ATTN: All those with AEM CAI... I found out something

[JaySong]

I had CEL with AEM CAI so I went back to stock, had the dealer reset the ecu.

Today I got my CAI installed by AEM since I'm not too far away from them.
Well, they removed what we call "ECU Tube" They told me that this tube was not an ecu tube and that it does not cool the ecu. They said it was in there to quiet down the car and now that they revmoved it that I should get the full effect of the intake.

I drove it around and i noticed that it sounds much louder than what I had remember it sounding like. I don't know whether it's because i was used to stock or because of removing the tube.

[Pribilof]

I don't understand how that would quiet down the car. It's not connected to anything that would make any noise. Maybe AEM just installed it correctly and you didnt?

[cruzerz545]

that tube is for cooling purposes.

[oldster]

I'll have to admit that this makes totally no sense?? :confused:

[JaySong]

i thought it was for cooling purposes too but AEM said it was not needed to be put in the car.
AEM Designed the intake, I'm sure they should know whether it was needed or not, don't you think?
I've always had the feeling that that tube was not serving any purpose with the CAI.

[JaySong]

yeah I was doubtful too but.Robert, who is in charge of tech support did the install and Greg is the one who designed the intake. He was there thru the process. When he gave me my stock components to put into my car, I saw the tube pieces and ask him. He told me it was not needed.
I'm sure AEM will know what is needed at not needed. They designed the intake on our cars and after all we are following their instructions on the install.
If any of you doubt me, call AEM and ask them about it.
310 - 484- 2322. Ask for Robert or Greg in tech suport.

[mirconrice]

the reason why your intake is louder now than before is because when you put back your stock intake and drove it around, your ECU adjusted to the stock intake so when you put back the AEM, it gets louder cause it has the same setting as the stock intake. I recently put back my stock intake and drove that around for a couple of days so toyota can look at my syncros and stuff but after that I put my injen back in and it was loud. Give it a couple of days for the ECU to adjust. Its like the exhaust too, when you first unbolt it, its freaken loud but after awhile it gets quieter somewhat but its still freaken loud. Hehe, or maybe I have gone deaf. The ECU cooling tube is there for cooling and thats it, it doesn't make the car quieter. It gets the air from the fan and blow air into the ECU to cool it down somewhat.

But after thinking about it, the hole that usually goes ECU tube, it might be used to blow air directly into the filter but thats not likely. The filter from the hole is pretty far, I don't know, it might or it might not.

[oldster]

Originally posted by JaySong
Today I got my CAI installed by AEM since I'm not too far away from them.
Well, they removed what we call "ECU Tube" They told me that this tube was not an ecu tube and that it does not cool the ecu. They said it was in there to quiet down the car and now that they revmoved it that I should get the full effect of the intake.

I drove it around and i noticed that it sounds much louder than what I had remember it sounding like. I don't know whether it's because i was used to stock or because of removing the tube.

So if it is not providing air to the ECU how and what is it quieting down? Did they say how removing it was going to give you the full effect of the intake? It would be interesting to know how something that has no physical, mechanical or electrical connection to the intake will increase it's performance. Doesn't Injen actually provide a new section for installation with their CAI, that would seem to indicate they believe it serves some purpose.

[CloNeGTS]

BS....all BS. Go ahead and run without the tube. As soon as your ECU gets fried and Toyota won't replace it, you better hope your friend at AEM can pay for your new ECU.

That tube has exactly jack to do with the intake or the noise of the car. It has nothing to do with performance or anything AEM should be concerned with. If someone actually told you that, they are full of ****. If you made that up on your own, you're full of ****. Someone is full of it!

Look at the construction. It connects at the bottom of the fan and is run up to the ECU box. Clearly it is there to pump cool air into the ECU box. Plain and simple.

Your CEL problem is something besides the ECU tube. If I were you, I'd either get them to sign a form that says the tube is not needed in the event that you do fry something....or do the smart thing and put the tube back in. It's not hurting a damn thing.

