Wastegate questions

[kidicenj]

Ok so heres the deal. This may be a noob question but im pretty new to the whole modding thing. My car had a bucking problems running around 3.5k-4k rps and I took it to the shop to get looked at and because I had a lot of exhaust leaks they thought that was the problem and I fixed the leaks and they said the bucking stopped. (my friend at the shop took it for a drive so i know it definitely stopped for them) but once i got my car back everytime i went to pull at the 3.5k-4k mark it started bucking again. I thought this issue was my wastegate and was going to replace the wastegate for an easy fix. But if my wastegate was bad, why did it stop bucking for them and not me? And if the issue was the wastegate, should I get a 7 or 8 PSI one since i have some mods done?

I know there is a way to check if the WG is bad by blowing into a hose but im not sure where that hose is either? Could someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks for the help.

 

[turbomsp2003]

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...ide-Mazdaspeed-Protege-Problems-amp-Solutions


Does the engine: hesitation explain what's goin on?
Mine used to do it at around 4k rpms til like 5k rpms than back to normal once I got a ssafc it got rid of it completly

 

[Sport23]

Disconnect the battery and hold the brake pedal down for a minute then release and reconnect the battery. If the problem is gone then it is the stock tune. If the hesitation comes back then you can look into getting a unichip or ssafc (psc001-020.)

 

[YouDontGnomeMe]

I have the same problem. Im getting it looked at Friday. A couple people have told me it sounds/feels like the transmission. I hope it's not the case. I'll update when/if I find out what it is.

 

[Sport23]

Hold the brake pedal when the battery is connected to ensure that the ECU is completely cleared. This will reset fuel trims and put the ECU back to how it was when brand new. If the car runs great then the issue is with the factory tune.

 

[mxjosh82]

Get it reflashed at the dealer for about $80 problem solved, or buy an SSAFC....I did both.

 

[YlwMSP]

This sounds like a tune issue...and as for the wastegate vac line, its the little round thing with a rubber hose coming off of it, and if you have the stock bpv, it runs to a T in the line from that, then into the intake mani. But, I highly doubt that a bad wga will cause the bucking

 

[kidicenj]

Disconnect the battery and hold the brake pedal down for a minute then release and reconnect the battery. If the problem is gone then it is the stock tune. If the hesitation comes back then you can look into getting a unichip or ssafc (psc001-020.)

Hold the brake pedal when the battery is connected to ensure that the ECU is completely cleared. This will reset fuel trims and put the ECU back to how it was when brand new. If the car runs great then the issue is with the factory tune.

sooo, battery connected or not? Im confused now.

also, if it ends up not being the WGA, where should I pick up a ssafc

 

[mxjosh82]

sooo, battery connected or not? Im confused now.

also, if it ends up not being the WGA, where should I pick up a ssafc

Protegegarage.com sells them or wait for them to come up in the for sale section here...they are few and far between on here lately though.

 

[Cleverfrog]

sooo, battery connected or not? Im confused now.

also, if it ends up not being the WGA, where should I pick up a ssafc

I have one that I never used that i bought from protegegarage if it ends up being that.

 

[Sport23]

1) Disconnect battery
2) Press and hold brake (~1 minute)
3) Release brake
4) Reconnect the battery

Protegegarage and cr3 motorsports sell the SSAFC PSC001-020 if you decide to go that route.

 

[jdwk]

Search for "hesitation explained with pictures"

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123792646-Hesitation-explained-with-pictures

The SSAFC can fix this for the most part but still has its gremlins. The only way to tune this car properly is a full stand alone and if you need to pass emissions you need to install it in parallel.

 

[YouDontGnomeMe]

So, I got mine looked at. I told the mechanic about it. He asked me what ive done to the car (corksport CAI and turbohoses SMIC/piping), asked if I've had it tuned since. I told him no. I told him it only bucked when i drove it aggressively. So he took me with him on a drive, and drove it aggressively. Apparently that word means two different things between me and him (S/N, I apparently have a lot to learn about my car. I had no idea it could pull as hard as he got it to). He got it to slightly buck once, and that was it. He said we need to install my turbo gauge, to see if the turbos acting up. Funny thing; it hasn't done it since.
So, I'll suggest this: take it out onto a road and drive the s*** out of it. As weird as it may sound, see if a few minutes of aggressive driving fixes it, if it "cleans the gunk out." I drove it like I stole it all day today, and had no problems.

