CA18 running issues

[typhoonslippery]

I have a CA18 motor in my S13 Silvia and I am having some issues getting it to run properly. All was fine until one time I went to park my car and idle down for a minute or two and when I returned to start it up it it took a few cranks to fire up but now it idles very lumpy and will not rev past 3500. It will idle on its own around 700-800 but when I give it any throttle the ignition will die for a moment until I let off the throttle and then it will stabilize. If I stab at the throttle in quick movements but gradually increasing the amount it will go up to around 3500.

I have checked for fuel pressure and there is lots and I can hear the fuel pump(R32GTR) on so it is hopefully not a fuel issue but I changed the filter to a new Z32 unit just incase. I have replaced every coil pack with my backup set as well as the plugs and they are ALL very black but all evenly colored after running for a while trying to get this sorted out and smell of fuel. I thought it might be the TPS sensor so I swapped in another one to the same position from a good running motor and it reacts just the same. I swapped the Injector resistor and ignitor as well just to see if that was an issue. I have not changed any wiring related to the MAF recently but I did change the MAF sensor for another one I had since this problem and nothing changed.

The car was running just fine for a year or more on this same setup and nothing has been changed other than an oil change recently a few 100km ago. I know this must be a bad sensor or something and I was wondering if this is something that another person has come across

[r34 gtr]

Thats very strange that it would just happen all of a sudden like that. Does the exhaust have a cat on it? It could be blocked if there is, which has been known to cause similar problems. Another thing it could be is the coolant temp sensor. I would check both and see if it doesn't help.

[typhoonslippery]

Thats very strange that it would just happen all of a sudden like that. Does the exhaust have a cat on it? It could be blocked if there is, which has been known to cause similar problems. Another thing it could be is the coolant temp sensor. I would check both and see if it doesn't help.

Yes I know it seems really weird as I thought it was a blockage or something but I do not have a cat in my car but a full 80mm exhaust dp/tp/cb. A friend of mine had a racing cat fall apart on him and plug up a pre-muffler on his catback and his car would feel very laboured until we found out what happened and gutted the cat and removed all the blockage. I unplugged my catch can lines from the valve cover/intake pipe as I have seen similar idle and throttle issues when it fills up and prevents air flow but it is not the case either.

[r34 gtr]

Hm, how about the Coolant temp sensor? Those cause very rich conditions when they go out. I assume you have checked the ECU for codes?

[typhoonslippery]

Hm, how about the Coolant temp sensor? Those cause very rich conditions when they go out. I assume you have checked the ECU for codes?

I wrote the codes down as there was one and I will post it later..... The car does not puff black out the back though but I will change the coolant temp sensor from my other CA18. I still think it is not entirely a problem with the coolant temp sensor as it seems to lack ignition rather than floods out, it fires up quite easily considering how the plugs look.

[r34 gtr]

Swap out the igniter if you think it is ignition based, and see if that helps. It could be breaking up as soon as there is a load on it. Also check your grounds and make sure all your harness plugs are on tight.

[typhoonslippery]

Swap out the igniter if you think it is ignition based, and see if that helps. It could be breaking up as soon as there is a load on it. Also check your grounds and make sure all your harness plugs are on tight.

Yes I swapped ignitors already as well as coilpacks and harness. The ECU plugs are the first thing I made sure was tight, this is why I am so at a loss about this. It seems like a ground or sensor kicked the bucket all of a sudden.

I will try a few more things today as well and post up later tonight what I find as well as the ECU code.

[r34 gtr]

Good luck man, I'll let you know if I think of anything else. Post up the code, I know them all.

[ca18detgabby]

Good luck man, I'll let you know if I think of anything else. Post up the code, I know them all.

wonder why.......

jokes aside. how is your volatage doing?(would account for the multiple tries starting and odd idle) I would check out those grounds as it loves to be a pain in the ARSE .

idk about your emissions rules, but beyond the cat and the charcoal canister......... is there other emission stuff you have? is your T-stat working properly?

most things dont just FAIL so it leaves me at a loss to think of things you wouldnt have atleast some for warning. maybe you have an issue with an injector stuck open or your timing is off?

did you check out the CAS? it seems to be a nasty little tramp for alot of people.

las thing I could think of is maybe something foreign cut your harness or something? even then I cant think of much that would stop you at 3500RPMs.......... almost like limp mode, but not.

[typhoonslippery]

I have error code 21 on the ECU which has to do with ignition so I am thinking that there is a bad ground somewhere as well as I have changed the plugs/packs/harness/ignitor. I am thinking that possibly my turbo has burnt through some of the wiring to the ignitor on the right side of the engine bay as it is fairly close to it but nothing is obvious though. I have my stock fender liners in and the harness is relocated and raised over the strut towers for some of it.

I was thinking it might be an injector stuck open as well but how would I go about fixing that without taking them out? Is there a way I can apply power to them to correct that?

Taking out the CAS is the last thing I want to do actually but I do have some extra ones if I need to, it did not give that code though.

As for emissions I do not have charcoal canister or a cat converter in my car, thermostat is a newer nismo one.

[Buddyworm]

Gasp! Scott's having CA trouble! My world view is shattered

Didn't know you frequented this place

[typhoonslippery]

Gasp! Scott's having CA trouble! My world view is shattered

Didn't know you frequented this place

I do not as I can usually fix most issues I have but now I am getting a bit frustrated with this one .... I think you should come over and give me a hand one night with this :P

[typhoonslippery]

I worked on the car for a few hours last night. I drained the entire gas tank after filling it with a bottle of gas treatment for an hour or so. I filled it up with 20L of 94Octane gas, I replaced the fuel filter again with a Z32 unit just incase as well.

