I am really worried and pissed because my car died on me today at a red light. My battery is fine and I am pretty sure it's not my alternator because:
-my car died (stalled) in neutral though it had been warmed and was running fine. When I tried to start it again it would not start though the car did turn over. It has happened three times now and it seems like (though my starter turns over) either my car is not getting the spark or it not gettng the fuel to keep the car running. I am very worried cuz I have no idea where I would look for the problem. My car is running fine, and then it dies; revs down to idle but instead of idle it dies. Then it might not happen again for a while; it's completely random. It never appened to me ever before I had my JRSC installed.
--Do you guys think it is related to my ignition? Or maybe some wrong wiring to my alternator or something. I am really hoping to get an idea of what might be wrong, and I cant really get it to a shop because it only hapens at very random times. Any help or ideas are very much appreciate.
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I believe it may be linked to the last time I took it into my shop; theye unplugged the battery and "attempted" to discover why their shop boost gauge was reading 9 psi on the stock pulley. (BTW they could not figure it out even with Keith on the phone at JR) I never had te problem of the car dying on me before that; so Ithink it may be related Please Help!!!
this is not an uncommon problem; most believe that it is related to fueling at idle. here's the experiment :
on a nice safe straight traffic free road, accelerate to redline or near redline, and then let off the gas and put the car into neutral. the engine speed will drop, and possibly rather than dropping to idle it will drop to zero and stall. stop the car, and restart the motor. it will be difficult to restart because (again conjecture) it is flooded.
if your problem is the same that many have experienced, you'll probably find that if you leave the car in gear while decelerating (engine brake), and then only engage the clutch at a low RPM, it won't happen.
my car does this, it seems to be random but is in my case related to fuel pressure. in the following graph, you can see the computer trying to give the proper amount of fuel to idle as soon as the engine speeds drops below 1000RPM. the fuel trim goes negative, the mix starts to lean out, and then it bounces the fuel trim back towards zero. as soon as it starts adding fuel, the engine speed drops rapidly, almost recovers when the fuel trim flattens out, and then stalls:
it either didn't always do it, or i didn't notice it. still trying to figure it out.
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Originally posted by zarmchicoca I am really worried and pissed because my car died on me today at a red light. My battery is fine and I am pretty sure it's not my alternator because:
-my car died (stalled) in neutral though it had been warmed and was running fine. When I tried to start it again it would not start though the car did turn over. It has happened three times now and it seems like (though my starter turns over) either my car is not getting the spark or it not gettng the fuel to keep the car running. I am very worried cuz I have no idea where I would look for the problem. My car is running fine, and then it dies; revs down to idle but instead of idle it dies. Then it might not happen again for a while; it's completely random. It never appened to me ever before I had my JRSC installed.
--Do you guys think it is related to my ignition? Or maybe some wrong wiring to my alternator or something. I am really hoping to get an idea of what might be wrong, and I cant really get it to a shop because it only hapens at very random times. Any help or ideas are very much appreciate.
--
I believe it may be linked to the last time I took it into my shop; theye unplugged the battery and "attempted" to discover why their shop boost gauge was reading 9 psi on the stock pulley. (BTW they could not figure it out even with Keith on the phone at JR) I never had te problem of the car dying on me before that; so Ithink it may be related Please Help!!!
__________________
"AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." R.I.P. Jerry Falwell.
Thank you VERY much Schwett. This sounds a LOT like what I am experiencing. Did your VAFC help cure the problem at all? or is that cmpletely unrelated when it comes to idle. Did lowering the fuel pressure a little help? Although it seems like such a random problem to effectively pinpoint a solution.
--What bothers me though--it never happened (even while the JRSC was on my car) until they kept t over night and tried to switch around hoses and what not looking fo the root of the 9 psi boost reading.
how long did you have the car before they did that? is it possible you just didn't encounter the correct conditions for it to stall? mine has been getting somewhat worse, but i think it's because i keep messing around with various fuel system settings. i haven't yet experimented with the VAFC to see if it helps or hurts the problem. i'm not sure if the ecu is basing that blip of fuel just before idle on actual engine conditions or a preprogrammed cell. if it's the latter, then the problem may well be due to the fact that JRSC users are seeing much higher fuel pressures at idle. the MAP converter fools the ECU into delivering less fuel to compensate for this added pressure, but if the ECU isn't actually basing that brief moment of fueling on the MAP values, then they won't help. i should be able to rule out this possibly by screwing with the VAFC (which also uses MAP to affect fueling). if changing VAFC correction has no effect on the problem, then the computer is not using the MAP values to calculate that near idle fueling.
do you have an in cockpit fuel pressure gauge? i'd like to know what your readings are.
