| Author | Message | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 148 Registered: 2-2002 |
That sounds about right. Me too, I usually get 200 miles from a full tank, but mostly on highway or roads with no traffic, and at decent speeds 100-120 mph with often 140+ (when the 'lost boys' are not around). I have already made 200 miles on this tank, and I still have 1/4 of the tank. That will be about a 25% improvement, too good to be true. Here in Europe a 25% improvment in gas consumption equals 'big savings' ( Spain ~4 US$ a galon) ;) I am sure that tomorrow I will run 2 miles and the gauge will 'sudenly' will drop to empty.  Thanks DGS. | ||
| DGS (Dgs)
Member Username: Dgs Post Number: 425 Registered: 5-2003 |
"How many miles do you usally do in your 328s with a full tank?" I usually get about 200 miles, but I don't run it very low (to avoid slosh issues with the dual tank), and that's mostly around town, following "zippy the wonder slug".  It does better on the highway, but I haven't had it on many long trips to get an "average" number. - This must be "Never Never Land", because the highways are full of "lost boys". | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 144 Registered: 2-2002 |
I do not know either, why after I tensioned the alternator belt the car idled fine. I had touch and cleaned so many connectors that weekend that it might be something else who actually fixed the idle problem. Of course this might be one of those misterous things that comes and goes, or more probable, some relay going bad somewhere. The idle switch was one of the first suspects, it was the first one I tested and cleaned. When I disconected it, the car did not even start right, it took over 7 engine turns to start. After I put it back the car started fine, so I am pretty sure that the switch is fine. I've been using the car all morning today, and it runs perfect, other than that initial smoke, and I have a couple of observations: 1. The car revs easier. I was kind of expecting that after replacing the cat with the test pipe. 2. I replaced the spark plugs, BOSCH XR4CS, with NGK D8EVX and I have the impresion that it helped a bit more, like the car has a bit more power. Is that posible, or is just my imagination? 3. Also it looks like it consumes less gas. It is the first time I have made 210 miles with one tank of gas, and I still have a quarter (according to the lier gauge of these cars) in the tank. I will have to double check this though, it is too difficult to belive. Of course it could be just that I might actully fixed something ;), something that was wrong before. How many miles do you usally do in your 328s with a full tank? - Thanks. | ||
| DGS (Dgs)
Member Username: Dgs Post Number: 418 Registered: 5-2003 |
I'm not sure why a slipping alt belt would cause the car to run rough, but if it works, enjoy it. I mis-remembered the wiring diagram. It's the idle position of the throttle switch that connects, through the diode, to the CCU. I've noticed, on my car, that disconnecting the idle switch causes the idle to run slower. A cold idle below 900 rpm is likely to be rough, due to leakage past cold valve seals. Perhaps your throttle switch connector isn't making a solid connection? Water vapor is a normal combustion product (hydrocarbon + oxygen -> CO and CO2 + H2O), but I'd think it would take a serious chiller to condense it out. Maybe if that resonator padding got really cold, overnight ... | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 143 Registered: 2-2002 |
I guess the alternator belt was sliping a bit when cold, because after tensioning it the car has not idle rough at all again. It started as it usually did before, increasing the rpm when cold a bit to around 1300 rpm, and going down to 900-1000 rpm when warm. The smoke was still there when cold, but at least it idles fine, and starts perfect. Hm, I am wondering if the cotton mix material inside the Stebro Reosonator absorbs humidity?That could be the reason for so much water vapor. Thanks guys I feel less worried now. - Julio. | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 140 Registered: 2-2002 |
Thanks. I think I will do so and I will let my mechanic figure it out at next service. I have inspected everything I could, cleaned all the connectors. And I checked all the related fuses. I tried to disconect the CCU, but then I got the oposite result, the car did idle bad when warm, so I connected it again. I even replaced the spark plugs with NGK D8EVX (I wanted to do it for a long time). Checked all the plugs to see if there were any place where an arc might be forming, but did not found anything wrong. There were no oil in any spark plug either. This is how all the old ones look like:  My electronic knowledge is too limited so I will have to leave this to the proffesionals. I found 2 things though, the voltage when the car is runing it is 13.2V, unless I rev the car a bit to 2000 RPM, then it goes up to 14.4V. Looks like the alternator belt might be skiding a bit, in fact when the raditor fans come in I can hear a squeling like noise comming from the alternator part. I will fix that tomorrow as I did run out of light today. And at last, and this is odd, I found a small dead bird over my air filter, he must be in the road and I catched with with air intake. The filter was ok though. I should had taken a photo, but I forgot...  Thanks guys for your advise. Julio. | ||
| TOM BUCKLEY (Tom_b)
Junior Member Username: Tom_b Post Number: 121 Registered: 6-2003 |
