As some of you might remember, though most likely not.... I'm one of those VW nutters who put a turbo on his Bug!.... Along with the turbo I fitted the wonderful MJLJ.... For the past year the system has worked floorlessly... But that has recently come to an end....
A couple weeks back an unusual issue arose.... The car would not produce any boost, the ignition map wouldn't move beyond 100kpa and revs were limited to around 2000rpm... The engine would not rev, the boost gauge would see nothing more than vacuum, the autometer tach read less than the MJ program table and the car would behave poorly when pushed....
Then yesterday, I had another go at diagnosing the problems... At this point I noted the sensor had made a small amount of contact on the timing wheel... Adjusted that, then attempted a start... As usual, the beast started perfectly well... Began to idle in no time, then promptly stopped running....
The engine will not start.
I suspect bad earths or possibly a poor connection somewhere in my harness, but I thought I'd post here before I yanked the whole lot from the car.... Just to see if anyone may have come across this issue in the past...
Of course I will keep you guys posted as to the outcome....
The POS, she no go....?
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NITROPIXIE
- Posts: 704
- Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2008 1:54 pm
- Location: Fareham, GB
Hey humpty
First I would take all the spark plugs, rest them against the block and check sparks. This will make it easier for the engine to crank and you should be able to find out if it is not sparking or not. Obviously you'll need a mate to turn the key, lol.
If you have sparks, then great. Attach a timing strobe, with MJLJ disconnected and check for 10 deg advance limp home mode.
If no sparks, check your getting 12v to the coil pack and EDIS unit,static and whilst cranking. Disconnect MJLJ again whilst doing this.
If still no sparks check voltage given by the VR sensor whilst cranking. There is a how to on this somewhere i'm sure.
Once you have confirmed the EDIS and coil pack are functioning correctly then start to look at the MJLJ.
Hope this helps to start
Ryan
First I would take all the spark plugs, rest them against the block and check sparks. This will make it easier for the engine to crank and you should be able to find out if it is not sparking or not. Obviously you'll need a mate to turn the key, lol.
If you have sparks, then great. Attach a timing strobe, with MJLJ disconnected and check for 10 deg advance limp home mode.
If no sparks, check your getting 12v to the coil pack and EDIS unit,static and whilst cranking. Disconnect MJLJ again whilst doing this.
If still no sparks check voltage given by the VR sensor whilst cranking. There is a how to on this somewhere i'm sure.
Once you have confirmed the EDIS and coil pack are functioning correctly then start to look at the MJLJ.
Hope this helps to start
Ryan
1310 A-series Mini, lightened and built myself. V4 board and loving it
Rasputin22 - The Mini Forum
Rasputin22 - MK1 Golf Forum
Megajolt repair for the UK available
Rasputin22 - The Mini Forum
Rasputin22 - MK1 Golf Forum
Megajolt repair for the UK available
OMG..... I'm sure a bloody dufus!..... I went through all as you suggested Ryan and it all looked good... Couldn't figure it out.... Tried to start the car again, and it fired!!!!???? But wouldn't go.... What the????? Thought it couldn't just befuel could it?.... So on the off chance, I pulled the jets from the DCOE.... The galleries looked filthy!!! 
Idiot!.... The jets are fine, but the galleries look bad.... No clue why the galleries are so bad... Two Bosch filters are inline...Possibly it was in the regulators I'm running to get the pressure down????.... Will pull the top off the carb tomorrow and run some carby clean and air down there and see if it cleans up....
I wonder if I will see rpm and boost after all this?
Idiot!.... The jets are fine, but the galleries look bad.... No clue why the galleries are so bad... Two Bosch filters are inline...Possibly it was in the regulators I'm running to get the pressure down????.... Will pull the top off the carb tomorrow and run some carby clean and air down there and see if it cleans up....I wonder if I will see rpm and boost after all this?
