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Post by perthwa on May 11, 2022 9:33:38 GMT
Failed the gas test... ECU has idle speed controller error, Purge canister solenoid error and consult check error...Spark is adjusting to compensate the idle error etc and Engine only getting 20 degrees of timing at 3000rpm. Basically NOX and CO fail and a quick $480... Did manage to pass 3 / 5 gases... So - next- purchase a replacement, tuneable ECU..(get rid of the factory) and probably with wide-band sensor. then fit, tune and re-test.... probably north of $2k. BUT that is life. Then pay engineering and go to DOT... Have another 48 hour permit, and rain coming so, I might just go for a drive... before I cry.... The adventure continues... p.s. How do you drop your car off and still get to work? Easy...
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Post by wishful4444 on May 11, 2022 13:46:27 GMT
Commiserations perthwa.
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Post by buildityourself on May 11, 2022 19:24:14 GMT
Why not just replace the components causing the ecu faults as a much cheaper option?
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Post by perthwa on May 14, 2022 10:07:43 GMT
Why not just replace the components causing the ecu faults as a much cheaper option? I like the way you think. That is exactly what I have been doing today, well this morning. I had a thought that the Head temperature sensor wasn't connected... I had labelled it but was not sure that it was connected. I had the temperature guage connected because that is fed directly from a sensor on the thermostat housing. Good news is that it was connected. I need now to start and run the engine with the OBD2 connected and see that the temperature sensor is recording... Then ditto for the other major sensors. I had been concerned that I was running down the expensive pathway for what should be a car that should easily be able to meet the 2003 standards. I don't mind spending the money on a solution, but I would like to test the cheaper solution first. Thanks for the thoughts.
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Post by perthwa on May 14, 2022 10:08:25 GMT
The main distraction for today was the arrival of the immobiliser. Wired the unit in. Have isolated fuel pump and ignition circuit and starter motor. Now have a fancy flashing light. That should make engineer and DOT happy. Unit also has a vibration alarm. Door alarms, window breaking, boot release and a couple of other spare wires might not be very useful. Installation was straight forward. Covered the ugly hole where the PATS use to live... Here is the photo of the Dash High Beam and Brakes stickers that I added. Everything on the list DONE... Just need to solve the engine Gas test and fix the SAAS gauges going blank after 20 minutes of driving... and then every 5 minutes. Have to test the source of the power that I have chosen... just something not right. I did need to get another 48 hour Movement Permit to get home from the gas test. Unfortunately two days of rain... I went to take my mother-in-laws utility to work on Friday but the battery was flat... So I took the Rocket. Wasn't raining when I left but was raining a bit by the time I got to work. Covered the car in a Tarpaulin for the day; except when I got some fuel at lunchtime. Surprisingly pleasant to drive in the mist conditions.. Seat uprights a bit damp, but I was dry. Helmet was a success. I did tape up the hole on the top of the helmet as it was too noisey after recent drive. Much better now. You can actually here the engine. Car is turning out to be very pleasant to drive. No issues with temperature, idle does take a second or two too long to come back to a reasonable rev range, not overly high just not as quick as it should return. It does sit an idle very pleasingly at traffic lights, and goes nicely when they show green. Still not happy with the brakes.. Not sure DOT will like the long pedal.. Not sure I like it either. The fluid level in the rear Master Cylinder keeps dropping after you push the first pedal movement and then apply the pedal for a second time in reasonable quick succession. Actually, it falls enough for my low level sensor to occasionally come on. It returns to the full level as soon as the pedal is released... Just not sure why.. Does seem to imply air in system but I have bled the system many times... more research coming... Thinking that the 0.75 inch Master cylinder might not be large enough for the 2018 Focus rear brakes... I do have a spare Wilwood also0.75 inch, that I can test as a replacement but I need a remote reservoir before I can test that.
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Post by perthwa on May 15, 2022 6:07:23 GMT
Idle air control valve. Removed it, cleaned it, tested it with a spark and it does have a bit of movement...Not sure how much movement it is supposed to have. It certainly makes a click when it is powered on from a spare battery. I also got 12 volt reading from the power supply to the valve from the harness clip. However, still getting a Idle speed valve error on the OBD2.
So... When I put it back in, the car started no worries, the engine idled about 950 rpm... disconnected the ISCV, no change to revs. The throttle position sensor reads 20% at idle... That would be because I attempted to compensate for a shite ISCV by turning up the throttle position... a bit of a 'No No' as I have now realised. (Nothing mention by the 5 Gas tester..)
Not sure what the difference between a new ISCV and a broken one will actually be... they are solenoids, that is what I know. They should throw in and out with an electric current..
Guess I will find out when I buy a replacement.
2 hours later:
Now I am thinking, that maybe the engine revs were higher than the preset lower limit in the ECU and therefore the ISCV may not be activated while the engine revs are higher than the set speed.
But I decided to have a closer look at the "broken" valve with a screw driver and a hammer... turns out the casting is not that strong.. Buying a new one... anyway...
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Post by mawdo81 on May 17, 2022 15:29:05 GMT
Put a new coil, leads & plugs on and re try. Is it running a CAT? What ECU is it? Is it the Ford unit with the Lambda sensor?
