ca18det pulling timing

[cadet18]

So i have an s13 with the ca in it modsa re 800cc deatschwerks inj nismo fpr walbro 255 fuel pressure set to fsm. 2860rs .64, fmic 3' exh, nistune on the ca18de NOT the ca18det the ecu is a 35f11. tuned by a guy who knows what he is doing. the problem were running into is that while trying to accelerate where we have it set to give 27 ish degrees timing (for ex it does this throughout the rev range) you can watch the timing go from 20ish to negative 2 or lower and bounce fast and erratically back and forth, the boost gauge does the same thing. the whole car bucks. the only thing that makes sense to me that would cause the timing craziness would be the cam position sensor or the computer. the knock sensor has been bypassed tps voltage is correct and the cooloant temp sensor has been changed. the car idles perfectly. i have already ordered the cam position sensor but im not 100% sure if that is the problem. hopefully someone here will have some more insight on this. could it be an issue with the de ecu running a det engine(even though it has nistune)?

[boost_boy]

Do realize the DE's ecu is mapped differently from the DET's ecu and did you add an injector resistor to this setup? Did you do a diagnostic of the ecu's trouble codes? It is also a possibility that the camshaft's cam sensor drive spline could've been compromised as well. And that statement about your friend knowing what he's doing with the Nistune is not needed here. If you trust in him, that's just you as we're only here to assist if needed.

[float_6969]

Might also check the actual splines in the cam. Sometimes they wear and cause issues at high revs.

To me, based on what you're saying, this sounds like an issue with weak spark. Does he have the dwell time set for long enough? What are the plugs gapped at?

[cadet18]

thanks for the replies. the plugs are a bit used i have new ones ill try today. i have a log and bin file but i dont know how to post it up here. As for the tuning comment im used to getting people flaming for not knowing what im doing, which is true in this aspect i have no real idea on how to tune, which is why im getting someone else to do it for me, my bad if i sounded snobby. i have emailed matt from nistune and he says "I’ve looked over the tune quickly. The CA18DE and DET ECUs appear to have the exact same hardware to having a DET image on the Nistune board should be fine". i have the det harness which does have the dropping resistors. and there are no codes showing when in consult in nistune. thanks again for the help!!

[cadet18]

plugs didnt fix it i swapped cam sensors that didnt fix it, i changed to n60 maf that didnt fix it. when in nistune it says its going to knock maps when i hit the gas even in neutral?

[beans33]

There shouldnt be an issue with the de ecu. Im actually running as well on my det with nistune. I talked to andy vaughn (autovaughn performance) who is a autherized nistune dealer. He said there may be a software issue. I also had some weird issues with my ca doing some random crap that didnt make any sence. After replacing everything i could we re-intalled the firmware and it all went away. There has been some isuues with the type 1 boards. Turn off all knock correction and see what happens. CA18DE's dont even use a knock sensor...

[cadet18]

how do i turn off knock correction


i have already copied knock maps for timing and fuel

[beans33]

if i remember correctly you just uncheck it, i could be wrong . Im kinda like you when it comes to tuning I let people who know what there doing go for it.

[cadet18]

i didnt see any boxes for me to uncheck... the sensor is bypassed with a 1Mohm resistor and watching my gauges nistune reads 0 knock no matter what

[beans33]

Are you using a rwd ca-de or a usdm ca-de ? Correct me if im wrong but there is no knock circuit on a de ? Feel free to call if you get tired of discussing this on here. 6154060124 my name is dennis

[boost_boy]

Correction, the CA18DE does indeed use a knock sensor and the DE's ECU does have knock circuitry as well to include the USDM variants.

[cadet18]

ive seen online where some coils were arcing to ground and causing weird problems. anyone think this is a possibility

[beans33]

Looking in Nistune, the timing and fuel maps are exactly the same for a usdm ca18de. Whats the point of a knock sensor. Maybe its the jdm red ca18de's. I picked one up for parts and I went through the entire harness and even looked at the Ecu, it never had a pin for the ecu. Who knows I could be completly w rong.

