Airbox changes and CEL

[drledford93]

Hey all,

So I've had my '07 MS3 GT for exactly one week now and I decided to put a K&N filter (drop in) and take the bottom of the airbox off. (It was held in by zip ties.) Everything was fine for the first ~25 miles of driving until the CEL came on and the turbo would not spool up. I took it to the dealer and they said there were 15 (!!!!) codes on the ECU and when flashed, 9 came back, including a boost spike and one that said the ECU could not recognize the position of the crank.

I've done this mod to several different cars without a problem in the past. It has 600 miles on it now and I have only taken it over 4k rpm 3-4 times for break in (which I learned wasn't necessary...)

Has anyone seen this before, and if so, did I just screw myself in doing this small mod? Any insight would be appreciated...

Daniel <==Not feeling too smart right now...

 

[Abaddon]

Well, if it cant find the crank position.. then its probably the crank position sensor.. which you could not have effected with your "mod". Unless you somehow pulled or cut a wire harness when you did it.

 

[drledford93]

I didn't pull or cut any wires to do this, thankfully. Has anyone else had a crank sensor go out before?? Just curious...

Daniel

 

[desperado-c]

I didn't pull or cut any wires to do this, thankfully. Has anyone else had a crank sensor go out before?? Just curious...

Daniel

I had one go on my minivan. Ran like it was on 1/2 it's cylinders. No way your mod had anything to do with that. This guy did have a bad crank sensor: http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3283959&postcount=1.

As far as other CELS, the drop-in with no bottom on the box might have leaned the charge out way too much. More than the ECU could compensate for. I don't know how that would cause overboost, but I suppose it might have. Maybe somebody more knowledgeable can weigh in.

 

[Craighjr]

Put it back to stock, disconnect your battery for 5 minutes. Drive it like hell for a week and see if that light comes back.

 

[SharkDiver]

I put a K&N filter and I cut alot of holes in my stock box and didnt get any CELs.They were 3" holes and I put about 8 in it.It also sounded louder then my cai.

 

[LENNY127]

that mod would have nothing to do with your issues unless you disconnected ,cut , burned a wire or two. the k & n is not a dry filter so in theory it could affect your maf but again that has nothing to do with the crank sensor, I would first disconnect the battery , let it reset , try it again stock with og filter and see.....after that if it persits let the mazda grease monkeys figure it out.

 

[drledford93]

Thanks guys! It had to spend the night at the dealer and I have yet to hear from them about the prognosis. I did put it back to stock before I took it to the dealer. I'll let you guys know what happens...

BTW, they gave me a Kia as a replacement. I feel dirty...

Daniel

 

[drledford93]

Now they're saying it's the cam sensor, not the crank sensor...does this make any difference? I still wouldn't think so, but...

Daniel

 

[Craighjr]

Doesn't matter which your under warranty unless you doof'ed and screwed something up. My dealer gave me a chevy cobalt with a am/fm radio only I guess thats class compaired to a kia.

 

[drledford93]

I don't see how I could have cut or fried any wires...it's just the removal of the bottom of the airbox! Sorry, I'm just a bit stressed! (I was supposed to get my wheels powder coated black today...)

Daniel

 

[Abaddon]

It may have just failed...

Anything electronic can fail at any time for any reason; including but not limited to manufacturing errors, water, corrosion, the dark side of the force, vibration.. etc.

 

[Rotus8]

It may have just failed...

Anything electronic can fail at any time for any reason; including but not limited to manufacturing errors, water, corrosion, the dark side of the force, vibration.. etc.

In the electronics industry we have a thing called the "bathtub curve". The reliability of electronics is a bit lower at the beginning of life, then gets better, and then gets worse again when it nears end of life, thus forming the shape. Some early failures are a fact of life. It's statistics and you got bit. Sorry.

 

[drledford93]

That's ok if it's reliability...not a problem. I can understand that. I'm just a bit nervous about me causing the failure. As it seems now, it doesn't look like I did...

Daniel

 

[desperado-c]

That's ok if it's reliability...not a problem. I can understand that. I'm just a bit nervous about me causing the failure. As it seems now, it doesn't look like I did...

Daniel

Maybe Rotus can correct me if I'm wrong, but it's hard to imagine how you could have caused the engine to operate outside the parameters of a cam sensor. If that's the problem, and they deny warranty coverage, it's just b/c they're screwing with you. Maybe b/c they think you're screwing with them given all the codes that were set off. Who knows. Anyway, if they do screw with you over this, you might want to start looking around for the next closest dealer.

P.S. Hey, Rotus, from your avatar, etc., looks like you dropped 3-speed transmission in your car. Now that's REALLY old school, even for an old fart.

 

[drledford93]

Just to sum it up, the MAF sensor was "loose" and caused all of this. He blamed me for it, but I didn't touch it! Dealers...

Daniel

 

[drledford93]

Ok, so the Mazda techs said that K&N filters (OEM replacements) throw oil onto the MAF, causing it to malfunction. I know a bunch of you use K&N stuff (as I have for the past 10+ years), so have any of you had problems with the drop in filters? Just curious...

Daniel

 

[fourthmeal]

the problem with K&N Filters is that its way too easy to over-oil the filter, which will coat the MAF.

 

[drledford93]

This one was brand new and out-of-the-box, fwiw.

Daniel

 

[desperado-c]

This one was brand new and out-of-the-box, fwiw.

Daniel

Yeah, the problem happens when the owner cleans and re-oils the filter, not with the ones just out of the box oiled by the factory. Accordingly, your use of a drop-in was highly unlikely to cause the MAF to be coated with oil (if it ever was).

Also hard to see how you could have loosened the MAF just by removing the bottom of the airbox. Mine was quite firmly attached when I pulled it out of the stock box to put it in the CAI. Even if it was loose and shaking around a fair amount, it seems the screws would keep it securely in place.

What was the problem according to them? The MAF got oiled up or the MAF was loose? Or both? I smell BS.

I think when they see an overboost CEL they figure you're up to no good and start looking for whatever reasons they can find to deny warranty coverage. If you already came clean with them about the K&N and removing the bottom of the box and they're still screwing with you, sounds like you've got a fight on your hands.