openecu.org

Hi everyone. Noob here. I'm trying to diagnose what is wrong with my 02 WRX and could use some help or direction.

I can log no problem with the data logger. However, I have no idea what I should log or how to read the numbers when I do the logging.

Where can I go w/my log results to get some help?

Car still kinda cold
ECU Cold Log 1
Car warm, Fuel cut experienced in 1st I think
ECU warm Log 1
Car warm, Fuel cut experienced in 1st I think
ECU warm Log 2
Car warm, Fuel cut experienced in 1st I think
ECU warm Log 3

AgentH wrote:I'm trying to diagnose what is wrong with my 02 WRX and could use some help or direction.

Can you throw us a clue about your problem's symptoms?

Absolutly.
Won't boost above .05 MPa (7 psi) in any gear. Feels sluggish and will stutter and buck wildly if I try to floor it. Does not like to go above 6000 rpm. Not smooth acceleration in 2nd (you can feel it hesitate) when you push it. Idles fine and No CEL. Sometimes when it's already warm, I will go to accelerate and the engine seems like it's stuck. RPMs but boost seems to increase. I can't reproduce it when it does that, but all I have to do is floor it in any of the gears and it will buck harshly and eventually stall out.

power mods: Cobb Access Port, K&N air filter

Here's what I've done already:
-hit redline - till car jerked - by accident a few days prior to 1st sign of problems
-replace the fuel filter 12k ago - Got a new one, will put in this weekend
-replaced the sparks 6k ago (NGK copper) - Gaped to .03 or .028, I forget...
-Cleaned MAF yesterday w/CRC(?) MAF Cleaner
-Checked to see if brass pill is present in vacume line - it is.
-1/8" restrictor is in place too.
-used injector cleaner w/each oil change
-reset ECU (removed negative termial and let sit for 45 min).
-uninstalled access port and ran for 2 miles, problem persisted, so reinstalled access port.

Thanks for your help!

It looks like a boost leak.

inner cooler pipe clamp
turbo inlet pipe clamp

throttle position not listed


Hobbes

If I redid my Log, which variables should I monitor?

It looks like a boost leak.

inner cooler pipe clamp
turbo inlet pipe clamp

throttle position not listed


Hobbes

Thanks Hobbes for the suggestion. I took the intercooler off this weekend to see if everything is OK. There was a lot of gunk (oil based gunk) around the top of the intercooler at one of the y pipes. So I cleand all of that gunk up and made sure it was put back together nice and tight.

I also checked the waste gate actuator. the actuator doesn't feel really smooth. I shot some wd-40 into the waste gate actuator arm and pulled it back and forth a bunch of times and hoped for the best.

Also replaced the fuel filter. I have a terrible feeling that there is something ary in the fuel tank. The fuel comming out of the "out" side of the fuel filter is brown. Not the color of gas (yellowish clear), but rusty brown.

I took my car out for a spin and still fuel cutting under hard accleration in 2nd gear. Feels weak in 2nd. But strong at other times. I boost up to .07 MPa in 4th gear at one point! havnen't seen it go that high in forever. But still, something is wrong. It shouldn't buck like it does in 2nd.

Let me know if i should redo the logs. And let me know which variables I should look at.

thanks!

if you do not have a CEL code, usually means you are not in Limp mode.

try looking for a leak around the wastegate actuator.

7Psi means the wastegate is always opened...

1-check if your BCS (solenoid) is working properly
2-check if there something blocking the hoses

7psi is usually the spring rate at which the wastegate opens on a wrx
limiting the boost at this rating if the solenoid fails for whatever reason

m3n0ch3 is right about the boost. It sounds like you are running on the spring. Check the hose going to the BCS (solenoid) I seems like there is no pressure to the actuator or the actuator is stuck open. Did you try to adjust the actuator arm?

Basic troubleshooting 101

Think back:

When did the car last drive fine.

What did you do just before the trouble started.

(This give you a starting point or idea where to look).

list the symptoms.

List the possible causes to each symptoms.

Next find out if this is a mechnical or electronic problem.

eliminate each case.

It is hard to help you behind the keyboard.

Hobbes

I looked at you logs and it is hard to tell what what is going on without the throttle angle. The timiing looks odd.

Did you flash it?

Hobbes

Hobbes,

What I did to trouble shoot in the beginning was flash it to stock to see if the problem persisted. It did. So I plugged my AP back in and flashed back to stage 1 (thinking the problem was not caused by the computer ie bad learning).

I'm in the process of figuring out how I am going to fix the dirty fuel issue. The rusty brown fuel definitely isn't helping my engine and it must be fixed. I am going to find a way to clean the tank, test or replace the fuel pump, and have the injectors cleaned and flow tested by an outside source.

Do you happen to know the voltages of the fuel pump? I've read that it opperates at 3 speeds. So i am trying to think of ways of testing it and have a couple ideas.

If my problem still exists after I have done all of that, I will make some new logs and share them with you again. I really appreciate you looking at them though. ... I'll add those parameters when I do the Log. Since you can only have at most 12 parameters at once, are there a few that I do not need?

Thanks again for your input!!

After cleaning the tank. Check your AFR and compare it with what the front O2 in reporting to the ECU.

Hobbes