Need help diagnosing engine problem- VIDEO

[klipschaudio]

Need help to figure out why my engine is running rich, and like this, check out video. I will paypal 30$ to anyone who helps me solve this problem! Stuff done to car is listed below. Thanks in advance.

Car: 99 gsx, 50K miles.

Mods: Hard intake pipe
1G BOV (Recirculated)
Removed BCS* restrictor
8.5 MM spark plugs
NGK spark plugs
Boost gauge

Recent fixes: Head gasket
Alternator and belt
Timing belt

The car has been running fine on this setup with no problems previously.
I recently upgraded to a ported 14b ported turbo and a mbc, also, I dont know if this makes a diff or not, I grounded the positive bolt on the alternator when I was taking it out and it sparked a bit, no fuses blew though, and no side effects is seemed, the problem started about 3-4miels afterwards when I put in a diff alternator and drove the car. I would try to set boost at 15psi, but when the car warmed up the boost would go all the way to about 20psi, it happened a couple of times, and every time I would let go off gas instantly. I've only put about 20-30miles on the 14B before the car started experiencing problems. First it would only rev to 5K then studder down, then 3.5K rpm, and today it only goes to about 2.5K then studders down.

Tings checked:
Timing GOOD
Spark plugs GOOD
Spark plug wires GOOD
Ecu GOOD
O2 sensor etc... GOOD (according to OBD)
Thermostat GOOD
MAF GOOD (makes a diff if I unplug it)
MAF connector GOOD
Compression GOOD (Although a little high now at 180 due to carbon build up)
Leak down test GOOD
Fuel pressure solenoid GOOD
Injectors GOOD
Fuel pump relay GOOD

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[The_EE]

Run off the BCS and see if that changes anything. Do you have any sort of a MBC?

 

[dsmlifestyle]

I'm gonna take a shot in the dark.... I had an issue similar to this when I purchased a 95 e-prom for DSMlink to put in my 99' GSX. The car would accelerate fine at low to no boost, but at about 3-3.5k the car would break up and blow loads of smoke out of the exhaust. The culprit was a blown sensor ground, which in turn blew the MAF reset transistor. If you are getting readings, then the sensor ground is propably not blown, but I would check the MAF circuit, IDC's, and O2 readings when this happens. If the MAF (in Hz) signal turns into a jagged mess, your IDC's drop, and the 02 readings cut out, then look further into the ECU.

I would also double check the timing. Brad

 

[voodoogsx]

Check your coil pack as it's possible that it could have gotten hit with a spike when you touched the alt + contact. I had done the same thing though it only blew the 100amp fuse on me. Do a search to see how to test the coil pack or if you have a haynes book I think it tells you there. Also make sure the mbc is properly connected and there are no leaks in the intake system.

 

[crimsondragon]

Do a boost leak test.

 

[Vandal]

On top of what others already suggested, check to see if your wastegate is functioning properly. Similar happened to me when I was on a road trip. I almost disregarded it as the problem because I could move it by hand, but just out of curiosity I used a vice grips to hold it a quarter of the way open and that alleviated the problem enough that the car was driveable to get home.

 

[klipschaudio]

Run off the BCS and see if that changes anything. Do you have any sort of a MBC?

I had the MBC installed, but since the problem arose I installed the original hookup back on, including switching back to the t25.

 

[klipschaudio]

On top of what others already suggested, check to see if your wastegate is functioning properly. Similar happened to me when I was on a road trip. I almost disregarded it as the problem because I could move it by hand, but just out of curiosity I used a vice grips to hold it a quarter of the way open and that alleviated the problem enough that the car was driveable to get home.

The wastegate is good, I know this because I tried it by hadnd previously, and the turbo worked fine before I removed it.

 

[klipschaudio]

Do a boost leak test.

I forgot to mention that I did do a boost leak test, and it is tight.

