Running *very* Rich with Spool kit

[Maxx Mazda]

Brass screw on the vacuum switch. Set it to 5 in hg

 

[GoProtege]

Sorry, but i'm an idiot, How can I tell what it's set at. I just took a look at it and there are no markings around the screw

 

[Maxx Mazda]

Ya, apply a vacuum tester to it and pump it to 5 inches of hg. THen turn the screw (with the key on run) until you feel it click.

 

[GoProtege]

I'll go find a tester tommorrow and give it a try.

I can't seem to find anyone with a tester. I was looking online for one and they're like 70 bucks. Is there somewhere I can find one cheaper?

 

[Maxx Mazda]

Any auto parts store should have one. Maybe auto zone will let you rent one.

 

[GoProtege]

I'm trying to adjust it but I can't seen to hear or feel a click.

 

[igdrasil]

one second....

how you know its running too rich?
How the car behaves on boost?

 

[GoProtege]

At WOT it actually runs stoich. The problem seems to be everywhere below. When coming to a stop from any throttle/boost level If I push the clutch pedal without feathering the gas, the car will stall. When ideling the car runs very rough and starts to bog down. Not to mention the constant exhaust pops and horrible milage.

 

[GoProtege]

Oh yeah. one of my cel codes says air/fuel mixture problem or something like that. It i believe its P1250

 

[igdrasil]

definitedly your O2 sensor wiring....this has happened to me a lot of times before!!!!

 

[GoProtege]

lol I'm not the only one then!
Do you mean the wiring for the voltage clamp? It looks like it was wired up correctly to me, but then again I'm an idiot and just learning

 

[GoProtege]

Here's a little bit more info.
CEL codes:
P0140 02 circuit No Activity(Bank 1, Sensor 2)
P0301 Cyl 1 misfire
P1250 Manufacturer control fuel air metering
The knock sensor is also throwing a code but I forgot to write the number down.
I have a small exhaust leak at the exhaust manifold which is tripping the knock sensor(at least I think that's the cause). I always kind of disregared this one as unrelated, but doing more research I now see that when it goes off it retards the timing and causes the computer to enter limp mode. Could this be the cause of all the problems? Would getting the manifold machined fix it? And if it is the problem, I'm sorry for not mentioning it earlier. If you can't tell, I'm very new to all this so I should probably forget what little I thought I knew.

Also, I've attached a couple of pictures of the voltage clamp and pressure switch in case you want to take a look. The blue wire comes from the pink/blue from the 02 sensors, one yellow wire from the pressure switch goes into the voltage clamp whiile the other goes back to the pink/blue at the ecu.

I really appreciate the help!!!
~Jeff

 

[igdrasil]

yeah but what you using to tie the wires together?

 

[GoProtege]

The blue and yellow wires are soldered together at the ecu harness(to their respective wires).

 

[igdrasil]

then you need to check what voltages you read from the wire going to the ecu anc check the ground and power wires.

 

[GoProtege]

The ground and power wires are securely spliced to the ecu harness. I hooked my A/f gauge to teh yellow wire between the voltage clamp and the ecu. It follows exactly what my odb2 reader. You can watch the voltage levels fluctuate on the scan tool and see the corrosponding change on the gauge. When idling the voltage is all over the place from all the way lean to all teh way rich and nowhere in between

 

[Maxx Mazda]

I don't think you should have your a/f gauge hooked up there. It will give you a false reading. Basically,the clamp will tell the ECU it's running stoich when it's really not (as you can see on your gauge.) I Bet you're running lean even though your gauge is telling you otherwise, because of where its wired.

BTW, a narrowband gauge is useless anyway. Its just blinky lights.

 

[GoProtege]

Ok I'll try hooking the gauge before voltage clamp tommorrow to see if it makes any difference on the reading. Like you said, gauge is useless with the narrowbands, but at least its better using smell to guess the mixture!

Also, do you think the knock sensor idea could be a part of the problem?

Thanks

 

[Maxx Mazda]

I honestly wouldn't agree that a narrowband gauge is better than anything on the Protege. The way our cars work with a waste spark system renders the gauge innefective. Period. It's a waste of money. Pull your plugs and see if you are indeed running rich.

 

[igdrasil]

if you are reading rich on boost (with the af gauge between the clamp and ecu) then the clamp is not activating or not working at all. At boost you should see a steady voltage....i dont remember what voltage exactly, I think is around .32v?