Donation to forum paid for help reading Elanscan o/p

[andrewrenouf]

Dear All

I know people are so generous with their time I don't need to offer to pay but I thought it was a good opportunity to make a donation to the forum.

I offer to pay £ 5 per reply (say with a maximum of £ 20) to the forum to help pay for some of the running costs etc. Probably the first post will tell me what's wrong but it's nice to put something back for all of the help I'm getting.

Before I bought the Elanscan I had an error code 15 on the flashing dash light readout method. I changed the CTS but it looks like it could still be a CTS problem. (I'm going to double check the connections in the socket today).

Any other input or ideas welcome.

Thanks - Andrew

[ailwyn]

The coolant temp is only reaching 55 degrees C, have you checked/changed the thermostat? It could be stuck open.

Normal operating temp is somewhere around 80 degrees C

Code 15 is Low Coolant Temp, this can possibly indicate a CTS fault, but in general just means the engine doesn't seem to be reaching operating temp.

[Gary]

I offer to pay £ 5 per reply

Does this count as a reply ?

[ailwyn]

I offer to pay £ 5 per reply

Does this count as a reply ?

Only if you're going to match the donation

[andrewrenouf]

Thanks all

It was only a quick drive from a cold start so perhaps the engine had not had time to warm up? I can check that out but from memory the temp guage cam up to normal and the fan was cutting in and out last time I ran it on the drive.

I've just taken the plug off the CTS and sprayed swich cleaner on it. The contacts did not look particularly bad.

Just tried running it again but still missing badly. I can smell fuel so it's very like a dead CTS - the trouble the CTS is brand new! Would a stuck open thermostat cause the engine management unit to dump fuel in (as if the car was cold)

Thanks all - Andrew

[ailwyn]

I would imagine that a dead CTS would give no reading or a very abnormal reading (way too high >100 or way too low <0 ). Also the ES data shows a steady increase in temp.

My bet is still the thermostat.

[andrewrenouf]

Hi Ailwyn

I let the car sit on the drive and idle until the fan came on. The phone rang so I turned it off and then 5 mins later took it for a short spin.

The most amazing thing is the long "whooooooooshing" noise I have on gear change now. I'm sure this is the waste gate or something and it never made this much noise in the past.

Stangely enough not misfiring quite so badly (like running on "three" only 50% of the time now!) Sometimes the odd burst of all 4. The whoooooooooooooshing must be part of the issue!

Here is the latest scan on a short trip around the block when hot

Thanks - Andrew

[andrewrenouf]

I just looked though the most recent data and saw on "wastegate duty cycle" that the graph was moving up and down.

This morning's first drive showed a steady line on this parameter. Is it possible the heat has unstuck my wastegate?

If I've answered my own problem that's another £ 5.00 I owe the forum!!!

It's still making the whoooooooooooooshing noise though!

Any help welcome! - Andrew

[ailwyn]

It's certainly possible that a bit of heat/exercise freed up the wastegate.

Sounds like it's still running rich or possibly have a HT problem if your missing, but the CTS readout looks fine.

[andrewrenouf]

I suppose as it's missing on one the fuel smell could be the unburnt fuel coming from the cylinder that's missing.

The plugs are new. If the elan scan is all OK then it's leads and HV type of stuff.

Any comments anyone? I want to donate £ 20!!

Thanks - Andrew

[andrewrenouf]

BTW I've now paid the £ 20 (as Geoff will testify!!) my phone bank says you are part of the instant clearing scheme.

Payment in advance.........that's trust for you! Mainly to say thank you for all of your help and also for this fantastic forum.

Any answers welcome!!

Thanks again! - Andrew

[GeoffSmith]

The wastegate duty cycle only come into operation when the ECU starts to control the boost - it's the signal sent to the wastegate and not a signal received and it looks sensible to me. Right, let's get on and see if we can earn this 20 quid which I believe that Gary has offered to match Pound for Pound.

Although I don't think this is the main cause of the problem, have you checked the base timing? This is critical as everything is calculated assuming it is correct.

Have you checked the plugs to see if any of them are fouled?

Do you have a dump valve? That could be the source of the whoosh.

Are you sure it's a whoosh and not a 'Silence of the lambs' type phaphaphaphapha? The latter is quite normal.

[Doug]

Andrew, what Elan type do you have? If you have an SE then stop reading here.

If you have an S2 then it is possible that your oxygen sensor can get sooted up and read incorrectly. I have not looked at your ES logs, but I had a similar problem once = my CTS failed and it sooted up the whole exhaust--the car ran okay after the new CTS (and readings on the sensors were correct) but it just didn't run as well as before. After considering everything else, I decided to change the O2 sensor. When I removed it ti was completely black and covered with soot; they are very sensitive so can give off readings and foul the car a bit without ever throwing a CEL (check engine light) themselves.

[andrewrenouf]

Thanks Doug

No I've got an SE. I assume that the consensus is that the Elanscan output is looking OK.

I could check base timing as suggested but the car ran like a dream before the CTS failed. I'm not sure I want to change another variable just yet (in case i mess it up and introduce two faults!!)

As I've changed the plugs I assume that leads and coils could be next.

I'll record the whoooooooooooosh noise and post that as a .wav file (or a zipped .wav file) later today in case it helps.

Thanks - Andrew

[GeoffSmith]

You haven't had a rodent chewing HT leads / CTS leads / plumbing for the turbo have you?

[ailwyn]

Your boost pressure is hitting over .6 bar so I doubt it's an air leak, when I had a dicky dump valve I couldn't get it over .25 bar.

For misfires I would look at the leads/coils if they've not been changed in the last couple of years.

[andrewrenouf]

I did have a mouse living in the car! Finally got him with a little nipper mouse trap in the footwell

I never really use my glove box and when I did the paperclip test I found a load of chewed/torn up tissue paper (which I left in the footwell from a garage when wiping the inside of the screen).

I wondered why I had a self cleaning car! I think the next stage is HT leads etc and I'll see what happens.

By the way it is the "silence of the lambs" phapaphapa noise but what's unusual is how loud it is and how long it lasts now (unless I can hear it more as the flap's down behind the dash board due to the ECU plug being plugged into the laptop!)

It's a great help that people seem to think the Elanscan output is looking normal as at least it rules out issues with the CTS etc.

Thanks - Andrew

[andrewrenouf]

Hi All

Here'e the whhhhhhoooooooooooooshing noise. It's a wav file but I've had to zip it as usual to post it on the forum.

You will hear that I'm booting the car to fairly high revs (on 3 cylinders!) and the whoooshing noise is louder than the revving engine.

The noise is about the same as before much MUCH louder. (The trouble is as I haven't driven the car properly since February I've half forgotten how loud this noise was when the car is operating normally!)

Thanks - Andrew

[ailwyn]

That's a dump valve.

[GeoffSmith]

Although I haven't got one or heard one while in the car, that sounds like a dump valve. Could anyone else confirm?