atessa code 24 skyline gtr need help

[MoMnDadGTR]

ok completely stumped for the abs and 4wd light back. I have atessa code 24 (ets control unit, ground circuit).  searching for 6 days now before reaching out for help. I fixed a code 13 with a new g sensor about 2 weeks ago all was well. I have cleaned abs sensors even tho that's not the code. I have the car on jack stands right now with wheels off, if I put in first gear the front wheels will spin but not powered like back ones and tourque gauge will not move. I have checked all the wiring. relay clicks like crazy in the boot when first go to click ignition on to work on car in morning.  I have both bleed nipples completely opened wide open and can never get a stream of fluid to come out at any time only drip drip.  I know all about white clip bleed mode ive bled the car many times and have seen in the past quite a bit of fluid come out of nipple(remember it shooting on my face.)  im leaning toward empty nitrogen canister but don't have enough knowledge to know if the car will throw a code because of a faulty nitrogen accumulator.  the atessa ecu will only read the code if the car is running. the car is very stock suited with a set of 2860s. tuned with a haltec, but I am running stock injectors so I threw my old ecu in to see if make a difference but no cigar. sorry for the length of this, I know someone is gunna be mad at me as this is probably an easy fix but im over 50 k into this car because of just throwing money at it to fix issues and think I need to go about it different. mentally beat lol 6 days straight trying to get my 4wd back.

[MoMnDadGTR]

that being said I have no problem buying what needs to be bought to keep the car proper. if my aussie friends think its a canister id more than likely like to rebuild the entire atessa pump assembly ontop of diff or buy a complete new one if it was  available. you guys know a lot more about part sourcing and what not for this type of stuff I just got helped by a nice fellow on sourcing out a front diff, any info will help to keep the old girl kickin.

[GTSBoy]

[GTSBoy]

I know you already knew what the code meant, but I thought I would reinforce it. Either you have a poor earth, intermittent power supply, or the control box is borked.

[MoMnDadGTR]

ok right on glad to have your help on this one.  any trouble shooting I should do before I buy another 4wd ecu(is so where can I pick one up or just try to find a used one on ebay?).  maybe I can probe some pins and measure voltage to try and narrow it down. is there a way I can supply a constant power voltage to my pump to even see if I can get it to prime? in the morning I can here it just pumping like crazy in the back for about 8 seconds but still only get drip drip out the bleed neeples when there wide open. no pressure ever. I guess another wuestion is has anyone ever thrown a code from a empty accumulator.  I know this code says ground and power related tho. im just very green to fixing internal 4wd issues and don't want to rule anything out completey. I know there is 2 ecus in the trunk the one has the blinking red light code is my 4wd ecu correct? I just maybe want to know what the other silver box is beside the factory amp stereo just for piece of mine. I know once I see pressure come out the bleed nipples either when car is in bleed mode or simply running that this issue will probably be solved.

[MoMnDadGTR]

literally ready to wire someone 100 bucks if they can pin point issue on this im loosing sleep mates big time haha.

ive tried 3 new batteries. I need to figure out the wiring and maybe ad some grounds in the correct areas. the 4wd and abs light pop up right away. has any one else ever had 4wd code 24?

Edited January 26, 2020 by MoMnDadGTR

[MoMnDadGTR]

hear me out on this one boys, because the nitrogen canister may be pooched, could this cause the pump to stay in an open state trying to reach target pressure but it cant without the added helo of nitrogen cannister, so throws the code 24 for continuously being on? could also be the reason when I hear my pump trying to run I still have no pressure out bleed nipples.

[GTSBoy]

First things first. If you're in the USA, you have to appreciate that the majority of this site's users were trying to sleep while you were wailing away at the keyboard.

Second....I've never had to troubleshoot an ATESSA system, so I don't have a library of problems in my head. But there are plenty of GTR owners on here, so maybe someone will know. But....

Third, these problems almost always turn out to be something new and novel, usually caused by the last dickhead who owned the car.

The other CU in the boot under the parcel shelf is the HICAS controller.

The N2 canister might be responsible for some of the behaviours, but I wouldn't suggest it should cause code 24. You ask if there are things you can measure with a multimeter.....if you want someone to do all the thinking for you and you just act as the waldo poking the terminals, that probably is not going to happen. It's too bloody hard to fault find by remote on crap like this. Grab the manual and work your way through the ATESSA section in the CH part of the manual. You can't be a GTR owner these days without knowing what it is that you've bought.

[joshuaho96]

Another thing to consider is capacitor rot on the ATTESA-ETS control unit. Crack open the controller and inspect visually and nasally. If you can smell ammonia you have some bad electrolytic capacitors. If you can see bulging or leaks on any of the capacitors you need to replace them.

Pretty much every one of these 90s cars is due for new capacitors in pretty much every board after 25-30 years if they've been driven regularly. 