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Post by perthwa on May 22, 2022 6:48:02 GMT
And another day of learning. It is amazing that when the silly pressure of meeting deadlines for engineering and Gas testing is removed and you can just sit back and do a bit of research and a little looking around just what you might find. The rubber hose from the top of the cam cover is directly feeding into the intake housing of the fuel system, down stream of the MAF sensor. A mate and I were looking at the various vacuum hoses in this location and decided that this one should probably not be connected where it was. Disconnected it and the engine stopped immediately as air rushed in. Covered the hole with a finger and it started fine. Idled better than ever. The hose is now plumbed up stream of the MAF and the intake runner for the MAF is a little straighter and longer. I even added a one way valve that probably should have been included as well. You can see a shiny Brass plug in the hose that is leading to the manifold. I haven't research what it was but I suspect that it may have been for the Brake housing vacuum. Just need one more large clamp to seal the whole thing. You can see the solenoid end of the Idle Speed Air control valve hanging free. I am convinced it wasn't working before I broke it. There is no solenoid noise but the OBD2 readings show it around 30%. Just need to relocate the Radiator overflow tank that use to be where the Air filter is now happily sitting. I have made up a new bracket and it is currently drying. Here is an earlier photo when I first got the car. It clearly shows the line from the cam cover into the manifold.
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Post by perthwa on May 22, 2022 7:10:17 GMT
Put a new coil, leads & plugs on and re try. Is it running a CAT? What ECU is it? Is it the Ford unit with the Lambda sensor? These things are on my radar. Running standard 2004 ECU with all of the standard connections. It has a new Euro 3 Cat. Now that I have discovered that the vacuum hose was sucking fumes from the Valve cover downstream of the MAF it is not surprising that I fails HC emissions. A legacy of purchasing someone else's project. I have also been lent a Autel DiagLink OBDII reader and this is now giving me a lot more useful data to diagnose. Thanks for the feedback.
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Post by mawdo81 on May 26, 2022 12:10:32 GMT
IIRC the valve breather goes to the airbag in the Ford (so before the MAF), the crank case breather to the intake manifold after the throttle.
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Post by perthwa on May 27, 2022 12:57:35 GMT
IIRC the valve breather goes to the airbag in the Ford (so before the MAF), the crank case breather to the intake manifold after the throttle. Thanks I will follow that up.
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Post by perthwa on May 28, 2022 11:23:58 GMT
Spent some time looking at the engine bay. Now the crank case ventilation is correctly inputing into the airbox down stream of the throttle body. It is the lower tube that correctly flows under the spark unit and seems to be ok. The cam cover tube is now venting into the air intake tube well before the MAF. This also seems ok. I have seen other cars who just vent this to a catch can. not sure if this is DOT safe but one was a car that was recently certified... Engine is definitely idling better around the 708 rpm that is pre set in the ECU according to the scanner. Not sure that the Idle speed control valve that I purchased and installed is actually working and I have yet to see an error code since installing it, but have not been for a drive yet. Installed the new bracket for the radiator overflow tank. Might have to add a second support for the air intake and also for the coolant tank. More to come.
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Post by perthwa on Jun 4, 2022 8:57:16 GMT
Made a bracket to support the air intake. Just rests on the bracket at this stage. I may attach it later, but that is not the problem. Looks fine; then I shut the hood. It now fouls by a couple of centimetres. I will move it to the right a bit. and see if it can get into the recess area. Measure twice and .... I might also be able to rotate it in towards the motor a bit. Extra question: What could be causing a subtle misfire as I rev the engine up slowly to 3000rpm and beyond probably? It does seem to be be a regular event and is noticeable as a slight vibration. I have brand new plugs, gapped appropriately... I will test the resistance values in the coil pack tomorrow and ... look at the leads.
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Post by perthwa on Jun 5, 2022 5:57:44 GMT
Engine cover now shuts: rotated the intake manifold a bit, flipped the bracket around, trimmed off the length, made a new bend and now the hood closes. just need to get it running smooth... just need to get the brakes to be a little better. just need a successful gas test. then DOT...
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Post by perthwa on Jun 25, 2022 13:00:27 GMT
Update: Well, time to move a bit forward.
Made an effort to look at the rear brakes; I was concerned that I could not remove the rear brake callipers to invert them and bleed them properly because the longer bolts required with the spacer bolts in place, foul the brake intake pipe on the calliper when you try to remove it, meaning that the pipe needs to be removed first effectively making it impossible to bleed and then re-install.
So I was then going to swap the left calliper and the right calliper so that the bleed nipples were at the top. I had originally thought that these were already high enough and without knowing what they looked like when mounted on the 2019 focus that they came from, I was hoping that they were bleed-able in situ; wrong definitely not and certainly the reason for my ridiculous pedal travel. I watched a Youtube video and noticed that a 2019 focus had trailing brakes and they were leading brakes as mounted on the Rocket... Alarm bells.
Anyway, a rookie error on my part, I did not realise that the slide tubes on the callipers are removable with an allen key. So I removed the lower one and was able to pivot the calliper horizontal. Then I inserted a block of wood and bled the rear brakes. Pedal pressure.... alleluia!
Ignition: Then I installed the new wasted spark coil pack and the new plug leads and started the engine. Hopefully it is better... It was a subtle misfire and probably just enough to wreck the gas test. (plus the wrongly routed vacuum lines)
Tomorrow there is a club breakfast and drive a round trip of about 120km and that doesn't include the drive up through the hills to a local reservoir. I am thinking about getting a 'movement permit' and go visiting the engineer again to update him as it has been a while. Might sneak in a cup of coffee...
The last thing is the electrical gremlin that causes the dash gauges to go completely blank after 25 minutes and then about every 5 minutes after that. I just need to see where I have pulled the current source from and think about rewiring that for another ignition source that doesn't cause a blackout.
Then a gas test... fingers crossed.
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