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Originally posted by zarmchicoca Thank you VERY much Schwett. This sounds a LOT like what I am experiencing. Did your VAFC help cure the problem at all? or is that cmpletely unrelated when it comes to idle. Did lowering the fuel pressure a little help? Although it seems like such a random problem to effectively pinpoint a solution.
--What bothers me though--it never happened (even while the JRSC was on my car) until they kept t over night and tried to switch around hoses and what not looking fo the root of the 9 psi boost reading.
__________________
"AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." R.I.P. Jerry Falwell.
unfortunately I do not; I was actually planning on doing an underhood (B&M Probably) FP gauge.
--I already have the boost gaug and the A/f gauge in my cockpit and to be honest with you I dont want anothr one in there unless I could find a real discreet yet still convenient location.
as you can imagine, the underhood gauge will be of no help determing whether this problem is fuel related... unless you stuff a friend underhood while driving. it also is completely useless in determining your maximum fuel pressure, which is the *most* important pressure to know.
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Originally posted by zarmchicoca unfortunately I do not; I was actually planning on doing an underhood (B&M Probably) FP gauge.
--I already have the boost gaug and the A/f gauge in my cockpit and to be honest with you I dont want anothr one in there unless I could find a real discreet yet still convenient location.
__________________
"AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." R.I.P. Jerry Falwell.
I was gonna use it to figure out my idle fuel pressure so at least I had an idea where I was at (I'm getting it tuned w/ VAFC on a wideband in like a week and a half)but maybe I wont since I cant really use it to monitor during hard driving.
I'm gettng info from the 5th gen board and twoguys on there say they are sure it is my ignition switch. What do you guys think?? Something so simple? Could it be?? It sounds fishy to me because it is such a random problem and really doesnt occur regularly. Any thoughts??
I've had mine stall out on me on about 5-6 completely random incidents scattered over the almost one year that I've had the blower (gosh!). Never, and I mean, NEVER, have I had difficulty in starting the car back up. It cranked and fired right up on the first try.
What plugs and gap are you running?
Also, you'd want the fuel pressure guage to set/monitor your STATIC, not idle fuel pressures.
(Static being with the vacuum reference hose disconnected from the FMU)
the outlet dia. on the fpr is too small. the fuel builds up high pressure, you let off accelerator, it needs to decrease pressure, but the outlet is too small to do it fast enough and thus floods
It sunds like that is probably what is happening; but what bothers me is that for me it doesnt really start up right away, I turn it over several times, then only after a while (ad this is a scary while) it starts when turned over
--would this just be because my engine is flooded? Why it wont start I mean. Also, what static FP do you guys have your regulators at?
that should be fine; JR reccomends a gap of .32, and i've had good results with that gap (and very poor results with a larger gap).
i haven't tried the iridiums personally, but others have had fairly good results. you may want to try a cheapie zfr7f plug (which is, again, what JR recommens) just for sh1ts and g1ggles.
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Originally posted by zarmchicoca Oh BTW-- I'm running Denso Iridium plugs (IK22) -- one degree colder than stock.
--they are gapped at .32" Any Suggestions?
__________________
"AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." R.I.P. Jerry Falwell.
Yes engine floods and fuel has to evaporate; can take a few hours sometimes. The AEM fpr has changeable outlet ports. With all the different factors affecting the fuel curve the only way to know what settings or combo of settings will work is wideband o2 sensor on dyno.
Originally posted by iranman I've had mine stall out on me on about 5-6 completely random incidents scattered over the almost one year that I've had the blower (gosh!). Never, and I mean, NEVER, have I had difficulty in starting the car back up. It cranked and fired right up on the first try.
What plugs and gap are you running?
Also, you'd want the fuel pressure guage to set/monitor your STATIC, not idle fuel pressures.
(Static being with the vacuum reference hose disconnected from the FMU)
Yup same with me i too get my idle to die, but it starts right back up, no problem.... i think its very commmon with JRSC ludes ...... if it really becomes constent, try reseting the ECU by pulling the radio plug under the hood (7.5 fuse) and leave it out for about 2-5 min... Restart the car and let it idle for about 5 min ...
I did that after my car seemed to die all the time in neutral, but after that i dont get it hardly at all
I was driving on the free way today in 5th gear and my car died for half a second. I'm pretty sure my throttle was closed (it happened very quickly) but either way I had the car in gear at about 3500 RPM and the car just died. It was in gear so it popped back on in half a second but its really starting to bother me. I swear when I was driving it today it felt kinda shaky compared to usual and I am really worried that either I'm gonna get stuck somewhere or serious damage is going to occur. I thought it was only at idle when this happened, but I was definitely in gear and the engine was revving (engine braking) and it still died, it also happened twice today besides that time though those times were at idle. Some guys over on the 5th gen board think it might be an ignition switch gone bad but this problem only started after the JRSC AND it happened while driving far above idle (would an ignition switch stall the car like this. I am really worried and I am hoping that someone here might have an idea of why it could have turned off (even for a half second) when driving in 5th gear
BTW--it felt like there was a constriction or clog of some sort when it turned back on, like something sort of freed up for maybe a minute. THANK YOU for any help.
that sounds like a different problem. what did your a/f gauge say when this happened? did it go dead lean momentarily?
