One thing after another

[BillyBob 780]

Hi folks,
Right I've had the timing chains done the rear diff rebuilt the LPG sorted and working. Now you'd would think the Exploder would give me a break would'nt you? But NO, now the car idles poorly on starting the engine management light comes on ever other day, The O/D light starts flashing if i do more than 20 miles, and now if temp oustside gets ever so slightly chilly the battery goes flat. It been back to the garage who cant find a drain on the battery, cant find the cause of the engine light or idling issues and arent interested in O/D light. Now when he plugged the OBD II scanner in I saw over his shoulder exhaust gas lean on bank 2. Now is there any suggestions as to easy self fix for any of this or is it time to take a loss and trade it in??

 

[fcat]

Hi folks,
Right I've had the timing chains done the rear diff rebuilt the LPG sorted and working. Now you'd would think the Exploder would give me a break would'nt you? But NO, now the car idles poorly on starting the engine management light comes on ever other day, The O/D light starts flashing if i do more than 20 miles, and now if temp oustside gets ever so slightly chilly the battery goes flat. It been back to the garage who cant find a drain on the battery, cant find the cause of the engine light or idling issues and arent interested in O/D light. Now when he plugged the OBD II scanner in I saw over his shoulder exhaust gas lean on bank 2. Now is there any suggestions as to easy self fix for any of this or is it time to take a loss and trade it in??

Sounds like you need to do the OOM12 kit and replace the inlet manifold rubber gaskets, its usually when the cold weather starts that you find this out. That should sort out the ideling and engine light, not sure about the OD light though

 

[BillyBob 780]

yeah the gaskets etc were done with the chains tensoiners etc

 

[SB98UKexplorer]

vacum pipes all in the right places and connected?

 

[BillyBob 780]

I would have to asume so as I havent got a original point of reference, and I'm trusting the garage who done the engine work

 

[janolsson]

Just a thought on the battery
Have you had it tested? it might be shot (usually shows up in the cold. If it tests ok, how is your rear suspension performing? An air leak would cause the compressor to run for extended periods of time.
Check earth strap and positive to alt wire. I read last night on the US site that earth is prone to corrosion. They Talk about doing the big 3 but more to ensure a good power supply for audio equipment. It entails putting a new strap battery to chassis, battery to alternator and engine to chassis i think. A quick search "big 3" would reveal details.
On the idle issue. Clean the MAF and IAC. You could also check the vacuum line to the valve thing on top of the plenum, this alters the area inside the plenum as the revs hit 3000.
Regards

 

[kevin p]

Does the engine idle ok when its warmed up? If so i would guess the inlet manifold gaskets havn't been fitted properly.

 

[SB98UKexplorer]

maybe clean the maf sensor as it wouldv been exposed if they took it off the airbox, pcb cleaner works well on mine, need to be evaperating stuff so no deposits are left.

 

[ianswil]

Exhaust gas lean on mine is usually 171 or 174 this is when it is running on lpg and happens at least once a week more if it gets a bit of welly. I have had the ex for 18 months and it has never affected the performance.

 

[BillyBob 780]

Cheers Guys, I've read on a few posts that the MAS sensor wire gets sooty and causes idle problems and I have noticed that the self levelling pump carries on running after the ignition is switch off. I'll ave a look see.

 

[janolsson]

Hey billybob
The ARC system is supposed to run a little after the ignition is off and doors shut but only if the ride height is not right. If you park on a slope it will cause this more.
Do a search of this forum and find lots of chat on this one.

When cleaning the MAF some people use a cotton bub with the cleaning solution bit i'm not a fan of doing this as you could damage the v thin wire. If you can find a MAF cleaning solution thats great but you can also use an electrical contact cleaner that leaves no residue. What ever you do don't use anything containing silicon in your MAF, TB of IAC, as this will ruin your O2 sensors.
regards

 

[BillyBob 780]

thanks for the info, I've just got contact cleaner I'll give it a whirl and see what happens.

 

[janolsson]

I'm sure someone will pipe up and tell me i'm wrong but i understand that after cleaning the MAF you need to disconnect the battery for a bit. This will then cause the ECU to relearn all the parameters it needs which includes air fuel mix. It will also clear the stored codes.
How's the battery situation coming along??

 

[BillyBob 780]

Yeah thanks so far, yeah the the engine management light goes off after you disconnect the battery for about ten minutes and the ECU goes into a learning faze. Cleaned everything this morning, the starting is better the surging is less extreme AND so far no cut outs nor engine light coming on. The battery drain I'm putting down to the the suspension pump. When I'm off work and the weathers better I'll check for leaks until then I'm switching the pump off manually from the rear if the car's standing for any length of time

 

[BIGHVM]

lPG CONVERSION can cause this mate- lean bank is common with inlet seals and lpg faults, have the lpg checked- think thats free after a year anyways...... get used to it also as it is a known issue after the conversion.

 

[BillyBob 780]

Anymore ideas guys? I've cleaned the MAS sensor, Idle speed control valve the air cleaner element was absolutely caked replaced that, all vac lines are connected. But the idle is still all over the place when its cold, when its warm its ticking over at a low 500 rpm. The engine management light came back on after a couple of days. At least with a MFI engine you could tinker with the idle speed etc. Was there any recalls that this motor may have missed? Its a S reg built in 97.

 

[kevin p]

Try warming up the engine then disconnect the IAC valve. The base idle speed should be about 650 rpm. If you are sure the intake gaskets arn't leaking, set it to 650rpm. When you reconnect the IAC it should rise to normal idle.

 

[BIGHVM]

Yup replace the battery and give yourself a chance- each time it dies you may be loosing ecu settings and having it in run home mode. God luck and let us know mate!