cambelt - as I could understand from Terra's post it's quite typical situation when everything seems to look and work ok but the caps are almost dead
USSR GAZ24 with 1UZ-FE VVTi (UCV24) http://www.toymods.org.au/forums/showthread.php?t=60301
Engine conversion is when you drive a shitbox which costs a whole LEXUS to own
The caps also have a finite lifetime, usually around 2000-3000 hours, 5000 hours or 10,000 hours depending on quality and design specs (I use 10k hour caps, or 5000 if the 10k aren't available in the values needed).
If the car is in a colder climate, or has low mileage, the capacitors won't be as worn out or stressed, so may still be serviceable. However, my brothers Sera, and my Levin both *looked* good, but a replacement improved the general running of the cars (easier starting, better mileage, and smoother running).
I have found the worst culprits to be the 1j and 2j ECU's for some reason. I'm not sure why, they even corrode the tracks sometimes, requiring physical repair to the PCB itself.
I always over rate the voltage ratings too (if the original cap was a 16v, 100uF rated part, I'll stick a 25v, 100uF one in instead etc) in all my swaps to ensure reliable operation.
I have tested the caps with an ESR meter as well as the capacitance meter on my Fluke multimeter. However, if one is leaking anywhere in the ECU, I replace all of them as a matter of course. No point replacing one and leaving the rest as an unknown.
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