[cadet18]

ok so as an update ive changed coolant temp sensor, tps sensor, cam position sensor, injectors, ignitor, dropping resistor, plugs, MAF, tune on nistune, coil packs, and ive bypassed the knock sensor?!?!?! im leaning towards the ecu my MAF wiring was run incorrectly on the exhaust side, the elec tape around it melted and i took it all off the guy who lengthened it soldered it together but it isnt shielded. i inspected the wiring its kinda janky but its all there some of the wire is longer than the rest. im gonna have to guess after changing what seems like everything my only things left are the harness and the ecu? any more sensors or tests i can do before sending in my computer to see if is working correctly to autovaughn performance? any ideas taken ive got to be missing something dumb or its one of these two things.

BUMP!!

[float_6969]

Sounds like you've checked every thing. If something shorted on the MAFS wiring, it could have damaged the ECU.

[cadet18]

ive sent the ecu out to get checked out hopefully it is the culprit, im happier buying a new ecu than having the car like this

[float_6969]

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

[cadet18]

i have had the ecu checked out and the base image reflashed it checked out ok on the bench, once hearing it checked ok on the bench i started going through the wiring harness and found some grounds with a lot of resistance on them . if anyone knows the exact routing of the wiring harness grounds ( where they actually ground to) let me know. i am adding extra engine grounds and seeing if that helps when the ecu comes back in the mail. would it be ok to bundle my grounds into one single ground or would that mess something up?

[cadet18]

i was reading on some other posts and i have seen where you are supposed to use a 500kohm resistor to disable your knock sensor. i have a 1 mohm resistor wired in now will that negatively affect anything? i have the new resistors to get it right i got a 470kohm and a 33kohm resistor i could wire up in series to make a 503 kohm. could this be causing any of my problems?

[float_6969]

DO NOT put all the grounds together. Clean the spot where the ground touches the head/manifold/etc, both sides of the ring terminal, and the bolt. Then coat all of it with anti-seize. The anti-seize will prevent corrosion and will help increase conductivity. If that doesn't fix the issue, you're gonna have to pull the harness out and cut it apart and fix the ground connections inside the harness.

The 1M Ohm resistor could cause issues. the 470K Ohm resistor will probably be fine, but if you've got the 33 already, it won't be a bad idea to put them in series.

[cadet18]

just out of curiosity what would happen if you put all the grounds together? i will put in the resistors in series today while im waiting for the ecu.

[cadet18]

hooked up the ecu today as i just got it back and its still not wanting to rev past 3k rpm and kicks and pops when i try to rev it..... i havent changed to the 500kohm resistor yet but im about to to see if that does anything. maybe my wiring harness has died? i havent been able to trace down my bad ground issue yet even after adding 8 gauge grounding wires to the head and intake.

[cadet18]

rechecked belt timing today its good, checked more grounds... theyre good. checked fpr, its working ok, tested gas for ethanol, none present, it wont rev over 2900 rpms and fights to get there, when i unplug a vacuum line it doesnt run any different and i can build 5ish psi of boost when revving in neutral?!?!?! i have put in a 503 kohm resistor now. any ideas someone has to have something. im almost to the point of parting out the motor and just getting an sr.

[cadet18]

i officially give up working on this thing unless i get extremely bored. this thing will more than likely be in the for sale section soon. if anyone here wants the swap and wants to try and figure it out pm me or text me at 2294601120 and make me an offer. im just going to start saving for an sr swap. swap will come with other parts not listed on here

[cadet18]

i changed the .bin file on nistune with different timing maps and now the car revs freely. i havent taken it down off of jackstands yet ill try and drive it tomm

[chalander]

Any updates? Im curious and would like to know if it runs any better.

[cadet18]

it ended up being my tune all along i trailered the car to tampa and got it tuned by z fever it runs like a champ now i made 275 at the wheels at 12 psi in jan i plan to turn it up to around 20ish where i should be somewhere in the 300-330 range

[float_6969]

Glad to hear you got it sorted out! Was it a corrupt file, or the wrong .bin?

[cadet18]

it was all the right stuff but it just needed to be tuned by someone smarter than me i guess it took 6 hours to get it right.