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NITROPIXIE
- Posts: 704
- Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2008 1:54 pm
- Location: Fareham, GB
Well glad you found out the problem. When I got my mini restarted after a couple of years the engine didn't run right. I worked out the fuel tank had some crap or corroded filling the fuel system and carb reservoir with junk, doh 
1310 A-series Mini, lightened and built myself. V4 board and loving it
Rasputin22 - The Mini Forum
Rasputin22 - MK1 Golf Forum
Megajolt repair for the UK available
Rasputin22 - The Mini Forum
Rasputin22 - MK1 Golf Forum
Megajolt repair for the UK available
After a very long lay off the project, I got back into it a few days back.... Simplified the fuel system, fitted a Aeromotive FPR that has stablised the fuel pressure, carb is clean, fresh plugs (NGK resistor type plugs).... Fired it up.... Started fine on only the second attempt.... Not bad for a car that has been sitting for so long.... Thought it was a good omen.
How wrong I was....
Took it for a spin, felt strong at low speed, but under boost, the car falls flat at around 4000rpm....
Since the troubles began, I have gone through the wiring and connections, replaced the sensor, replaced the EDIS module, replaced the coil pack and I have made and fitted some nice new MSD leads.... Almost no resistance across them.... Still she wont pull under load....
Almost tempted to put the 009 back in!
How wrong I was....
Took it for a spin, felt strong at low speed, but under boost, the car falls flat at around 4000rpm....
Since the troubles began, I have gone through the wiring and connections, replaced the sensor, replaced the EDIS module, replaced the coil pack and I have made and fitted some nice new MSD leads.... Almost no resistance across them.... Still she wont pull under load....
Almost tempted to put the 009 back in!
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Spockie-Tech
- Posts: 152
- Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 12:52 pm
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
Get a Wideband Oxygen Sensor or visit a dyno shop and have them stick "the sniffer" in your tailpipe and check for lean outs before you casting evil looks in the direction of the ignition system..
It is far more likely to be a fuelling problem, especially with carbs, turbos and other complicated plumbing setups. could be blocked air corrector jets, air leaks under pressure, fuel pressure at high power, or any one of a million things.
A few minutes with an oxygen meter will pay off with some real information vs hours spent guessing at what is going on under load.
It is far more likely to be a fuelling problem, especially with carbs, turbos and other complicated plumbing setups. could be blocked air corrector jets, air leaks under pressure, fuel pressure at high power, or any one of a million things.
A few minutes with an oxygen meter will pay off with some real information vs hours spent guessing at what is going on under load.
I have a DB series LC-1 on board..... O2's are a little erratic to my mind, but I have nothing to gauge this against.... Never had one installed before so I have no clue as to how stable they should be.... And dyno's are out.... None of the local guys are interested in helping me out as it's not a V8 or a Ricer....
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Spockie-Tech
- Posts: 152
- Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 12:52 pm
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
OK, So hook the 0-5v output of your widebandO2 into the Aux in channel of your Megajolt, set it up for datalogging, so you are recording the EGO along with all the ignition parameters, and take her for a burn. Hit the bad spot a few times in different ways and note when they happened time wise..
Come back, dump the log, and peruse at your leisure. Or else post a copy of the log file here with comments like "at about 4000pm is where it goes flat. and we can look at it.
Keep in mind *without* the O2 reading, the log is only of limited value, because you dont know what the fuel is doing.
Come back, dump the log, and peruse at your leisure. Or else post a copy of the log file here with comments like "at about 4000pm is where it goes flat. and we can look at it.
Keep in mind *without* the O2 reading, the log is only of limited value, because you dont know what the fuel is doing.
Did some more work on the ignition last night.... Noticed the sensor and timing wheel relationship didn't look right.... It was out of whack for some reason.... Also made a couple of minor changes.... moved the wheel further away from the BERG pulley, and spaced out the sensor accordingly.... Also re-routed the sensor wiring away from the alt base and the other ignition leads.... Right away the car started better and idled nicely at 1000rpm... Hasn't managed that in 18months of fiddling!!!!!
