or the like - but could not find any other defects. Then I glued the cover back on with Crazy glue, and mounted the ABS ECU back where it belongs. Started the engine - and never saw the issue come back again - for more than a week already. Car runs like new.
I still need to put a good layer of Silicone caulk around the cover before the winter comes to weather proof the cover. But that's hopefully next week.
Final analysis:
I do not know how my Camry worked for 5 years without having any problems and then all of the sudden these jumper wires came together to cause intermittent shorting of the CAN bus. I believe at least one of the jumper wires was a CAN bus wire - since the Controller Area Network suffered and I believe was the cause of the fiasco when this intermittent problem happened. (Unfortunately no circuit prints are available and Haynes manual does not even show any ABS wiring in their repair manual electrical diagrams!?) I guess the jumpers were far enough to enable the CAN protocol to work error free part of the time and but close enough for the "spark" to jump and cause a short the other part of the time. Some how over 5 years these jumper wires moved closer to each other until this finally became a problem. My opinion is that this is a reliability flaw in a Bosch circuit board design - that may not present itself immediately but may show up later as the jumper wires may move under vibration/ thermal expansion over the years.
Hopefully someone finds this useful!
Ed
Problem:
Camry 2007 with ABS, no Traction Control or Skid Control. The instrument cluster goes haywire intermittently. Speed drops to 0, Tachometer jumps up and down. AC blows warm air. ABS and BRAKE warning lights on the Cluster always light up when this happens. Odometer does not increment miles traveled. Other than that the car is fully operational and can be driven no problem. The key word here is intermittently. The car does not seem to have any issues for say 10 minutes, and then for the next 10 minutes it has all the issues listed above. Additionally when scanning OBDII codes - no trouble codes can be found! However when the intermittent problem occurs the OBDII CAN protocol communication also seems to fail.
Solution:
I found the problem on my Camry was BOSCH ABS ECU. And thankfully I was able to fix the ECU problem without having to go to the Dealer or purchasing the new ECU unit... Which I am guessing would have cost me over $1000.
I bought Torx E5 socket at a local auto parts store for $20. This is needed to remove 4 "Female Star" bolts that attach the ABS ECU to the ABS block. Be very careful when removing the ECU. Pull the ECU from the block gently - no force required once the screws are removed. Also remember that this is a sensitive electronic device - you need to work static free. Also make sure the engine is off and perhaps remove the battery negative terminal for safety. I did not run the engine until I put everything back together.
Once the ECU is sitting on your table - you will need to pry the cover open to get to the main board and the microprocessor. The cover is glued to the plastic body using some sort of rubberized silicone glue. This is very difficult to do unless you have proper tools. I used box cutter blade to cut away as much rubber as I could. Then I tried to push the blade in and pry the cover open. The pieces of the blade broke until I finally succeeded - applying like 20 lbs on the blade...
Once I opened the cover I immediately saw where the problem was (although I could not believe in such an easy solution until the whole thing was over) Inside you will find the main board and the microprocessor sitting on top of a heatsink. There are about 8 hair thin 1/2 inch long bare jumper wires that connect the microprocessor to the main board. Well it turned out that two of those jumper wires were almost touching each other - curious I thought. I pulled apart the jumper wires and give them a good distance. I tried to look for other clues like a broken solder or the like - but could not find any other defects. Then I glued the cover back on with Crazy glue, and mounted the ABS ECU back where it belongs. Started the engine - and never saw the issue come back again - for more than a week already. Car runs like new.
I still need to put a good layer of Silicone caulk around the cover before the winter comes to weather proof the cover. But that's hopefully next week.