 

[klipschaudio]

I'm gonna take a shot in the dark.... I had an issue similar to this when I purchased a 95 e-prom for DSMlink to put in my 99' GSX. The car would accelerate fine at low to no boost, but at about 3-3.5k the car would break up and blow loads of smoke out of the exhaust. The culprit was a blown sensor ground, which in turn blew the MAF reset transistor. If you are getting readings, then the sensor ground is propably not blown, but I would check the MAF circuit, IDC's, and O2 readings when this happens. If the MAF (in Hz) signal turns into a jagged mess, your IDC's drop, and the 02 readings cut out, then look further into the ECU.

I would also double check the timing. Brad

It's hard to see in the video but I was taping the obd reader, all the reading are normal, nothing cuts out, does the obd log idc? I measured the MS and it was about 44ms at 2500rpm, on my 1G it measured about 40ms at 2500rpm, so I am guessing it is within range.?

91.67% according to this link Stealth 316 - Injector Duty Cycle Calculation

Also, it's not the ecu, I bought another ecu and the same problem is present, the ecu is getting correct voltage in the right places.

I'll search into the maf reset transistor and see how to test it.

 

[klipschaudio]

Check your coil pack as it's possible that it could have gotten hit with a spike when you touched the alt + contact. I had done the same thing though it only blew the 100amp fuse on me. Do a search to see how to test the coil pack or if you have a haynes book I think it tells you there. Also make sure the mbc is properly connected and there are no leaks in the intake system.

I'll do that, but isn't the coil pack functioning if I am getting a spark?

 

[voodoogsx]

I'll do that, but isn't the coil pack functioning if I am getting a spark?

I had one go out on me and it exhibited similar symptoms to yours where it started to expirience some studdering issues initially at a high rpm(about 5k) but eventually it dropped down to 1.5k then 300-400rpm( running from 2 cylinders). The coil for 2 and 4 eventually fried completely. I should have mentioned to also check the transistor pack as well since this is the reason why the coil failed(a test light and some aligator clips works for this test). For my issue it turned out to be a short in the wiring that ground out the transitor causing the coil to overload. In your case, since you shorted the alt briefly, it had the potential to fry something. Of course it could be something simple like one of the plugs to these or the cam/crank angle sensor comming loose. You could also check the gap in the spark plugs.

 

[klipschaudio]

I had one go out on me and it exhibited similar symptoms to yours where it started to expirience some studdering issues initially at a high rpm(about 5k) but eventually it dropped down to 1.5k then 300-400rpm( running from 2 cylinders). The coil for 2 and 4 eventually fried completely. I should have mentioned to also check the transistor pack as well since this is the reason why the coil failed(a test light and some aligator clips works for this test). For my issue it turned out to be a short in the wiring that ground out the transitor causing the coil to overload. In your case, since you shorted the alt briefly, it had the potential to fry something. Of course it could be something simple like one of the plugs to these or the cam/crank angle sensor comming loose. You could also check the gap in the spark plugs.

I see, I tested the power transistor also and it tested good. I'll see how to do a coil test.

 

[klipschaudio]

According to this diagram

I am getting the 70-90ohms between the pin 2 and 3 on the connector, and about 14K ohms on the 1-4, and 2-3 coils, I measured it on my 1g and same thing, so the coil must be good? I'll look into the maf stuff now.

 

[kenamond]

You say plugs are good. Did you read them? Do they all look rich? What plugs and gap?

What are your LTFT lo and mid? Thought I saw it on the scanner in the video, but couldn't see the values.

Any codes?

 

[klipschaudio]

You say plugs are good. Did you read them? Do they all look rich? What plugs and gap?

What are your LTFT lo and mid? Thought I saw it on the scanner in the video, but couldn't see the values.

Any codes?

I'm not getting any codes now, I did have a p0500 I believe for speed sensor, but its gone now.

I'm not sure what values you're talking about, I'll just take a better quality vid for you in a sec.

I bought new njk spark plugs and gapped them, still same problem. Thanks



I tried to make a video and it turned out bad, then I went to make another one, and car would not start because the spark plugs were too wet, I put in my previous njks and it revs up to 5K rpm again, kinda wierd. Hope you can see the values on this video, tks.

