Thanks for posting this, auto elec quoted $440 to change it over with new. Saw this vid and how super easy it is to DIY, went and got a tested second hand whole thing for $50, so far the fault hasn,t appeared again. If it only lasts 50 thousand k , happy to spend another $50 and 10 minutes to do it again 😊
Thanks for this video, it describes exactly whats been happening to our old wagon. Replaced the sparks and leads, and it fixed it 80% of the way, but this might be the root cause. Cheers
great video... My Vt was stalling while driving along (very scary, No brakes No power steering etc) it was the connector to the D.F.I module. Some of the pins had slightly opened up and when the little lugs were pressed back in again (making a tighter fit)...No more stalling!
Exactly. I know I've done that too but it made no difference. This worked for me a few times now. Spark plugs your can test by taking one off at a time and skiing a test drive it any are suspect. Same with leads. I once saw a car that was misfireing. A lead had fallen out of a coil. It was tracking 50mm across to the lead. It still ran but badly. A 10 second repair.
Also your hear of these coil packs as being wasted spark because they fire two spark plugs at the same time. It surprising they last as long as they do sitting on a hot engine. One of our cars has over 500000km on it.
@@lynpatnat Modern cars dont break down like they used to thankfully;I am running a VX which is a good car but I dont drive it much;it has a bit of rough running or missing on a light throttle when cold;that goes away when it warms up;I dont know whether to try and fix it by replacing the DFI
@@samspianos almost certainly the DFI module. That's the classic symptoms. Try to get one off a wrecked car or even on eBay wreckers sell them cheap. If you get them from someone that has it in the shed they seem to happen have the same problems. They took them off their car as it was dicking around then put it in the shed and forgot about it until they were clearing out the shed and no longer remember just why is was in there. I always try to find one off a crashed car. They are expensive new and I've even had a new one fail when it was 30 minutes old.
Comment on the outcome so we know if it's the fix. Let's hope it works. Remember secondhand units may be faulty as people change then then put the off one in the shed as it seemed to partly work and then forget that it is faulty unit. A few years later they see it there and decide to sell it on marketplace or gumtree. I know it's happened to me when I bought one. I noted older but then if the wires have been cut off the loom it it I take it off an accident damaged car. Wreckers are often better sources than backyard collectors.
My car was missing for a few weeks then didn’t start at all. So i called the NRMA and the mechanic diagnosed it immediately, the pins in the connector to the Defi module were expanded and wont connecting properly, he used a pointy tool to squash them down again. And vehicle was ok again, hope this helps someone.
Yep common problem and easy diagnosis is to turn on the ignition and wriggle the wiring at the DFI connector - if you hear the fuel pump relay click under the bonnet and the fuel pump prime you need to fix the connector. An easy way to repair the terminals is to use a small safety pin. Stretch it open and then gently insert the sharp end between the connector terminal and the back of the terminal and bend the terminal back out so that it clamps properly on the male terminal of the DFI module.
Are there any products on the market that has a built in DFI module for racing and stuff that can replace the stock dfi module? Mine has a burnt out pin and wont run causing no spark and it's a garbage design and I want to replace it with something more reliable.
I haven't seen any but I'm sure there are people that can do all sorts of magic. I know they can delete the imobiliser for race cars. As for the DFI aftermarket maybe ask someone that races one. They will have a good knowledge of that
First thing to do is rule out a glitch in the computer. Disconnect the battery then while it's disconnected you need to drain the residual electrical charge in the capacitors if the computer. To do this you just need to pretend the battery is so connected and do things push brakes on a few times. Turn on the ignition, turn it to start. Turn on the flashers, headlights etc. Then turn all of them off. That fully resets the computer except for safely items like ABS failure air bag etc. Reconnect the battery. It will not have to relearn. Start it let it warm up. Turn on the AC, headlights etc one by one, go for a gentle drive. Then turn it off. If the lights have gone away then great. If not then .... That sounds like the abs module is faulty. I have done a video on changing the abs module. They often call it the Christmas tree as a lot of dash lights light up. You can google "faulty ABS module Commodore" and we get good info. They are very specific to the year, month etc. And getting harder to get second hand.
