is my DME dead?

[mcspike]

Hello. I have just swapped in an M44 into my 1990 E30. It was all going relatively well until I knocked the DME very briefly onto the live terminal on the battery... there was a spark and after this the fuel pump relay makes a rather horrific noise and only puts out about 6 volts towards the fuel pump with ignition on. Having an M42 ECU around and knowing they're very similar I tried that. With ignition on there is 12v coming out of the relay.

It was late and I couldn't be arsed to check anything further as I'd burnt myself in a separate incident..

The engine ran for a few seconds before this but not after with either ECU.

Signs point to a new DME but is a there any other likely possibilities or ways to check?

[Speedtouch]

Remove the ECU lid and inspect for any signs of component damage.

I presume the ECU was plugged in to the loom when you knocked the casing onto battery live? It probably won't have done it any good, since the casing is normally connected to battery minus (earth).

[mcspike]

Yeah. The ECU was plugged in. I won't be able to check for a couple hours.

I probably should be pricing up another one though. .?

[HairyScreech]

Are you sure?

The M42 was a M1.7 unit and the M44 is a much later unit (M5.2 I think) with different pin config.

What loom have you got on the car?