why is my turbo stalling?

[TurboBuRick]

Hmm, well I owe you a set of plugs. :redface:

Do you have a way to monitor fuel pressure?

 

[that national]

no big deal, i wanted to give the e3's a try anyways. i have a pressure gauge in my fuel rail, im at 43 with line off and a few days ago i put compressed air to the intake until my boost gauge read 20lbs and the fuel pressure gauge reads 63ish my fuel pump stays on with the key on

 

[Eric Stage I]

Can you bring the boost up slow with your foot and see how high you can get before it dies. Also see how high the O2's get before it dies.

Also double check all intercooler/turbo hoses carefully, could be blowing off.

 

[Eric Stage I]

Also make sure non of the chip user parameters is out of whack. Check to make sure they are all at 128 (assuming you haven't changed any of them).

 

[that national]

i did a pressure test on the intake and exhaust system and i am leak free on both sides. ill have to check the parameters i havent changed anything but ill check to make sure nothing has changed

 

[GNeric]

I have been fighting the same thing (2 years) with my ME-R system, 83# injectors, Maf-less and I swapped out ecm's to a TT chip, MSD 50's, MAF and still fighting it. Been over every inch of wiring (grounds, battery cables, ecm wiring, injector wiring) changed out fuel pump (8 years old or more), regulator, fuel rail, pressurized the engine, pressurized the intercooler. No leaks anywhere, fuel pressure rises with boost until 15psi and then all hell breaks loose. Even tried a new AC/Delco 3bar MAP and it responded better but no change in the cutting out. Crank sensor is adjusted properly. New coilpack and module (not cheap AutoZone crap), new wires, plugs. Was going to send in modded ecu to have checked when the new setup does the same thing. No compression leaks. Headgaskets sealed up tight. Not going to let it beat me though. Just need the time to get to it and figure it out. I work 6 days a week so that leaves little time to get on it at the end of the day.

 

[NM Tom]

I have been fighting the same thing (2 years) with my ME-R system, 83# injectors, Maf-less and I swapped out ecm's to a TT chip, MSD 50's, MAF and still fighting it. Been over every inch of wiring (grounds, battery cables, ecm wiring, injector wiring) changed out fuel pump (8 years old or more), regulator, fuel rail, pressurized the engine, pressurized the intercooler. No leaks anywhere, fuel pressure rises with boost until 15psi and then all hell breaks loose. Even tried a new AC/Delco 3bar MAP and it responded better but no change in the cutting out. Crank sensor is adjusted properly. New coilpack and module (not cheap AutoZone crap), new wires, plugs. Was going to send in modded ecu to have checked when the new setup does the same thing. No compression leaks. Headgaskets sealed up tight. Not going to let it beat me though. Just need the time to get to it and figure it out. I work 6 days a week so that leaves little time to get on it at the end of the day.

Hey Eric, does the fuel pressure flutter when it starts to break up?

 

[GNeric]

Rock steady at 58 with 15psi boost and initial 43 psi vacuum line off.

 

[GNeric]

Verified hood mounted guage with another guage taped to windshield. Exactly the same readings.

 

[GNeric]

I am going to drive it to work tomorrow and try a little test. Did some wire end replacing and she ran much better tonight but I didn't get on it since it was getting dark outside. Just drove around watching my OTC 4000E and everything looked great with the TT chip in there. Going to check in the light and closer to work so if I do pop something, I will be closer to work and not 7 miles away by my house.

 

[turboc87gn]

How new are you plug wires/what brand are they i had a similar problem on a turbo daytona and when i opened the hood i was treated to a light show by my plug wires!!!!! Unplug the maf and see if it gets any better also when mine went it wouldnt even get into boost it was bucking and acting crazy but it would idle..i unplugged the maf and drove home...I also got the exact same symptom and the problem was ummmm lol i was outta gas (my tach on the column covers my gas gauge ...) hth...

 

[TurboBuRick]

Eric, what do you think about throwing it in batch fire and see what that does?