Yep. That is a common time for them to fail. I had a new one fail 15 minutes after installing it without any reason. The whole placement of an electronic device into a hot engine sets out up fail. Poor engineering but it made it easier when dropping the engine assembly into the car in the factory. Relocation of the DFI to the firewall could help. The cars are now 20 years old so we are now looking in the rear view mirror. Let's hope the manufacturer learnt from their mistakes.
Yes. The computer heatsink paste is a good idea. You can often the the residue from the original part. It's crazy that that placed an electronic part on a hot motor inside an engine bay. It's just asking to fail.
@@dragan3290 some modules last a lot longer than others. So if it's been on for more than a month I would just leave it. " Never fix what isn't Fuc**d". It is also possible the heatsick compound conducts heat from the hot engine to the module and cause them to fail. The ideal would be a mount insulated from the engine ( but earthed) with a cold are duct from the front of the car. Surprisingly some modules seen to last forever. If probably leave it and hope for the best but remember the compound if you ever need to change it again.
@@lynpatnat I'm leaving but I have an old spare one which is still fine. I noticed on vx commodore plug gap is meant to be 1.3 mm. Vt is 1.5 mm. Why I don't know? But I can't get vx plugs anymore. I can close the gap I suppose. Too big a gap will make coil packs work harder. That s what I was taught. Correct me if I'm wrong! Cheers and thanks for the reply. 🙂
@@dragan3290 don't regap spark plugs once they have been hot. The side electrode can break. ( Rarely). I set mine at 1.3 but that is because I then never remove or replace them until I developed a misfire under load. I normally get about 130000 out of a set of plugs. The last ones I took out had almost no side electrode and the centre electrode was recessed into the porcelain. Gap was about 2mm. Yes it is true it puts a lot of stress on the electronic components as it has to work harder but I seem to get away with being lazy about that last of the servicing. Buy irriium plugs. Thats the main thing. These ignition systems put out a lot of power. We had a misfire in one of our cars and ignored it for a few days. When we finally liftted the bonnet to look one if the leads was just laying there about 50mm from the coil. It was tracking a spark ask that distance and still running ok except under load. The rubber end cap was melted from the spark but we just squeezed it slighly with some pliers to make it a bit tighter. It ran perfect after that so we never even replaced the lead. That brings up with point. If there is any weakness in the insulation it will arc to ground. Lift the bonnet at night and see if there is a lightning show going on. Move the leads around with a piece of dry Wood or plastic. See if there are any arcs. You can even use a very fine ( remember that very fine) spray from a water bottle mister to bring out the tricky arcs. Just don't start spraying the Multi pin connector at the module. You are looking for high tension leaks.
I just went and checked an old wiring harness. Yep that seems correct. Some are missing the point and some don't have the wire in the harness. I hadn't looked at the wiring diagram but it must be correct.
It won't throw a code. I don't think it will cause a stall unless it out totally failed. Check and clean your idle air circuit. The IAC is a small stepper motor and can jam because of carbon buildup and mostly fully in position so then you get no air at idle. Another thing to check would be your DFI module plate under the coils. They can go bad but normally they will fail on 1 of the 3 circuits or just get flakey when hot. Then there could be a fuel pump failure too (listen for the fuel pump in the tank while near the back of the car. It will buzz then stop until you start the car. Next check one of the relays under the bonnet. The main EFI relay as its always ON when running the car it gets hot and fails. You can swap it with the high beam one as they are the same if that fixes it then make sure you replace the dodgy one or you will have your high beam behave badly. I suggest mark the possible faulty one before swapping as its surpising how you end up forgetting which one is the possible bad relay.
It's under the coil pack. Remove the coil pack to get better access if you need to charge the water pump. While there have a good look at the radiator hose. It's often damaged from the heat of they motor.
@@lynpatnat thanks my friend, ive got the inlet manifold off because one cylinder was full of water. I think the gasket(s) failed. Great vidd too, thankx
At about 4 minutes you will see two bolt holes on a part that has the hose attached. That is the water pump. If you have water in the cylinder it's probably a head gasket. The inlet manifold gasket when they leak allow a bit if oil into the cooling system. I'm not sure if it was really bad of it could get water into the cylinders but I guess it's possible. There are a few videos on doing the head gaskets. I would do them as you are most of the way there now.