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[voodoogsx]

Hey so I watched the video again, just wondering what was your rpm(looked to be 1100-1200) at and was the car up to temp?

Also you said you changed the turbo, did you make sure the o2 sensor was reconnected, have you checked the o2 housing to make sure there are no leaks there? is there? After driving the car around did you see if there were any codes again?

how is the car at this point, is it still giving you issues when driving, has it started giving you issues at lower rpms now?

 

[klipschaudio]

Hey so I watched the video again, just wondering what was your rpm(looked to be 1100-1200) at and was the car up to temp?

Also you said you changed the turbo, did you make sure the o2 sensor was reconnected, have you checked the o2 housing to make sure there are no leaks there? is there? After driving the car around did you see if there were any codes again?

how is the car at this point, is it still giving you issues when driving, has it started giving you issues at lower rpms now?

Around 1200 or so, the car was about 150F coolant.

The o2 sensor is connected and it is reading normal, I've done a boost leak test when the 14b was still on from the turbo inlet and there were no leaks, I just took the car out for 300ft and back, and got the p0500 speed sensor on my obd, which will turn into cel if I drive it more.

At this point the car is not drivable, and hasn't been drivable ever since the problem. It keeps on studdering, no power at all,will not go past 2-3K rpm, smoking like crazy, felt like it was gonna die, so I turned around asap and came back.

 

[voodoogsx]

the p0500 error is odd....have you checked the connector? look up vss to see some info.
Double check the maf connection, I know you mentioned you were going to.

I don't know if you have the egr hookups on your car, but that could also cause a high idle if any of those hoses come loose.

Also check the injector connectors, make sure they are seated on the injectors.
Make sure the spark plug wires are connected correctly. I'm sure you've done all of the above, but it never hurts to double check.

What color is the smoke? Have you checked the oil lines to make sure there weren't any leaks after you installed the 14b? is the oil level at a good level, is your coolant level normal?

You're also not getting any other codes? I would almost expect some sort of other code as the vss shouldn't cause this sort of issue.....

I know I've repeated everything that you said you checked, but again, double and triple check it, make sure nothing is skipped.

You might want to do a search on head gasket issues, it's possible you could find some info from others that have done the same thing and had issues.

Okay, I looked at one of the other videos that you had posted, not sure if this is also related, but when you reved the engine, the cell came on. Do you know what that cell was?

it was from this vid
Video of 2 - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

assuming the timestamp is correct, that was from 2 weeks ago...

 

[klipschaudio]

the p0500 error is odd....have you checked the connector? look up vss to see some info.
Double check the maf connection, I know you mentioned you were going to.

I don't know if you have the egr hookups on your car, but that could also cause a high idle if any of those hoses come loose.

Also check the injector connectors, make sure they are seated on the injectors.
Make sure the spark plug wires are connected correctly. I'm sure you've done all of the above, but it never hurts to double check.

What color is the smoke? Have you checked the oil lines to make sure there weren't any leaks after you installed the 14b? is the oil level at a good level, is your coolant level normal?

You're also not getting any other codes? I would almost expect some sort of other code as the vss shouldn't cause this sort of issue.....

I know I've repeated everything that you said you checked, but again, double and triple check it, make sure nothing is skipped.

You might want to do a search on head gasket issues, it's possible you could find some info from others that have done the same thing and had issues.

Okay, I looked at one of the other videos that you had posted, not sure if this is also related, but when you reved the engine, the cell came on. Do you know what that cell was?

it was from this vid
Video of 2 - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

assuming the timestamp is correct, that was from 2 weeks ago...

