Problems with the new 1g

[The_EE]

ok, its running rich as hell. I replaced the plugs since the other ones had a ton of soot on them though they looked new. Here is what I have done so far and what I am going to do.


Car is running rich as hell, the exhuast smells like unburned fuel. The idle is a bit funky as well, I think its a bad wire causing a slight misfire. When I pulled the plugs to do the compression, after firing the car up for a bit, the #1 cylinder had a little smoke come out of it.

Car looks like it has a new head on it, the timing belt looks brand new as well. 2 of the injectors are loose though the fuel rail is bolted down tight. That could be part of the problem but I do not smell fuel outside of the car near the fuel rail. going to hit the junk yard for some injectors anyways.

What I have done

Replaced plugs and made sure they are gapped correctly
Did compression, 150 across the board ( cold engine )


Things I am going to do

Check turbo for shaft play
replace o2 sensor
replace wires
check for boost leaks
Check my MAF Sensor to make sure its working

Any other suggestions?

UPDATE

I did get the wires switched to a set of my friends wires from his ( my old ) 1g Eclipse. Changed nothing. I then pulled the MAF plug and the car pretty much ran the same. I put it back on, heard a few clicks and it would stumble a tad and then resume the same idle speed. Its still billowing gray smoke and smells like fuel. I plan on picking up a o2 in the next few days and am going to be trying out my friends 1g MAF to see if that makes a difference.

Anyone think I should go about checking the EGR too? Would it make me run rich like that if it was failing or has failed?

 

[funkbuster]

I woud say check the egr and the o2 sensore, sounds like it is reading wrong and spraying too much fuel.

 

[The_EE]

ok, going to get the o2 tomorrow and throw that in and see what it does. very well could be EGR as well, car has 164k on it.

 

[sccrAdidas15]

wouldn't an o2 sensor throw a code though? My car has been running rich and struggles sometimes on startup like after a good drive in the heat of the summer, shutting it off then turning it on again with an 1 hour or 2 and have to keep my foot down so it idles while it smells like rotten eggs. I'm also gonna replace my wires see what that does. Unless an exhaust and boost leak would cause this?

 

[The_EE]

It wont always throw a code from what I understand, only if it totally fails. I have no CEL so that limits my ability to narrow it down hehe./

 

[brute]

What plugs are you using and at what gap?

 

[sccrAdidas15]

do the platinum plugs make it run rich? I heard somewhere that they're bad for our cars for some reason and those are what i use NGK Platinums.

 

[brute]

You can't use platinum plugs in a turbo. A turbo runs hotter than a non turbo and the tips of the plugs will eventually melt. They run hotter as a self cleaning thing and can cause very bad knock. Use NGK iridium. BPR6ES is stock. BPR7ES is one step colder.

 

[sccrAdidas15]

would this cause it to run rich though?

 

[ixsaves13]

I'd recommend using the stock 6's for your car, since you wouldn't have any advantage using the 7's now. At this point your goal is to get the car running correctly. If you did a compression test on each cylinder, it'll help you see the health of the piston rings / pistons (to some degree) and a boost leak test is always good to do. It seems like a lot of problems happen because of a leak somewhere, along with hacked MAS's and not having enough supporting mods.

When my car was running rich, it was because of a boost leak that I had, and because i was running pig rich, it was flooding the cylinders causing my plugs to prematurely go bad. It was running rich enough that when I unplugged the injectors, the car would actually run for about 5 seconds on it's own.

Good luck troubleshooting!

 

[Defiant]

You can't use platinum plugs in a turbo. A turbo runs hotter than a non turbo and the tips of the plugs will eventually melt. They run hotter as a self cleaning thing and can cause very bad knock. Use NGK iridium. BPR6ES is stock. BPR7ES is one step colder.

Iridiums are for cars that need the engine lifted to change plugs. They're pointless (although harmless) on a DSM with the plugs right there on top of everything.

