As far as I can tell, I don't have a problem with coolant leaking from the heater core, but I dread the day that it does. Is there anything I can do now to protect the ECU should the core start to leak at a later time? This may save me a lot of headaches at a later date.

Plastic wrap the ECU possibly.
You could put a large pad of absorbent paper on the top of it, once wrapped, and check it once a week for wetness. If a leak occurs, the paper will soak it up and you will get early warning.

Or..... Just check it every service, rarely will it just crap itself, usually is plenty of warning

Im dealing with correcting this issue now not fun at all. Madmagna has the best advice, prevention or early detection is the best fix, mine had been leaking long before it starting getting on my ECU.

You can plastic wrap it or get some water proof foam to cover it.

Don't all the ecu's have a piece of plastic ontop of them? My TJ ECU has a thin piece of plastic ontop of it.

I would just to go bunnings and get a small sheet of tarpuline or thick clear plastic and wrap it a few times. Should do the trick. The heater core rarely just spew's out heaps of coolant - it's usually a slow leak so you'll have plenty of time to work out a solution before its too late.

I thought they all had plastic from factory, but when I pull mine out, it didn't.

Most did have plastic but often that has long since been removed when work is done

Dont wrap your ECU ffs, it needs air around it for cooling

As above, check the area when you do your servicing, if you dont have a total sudden failure you should not have an issue, even placed in a bag a sudden gush will still get the ECU wet

Thanks for your replies. I guess that I will leave it alone (including forgetting to check it!) and wait until it fails. Then I will panic....

So is this pretty much a sure thing to happen? Are there any preventative measures you cam take to stop the core from going?

Not really the seals put in there from factory are a different material to the genuine ones you buy as they are more prone to leaking I believe.

If you want to prevent it you would need to replace the seals.

Hi, I'm new to the forum and already you guys have helped me fix what i thought was an lpg tuning issue. I totally agree with madmagna on the plastic bag wrapping idea. When I had a look after seeing this thread it was obvious the core had been leaking for a while and the quick fix plastic bag someone else had put there had pools of water inside the bag.......not good. Anyway, I've cleaned the crap out, sprayed the plug connections with electrical corrosion inhibiting spray and now it runs smooth. Woohoo, no more almost stalling at intersections and hard starting. Kind of feel guilty that the dude I bought it off thought it was rooted thus selling it to me for not much more than what the wreckers offered him. I've plugged the heater inlet and outlet pipes in the engine bay for now until I fix the heater. No heater is better than riding my CBR in -3.3 degrees to work last week. 43,000k's on the bike since early last year.......I'm over it now.

I've cleaned the crap out, sprayed the plug connections with electrical corrosion inhibiting spray and now it runs smooth. Woohoo, no more almost stalling at intersections and hard starting. Kind of feel guilty that the dude I bought it off thought it was rooted thus selling it to me for not much more than what the wreckers offered him.


Don't whatever you do feel guilty. A lot of people can't be bothered to do proper fault finding on a car, it is easier for them to say "It's rooted" and get rid of it.
Consider your cheap buy and relatively easy fix as your reward for being willing to get in there and get your hands dirty. I just love buys like that! lol

No heater is better than riding my CBR in -3.3 degrees to work last week. 43,000k's on the bike since early last year.......I'm over it now.

I ride to work every day and love it. However, if there was no traffic on the roads and free parking I'd probably drive in the winter.

Don't whatever you do feel guilty. A lot of people can't be bothered to do proper fault finding on a car, it is easier for them to say "It's rooted" and get rid of it.
Consider your cheap buy and relatively easy fix as your reward for being willing to get in there and get your hands dirty. I just love buys like that! lol

Yeah but my dad worked with him for about eight years and says he's honest to the point where it's sickening. He was offered $200 by the wreckers and he "gave" it to me unregistered for $300!! He even drove the car to my place with a full tank of lpg and nearly half a tank of petrol.


I ride to work every day and love it. However, if there was no traffic on the roads and free parking I'd probably drive in the winter.

I love my bikes but when you have no choice and have to ride, it gets a bit much after a while. Especially when you leave at 4:45am in the cold and wet. Got the magna now so I can be a bit of a fair weather rider now. Might use the excuse of having the car now to sync the carbs and do the valve clearances on the bike.

I just emptied a mates cooling system filled with water and added seal up ran it for an hour came back and re did the cooling system with coolant, no more leaking heater core.