Thread: This is driving me nuts, ECU reports 55 and 21 :/

I managed by help from this forum, another forum, a live person and an person that I PM often and is a great help with a lot of experience, to remove that annoying alarm.

So I reset the ECU, and as expected, putting the key in 'christmas dashboard' still made it blink 55, instead of with the alarm built in straight away would give 21.

So, the car drives better now and I'm sure about that, though I'm not sure resetting the ECU was a good idea anyway and I replaced cap + dizzy.

The problem is that after driving for a while, the error 21 comes back, I shut the car down, put it in christmas dashboard again and then I get 55, or 21, or 55, or 21, etc etc. It's not consequent and I wasn't able to get the car stalling again for 5 minutes (something I believe the alarm was doing).

I'm not knowing a lot about ECU behaviour but I start to believe that even the ECU throwing out a 21 will not shut the car down to let it start again 5 minutes later (agreed?)

But instead of throwing 21 for sure, now without alarm it's not 55 and 21 but 55 or 21, which makes me confuse even more because I can;t discover a pattern here.

It has new plugs, rotor+cap replaced (with 3k on those) cabling looks fine but is not new anymore and those 2 connectors on the 'ignition housing' are in good condition. Spraying water at night on them, didnt reveal jumping sparks and I can touch cabling, cap, ignition housing etc and there is no electricty.

I'm not sure and I would like to hear what I still can try, because this car will go back to the owner this sunday and I hate saying, well it probably wont stall anymore (based on what?) and it still has an error code, so it's your problem now and call me when it does stall. (already knowing then I really won't be able to fix it anyway).

Please help!!

What do codes 21 and 55 mean? What kind of car is it? This would help a lot.

55 means no faults found.

What car is this on???

Code 2-1 is Ignition Signal: Primary. I'm thinking you still have an ignition switch fault. You removed all of the alarm wiring from the mix?

I narrowed it down to crank angle sensor 21 and 55 means all systems functioning.

So 21 is intermittent, and photo diodes and leds usually are not and that wheel with all those holes might be dirty.

Can I open this thing up and replace that wheel or led or photo diode even? Or if cleaning fails, do I get away with swapping for another ignition housing that doesnt have error codes in the ECU (sort of)without having to adjust my ignition timing again?

I wonder because cleaning is the first thing I would try but I really don't know for sure how to get the Nx1600 in timing mode or the quick way to do it revving past 3krpm and disconnecting TPSwith running engine thats because I bought a second hand timing light (and I don't believe the timing light itself is so bad it won't even flash accordingly for cylinder 1 being on TDC but my Nx2000 I can't get it to show anything on the timingbelt, the pin is found, I'm not sure the pulley might be shifted (:S) and I also don't see any marking on them but everything, pulleys, crap that lights up and markings/brands/letters are jumping all the time.

I have no OBD cable and hope to find one soon and for the timing mode, all I was able to notice is that disconnection the TPS after revving it, made the idle go up abit and then down, which should be a sign of getting it in to timing mode, but I'm blind as a bat here.

So I suspect my pulleys, timingbelt or how you call that rubber band with white markings, my car not getting in to timing mode and my timinggun and myself a bit too.

I wish there was a easy way to get the Nx1600 in timing mode, revving it for ages just makes no sense and in my view still is tricky to do, and how to thell it is in timing mode?

Maybe better to await the cable? I'm pretty convinced now the car won't shut itself down anymore but I amnot sure it won't start at all if something really goes bust like a led or a photo diode.

btw, I also suspect the wave forming circuit a bit, still wonder if I can take the crank angle sensor (is that the ignition module, the housing behind the cap, dizzy and that little black plate?

Do you understand my dilemma? I hope I can find a workaround for the missing OBD cable, my lack of experience or knowing the timing light is ok, lacking a 'for sure' way to get it in timing mode and if all that turns out to be true, lacking a way to adjust the ignition timing.

You can open it and clean it, yes. Likely some oily debris on the lens and CAS disc. Can't tell you what to clean it with though, but you'd obviously need to be careful with it.

If that's the case though, that generally means that you would see more than enough oil in the dizzy when you remove the cap.

I removed the cap and my neighbour already said that it would be oily or not and it's not and I agreed to not look further.

What can I expect to do tomorrow, for say if the getting it in to timing mode (how on a 1600??) fails and all i have is a spare crank angle sensor complete.

Maybe better to await OBD cable or can it be done, I prefer the can it be done but the getting in timing mode is really bugging me here.

Please help and sorry if I sound pushy right now but there is no need to run to the car again and check, it's not open even and it's night overhere and I'm FSM'ing it and always knew that there was a wheel with holes in it doing neato stuff (and understand why and what for) but now I have to take one apart and I would like to get it fixed, so knowing what and how to get it in timing mode or tell the timing gun had it's best time.

Please don't say get OBD cable, I promised to give the car back sunday and over my dead body it will be like here you go, maybe problem is away and go to your dealer.

So this is rocket science or just am I trying to do something pointless (I now know my try to swap lambda action which failed with a crow bar and a 'propane-gun' and proper fitting tool failed, twice. but the fuel smell is probably the ECU atleast overwhelming 1 cylinder with fuel right now. Fuel meter goes down like my Nx2000 does.

I also have troubles on my Nx2000 to get the idle proper, I get it barely at 850 but well under 1000 and I need my screw to be all the way down and also still have high idle and yet have to swap AAC or else the AICV (which is a little harder) got them on my scrap car waiting but also have 'more important' Nx work like reinstalling the bumper and Nx2000 lip, a long list of other things, helping out 2 friends and take apart 2 scrap cars... So I feel like I'm pretty stuck right now. sigh.

Please just throw it out all you know what can be done and is not in de FSM with the crank angle sensor to get the mofo working again no matter what and I don't care if it's 100% correct, about correct is more the sufficient for me