Platinums have been counter-advised in turbocharged DSMs since their creation.

 

[sccrAdidas15]

i do have a leak somewhere around the turbo, im gonna be checking the o-ring and change gaskets, and also have an exhaust leak from the manifold. So i guess this is what is causing me to run rich and not start up right sometimes, i'm also gonna buy stock plugs again and NGK wires once i fix the leaks.

 

[The_EE]

I think I found the lack of a coolant temp sensor, in fact I found a wire with no sensor and an extra wire on the other side of the engine with no connection. Perhaps someone here can identify them.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e119/The_EE/100-0008_IMG_3-1.jpg

The above picture is of what I think is where the coolant temp sensor should go, I am not too sure. In it there is also the bare wire.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e119/The_EE/100-0007_IMG_3-1.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e119/The_EE/100-0006_IMG_3-1.jpg

IN the two above pictures is a wire that comes off the line that runs to the alternator, I have never seen this wire on my 2g so I dont know what it is nor where it goes. I could not find any connection for it.

as for plugs, I am running NGK's

Have not checked for boost leaks yet, have not had the time.

 

[perley03]

the plug and the wire on the alternator are normal. Those go to the ecu and also the battery.

 

[The_EE]

the plug and the wire on the alternator are normal. Those go to the ecu and also the battery.

The random wire that connects to nothing running off the alternator line is normal? It should be connected to something correct?

As for the top picture, I dont see them just leaving an exposed wire and adding a connection for nothing.

 

[ixsaves13]

Actually, I had the same problem with my car before where I had to replace my coolant temp sensor. It will make your car run rich. It's one of the first things your ECU sees and will effect idle. It's when your car is warming up, your RPM's are high until it warms up.

The coolant temp sensor is located on the lower part of the water neck, right above your where the lower radiator hose connects to the water line. If I'm not mistaken, it's the one furthest to the left, next to a rectangular connector (water temp gauge for your gauge cluster). You'll have to disconnect the harness ( it's two small connectors shaped like a T) and unscrew the sensor from the water neck.

Good luck!

 

[perley03]

The random wire that connects to nothing running off the alternator line is normal? It should be connected to something correct?

As for the top picture, I dont see them just leaving an exposed wire and adding a connection for nothing.

Sorry i thought you ment the plug on the alternator and that wire thats below it that is connected by a stud on the alternator. I didn't see the other wire that you are talking about until now...

 

[The_EE]

I think its the vac lines. They seem incorrect. I am no vac guy so I am having trouble reading it but I think it should be like this on a 91 laser ( california )

How it should be in Chiltons
G-L-B (Back top of silonoid )
Y-B-R (Bottom of Silonoid )


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e119/The_EE/100-0001_IMG_3.jpg

How it is on my car

R-B-Y
B-L-G

Am I reading the Chiltons correctly?

 

[92awddsm]

First, the unknown wire coming from the alt harness is supposed to attach to a sensor on the front of the ps pump. With it disconnected, it has no effect on the car that I have ever seen.

As for the rich condition, the coolant temp sensor (or lack of) will cause a rich condition. Also, pull the ecu and check for leaking capacitors. If they have leaked and are beginning to damage the circuit board, it will cause a multitude of problems.

 

[The_EE]

I have attached the bare wire to the connector by hand and it has no effect.

The ECU is new, he bought it thinking that was the problem and it was not.

The silonoids have marks on them in different colors, all the vac line colors are connected correctly, at least as correct as I can see.

 

[The_EE]

Well... 2 injectors ( #2 and #4 )have cracks but not in the seals, one is cracking.The seals are a bit hard on the part that hooks to the head. The seals to the fuel rail seem ok. No shaft play in the turbo. I could not use a test light to check for codes, got to find my chiltons so that I know where to hook it up.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e119/The_EE/100-0002_IMG_3.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e119/The_EE/100-0003_IMG_9.jpg