[soceur]

Originally posted by CloNeGTS
BS....all BS. Go ahead and run without the tube. As soon as your ECU gets fried and Toyota won't replace it, you better hope your friend at AEM can pay for your new ECU.

That tube has exactly jack to do with the intake or the noise of the car. It has nothing to do with performance or anything AEM should be concerned with. If someone actually told you that, they are full of ****. If you made that up on your own, you're full of ****. Someone is full of it!

Look at the construction. It connects at the bottom of the fan and is run up to the ECU box. Clearly it is there to pump cool air into the ECU box. Plain and simple.

Your CEL problem is something besides the ECU tube. If I were you, I'd either get them to sign a form that says the tube is not needed in the event that you do fry something....or do the smart thing and put the tube back in. It's not hurting a damn thing.
ditto, my thoughts exactly. Just because they designed a cai for the celica, doesn't make them an expert on what belongs on the car and what doesn't, thats toyotas' department.

[rocket celica]

I've always wondered about that. That tube doesn't seem to do jack and plus it keeps comming loose.
Before we go on calling people names here, Let's find out for certain the function of that tube. It could very well be that it's like a buttefly valve in that it does not affect it negatively by taking it out. At leaset it looks better with it off. If you notice in the AEM install guides, the pics has it with the top tube off. Now most people who don't know of this site would not put it on due to the pics. If it did damage the ecu, then AEM would get complaints and they would know about it. Also if AEM installed it and they took the whole thing off, then it indicates that it probably isn't needed.


What I want to know is how do you Clone know it cools the ecu? it could be one person's guess and due to word of mouth it came to be believed as being true. Air being delivered through a tube to ecu to cool it doesn't make sense to me. 1st off i don't think it's will be effective enought to cool it. I took off the part that goes into "do not open" but felt no air. So if it is cooling the ecu how does it?

[larrbear]

"the tube that keeps comin loose problem "i use to have...i jus adjusted my intake a lil and its fixed....because before it kept popping out...now it doesnt even pop out

[z6joker9]

senseless... my goodness. look at it. it's not touching the intake. it's running from the fan area to the ecu box. hmm... so it either channels air from the fan to the ecu, or it's there for looks and to take up space.

The butterfly does serve a purpose, as does this tube. toyota would not have included it if it didn't(it may have only cost 10 cents a celica for them to make, but that adds up, and they know that, so they wouldn't add stuff that does nothing).

I would either put it back on or get a statement signed by them about it, incase something goes wrong. perhaps you should post a pic of what you're talking about, JUST IN CASE we are talking about two different things.

[larryd]

thats gotta be the funniest thing ive ever heard in my life.. I dont believe that AEM would say such a thing .. just a damn shame.. anyhow that tube is an ECU cooling tube according to the technical books that toyota has :).. regardless of what AEM said.. think of it this way.. the tube is connected to the radiator fan and blows cool air up the tube and directly at your ECU.. how in the hell would that have anything to do with yer intake :)

[2K1BLKCELGTS]

Just a funny thing.. I have a tube that comes from the air box on my Pathfinder that I could never explain a reason for. I finally asked about it and was told that it was there to make the engine quieter. Apparently it sets up a frequency that cancels certain frequencys within the engine.

This tube on the Celica does come from a airbox to the ECU housing, I assume that it is for heat dissipation.

I also noticed that Injen has a special arrangement just so that tube remains in place when the Injen CAI is installed.
So, I would certainly keep it.

[2nsane]

Yep left mine in

[GTS LAID]

Dont touch the ECU cooling tube.. the computer has a hard enough time sitting 2 inches away from an engine held at 8000+ RPM for minutes at a time.

[mwz26]

did they sell you a recalled bypass valve after they shoveld that sh!t?

[CloNeGTS]

HOW DO I KNOW?????

Use common sense man! Go open your hood!

I can't believe people are arguing this.

Bottom line.....you are a less than smart person if you leave your cooling tube out for any reason. You are a retard if you think that tube is for anything but cooling.