Have a good look at the gallery you removed. It will be swollen and damaged where it leaked. In you case maybe between a water gallery and the inlet side of the engine.
Yep. Noted. If you look back through the comments. If you can add more info to help the community everyone appreciates the assistance. I know that the fault is with these. It's a broken microwire inside near the connection. The whole contents is set in a gell. Maybe if I cleaned that off and could run a jumper wire from there to the circuit board then I could show how to repair them. My eyes are getting a bit dim these days and the cars are nearing their end so this may be a thing for the next generation to work out.
Yes. My error was pointed out a long time ago. It's a wasted spark system. I've changed a few of these modules over the years. It would be nice if they were fitted in a place other than a hot engine. Thanks for the info.
Thanks for posting this, auto elec quoted $440 to change it over with new. Saw this vid and how super easy it is to DIY, went and got a tested second hand whole thing for $50, so far the fault hasn,t appeared again. If it only lasts 50 thousand k , happy to spend another $50 and 10 minutes to do it again 😊
Good on you for finding the right help on here with my RUclips video. I'm glad I could help out.
Thanks for this video, it describes exactly whats been happening to our old wagon. Replaced the sparks and leads, and it fixed it 80% of the way, but this might be the root cause. Cheers
great video... My Vt was stalling while driving along (very scary, No brakes No power steering etc) it was the connector to the D.F.I module. Some of the pins had slightly opened up and
when the little lugs were pressed back in again (making a tighter fit)...No more stalling!
That's great. Good to have a win for no cost. I've heard sometimes the wiring can break too near the connector base at the dfi.
Good info ...I would've just changed plugs & leads. Nice to know where else to look 👍
Exactly. I know I've done that too but it made no difference. This worked for me a few times now. Spark plugs your can test by taking one off at a time and skiing a test drive it any are suspect. Same with leads.
I once saw a car that was misfireing. A lead had fallen out of a coil. It was tracking 50mm across to the lead. It still ran but badly. A 10 second repair.
The DFI (Direct Fire Ignition) module is a device that works with your car's computer system.
Yep. Thanks. Noted a few times now. It does seem I can make the occasional mistake.
Also your hear of these coil packs as being wasted spark because they fire two spark plugs at the same time. It surprising they last as long as they do sitting on a hot engine. One of our cars has over 500000km on it.
@@lynpatnat Modern cars dont break down like they used to thankfully;I am running a VX which is a good car but I dont drive it much;it has a bit of rough running or missing on a light throttle when cold;that goes away when it warms up;I dont know whether to try and fix it by replacing the DFI
@@samspianos almost certainly the DFI module. That's the classic symptoms. Try to get one off a wrecked car or even on eBay wreckers sell them cheap. If you get them from someone that has it in the shed they seem to happen have the same problems. They took them off their car as it was dicking around then put it in the shed and forgot about it until they were clearing out the shed and no longer remember just why is was in there. I always try to find one off a crashed car. They are expensive new and I've even had a new one fail when it was 30 minutes old.
sounds like what is happening to my vy ute , i will be checking this after watching the video to see if it changes anything
Comment on the outcome so we know if it's the fix.
Let's hope it works.
Remember secondhand units may be faulty as people change then then put the off one in the shed as it seemed to partly work and then forget that it is faulty unit. A few years later they see it there and decide to sell it on marketplace or gumtree. I know it's happened to me when I bought one.
I noted older but then if the wires have been cut off the loom it it I take it off an accident damaged car. Wreckers are often better sources than backyard collectors.
My car was missing for a few weeks then didn’t start at all. So i called the NRMA and the mechanic diagnosed it immediately, the pins in the connector to the Defi module were expanded and wont connecting properly, he used a pointy tool to squash them down again. And vehicle was ok again, hope this helps someone.
That's great info. Yes it definitely skinned like the DFI. Good to know it can just be the connectors and is worth a try.