Final analysis:
I do not know how my Camry worked for 5 years without having any problems and then all of the sudden these jumper wires came together to cause intermittent shorting of the CAN bus. I believe at least one of the jumper wires was a CAN bus wire - since the Controller Area Network suffered and I believe was the cause of the fiasco when this intermittent problem happened. (Unfortunately no circuit prints are available and Haynes manual does not even show any ABS wiring in their repair manual electrical diagrams!?) I guess the jumpers were far enough to enable the CAN protocol to work error free part of the time and but close enough for the "spark" to jump and cause a short the other part of the time. Some how over 5 years these jumper wires moved closer to each other until this finally became a problem. My opinion is that this is a reliability flaw in a Bosch circuit board design - that may not present itself immediately but may show up later as the jumper wires may move under vibration/ thermal expansion over the years.
Hopefully someone finds this useful!
Ed
#24
11-13-2019, 05:55 PM
What's going on everyone, I was experiencing the same issues with my 09 Toyota Camry (and believe me, it is very frustrating!). Appreciate the recommendation on how to go about this issue, I know a bit about these modules and am very handy myself, but i DO NOT recommend anyone who is inexperienced to try to preform this with little to no knowledge on how these components work (My buddy tried it on his module and completely destroyed it). One wrong touch on these circuit boards and you can seriously damage the computer, the issue though is Definitely in these Modules.
I work full time 7 days a week so i never really had the time to go ahead to try to fix it myself, luckily i did a bit of research and found a shop out in -- Riverside CA --called --- Digital Auto Tech --- who exchanges these modules for less than a quarter of what the Dealership is charging. Brought it in one day after i had had enough of sitting in the blistering sun with NO A/C in LA traffic, and installed it real quick and boom, literally right away all my issues were gone!! It's been about three months and i haven't had any issues whatsoever.
Definitely recommend you check them out, and do not, i repeat do not, try to do it yourself. Take it to DAT instead, a very affordable alternative!! Hope my experience will help some of you out! Take Care.
Here's their Website: Digitalautotech.com Digital Auto Technology
I work full time 7 days a week so i never really had the time to go ahead to try to fix it myself, luckily i did a bit of research and found a shop out in -- Riverside CA --called --- Digital Auto Tech --- who exchanges these modules for less than a quarter of what the Dealership is charging. Brought it in one day after i had had enough of sitting in the blistering sun with NO A/C in LA traffic, and installed it real quick and boom, literally right away all my issues were gone!! It's been about three months and i haven't had any issues whatsoever.
Definitely recommend you check them out, and do not, i repeat do not, try to do it yourself. Take it to DAT instead, a very affordable alternative!! Hope my experience will help some of you out! Take Care.
Here's their Website: Digitalautotech.com Digital Auto Technology
Last edited by Toyota86187; 11-13-2019 at 06:12 PM.
#25
07-26-2021, 04:31 PM
Hey guys.
There's really a lot of life hacks here on how to fix the ABS module.
I tried to fix it myself on my 2009 camry. And unfortunately messed up the unit completely.
If you're a total amateur at this, don't repeat my mistakes. Ask a professional. You will save nerves and money.
There's really a lot of life hacks here on how to fix the ABS module.
I tried to fix it myself on my 2009 camry. And unfortunately messed up the unit completely.
If you're a total amateur at this, don't repeat my mistakes. Ask a professional. You will save nerves and money.
#26
05-13-2022, 12:14 PM
Hi everyone.I think this is a standard problem for many 2007-2009 Camrys.
To fix it, you need a 2007 Toyota Camry ABS Control Module for $200 and some digging around in the car
To fix it, you need a 2007 Toyota Camry ABS Control Module for $200 and some digging around in the car
#27
09-07-2022, 04:12 PM
Update pls
Well, I'm glad I found this. I just went through the procedure outlined above and it appears to have resolved my issue as well. Fingers crossed that it is in fact truly fixed but so far I have driven far farther than I have been able to since this issue occurred without a single return of the symptoms in question (same exact issue you described). Haven't resealed the ABS unit just yet (duct tape will hold it for a bit while I test further) but the issue appears to be resolved for the time being. Thank you for posting this.
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