[JaySong]

Clone, I don't need your angry cussing tone. why don't you cut it out. If I was 100% confident that it was safe w/o the tube I wouldn't have posted here. I posted to get an input but at the same time I cannot rely on mere conjuctures or what seems like common sense, because my common sense is same as yours.
It has to be known as a fact.
I looked it up in the service manual it's called an "ECM outlet duct"
so that indicate that the tube does not provide air but instead just channels it down, so that the hot air from the ecm box won't get into the stock airbox.
The reason I say this is that there is no air comming up the tube whatsoever, even when the fan comes on so I don't see how it serves a cooling purpose. it seems that it is there to lessen the presense of heat in the engine bay.

Last thing I need are sarcasms or wise a$$es. I'm putting it back on until I do know what the hell is going on.
If any of you can, please find out from a professional it's true function.

[djm221]

Why don't you take the fan off your PC CPU, that's just draining power and making noise, who needs it?

[CloNeGTS]

Hot air from the ECM box not getting to the intake???? What the hell are you talking about? You have a high revving engine in a closed engine bay, and you think they are worried about the electrical heat the ECU is releasing?

Do whatever you want with your car. You can wait to talk to Toyota's chief engineer if it makes you feel better....but bottom line, no doubt about it in my (and 99% of other owners) minds, that tube serves a function to keep the ECU cool. Blow air, suck air....split hairs all you want.

My attitude in this thread is because it is a silly conversation. Read back over the sarcasm being thrown around. Common sense should be all that's needed to determine the tube's function. For some reason, this logic doesn't seem to be enough for you.

[Acilec]

One question: has anyone heard of anyone that has fried their ECU because of the lack of having an ECU cooling tube? I have never heard of such a case.

[celenium]

CloneGTS! I disagree with you.
Most people had issues
about this tube and it's function
you need to take a chill pill, bro!


---------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Acilec
One question: has anyone heard of anyone that has fried their ECU because of the lack of having an ECU cooling tube? I have never heard of such a case.

I quite agree with you.
There are at least couple people
who've not put back this tube
and from what I gather no problems.

[DaksGT]

That made no sense cause injen even sent me those little things to extend the ecu tube with their intake.

[oldster]

Originally posted by celenium
CloneGTS! I disagree with you.
Most people had issues
about this tube and it's function
you need to take a chill pill, bro!


---------------------------------------------------------------------


I quite agree with you.
There are at least couple people
who've not put back this tube
and from what I gather no problems.

There are also a lot of people who believe the answer to the CEL is to reset it, that doesn't make it right. Does the tube being removed increasing the liklihood of premature failure of the ECU? I have to believe that Toyota engineering put the tube on for a reason. In the competitive world of auto manufacturing they are not going to stick a $10 (guessing) part on 200,000 cars for no reason, particularly if it can't even be seen. JMHO

[Pribilof]

Originally posted by oldster

In the competitive world of auto manufacturing they are not going to stick a $10 (guessing) part on 200,000 cars for no reason, particularly if it can't even be seen. JMHO

More like a $60 part. I went to my local dealer today to buy one to have if I ever want to go back to stock. One piece is $38 and the other is $12

Part #'s:
82776-20010-19.44
82777-20010-38.05

If you want to have your dealer look at the diagram on their computers it's listed under Electronic Fuel Injection System. The diagram they printed for me shows the ECU and all related hardware.

edit: maybe the 19.44 and the 38.05 at the end of the #'s listed are the prices. The guy kinda mumbled. But he wrote down the numbers himself so I'm suire those are right

edit2: Parts.com has these parts for 12.45 and 25.16 respectfully

[CloNeGTS]

Guys....this entire conversation is ridiculous. As oldster said, why would it be there if an engineer didn't determine it to be necessary.

You all can have all the problems with me that you want, but you aren't using common sense if you feel you should leave that tube off. Period.

[pinoyracer]

Hey guys keep it cool!!!