 

[hornsfan10609]

I bet the bucking didn't happen for the tech test driving the car because he was easier on the throttle. These cars on the stock tune go NOWHERE if you just mash the throttle.

 

[kidicenj]

ok here's an update for those of you still interested...

1) Disconnect battery
2) Press and hold brake (~1 minute)
3) Release brake
4) Reconnect the battery

Protegegarage and cr3 motorsports sell the SSAFC PSC001-020 if you decide to go that route.

I did this yesterday and it actually worked initially. I took the car for a ride and there was no bucking at all. Thought this may have fixed it completely until this morning. When i left for work and hit the gas pretty hard it started bucking again...does this mean its definitely a tune issue? Does this completely rule out a bad WGA?

 

[Cleverfrog]

do you have a good picture of the engine bay as is?

 

[protege3690]

I bet the bucking didn't happen for the tech test driving the car because he was easier on the throttle. These cars on the stock tune go NOWHERE if you just mash the throttle.

as stated. smash on the pedal these cars hit a brick wall until u get some sort of fuel management.( standalone, ssafc, unichip) pick your poison.
but then again if your modding your car, i dont understand why u wouldnt get a boost gauge first? (hand) priceless tool, that and a wideband are a must with these cars to be SAFER from going boom. and that boost gauge will guide you for when u have vac. leaks

 

[Sport23]

It's not the tune. It would run better for more than one day if that were the issue... I agree with protege3690, get a boost gauge and start there.

 

[jdwk]

It doesn't have to take longer than a day for the trims to go rich. While a boost gauge is nice and a wideband is nicer, the most important tool to diagnose any problem with any car is an OBDII scanner, preferably with data logging capability.

I always recommend getting an ELM327 bluetooth module and Torque for your smartphone. If you don't have a smartphone, you can use a laptop and purchase software, but the decent PC software isn't cheap.

Most likely what is going on is you have a vacuum leak that is causing the car to run lean. When it runs lean, the car will sense this with the narrowband O2 and add fuel via the short term fuel trims in closed loop to compensate. It only takes about a minute at a given rpm and throttle position for the short term value to move to the long term table. Long term trims are added all the time whether in closed or open loop.

These trims are actually an offset to the fuel injector duty cycle, and the car will only go up to 100% before it kills the ignition and the car bucks. Stock cars generally hit about 80% tops, maybe a bit more in cold weather like now. But since your car is running lean, your trims are taking you over the 100% mark.

When you reset your PCM, your trims reset to 0 and you are ok until the long term trims reach enough to put you over 100% again. In your case, it took a day.

Like any job, it pays to have the proper tools. Last I checked the device was under $30, and if you don't have an Android phone, then hopefully you have a friend with one. It will only take a second to check.

 

[KptClutch]

I just resolved an identical issue with my speed. Something quick and easy to check:

Locate the WGA vacuum line
Disconnect it from the t-connector (not from the WGA)
Blow through the line (as if your trying to blow air through the WGA)

If you can easily blow air through the line and diaphragm, as I could, then it's your WGA (diaphragm dead) . I had identical symptoms, with added hesitation on occasion and overboost, that your experiencing until I replaced the stock WGA with one from ATP (link provided below). The best part about this troubleshooting is that its free.

http://www.atpturbo.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=ATP-WGT-011B&Category_Code=WGT

Be warned, however, of new issues that might remain/arise. The ATP WGA adds an additional 2 pounds of boost, which is supposedly (don't have boost gauge yet) a good thing, but I'm still experiencing issues with hesitation (similar to the bucking pattern, but MUCH gentler). I was unaware that holding the brake pedal during battery disconnect clears out additional information from the ECU, so I'll be trying that in a few minutes and provide an update. I plan on getting SSAFC after income taxes, so I'll keep you updated if that fixes the issues as well.

In the event you need it, heres the post I used as a guide to install the WGA (You don't have to follow it word for word, but its a good representation of the project):

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123634567-HOW-TO-WGA-(wastegate-actuator)-replacement

Sorry for the long post...lemmie know if theres anything I can help with!