wolf
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- Oct 7, 2007
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Hey Joey, Disco- Mike; all;
This is primarily a follow-up on a private message to Joey but other's should feel free to put in their proverbial two-cents worth as well.
Joey - I took out the MAF to clean it (following up on the PO103 code I told you about) as it was looking a little dirty; and then I proceeded on to generally clean the throttle body assembly and area. The IAC (idle air control/stepper motor) sensor was so caked with crud that I was amazed it work at all, similarly, the actual port for the sensor going into the throttle body was caked with crud as were the ports for valve/head ventilation and evap tube. So, I thoroughly cleaned out the whole area with sensor and then throttle body cleaner (I was actually thinking of getting out my large caliber rifle and shotgun cleaning kits for this job [LoL]). The trouble is now - I am getting hard starting (i.e., lots of cranking and the smell of gas when she eventually decides its time to run) - worse than before; I think the old girl had got used to her crudded-up throttle body assembly and area. I should add, that even my post-Powerchip Gold installation start-up procedure now seems to not be as fail-safe (i.e., remember, I would switch on to an immediate pre-ignition stage where all your lighted idiot-lights were showing on your irument panel - wait about 3 to 4 seconds then crank - which always got me going right away [but if I failed to go through this procedure - I could expect lots of cranking and a hard start]).
Now, to be fair, the LR manual makes it clear that a screwed-up IAC sensor can result in poor and even non-starts. If ever an IAC had an excuse to not want to work properly - I am thinking I own that item! Yet, the book also makes it clear that I should be getting MIL codes in the case of a failed IAC sensor (but who knows - at what point that code actualy goes through to the MIL - i.e. at absolute failure or at partial failure?) I would want to be more certain than I am right now about replacing this sensor as they are not cheap.
This gets me to thinking about spark but, realistically, I should not have to worry about spark as I have a new coil-paks assembly in place and supposedly top-notch wires (although the folks in the UK thought my Taylor .409's might not give the GEMS computer enough resistance as apparently it likes a little for its fairly ferocious spark [on the other hand they were pretty clear that I could not damage the GEMS unit with this slightly lower resistance]); I have also thought about my uber-pricey Denso Iridiums vs. cheapo Champions - but my experience has been that the Denso's normally run better than cheapo Champions - as I have done swap-outs and test-drives and, at least in my beast, the Denso Iridiums are noticeably smoother with a little more oomph.
Now, just because one smells fuel after a hard start does not mean that fuel supply is neccesarily where it should be when you need it - so, I am going back to basics here with another thorough check of the pressure at the fuel rail's shrader valve. Can you reiterate best procedures for that check (i.e, include bleed-down time, etc.)?
One final note - the PowerChips USA folks are coming up my way next week as they have some new programming they want to try out on my vehicles chip; I am all for it - and maybe this will help get rid of these hard starts which will eventually **** my starter. I will keep you informed as to how this works out and, if I still get the same lack of performance from the chip, I will be going with the ultra-expensive UK double-chip version I told you about earlier (i.e. designed and installed by Mark Adams of Tornado, UK [about 690.00 Pounds Sterling = about $1200.00 USD])
Any ideas Joey? Disco-Mike? anyone?
Wolf
This is primarily a follow-up on a private message to Joey but other's should feel free to put in their proverbial two-cents worth as well.
Joey - I took out the MAF to clean it (following up on the PO103 code I told you about) as it was looking a little dirty; and then I proceeded on to generally clean the throttle body assembly and area. The IAC (idle air control/stepper motor) sensor was so caked with crud that I was amazed it work at all, similarly, the actual port for the sensor going into the throttle body was caked with crud as were the ports for valve/head ventilation and evap tube. So, I thoroughly cleaned out the whole area with sensor and then throttle body cleaner (I was actually thinking of getting out my large caliber rifle and shotgun cleaning kits for this job [LoL]). The trouble is now - I am getting hard starting (i.e., lots of cranking and the smell of gas when she eventually decides its time to run) - worse than before; I think the old girl had got used to her crudded-up throttle body assembly and area. I should add, that even my post-Powerchip Gold installation start-up procedure now seems to not be as fail-safe (i.e., remember, I would switch on to an immediate pre-ignition stage where all your lighted idiot-lights were showing on your irument panel - wait about 3 to 4 seconds then crank - which always got me going right away [but if I failed to go through this procedure - I could expect lots of cranking and a hard start]).
Now, to be fair, the LR manual makes it clear that a screwed-up IAC sensor can result in poor and even non-starts. If ever an IAC had an excuse to not want to work properly - I am thinking I own that item! Yet, the book also makes it clear that I should be getting MIL codes in the case of a failed IAC sensor (but who knows - at what point that code actualy goes through to the MIL - i.e. at absolute failure or at partial failure?) I would want to be more certain than I am right now about replacing this sensor as they are not cheap.
This gets me to thinking about spark but, realistically, I should not have to worry about spark as I have a new coil-paks assembly in place and supposedly top-notch wires (although the folks in the UK thought my Taylor .409's might not give the GEMS computer enough resistance as apparently it likes a little for its fairly ferocious spark [on the other hand they were pretty clear that I could not damage the GEMS unit with this slightly lower resistance]); I have also thought about my uber-pricey Denso Iridiums vs. cheapo Champions - but my experience has been that the Denso's normally run better than cheapo Champions - as I have done swap-outs and test-drives and, at least in my beast, the Denso Iridiums are noticeably smoother with a little more oomph.
Now, just because one smells fuel after a hard start does not mean that fuel supply is neccesarily where it should be when you need it - so, I am going back to basics here with another thorough check of the pressure at the fuel rail's shrader valve. Can you reiterate best procedures for that check (i.e, include bleed-down time, etc.)?
One final note - the PowerChips USA folks are coming up my way next week as they have some new programming they want to try out on my vehicles chip; I am all for it - and maybe this will help get rid of these hard starts which will eventually **** my starter. I will keep you informed as to how this works out and, if I still get the same lack of performance from the chip, I will be going with the ultra-expensive UK double-chip version I told you about earlier (i.e. designed and installed by Mark Adams of Tornado, UK [about 690.00 Pounds Sterling = about $1200.00 USD])
Any ideas Joey? Disco-Mike? anyone?
Wolf