I don't know if u remember, it was long time ago, when AEM first introduced their CAI to the new generation of Celica's. They said it will fit mostly the new generation of the Celica (Auto & Manual). When some of us liked the idea, alot of auto owners bought the AEM CAI and when they started to install it they have problems because the tube for the AEM CAI was hitting some part inside the engine and can't install it right. And later on alot of auto owners was complaining about this and AEM just recently changed their application guide for their CAI for the manual use only.

So I don't know, if u could still trust those engineers from AEM but it will take a common sense doing this. One good example is ur pc, if u take off that cooling fan, ur pc and ur cpu will overheat and it will fry the motherboard.

Make ur wise decision Luke, the force of the Jedi is within u :gap:

[Jnsd]

i can't belive this conversation broke out in a argument...
I do agree that it's to cool the ecu though.


if you notice, that tube can be take apart in the middle. Why don't you take off the top half of the tube while your car and fan air on, and feel the air that it's pushing through.. It may not seem like much, but it doesn't take a whole lot of air to cool down the ecu..

[MSR27]

How about you guys take the tube off, mash your car for a mile or two, determine and judge for yourself. That way you only have it off long enough to determine if this theory is true. Stop all the fussing. :thumbup:

[MOHRSPD]

Has anyone got an EO number from AEM yet?

[Raymund]

The "cooling tube" does not send air to cool the ecu. Instead its reversed. Once the fan turns on, air is sucked from the ECU.

My guess.... its designed to keep the ECU dry. Since the engine temperature varies greatly and the ECU housing is not water tight, moist condensation can build up and cause the wiring/electronics to short circuit. By constantly keeping air flow moving this can keep the ECU dry sort of like a dryer.

IMO, it has jack to do with the intake, I don't care if AEM is willing to swear and die by it and I certainly wont remove it for a lame reason like "it doesnt look good in the engine bay"

[JaySong]

Originally posted by Raymund
The "cooling tube" does not send air to cool the ecu. Instead its reversed. Once the fan turns on, air is sucked from the ECU.

My guess.... its designed to keep the ECU dry. Since the engine temperature varies greatly and the ECU housing is not water tight, moist condensation can build up and cause the wiring/electronics to short circuit. By constantly keeping air flow moving this can keep the ECU dry sort of like a dryer.

IMO, it has jack to do with the intake, I don't care if AEM is willing to swear and die by it and I certainly wont remove it for a lame reason like "it doesnt look good in the engine bay"

You are absolutely right. The tube does not cool the ecu. I've confirmed it with toyota tech. The tube is an "ECM Outlet duct" meaning it draws out from the ecm. several people didn't install it back and lots of people didn't click in properly. no problems.
You are also correct on the fact that AEM didn't know what they are talking about.

some of you, it seems misunderstood the reason for my posting and were bashing me. I posted to find out what it is for. Futhermore, It confirms that sometimes what seems like common sense is wrong that is why I wanted hard proof.

[oldster]

Originally posted by JaySong



some of you, it seems misunderstood the reason for my posting and were bashing me. I posted to find out what it is for. Futhermore, It confirms that sometimes what seems like common sense is wrong that is why I wanted hard proof.

I see nothing in your previous posts to validate this comment.

[CloNeGTS]

Originally posted by oldster


I see nothing in your previous posts to validate this comment.

Ditto......but I think we've beat this into the ground now.

[Kit99bar]

Jaysong was told somethign interesting/strange by AEM and he posted it. Why the bashing of him?

[Kit99bar]

look at Larry's response for an example of how you could have responded and helped Jaysong out

[oldster]

Originally posted by Kit99bar
look at Larry's response for an example of how you could have responded and helped Jaysong out

I responded exactly the way I intended, if I wished for your counsel I would ask for it.

[Kit99bar]

I don't need you to ask me for counsel to voice my opinion

[Kit99bar]

the main point is that if you dont' have anythign constructive to say, why say it? It only creates a negative environment. I want newcelica to be a positive helpful place for people.

it's just my opinion. your free to say whatever you want.

[racinjason]

~shaking head~ Where's my Vodka!!!!!

[larryd]

point is made.. post is closed