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Originally posted by zarmchicoca I was driving on the free way today in 5th gear and my car died for half a second. I'm pretty sure my throttle was closed (it happened very quickly) but either way I had the car in gear at about 3500 RPM and the car just died. It was in gear so it popped back on in half a second but its really starting to bother me. I swear when I was driving it today it felt kinda shaky compared to usual and I am really worried that either I'm gonna get stuck somewhere or serious damage is going to occur. I thought it was only at idle when this happened, but I was definitely in gear and the engine was revving (engine braking) and it still died, it also happened twice today besides that time though those times were at idle. Some guys over on the 5th gen board think it might be an ignition switch gone bad but this problem only started after the JRSC AND it happened while driving far above idle (would an ignition switch stall the car like this. I am really worried and I am hoping that someone here might have an idea of why it could have turned off (even for a half second) when driving in 5th gear
BTW--it felt like there was a constriction or clog of some sort when it turned back on, like something sort of freed up for maybe a minute. THANK YOU for any help.
__________________
"AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." R.I.P. Jerry Falwell.
My A/F Gauge doesnt light up when I'm off the throttle and I am almost positive I was off the Throttle in 5th gear (Car still revving down at like 3500) when it shut off. It really soundedlike something blocked the flow path and then was freed ( or perhaps the spark or fuel was lost for a inute then caught itself after half a second??) Keith at JR said that it MIGHT be something with the EMS, or it could be something related to the regulator. But how could it go dead for a half a second at 70 mph?? If anyone has any ideas or a c;lue what t might be, please let me know. Thanks.
Question: if my throttle cable was loose a little bit, could something like this happen? Thats what the shop just told me and I am VERY skeptical.
what do u do when it cuts out on you on the freeway? what a dangerous thought if you were on a dotted one-lane highway (where it is legal to pass using the opposite side of the road), and u were in the middle of passing a big truck, and the engine dies...
except for this one case, which may be a completely different issue, i have never heard of it cutting out while the engine is at speed. it is a common problem with the tegs and civics (and apparently ludes) for the car to stall as the engine drops to idle speed from a higher speed.
and yes, if you don't know it's about to happen, it might be dangerous... but usually in that situation you've come to a stop anyway.
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Originally posted by jkoc this is pretty dangerous..
what do u do when it cuts out on you on the freeway? what a dangerous thought if you were on a dotted one-lane highway (where it is legal to pass using the opposite side of the road), and u were in the middle of passing a big truck, and the engine dies...
i smell huge law suits against JR.
my god, this scares me to death
__________________
"AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." R.I.P. Jerry Falwell.
I took it to my shop and they said that my throttle cable was loose. I was very skeptical but I couldnt get the problem to happen while I was there so I hoped it was an easy fix (call me a wishful thinker ok). few hours later on the freeway my car bogged/clogged/shutdown? in 5th gear for half a second. Then yesterday it died twice, once when i was at idle and then once in 3rd gear driving down the road. I am very worried and I think it is either related to:
--The EMS
or
--My ECU
or
--some kind of problem that makes the car feel like it gets a clog or restriction suddenly bogging it down to the point of shutdown.
As always, any info or knowledge is very very appreciated.
BTW--what are the dangers of resetting the ECU?? I am thinking about tring this but i am not sure what the possible dangers or downsides are.
hmm. there's no danger in resetting the ECU. just make sure you have your radio code, and pull the negative cable on the battery for about 5 minutes.
you don't have any additional electronics or anything? the bogging sounds a lot like what the ECU does when it sees positive MAP. that could be caused by the EMS, but i'm not sure how or why. what gauges do you have again?
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Originally posted by zarmchicoca I took it to my shop and they said that my throttle cable was loose. I was very skeptical but I couldnt get the problem to happen while I was there so I hoped it was an easy fix (call me a wishful thinker ok). few hours later on the freeway my car bogged/clogged/shutdown? in 5th
i too get my idle to die, but it starts right back up, no problem.... i think its very commmon with JRSC ludes 
...... if it really becomes constent, try reseting the ECU by pulling the radio plug under the hood (7.5 fuse) and leave it out for about 2-5 min... Restart the car and let it idle for about 5 min ... 