This will sound ghetto but I repeatedly tapped on the injectors as the car was idling with the end of an extension to see if one of the injectors was stuck open but nothing changed after working a couple minutes on each.

I redid all the ground on the harness by taking them off the body/engine and refastening them. I inspected the wires near the DP and turbo for any burns or melting but there was none on any. I traced the wires for the MAF as well as Ignitor and they are all secured and in no way damaged.

I replaced the engine coolant temperature sensor 22630-51E02 and it did not change anything unfortunately. I even unplugged the ECU and the battery for a bit incase it needed to reset itself with the new changes.

[ca18detgabby]

since you seem to have lots of extra did you try a second ECU? you loosing something somewhere along the lines.

did you check the new plugs u put in as to coloring? almost sounds like you have an issue with your Thorttle cable or something.

also, are your O2 sensors good?

[DALAZ_68]

i say check grounds... and make sure grounds arent blocked by rust or something...its the cheapest thing to do first

sorry to thread jack for a second...

but what about cold start problems ?

i have to crank my motor twice to three times for it to start...my timing is dead on and belt is now nice and new...i checked my grounds and multi metered everything???

could it just be starter?

[typhoonslippery]

since you seem to have lots of extra did you try a second ECU? you loosing something somewhere along the lines.

did you check the new plugs u put in as to coloring? almost sounds like you have an issue with your Thorttle cable or something.

also, are your O2 sensors good?

Yeah I will need to check the o2 sensors as that is my next mission.

As for the plugs what do you mean? They are totally black and smell of fuel so the code for ignition 21 is correct as it is not getting enough spark but what it is due to is unknown as of now obviously.

Throttle cable is fine and does not stick and I have replaced the TPS with one off my other motor which I know is good and any adjustments to it do not change anything other than the idle.

I changed another ECU at a different time and it did nothing and resulted in the same code. I will try it again tonight though with a different ECU.

[typhoonslippery]

i say check grounds... and make sure grounds arent blocked by rust or something...its the cheapest thing to do first

sorry to thread jack for a second...

but what about cold start problems ?

i have to crank my motor twice to three times for it to start...my timing is dead on and belt is now nice and new...i checked my grounds and multi metered everything???

could it just be starter?

"I redid all the ground on the harness by taking them off the body/engine and refastening them."

I removed any that I saw and polished behind them and replaced the nut on one that was rusted too.

My car starts poorly now due to the plugs getting fouled but once it fires it idles and can run on its own when it warms up a bit

[r34 gtr]

Could the throttle body be sticking open a little bit? Or maybe one of the dumb idle valves is stuck open. Then it would be getting too much air when you go to crank it, and it would need a little time to flood until it was rich enough to fire up.

[typhoonslippery]

Could the throttle body be sticking open a little bit? Or maybe one of the dumb idle valves is stuck open. Then it would be getting too much air when you go to crank it, and it would need a little time to flood until it was rich enough to fire up.

I used throttle body cleaner on it and it seats properly and the throttle cable is proper tight but not holding it open at all.

[ca18detgabby]

Could the throttle body be sticking open a little bit? Or maybe one of the dumb idle valves is stuck open. Then it would be getting too much air when you go to crank it, and it would need a little time to flood until it was rich enough to fire up.

my CA did this when I first did my swap........

As for the plugs what do you mean? They are totally black and smell of fuel so the code for ignition 21 is correct as it is not getting enough spark but what it is due to is unknown as of now obviously.

I was asking if the new plugs you put in were still fouling after you swapped the new ones. if the new ones are pretty clean, then your not over fueling....

iginition code 21 3 parts isnt? fuel+air+spark? or is it separate? IIRC it is all one. Is your vacuum good? popping the injectors isnt fun, but it might have to be done....

as for the giving it some revs to get it to go sounds like the common cold start issue lots of people speak of. as a florida person I dont know much about starting it up under 50 degrees.

[MeanGreenS13]

check your MAF

[typhoonslippery]

check your MAF

MAF is all good as I repalced it with a BRAND new one

[r34 gtr]

A brand new one from what? As far as I know, you just can't go out and but a DET maf...

[ca18detgabby]

A brand new one from what? As far as I know, you just can't go out and but a DET maf...

he said he has 2 running motors. he is also in canada

[typhoonslippery]

he said he has 2 running motors. he is also in canada

From Japan-land, I try to have alot of extra parts for situaitons like this but most things have been unsucessful thus far

[ca18detgabby]

From Japan-land, I try to have alot of extra parts for situaitons like this but most things have been unsucessful thus far

Ive been piling up parts and keeping things as back ups just to cover my rear end.

[typhoonslippery]

Ive been piling up parts and keeping things as back ups just to cover my rear end.

I tried a good working ECU and an unknown ECU(Mine's) and both made the car respond similar with no change unfortunately

[Buddyworm]

Have you tried a different CAS yet dude? Maybe it's wonky and just isn't throwing the code for whatever reason. It sounds like the only thing you haven't checked yet.

[typhoonslippery]

Have you tried a different CAS yet dude? Maybe it's wonky and just isn't throwing the code for whatever reason. It sounds like the only thing you haven't checked yet.

Replaced it with a good working one as one of my extras turned out to be junk. Still the same issue and I haven't been able to spend too much time with it lately so I will revisit this on the weekend.