Yep common problem and easy diagnosis is to turn on the ignition and wriggle the wiring at the DFI connector - if you hear the fuel pump relay click under the bonnet and the fuel pump prime you need to fix the connector. An easy way to repair the terminals is to use a small safety pin. Stretch it open and then gently insert the sharp end between the connector terminal and the back of the terminal and bend the terminal back out so that it clamps properly on the male terminal of the DFI module.
Can this cause loss of power and hesitation under hard throttle to
Dual fire interface is what dfi stands for
should stand for shit piece of electrical engineering
No it doesn't. It's Direct Fire Ignition.
No, it doesn't.
would this apply for my 97 vs ute
If it has the same style of 3 coils then yes it will be the same. Cast iron engine. I think things will be different with the alloy engines .
Are there any products on the market that has a built in DFI module for racing and stuff that can replace the stock dfi module? Mine has a burnt out pin and wont run causing no spark and it's a garbage design and I want to replace it with something more reliable.
I haven't seen any but I'm sure there are people that can do all sorts of magic. I know they can delete the imobiliser for race cars. As for the DFI aftermarket maybe ask someone that races one. They will have a good knowledge of that
Hi mate after i change this module ...got check engine light n tac light on do u know why
First thing to do is rule out a glitch in the computer. Disconnect the battery then while it's disconnected you need to drain the residual electrical charge in the capacitors if the computer. To do this you just need to pretend the battery is so connected and do things push brakes on a few times. Turn on the ignition, turn it to start. Turn on the flashers, headlights etc. Then turn all of them off. That fully resets the computer except for safely items like ABS failure air bag etc.
Reconnect the battery. It will not have to relearn. Start it let it warm up. Turn on the AC, headlights etc one by one, go for a gentle drive. Then turn it off.
If the lights have gone away then great. If not then ....
That sounds like the abs module is faulty. I have done a video on changing the abs module. They often call it the Christmas tree as a lot of dash lights light up. You can google "faulty ABS module Commodore" and we get good info.
They are very specific to the year, month etc. And getting harder to get second hand.
I've seen these DFI modules fail before after people hosing their engine with water
Yep. That is a common time for them to fail. I had a new one fail 15 minutes after installing it without any reason. The whole placement of an electronic device into a hot engine sets out up fail. Poor engineering but it made it easier when dropping the engine assembly into the car in the factory. Relocation of the DFI to the firewall could help. The cars are now 20 years old so we are now looking in the rear view mirror. Let's hope the manufacturer learnt from their mistakes.
I think it's "Dual Fire Ignition" coz each coil fires 2 cylinders
That's true and what they should have called it but I think they choose to be clever and name it something that makes them look superior. Haha.
It's Direct Fire Ignition.
I bought a brand name. It came with heatsink compound to go under did module.
Yes. The computer heatsink paste is a good idea. You can often the the residue from the original part. It's crazy that that placed an electronic part on a hot motor inside an engine bay. It's just asking to fail.
@@lynpatnat it does worry me as my VP Commodore never came with heatsink compound with ignition module.
@@dragan3290 some modules last a lot longer than others. So if it's been on for more than a month I would just leave it. " Never fix what isn't Fuc**d". It is also possible the heatsick compound conducts heat from the hot engine to the module and cause them to fail. The ideal would be a mount insulated from the engine ( but earthed) with a cold are duct from the front of the car. Surprisingly some modules seen to last forever. If probably leave it and hope for the best but remember the compound if you ever need to change it again.
@@lynpatnat I'm leaving but I have an old spare one which is still fine. I noticed on vx commodore plug gap is meant to be 1.3 mm. Vt is 1.5 mm. Why I don't know? But I can't get vx plugs anymore. I can close the gap I suppose. Too big a gap will make coil packs work harder. That s what I was taught. Correct me if I'm wrong! Cheers and thanks for the reply. 🙂
@@dragan3290 don't regap spark plugs once they have been hot. The side electrode can break. ( Rarely). I set mine at 1.3 but that is because I then never remove or replace them until I developed a misfire under load. I normally get about 130000 out of a set of plugs. The last ones I took out had almost no side electrode and the centre electrode was recessed into the porcelain. Gap was about 2mm.
Yes it is true it puts a lot of stress on the electronic components as it has to work harder but I seem to get away with being lazy about that last of the servicing. Buy irriium plugs. Thats the main thing.