Julio, That looks like water vapor to me. I get the same thing when I first start on a cold morning. As for the therocouple---- earlier this week I removed it from the trunk and strapped it to the top of the test pipe so as to expose it to as much heat as possibe. No change. The service manager and my mechanic at my dealership both said it's a waste of time as all it does is turn on the SLOW DOWN light. It does not send a variable temperature signal to the ECU. It's basically an ON-OFF switch. Hope this helps put your mind at ease. Tom | ||
| DGS (Dgs)
Member Username: Dgs Post Number: 415 Registered: 5-2003 |
It's hard to tell from the photo, but that looks like water vapor. On mine, there's a little from the pass side, and a lot from the driver's side. With or without the cat, the car runs in open loop when cold -- which is when you're having trouble. The low rpm, rough running cold idle sounds like an issue with one of the warm up functions -- aux air valve, cold injector, thermo-time switch, warm-up (control pressure) regulator, oil and coolent temp switches, throttle switch. I don't see how just removing the cat would cause that change. This may well be unrelated to the cat. You might try removing the CCU to see if it helps, and you should probably have your "base" mixture checked. Otherwise, it's back to that one by one by one component check. Or, as Tom says, live with it (until your next service -- and then let the shop figure it out.) | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 139 Registered: 2-2002 |
I took a photo of the car today.The smoke it is whiter that actually shows in the photo. Also there is way less smoke than colder days, we are 23C (~73 F) today. What do you think?  I had not time to do it until today, after lunch I will spend the afternoon looking into it, I might find something. You are probably right and I will have to live with it. Hoppfully it won't be like this once I move to my new house where I will be bulding a custom garage that will be heated. Regarding the 300C Temp and rough idle. The car did idle correctly with the Cat, do you think that if I put the thermocouple in the test pipe the situation might improve? It will be relativly easy to drill a hole and solder a screw in the testpipe to hold the thermocouple. Obvioulsy other alternative is to install back the Cat , and just use the test pipe in the warm season. It sure runs happier without that Cat in place though. Thanks, Julio | ||
| TOM BUCKLEY (Tom_b)
Junior Member Username: Tom_b Post Number: 120 Registered: 6-2003 |
At this point i'd say learn to live with it. If the white smoke (assuming its water vapor) goes away after it warms up, as does the gas smell, i'd say you're ahead of the game. DGS is correct. There are so many interconnected sensors , ECU's , and relays, it's a sure bet that in a 15 - 25 year old car, one of them is malfunctioning at a given time. Unlike DGS, I am electronically challenged. I still don't understand why, when you cut a wire, the electrons don't come dribbling out. Start the car. Go inside for another cup of coffee . After it's warmed up, go back outside , get in, and drive the hell out of it ! Enjoy . Tom | ||
| DGS (Dgs)
Member Username: Dgs Post Number: 410 Registered: 5-2003 |
At this point, it almost sounds like two separate issues. The white smoke may be water vapor, condensed in the exhaust system after shutdown, being expelled on next start as the exhaust warms up. This is pretty much normal, in humid climates. My 328 (with a cat) looks like a sky-writer, on chilly New England mornings, until it warms up. And yes, it's more from one side than the other. The "gas smell" may be your car running rich until the O2 loop kicks in. (The Lambda computer keeps the car in open loop until the oil reaches 25C, the coolent reaches 59C and the cat reaches 300C. If your CCU isn't working (common), then it just waits on the oil and coolent temps. (This is for US editions -- you said the car started in CA.) The cat may have been masking a pre-existing mixture issue until you removed it. At this point, you should probably check your base mixture settings. For that, you need an exhaust gas analyzer. Check the CO and HC levels at idle with the O2 loop disabled (unplug the connector outboard of the air meter under the air filter. I share Tom's frustration with the '80s Bosch systems -- not because of electronics (which I understand), but because all the parts depend on each other, and there are no "sanity checks" in the system. The only way to diagnose a K-Jet problem is to check each and every part, one by one by one. It's actually amazing how well it works, considering that there's usually one or two bits of it that aren't working, on any given car. We might complain that OBD-II codes aren't openly published, but a system that checks its own health is tons easier to maintain -- if you can find the codes. | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 135 Registered: 2-2002 |
It is difficult to say if is gray or white. To me looks more white than anything. I am 99% sure is not oil, it is not blueish, and there is no single hint of oil smell, I also put a piece of paper in the exhaust and I did not catch any oil residues. When oil is being burnt it normally wets the paper. I am also 90% sure is not coolant. But I do not discard that part of the smoke is water vapor, as it has been rainning for the last 7 days and condensation has been quite big. It just it looks too much. The fact that all this started when I removed the Cat, plus the fact that the car is idling rough on cold, with clear pops in the exhaust, and lots of smoke and gas smell until the car warms up seems to sugest that the car is running rich. Anyway tomorrow I will have time to look the car, will see what I find. - Julio. | ||