So I took the car to the track today.... The Nostalgia drags were on and I wasn't gonna miss this year!
The car started real nice this morning before I loaded it on the trailer... Real sweet and crisp.... Idled nicely.... Just like last night....
Got it to the track and it started to run poorly again.... Draw-through turbo engines don't like idling much.... They tend to kill spark plugs... Changed out the plugs as I felt this was the problem.... Was correct in this thinking.... Right on start up the car ran very nicely.... Took it for a blat....
Got held up at the staging as a car from the previous run had a failure..... The POS began run rough from idling too long..... Gave it a lung full... Cleaned it out.... Staged against a mate in a IDA fed 2276 Oval.... Tore out of the gate (easy 4000rpm launch).... Had him for the first 100 or so, then my car began to stall at higher rpm, just as boost began to rise.... Then my mate flew past me and posted an awesome 13.5.... Me.... 15.9.
So I had a theory.... I reckon the POS is running out of fuel as boost builds.... Noticed the O2 gauge reading very lean at the moment of stalling.... I figured that if I ran a larger main, the car should stall sooner.... Back in the pit I fit a full step larger main to test my theory.... It worked... The car ran nicely once more (better even!) out of the gate, but broke down earlier.... I reckon the float bowl is being sucked dry by the turbo.... I need to run a boost referenced FPR to sort this issue (my Aeromotive FPR has this facility built in).... I reckon that's the fix for this issue.... Everything else went very well.... My shakedown passes are finally telling me I'm heading in the right direction.... Car launches well, goes straight.
So that's next then?.... Setup the O2 to data log with my ignition, setup the FPR to boost reference, then its back to the track.
So I took the car to the track today.... The Nostalgia drags were on and I wasn't gonna miss this year!
The car started real nice this morning before I loaded it on the trailer... Real sweet and crisp.... Idled nicely.... Just like last night....
Got it to the track and it started to run poorly again.... Draw-through turbo engines don't like idling much.... They tend to kill spark plugs... Changed out the plugs as I felt this was the problem.... Was correct in this thinking.... Right on start up the car ran very nicely.... Took it for a blat....
Got held up at the staging as a car from the previous run had a failure..... The POS began run rough from idling too long..... Gave it a lung full... Cleaned it out.... Staged against a mate in a IDA fed 2276 Oval.... Tore out of the gate (easy 4000rpm launch).... Had him for the first 100 or so, then my car began to stall at higher rpm, just as boost began to rise.... Then my mate flew past me and posted an awesome 13.5.... Me.... 15.9.
So I had a theory.... I reckon the POS is running out of fuel as boost builds.... Noticed the O2 gauge reading very lean at the moment of stalling.... I figured that if I ran a larger main, the car should stall sooner.... Back in the pit I fit a full step larger main to test my theory.... It worked... The car ran nicely once more (better even!) out of the gate, but broke down earlier.... I reckon the float bowl is being sucked dry by the turbo.... I need to run a boost referenced FPR to sort this issue (my Aeromotive FPR has this facility built in).... I reckon that's the fix for this issue.... Everything else went very well.... My shakedown passes are finally telling me I'm heading in the right direction.... Car launches well, goes straight.
So that's next then?.... Setup the O2 to data log with my ignition, setup the FPR to boost reference, then its back to the track.
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Spockie-Tech
- Posts: 152
- Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 12:52 pm
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
Definitely the O2 Data log.
If you are running Carbs (and Turbos etc), who *need* to be able to verify that the right amount of fuels is getting in there.. Lean out and Rich Spots will kill you power far more effectievly that a few degrees off on the tining will.
Get that O2 data logging happening, and then start reading the tealeaves.
If you are running Carbs (and Turbos etc), who *need* to be able to verify that the right amount of fuels is getting in there.. Lean out and Rich Spots will kill you power far more effectievly that a few degrees off on the tining will.
Get that O2 data logging happening, and then start reading the tealeaves.