Ok I know the title sounds weird but today my car started acting VERY strange........

This afternoon during my lunch break I was on my way back to work and starting from a stop the car kind of bogged down a touch then went on with it's merry way. At first I didn't think much of it as to the fact I'm still dialing in my tune from the H/C swap. Well......After work I start the car to let it warm up a bit before I go and I noticed that it does the whole bogging thing even at idle. Like the car pauses for just a split second then goes a little rich, Idles ok for abit then does it again. As I leave work the car REALLY starts acting up. The SES light comes on and the car drives like ****. It didn't want to shift right and when it did it would go pretty lean then just would not have any power whatsoever. I finally get the car home and it's idling like hell and to my distinct horror my left side manifold by the collector was glowing hot!!! I ran in the house and grabbed my laptop to check my error codes and the EBL told me I had a code 42 (EST ERROR).

I then shut the car down to check to see if my ESC wire had come unplugged and it wasn't. I checked both connections at the ignition module and coil. I even pulled the cap to try to look at the pickup coil the best I could and although it's got a touch of green corrosion nothing is totally amiss. So just for giggles I disconnect the battery to reset the EBL and check everything that I could that might pertain to a bad module. I decide to hook the comp up to get a good datalog to see if it would do it again and lo and behold it did the whole pause/go rich a couple of times but the drivability was ok. I noticed on the datalog that when the pausing occured the EBL "reset" the timer. Like the car was just started again. Here's the datalog to show you guys. Go to 8:32 for the first time and 12:56 for the second time. Also it seems like my IAC counts are through the roof. Does anybody have an idea as to WTF is wrong with my car? Some help would be immensely helpful.

 

A code 42 will lock out the timing. Leaving the distributor ignition module to advance it. With an after market module it may not have the proper advance built in. Which will cause glowing exhaust manifolds.

Looking at the log file I see that the ECM is going into async mode during idle. This is not conducive to a good idle. Set both parameters in this entry to 0:

INJ - ASync Transition PW - TBI Only

That will eliminate async mode.

The injector offset values probably need to be increased. What injectors and fuel pressure is being used?

If say, they are 80.5#/hr at 20 - 24 psi, then copy the offset values from the 5.4l calibration. It is listed in the calibration list text file as:

5.4l SBC '113 Hds, Isky 280 HL, headers, stick,
80 #/hr @ 22 psi, VRFPR, OL cruise, CL idle

The offset table is this one:

INJ - Injector Correction Offset

The high IAC is probably caused by the higher manifold pressure. The cam lowered the VE at low engine speeds which increases the MAP. With a higher MAP not as much air can get past the throttle blades.

Open them some via the idle stop screw. As the tune gets better you will need to go back and make further adjustments to the throttle blade opening. Shoot for 5 - 10 steps at idle with no other loads.

As for the ECM resetting, check all power and grounds. With the engine recently being apart it is possible that a power or ground cable/wire is loose. Check the ones on the backs of the cylinder heads. From battery to body. The battery terminals. Make sure they are all clean and tight.

RBob.

 

I'm running 61lb injectors at 22 psi. I'll check the all the grounds to be sure that they are tight. I will also adjust the screw to see if that helps with the idle a touch.

 

Don't forget to disable async mode. For the injector offset compensation, copy the values from the calibration I listed above. Then reduce those values by 125 usec. That will be close for the 61 #'ers at 22 psi.

RBob.

 

ok I adjusted the asynch and that did help the idle quite abit. I also made the changes to the offset and the car went pretty rich at idle, 11.5 and held steady. Should I do some VE learns to compensate? What I did was a copy from compare then subtracted by 125.00, I hope that was right.

 

Your changes to the offset table is correct. VE Learns are recommended. Any place where the PW is small will be richer. The offset is an adder to the calculated PW. It adds the amount of time it takes the injector to open.

The fuel calculations are only for the required fuel. There is a period of time that the injector isn't spraying fuel. This is what the offset is for. By using an offset that is close to how long it takes for the injector to open the fueling is more linear.

Basically, you end up with a better tune.

RBob.

 

well that damn code 42 and the "reset" came back again tonight, The computer just pauses for that split second then pops back up. I do think something might be loose due to the fact that it "tried" to come on twice before I got home after either making a hard stop or a sharp turn. What all things might be wrong that would cause this?