 

[GNeric]

Tried the batchfire trick about 2 months ago and same thing... except I threw it into neutral and tried to fire it up when it did die and then remembered I had to pull over and hook the cam sensor back up. Only thing I haven't done is replace the actual wiring harness and battery. I actually got a code when I swapped out the ME-R stuff to the TT setup. Tried a different ESC module and exact same results. Each and every wire from ECM to component results in close to a .1-.2 home resistance check with a "wiggle test" on each and every wire under the hood.

 

[GNeric]

I figure if I can get this car sorted out, I can at least help someone with similar issues but so far, it is just out of reach. I will get it, I am not a quitter and I do not get discouraged easily. One reason I am not burned out on working on cars yet. Been making money at it since I was 15 and I am 42 now.

 

[Amelio]

update on my issue seems same as yours.....

Ok just to recap my problem.....basically when the car would come up on boost it would be ok until 15psi then as soon as it hit 15psi it would buck,spit,pop or if none of that it would just lay over like you lifted when at WOT. I had been chasing this problem since April. Like you i went through the harness and every connection and checked every sensor and could find nothing. As a last resort I pulled out my chip and put in an old one I had and the problem went away Before this problem began I had a chip in the car that was made while I had it strapped to a dyno and made adjustments in between pulls. This was with a previous engine combo....then I had to rebuild and I went with a roller cam setup and made a move to a TT chip. Shortly after that I went to the track and the car ran great!!!! After the track day the car sat for 2 weeks then when I drove it it started acting up....as I mentioned this was back in April.

Well like I said before I put the old chip I had back in it and the car has no problems other than some kr because of aggressive timing in the chip. But the main point is that it does not lay over spit, buck, or pop just pulls like it is supposed to. I put the TT chip back in and same problem. A few weeks back I sent the TT chip back to Eric and he could not find a problem.....he burned me a new chip and I put it in. The car ran good for about a week and now I am back to the same problem.......and it actually gets worse the more I drive it.

In total disbelief last night I pulled over on the side of the road after the car layed over a few times.....popped in my old chip that I keep in the glove box. I cruised for a minute and then went WOT......well same thing as before the problem went away,I did 4 or 5 wot blasts to be sure and it it pulled like it should.....other than some kr no break up or just laying over.

I have not yet talked to Eric because this happened yesterday....I have no clue as to what the issue could be but all I know is that when I remove the chip the problem goes away. The car does seem to idle better and basically run better with the TT chip except for WOT blasts.

I am not saying this is what your problem is but if you have another chip just pop it in to rule it out of the equation. It took me 4 months to even think that the chip may be the issue and that is what is was.

 

[ADAM12]

i installed e3 in a tta i feel they are awsome did great like indexing the plugs !!!!!

 

[TurboBuRick]

Any progress from the op?

Thinking about your situation some more, is it a boost or rpm condition? Will the rpm's run all the way up if you don't get into boost?

 

[that national]

it seems to be boost related i think. if i drive it around normaly you would never be able to tell that anything is wrong. i was going to turn the boost down to 11 or 12 pounds and see what happened but its raining up here today.
i also swapped crank sensors last night to see what happened but there was no change

 

[Eric Stage I]

I also noticed you said you O2's were up in the 820's. Is that at WOT? If so, you might try reducing WOT fuel using the chip adjustment. It might be choking on too much fuel.
I would also double check you Translator settings. LS1 3.5 MAF should be BASE setting of "0". The WOT knob should be at "0", at least for now.

 

[GNeric]

I have a completely different ecu and chip in my car than the ME-R setup. Mine runs exactly the same as yours. Perfect throttle response and pull all the way up to 15psi. Then the bucking, popping and cutting out happen. I can run it up by foot to 14 and it is like it should be. Mine originally happened 2 years ago at the track. Popped at the 60ft line and I got off immediately. Never had knock, exhaust temp was 1400 + or -, O2's were right around .780 + or -, fuel pressure was 64psi with 21psi boost when it happened. No milkshake oil or residue in coolant. No evidence of coolant on plugs. Borrowed the lighted probe from work and invesitgated the cylinders. Normal light carbon buildup on pistons. No signs of antifreeze/water in combustion chambers. Today I threw the other 148 ecm in the car and let it relearn before driving it home. Same results.

...I am not saying this is what your problem is but if you have another chip just pop it in to rule it out of the equation. It took me 4 months to even think that the chip may be the issue and that is what is was.