| Verell Boaen (Verell)
Intermediate Member Username: Verell Post Number: 1243 Registered: 5-2001 |
I'm not sure what's being evaporated out. However, both gasolene & water will condense on an ice cold surface. some other SWAGS: It's also possible that somehow some oil or coolant is trickling down into the muffler & evaporating out. Possibly one side of the muffler hangs a tad lower than the other & whatever it is collects there until it's cooked out. BTW, greyish smoke usually isn't water. Water is generally a white smoke while grey (or blue-grey) can be either oil or gas. | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 133 Registered: 2-2002 |
Do you think that water might be condensing overnight in the muffler and then comming out as water vapor whenthe muffler heats up? I guess it could be, but to last 5 minutes must be a lot of water. I wil try what you suggest to see if it is vapor. I saw a couple of drops of liquid a couple of days ago. But has not done it since, no liquid coming out of the tips of the exhaust. I forgot to say that when I removed the blue connector I had a hard time to start the car. It usually starts as soon as I turn the key, but with that cable unplugged it needed 6 or 7 turns of the engine to start. Which I guess is normal if I unplug the cold start asistance. I don't think I have a gas bomb in the muffler LOL, just a cold start problem. This week is getting long, I can't wait for this weekend so I can look into this in depth. Thanks. | ||
| Verell Boaen (Verell)
Intermediate Member Username: Verell Post Number: 1242 Registered: 5-2001 |
Assymetric exhaust from the two sides of the muffler is known behavior. Strange that the higher flow path has a lot less smoke. Almost as if something had collected in the muffler and was cooking out. I've been fooled by steam before. Put a mirror or drinking glass in your freezer & chill it good. Then hold it in front of the smoke & see if anything condenses on it. BTW, if it smells like gas, is there any chance you have a potentially explosive situation? ie: a muffler bomb? | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 131 Registered: 2-2002 |
It smells too much like gas to be just water vapor. It lasts about 5 minutes. It start with no smoke, and slowly builds up, and in about 30 seconds there is a lot of smoke, that last exactly until the car warms up, to be more precise until, the car idles smooth and I start seeing the water temperature gauge to move. And suddenly realy quick there is no more smoke and the gas smell disapears. If it was vapor, then when holding my hand in the exhaust will wet it, or at least feel a bit wet, but it does not, it feels dry. - Julio | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 130 Registered: 2-2002 |
It smells too much like gas to be just water vapor. It lasts about 5 minutes. It start with no smoke, and slowly builds up, and in about 30 seconds there is a lot of smoke, that last exactly until the car warms up, to be more precise until, the car idles smooth and I start seeing the water temperature gauge to move. And suddenly realy quick there is no more smoke and the gas smell disapears. If it were vapor, when holding my hand in the exhaust will wet it or at least feel a bit wet, but it does not, it feels dry. - Julio | ||
| TOM BUCKLEY (Tom_b)
Junior Member Username: Tom_b Post Number: 119 Registered: 6-2003 |
Julio, Are you sure the "smoke" you're seeing isn't just water vapor ? How long does it last ? Tom | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 126 Registered: 2-2002 |
I just tried to remove the blue head connector, but there was no improvement, same smoke and maybe a little less rough idle, but today is also a warmer day so better idling was expected. I also checked the Lamda sonda cables and they are connected as they should. BTW I still do not understand why the smoke only comes out of the driver's side and not in the other one. I also notice that the exahaust air presure is stronger in the right side, where there is no smoke coming out. Verell, more HP, that sounds interesting, will be good to get back some of those HP that the US version lost when Ferrari added the emisions control to the 328. But first I have to clear the problems, then I might look into that. Julio | ||
| Verell Boaen (Verell)
Intermediate Member Username: Verell Post Number: 1238 Registered: 5-2001 |
The air injected by the exhaust air recirculation system reduces NOX by diluting the fuel-air mixture with non-combustable exhaust gasses. The result is lowering the combustion temperature below the point where NOX readily forms. Diluted mixture -> less fuel/air mix -> less hp your call... | ||
| DGS (Dgs)
Member Username: Dgs Post Number: 400 Registered: 5-2003 |
"without a Cat do I need the extra exhaust air injection at all?" I think the exhaust recirculation system is used to pre-warm the air entering the engine, in order to reduce the NOx products during combustion in a cold engine. I wouldn't think that would require a cat to function, but that's not something I've researched at all. | ||
| dave handa (Davehanda)
Intermediate Member Username: Davehanda Post Number: 2046 Registered: 5-2001 |
yes | ||
| mike 308 (Concorde)
Member Username: Concorde Post Number: 299 Registered: 8-2002 |
Do the 328's have a Bosch warm-up regulator like the 308QV's do? | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 120 Registered: 2-2002 |