These ignition systems put out a lot of power. We had a misfire in one of our cars and ignored it for a few days. When we finally liftted the bonnet to look one if the leads was just laying there about 50mm from the coil. It was tracking a spark ask that distance and still running ok except under load. The rubber end cap was melted from the spark but we just squeezed it slighly with some pliers to make it a bit tighter. It ran perfect after that so we never even replaced the lead.
That brings up with point. If there is any weakness in the insulation it will arc to ground. Lift the bonnet at night and see if there is a lightning show going on. Move the leads around with a piece of dry Wood or plastic. See if there are any arcs. You can even use a very fine ( remember that very fine) spray from a water bottle mister to bring out the tricky arcs. Just don't start spraying the Multi pin connector at the module. You are looking for high tension leaks.
4:56 4 PINS FROM THE LEFT, ONE IS MISSING
I just went and checked an old wiring harness. Yep that seems correct. Some are missing the point and some don't have the wire in the harness. I hadn't looked at the wiring diagram but it must be correct.
Can this cause a stall? It doesnt throw a code?
It won't throw a code. I don't think it will cause a stall unless it out totally failed.
Check and clean your idle air circuit. The IAC is a small stepper motor and can jam because of carbon buildup and mostly fully in position so then you get no air at idle.
Another thing to check would be your DFI module plate under the coils. They can go bad but normally they will fail on 1 of the 3 circuits or just get flakey when hot.
Then there could be a fuel pump failure too (listen for the fuel pump in the tank while near the back of the car. It will buzz then stop until you start the car.
Next check one of the relays under the bonnet. The main EFI relay as its always ON when running the car it gets hot and fails. You can swap it with the high beam one as they are the same if that fixes it then make sure you replace the dodgy one or you will have your high beam behave badly. I suggest mark the possible faulty one before swapping as its surpising how you end up forgetting which one is the possible bad relay.
Water Pumpé is to left of wheré
you pointed 👍👍😲
It's under the coil pack. Remove the coil pack to get better access if you need to charge the water pump. While there have a good look at the radiator hose. It's often damaged from the heat of they motor.
@@lynpatnat thanks my friend, ive got the inlet manifold off
because one cylinder was full of water. I think the gasket(s) failed.
Great vidd too, thankx
@@lynpatnat I think the water pump is to the left, the bigger
pulley is the water pump I do think not the smaller one, thats
just an idler ???
At about 4 minutes you will see two bolt holes on a part that has the hose attached. That is the water pump.
If you have water in the cylinder it's probably a head gasket. The inlet manifold gasket when they leak allow a bit if oil into the cooling system. I'm not sure if it was really bad of it could get water into the cylinders but I guess it's possible.
There are a few videos on doing the head gaskets. I would do them as you are most of the way there now.
Have a good look at the gallery you removed. It will be swollen and damaged where it leaked. In you case maybe between a water gallery and the inlet side of the engine.
Dfi direct fire ignition
Yep. Noted. If you look back through the comments. If you can add more info to help the community everyone appreciates the assistance. I know that the fault is with these. It's a broken microwire inside near the connection. The whole contents is set in a gell. Maybe if I cleaned that off and could run a jumper wire from there to the circuit board then I could show how to repair them. My eyes are getting a bit dim these days and the cars are nearing their end so this may be a thing for the next generation to work out.
Nothing to do with Fuel Injection. DFI = Direct Fire Ignition.
Yes. My error was pointed out a long time ago. It's a wasted spark system. I've changed a few of these modules over the years. It would be nice if they were fitted in a place other than a hot engine. Thanks for the info.
DFI = DIRECT FIRE IGNITION
Yep...Always good to get some feedback. Feel free to add more info if you can help further our knowledge.Cheers.
At least someone knows what it's called
@@stephenrossi7354 Errmmmm.... It's called that in every manual, every parts store and by every mechanic :-)
@@Gerardus1970 I'm aware people in here clearly arent
Digital fuel injection 😆😆😆 its direct fire ignition ya wally
Yep. So I've been told a couple of times if you read the other comments Haha. We all learn something new from time to time. Cheers.