[MoMnDadGTR]

40 minutes ago, GTSBoy said:

First things first. If you're in the USA, you have to appreciate that the majority of this site's users were trying to sleep while you were wailing away at the keyboard.

Second....I've never had to troubleshoot an ATESSA system, so I don't have a library of problems in my head. But there are plenty of GTR owners on here, so maybe someone will know. But....

Third, these problems almost always turn out to be something new and novel, usually caused by the last dickhead who owned the car.

The other CU in the boot under the parcel shelf is the HICAS controller.

The N2 canister might be responsible for some of the behaviours, but I wouldn't suggest it should cause code 24. You ask if there are things you can measure with a multimeter.....if you want someone to do all the thinking for you and you just act as the waldo poking the terminals, that probably is not going to happen. It's too bloody hard to fault find by remote on crap like this. Grab the manual and work your way through the ATESSA section in the CH part of the manual. You can't be a GTR owner these days without knowing what it is that you've bought.

I have the manual ive studied front to back, was simply making my problem clear in case someone had a quick  "this happened to me try this"  I didn't know there was a certain time to post on here sorry mate. and no im from Canada. ill sort the issue myself and post it when I figure it out. I don't need the extra comments calling me a waldo and telling me I need to know what I bought. keep it to yourself. thanks for the help joshuaho96 definitely my next step.  again ill post the fix when I have it beat. 

[MoMnDadGTR]

Ended up being an easy fix. Borrowed my friends Ecu against his will as he didn’t want to remove the Ecu as his car is in storage for winter and clips can break easy where we are from very cold. Removed the 4wd Ecu and it has a bunch of rust ontop does not look pretty. Looks like my rear whiper hose was leaking on it at some point and has caused water damage. Swapped ets Ecu 4wd back tourque gauge working fine. Thanks again cheers.

[GTSBoy]

1 hour ago, MoMnDadGTR said:

I don't need the extra comments calling me a waldo

Look up the definition of waldo before you get all upset.

There is a very specific definition, involving remote controlled manipulators.

[MoMnDadGTR]

My misunderstanding, anyways problem fixed thanks again. 

[joshuaho96]

4 hours ago, MoMnDadGTR said:

Ended up being an easy fix. Borrowed my friends Ecu against his will as he didn’t want to remove the Ecu as his car is in storage for winter and clips can break easy where we are from very cold. Removed the 4wd Ecu and it has a bunch of rust ontop does not look pretty. Looks like my rear whiper hose was leaking on it at some point and has caused water damage. Swapped ets Ecu 4wd back tourque gauge working fine. Thanks again cheers.

If you got water into the electronics you won't be able to repair it most likely. You can try cleaning the corrosion off the board but usually the corrosion etches away critical connections.

[MoMnDadGTR]

I was curious to see what the inside of the old ets control unit looked like after seeing the outside(seeing if I could fix while my new used ets unit showed up). I cleaned everything the best I could I’m surprised this was my issue because everything looked quite clean and the connector pins had zero corrosion. The unit is still dead when I plug in. I wanted to challenge myself and fix it but I think it’s hooped . I took a few pics for who ever cares to see what the inside looks like and maybe you can spot something I didn’t. Cheers thanks again for help.

[joshuaho96]

The photos aren't super useful unless you are taking macro shots of each capacitor in good lighting. The tops of the capacitors should all be perfectly flat. If you see any bulging replace all the capacitors as a preventative measure.

You could meticulously check the resistance of each solder joint to see if you have a bad joint somewhere.

[GTSBoy]

Josh ^ having said that, what we can see of those caps is that they do look pretty flat on the tops. Unless you were to desolder them and put them on an ESR tester, you probably wouldn't be able to find out if any of them were bad.

What is interesting is that there appears to be some nasty looking solder joints on TR14.

I would caution you that you may kill the replacement CU if the cause of the death of this one is external.

[joshuaho96]

Most of them do look pretty flat but one of them looked a little suspect, I couldn't tell if it was just the lighting or something else.

I do agree the TR14 connections look pretty nasty. 

[Duncan]

Also, the issue could be with corrosion in the external sockets, not inside the unit. Have a look if the pins in the socket needed a clean up.  

Since the error was earth circuit, the ATTESSA CU pin out will tell you which pin(s) are earth

[MoMnDadGTR]

11 hours ago, Duncan said:

Also, the issue could be with corrosion in the external sockets, not inside the unit. Have a look if the pins in the socket needed a clean up.  

Since the error was earth circuit, the ATTESSA CU pin out will tell you which pin(s) are earth

I checked the connectors from the harness and on the control unit side they are extremely clean(I was quite surprised so hopefully no bad ground).  I am having thoughts about what GTSBoy said about the external issue killing my old ets cu and possibly damaging my new used one.  it didn't wreck the one we tested(my friends) so fingers crossed. I fixed my leaking windshield washer hose, I was thinking of adding a few grounds to the car. another from motor to frame for sure. just tripping about a bad ground wrecking another computer. thanks again for your input cheers.