engine sputters and SES flickers HELP HELP !!!!

J

jarredsoon

Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2007
Everything has been great for the last 7000 miles, until this started happening.
When going into boost hard or even easing into it at about 10lbs boost the engine sputters and bucks and the SES light flickers. I let off the gas and everything goes back to normal. No codes are on the scan master. NO knock retard is displayed when this occurs and O2 are above 800 when in boost.

I have checked the following and or swapped parts

maf --- swapped with a known good maf from other car
ecm ---- swapper with a known good ecm
replaced module with new ac delco unit from highway stars
replaced coil pack with one from highway stars
put new plugs in
swapped plug wires from other car
checked and cleaned battery terminals
torqued balancer bolt to 220
replaced fusible links on orange ecm wires by battery
check tps sensor fro dead spots via scan master
checked grounds at back of intake
checked ground on front of cylinder head
observed fuel pressure to increase 1:1 with boost
pulled valve covers and observed all rockers to be moving equally (esp number 3 exhaust)
observed vacuum guage to hold steady at 14 at idle.
removed wires from starter and cleaned and reinstalled tight.
observed the engine running in the dark to see if any arcing or sparks jumping

scan master numbers are all within normal limits, I can post exact figures if needed. Car runs and starts great just can't boost and now its not that much fun to drive.

I am running out if ideas and don't have the money for the shop to figure this out. Please help.

Thanks

Jarred
 
Loose IC hose or leaky connection?

Cam sensor reluctor wheel under cap may have sheared/bent the tab holding it in place.

Voltage?

Also if you have a powerlogger remove it and try it. I had mine cause a very similar problem and itwas the PL.
 
voltage is 14 or more volts on the dash gauge.

I will check for a leaky intercooler hose

I will inspect the cam sensor, what do I look for a loose bolt on the hold down? I have a cam sensor tool to set it in the correct position, I can check that.
 
Remove the two screws on the cap and then you will see and reluctor wheel in there. it has a single scew holding it down and that wheel has a lil tab that locates it properly in the the spinning portion of the CS shaft. Sometimes that tab can break off, bend etc through things outta sync.

If you have ANY oily residue around teh IC connections then take them apart and clean then up real well.
 
Mine was a combination of a broke DS motor mount and a improperly secured positive batt cable going to starter. The engine would rock over on acceleration.... and the battery cable would touch the underside of the pass header.... eventually it will short out and make the car stumble just as you describe..... then as it stumbles the engine rocks back the other way and it unshorts itself about .05 seconds later. You can see it on a datalog.
 
OK I will check those two things, thanks for the help turbo nasty. I am unclear how oil on the intercooler hose could cause this but will inspect and clean them anyway. Should I clean out the intercooler itself as well??? I have heard that guys run brake clean in there to flush it out. Is that the correct way to clean the ic???

Thanks

Jarred
 
Blazer. I will examine the positive bat cable for any burn areas or shorts. I did check the cable tightness at the starter but not the entire length of cable. I should have been more thorough.

Thanks

Jarred
 
jarredsoon said:
Blazer. I will examine the positive bat cable for any burn areas or shorts. I did check the cable tightness at the starter but not the entire length of cable. I should have been more thorough.

Thanks

Jarred
Click to expand...

It is pretty hard to tell.... beacuse you can't actually see it.... you might can see it if you were under the car on a creeper and had a good light.

Bottom line is.... it has happened to a bunch of people.... hopefully that is all it is....
 
Flickering CE light points directly to ECM or Chip problem. Do you have another chip you can try? Also try removing chip and pry up the fingers in the chip socket. A needle or safety pin works.



RL
 
TurboBuRick said:
Flickering CE light points directly to ECM or Chip problem. Do you have another chip you can try? Also try removing chip and pry up the fingers in the chip socket. A needle or safety pin works.



RL
Click to expand...


One dead giveaway that you have lost power to the ECU is if you have a custom setting on your TT chip..... the setting will revert back to 128 when the ECU looses power.

FWIW, I've also had an unused connector for EGR or PM, etc that eventually found it's way against something metal..... causes intermittant driveability burps and stumbles....
 
Great feed back guys!!!! I am at work right now and am going to look at all these things tonight!!!!

I will post my findings.
 
Update

Checked intercooler hoses connection, clean and tight.
Pulled ship out and checked for bent pins, tried a different chip (burnt for this car), still popping.
Removed cap on cam sensor, inspected gold ring wheel with screw. Didn't move freely, could barly move it, replaced cap.
Located wage wire and it's tied to module wire harness and does not lean onto intake.
Hoisted up car and inspected wires going to starter from battery, they have plastic loom over them, no melted spots. I moved them around and felt around up there, can't find a short or squished cable/wire.
Unplugged crank sensor, looked ok, plugged back in.
Checked alky pump wiring, seems intact, no corrosion or pinched wires.

Went to start car and she turned over for three sec, then paused, and turned, and paused, then turned over and fired up. This makes me think there is inconsistent pow to the starter, But I can't find any short. Just to be sure I removed battery terminals, cleaned the positive one and tightened both back up. Car still pops when in boost.
 
Ya and now that I think about it a while back one time I turned the key to start the car and nothing! No click, nothing, I held the key in the forward position for about 3 sec and then the motor fired right up. Where is the ignition switch? Is it the thing the key goes into or is there something else inside the steering column?

Might be worth checking into.

Thanks

Jarred
 
It is down on the steering column just up from the brake pedals..... you probably have to stand on your head to get to it....
 
jarredsoon said:
Went to start car and she turned over for three sec, then paused, and turned, and paused, then turned over and fired up. This makes me think there is inconsistent pow to the starter, But I can't find any short. Just to be sure I removed battery terminals, cleaned the positive one and tightened both back up. Car still pops when in boost.
Click to expand...

If it kicks like the timing is off turn your cam sensor slightly counter clockwise.

Is the CE light still flickering during the wot condition?

RL
 
Yes the check engine light is still flickering when in boost or wot.
I am going to look for this ignition switch, just so you all know this is a TTA not a GN.
 
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