Running VERRRRRRY rich...

[M3John]

Chaps,

Following on from MY OTHER THREAD the car is now running extremely rich indeed. So much so that it doesn't even want to tick over. Is this something that i can look at and check on a laptop connected to the ECU or is it something like the firing order mixed up a bit or will it need a trip to get it re-mapped?

In theory it shouldn't need a re-map as the new ECU came with the other engine so am guessing that it'll just be a laptop jobbie fix.

Can anybody throw me some pointers please.

Cheers,

M3J.

[itiejim]

John, it shouldn't be running so rich that it needs a remap. Can you try the other ECU on it?

Obviously, if the firing order is wrong it'll run like ste, however, I'd expect lots of popping and banging etc, rather than just a rich smell.

The below should help to check that you've got the leads on right.

[M3John]

Cheers mate.

Is that firing order the same for both 4.2's & 4.5's ?

[itiejim]

Yep - I used that diagram to set up my 4.5.

[Byker28i]

Got the lambda's plugged in?

[M3John]

Byker28i said:

Got the lambda's plugged in?

Yes both plugged in and even cleaned the connections with contact cleaner before i put them in.

[FarmyardPants]

Are the injectors for the 4.5 and 4.2 the same? Are you reusing your old ones? Just thinking out loud...

[Gazzab]

I notice your new engine has short induction? Is the ECU mapped for short induction. Not that it should run overly rich if it isnt...?

[jammy_basturd]

Get the laptop plugged in, you might have forgotten to connect one of the sensors which might be causing the the ECU to enrich the fuel mix, like the fuel temp or water temp sensor?

[Gazzab]

Is the MIL light going mentalist?

[M3John]

FarmyardPants said:

Are the injectors for the 4.5 and 4.2 the same? Are you reusing your old ones? Just thinking out loud...

Am using the injectors that came with the engine Rog.

Gazzab said:

I notice your new engine has short induction? Is the ECU mapped for short induction. Not that it should run overly rich if it isnt...?

Yes the ECU is set up for the short induction according to the chaps who i got the engine from.

jammy_basturd said:

Get the laptop plugged in, you might have forgotten to connect one of the sensors which might be causing the the ECU to enrich the fuel mix, like the fuel temp or water temp sensor?

Sounds like a good idea to me. Now just have to get hold of that MadMark fella and pull in a favor.

Gazzab said:

Is the MIL light going mentalist?

At first no but, by the time i got home it was well and truly on !

[Gazzab]

software is the way to go - assume the most likely candidates will be
Air Temp sensor
Coil packs
T pots

[Mad Mark]

Lambdas were mentioned but are they the right way round?

Could be 'T' pots mine got quite rich and grumpy on idle. This shows up on the laptop.
If you want me to pop over with my lead and lappy I can but tonight might be awkward as I want to get under mine and check something out!

I am no expert with the software but have set mine up before!
feel free to call me.

[M3John]

Well i've just swapped the Lambas round and it's made a tiny improvement. We are only talking marginals though. Unless i'm imagining it. Still smoking like Bob Marley in a tobacco shop though !

Mark, i've just noticed your reply, how spooky is that eh that i called you when i got out of work. Will need you laptop and cable me thinks mate.

Edited by M3John on Monday 24th May 17:16

[stuthemong]

as for not holding idle, idle is very hard for a cerbera to hold unless it's ticketyboo. Such a light flywheel that one hiccup and it drops out, so don't get cut up over that (I'm jsut very smug that I've finally got mine to settle on a nice 950rpm idle after changing various parts, before now the TPots had spikes which meant I had to run more revs at idle to hold it).

Also, when I refitted my exhaust I had crazy amounts of smoke on startup for the first minute too, it did smell very rich. After that minute though it had all settled down and you could see the lambdas working. Infact, the lambdas were working properly before the smoke had disappeared so I eventually put a diagnosis to too much silicone sealant on the exhaust heads, burning off, causing the smoke.

So it may just be that, but you should get the laptop on it I think, dude.

Edited by stuthemong on Monday 24th May 21:23

[BLUETHUNDER]

Just my tuppance worth,as i havent spoken to John today. But lets say that if the previous owners of Johns engine were primarly using it for track and race use,wouldnt it be running an entirely different fuel map than a normal road going car???.

[tur8o]

When mine was running rich and mis firing it was the fuel pressure regulator, very high pressure causing over fueling and flooding.

[M3John]

Righto chaps, MadMark has just been around to me (thanks again mate !!!!) and this is what his laptop program brought up...



Note the engine speed compared to the throttle pots.


In the next picture ignore the tickover speed as i had to do that on the throttle...



BUT what we did find is that when the throttle was opened the value on the throttle pots decreased. Now when we performed the same task on Marks car it had the opposite (and predicted) effect. Throttle opened and value on the throttle pots increased from (almost) zero up to 90+ %.

Can anybody please help with this one.

Edited by M3John on Tuesday 25th May 21:43

[itiejim]

Throttle pots plugged in the wrong way round?

ie unplug, turn 180 degrees then reinsert plug.

[M3John]

itiejim said:

Throttle pots plugged in the wrong way round?

ie unplug, turn 180 degrees then reinsert plug.

Thought about that but the plugs are `keyed`. I might have a go at pulling the wires from the plug housing to see if that works. We even tried the plugs on the opposing pots to see if that made a difference but alas it was a no.