Yes that is from 2 weeks ago, thats when I started having the issue, the cel was for an open alternator circuit, I fixed that and it went away. All the stuff you mentioned I did do. My brother came over today, he's good with cars and he is suspecting the fpr. He disconnected the fuel pressure relay in the center console and the car started running much smoother until it died due to no fuel. He says the OBD is showing that the ecu is not requesting more fuel or anything like that, and the car ran better when he disconnected 2 injectors, so basically it's not getting enough air to fuel ratio. What is the MAF LB input at idle? He told me to check how much it's supposed to be on a normal working car, I think it was about 2.4LB at idle. Anyway, next thing I am trying to replace is the fpr, does the 91+ fit all models or is it 2g only? I tried to eliminate this possibility by using my 1g one from a 90 laser, but it has a bit diff width of bolts, so I had to hold it in with a pry bar, I started the car, and it made a wierd noise so I put everything back. I am guessing its diff on a 90 but same design 91+

 

[voodoogsx]

Yes that is from 2 weeks ago, thats when I started having the issue, the cel was for an open alternator circuit, I fixed that and it went away. All the stuff you mentioned I did do. My brother came over today, he's good with cars and he is suspecting the fpr. He disconnected the fuel pressure relay in the center console and the car started running much smoother until it died due to no fuel. He says the OBD is showing that the ecu is not requesting more fuel or anything like that, and the car ran better when he disconnected 2 injectors, so basically it's not getting enough air to fuel ratio. What is the MAF LB input at idle? He told me to check how much it's supposed to be on a normal working car, I think it was about 2.4LB at idle. Anyway, next thing I am trying to replace is the fpr, does the 91+ fit all models or is it 2g only? I tried to eliminate this possibility by using my 1g one from a 90 laser, but it has a bit diff width of bolts, so I had to hold it in with a pry bar, I started the car, and it made a wierd noise so I put everything back. I am guessing its diff on a 90 but same design 91+

You have a fuel pressure soleniod in the engine bay, and the fuel pump relay in the center console...so you turned off the fuel pump?
Also check the fuel pressure regulator is connected to the solenoid correctly.
http://members.shaw.ca/dsm.1000q/Engineprimer/2G/fpr.htm

look at the green arrow.
http://members.shaw.ca/dsm.1000q/Engineprimer/2G/solenoids.htm

For the injectors that you said you disconnected, did you try connecting them and disconnecting the other 2? That would eliminate a bad spark situation. You'd know for sure you're firing on all 4 cyls.

I would try to do a search for the other questions that you have, I'm not sure offhand about earlier year parts working on the 2g. You should also do a search for the fuel components mentioned above and see how to test them.

 

[voodoogsx]

I'm not getting any codes now, I did have a p0500 I believe for speed sensor, but its gone now.

I'm not sure what values you're talking about, I'll just take a better quality vid for you in a sec.

I bought new njk spark plugs and gapped them, still same problem. Thanks



I tried to make a video and it turned out bad, then I went to make another one, and car would not start because the spark plugs were too wet, I put in my previous njks and it revs up to 5K rpm again, kinda wierd. Hope you can see the values on this video, tks.

I didn't see the gap value that you put them spark plugs to, also, what model of spark plug are they?

You also mentioned the spark plugs were wet??? with fuel? how'd they get wet? were they all wet, or just a couple of them?

 

[klipschaudio]

Thanks for taking the time for the links, I already checked out the virtual tour fpr section previously, I tested the solenoid before by taking the one I know that works out of my 1g and putting it in the 2g, they are the same part numbers and they both has suction.
I haven't tried taking the other 2 off, but I am getting good spark on all 4 so there is no reason for one of them not to work, all the injectors tested good too. Well, I'll see if I can find an fpr locally and hopefully that 's the problem. Does anyone know what the LB input of MAF should be at idle? Thanks.

 

[klipschaudio]

I didn't see the gap value that you put them spark plugs to, also, what model of spark plug are they?

You also mentioned the spark plugs were wet??? with fuel? how'd they get wet? were they all wet, or just a couple of them?

They are at .030, NJK bpr7es (may be off on #pattern)
They got wet when I was taking the first video of the obd and revving the engine repeatedly to see value change. They were all wet, they got wet because the car is getting too much fuel and running rich.

 

[92Talonusmc]

with both my 92 gvr4 and my 92 tsi this was the number to call.......(805)541-3278......ask for Ray.......the guy is a genius with these cars...and if all else fails he will cal Mike from DSS for help