My car used to idle higher when cold just before I removed the Cat. After removing the Cat is the oposite, it idles at lower RPM (rough) and it gets up to normal around 900 RPM when warm. But I have not touch anything around there, however, if you remember, not long ago I had to replace the 3 valves at the air injection circuit connected to the exhaust manifolds. The only one I did not replaced is the electronic valve which sit behind the water reservoir. I have a replacement though as I order it by mistake. However after I made that repair the car was running normal. Anyway, it looks like I am going to have a fun weekend finding the cause of the issue ;) I will start by unpluging the blue connector sugested by Hiran. And to see if is the extra air comming into the exhaust manifolds, I could umplug the small tube that activates the vacum valve, in that way no extra air will come into those manifolds. This rises the following question; without a Cat do I need the extra exhaust air injection at all? - Julio. | ||
| DGS (Dgs)
Member Username: Dgs Post Number: 392 Registered: 5-2003 |
Julio, the CCU reading cold could prevent the Lambda computer from running in closed loop -- when warm. An unplugged O2 sensor will also cause the car to run in open loop -- when warm. Either of those issues would prevent the "buzzing" from the frequency valve (next to the fuel distributor). But that would just cause the car to run at the "base" setting, set by the screw in the air flow meter. Neither of these would cause your cold start issue. The cold injector is supposed to run while starting. The thermo-time switch is supposed to turn it off. hiran's suggestion to disconnect the cold injector (on the side of the plenum) might help if you're getting too much extra fuel at start up. Another issue when cold is the extra air that's (supposed to be) added by the "aux air valve" beneath the coolent tank in the back of the engine compartment. If your car doesn't idle slightly faster when cold than when warm, your aux air valve might not be working. If so, then the extra fuel at start-up isn't getting extra air, so the car would run rich. | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 117 Registered: 2-2002 |
No, I did not pull a wire. I said that I migh inadvetly pulled from a wire. So the first thing I have to do is a check on every cable. The first cable I will check is the O2 (lamda) sensor cable, because when removing the Cat I might pulled from it without noticng it. I did look this morning but I could not see it right. So I will,have to get out the Air filter box and inspect the connectors. -Julio | ||
| TOM BUCKLEY (Tom_b)
Junior Member Username: Tom_b Post Number: 116 Registered: 6-2003 |
Julio, I forgot you had a smoke issue also. Mine doesn't smoke. I can understand why this is an issue for you. You said you pulled a wire out when installing the test pipe ? Was this wire from the oxygen sensor ? That may be your problem. Reconnect the wire and see how it runs. Let me know what happens. Tom | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 116 Registered: 2-2002 |
Sorry about the ambiguity of my posts. English is not my native language, and sometimes is not easy to describe the problem in a different language. Specially because mechanics is an area where my vocabulary in English is quite limited. But I am learning a lot here though. Going back to the issue, I am not frustrated, yet. My car is runing rich on cold, not a bit, but a lot. The clouds of white smoke (not vapor that is for sure) are huge and last those 5 minutes until it warms up. And I can clearly hear the engine missfiring (I am not sure if this is the right word). You are right, the liquid is mainly water, althouhgh I think is 'mixed' with bits of gas. However you can smell the gas big time. Now is merely an inconvinience, but I am woried that that rough idle becomes a 'won't start' when the temperatures drops a bit more into the -5C to 10C in December. On the inconvinient side though, it is how embarasing is starting the car and tons of smoke coming out in the street. I have to find the cause, or put the CAT back. I am not too worried though, at least yet. I have not looked into the problem yet, it might even be that I did pull out a cable from his connector while was installing the test pipe. After all I am a rookie at this. Thanks Tom. | ||
| TOM BUCKLEY (Tom_b)
Junior Member Username: Tom_b Post Number: 115 Registered: 6-2003 |
Julio, I'm not sure I understand your last post. Regardless, these are complicated cars. Not delicate, just complicated. There are times I get so frustrated with the electronics of fuel injection that I want to rip it all out and put on carburetors. Are you sure the droplets you are seeing is unburnt gas ? I suspect they are water . If the car runs a little rich at startup (mine does) but smooths out when warmed up ---- enjoy it . It adds character to the car. Tom | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 115 Registered: 2-2002 |
Oops, sorry, I left a sentence unfinished... I was trying to say: "and I think NY has a similar weather scheme to Madrid, so now must be getting colder", so you would had experinced the same problems with your car if the thermocoupler were the only factor. | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 114 Registered: 2-2002 |
Don't get me wrong, I totaly belive you. You said that you have been running for 3 years without problems with the thermocouple tied in the trunk and I think NY has a similar weather scheme to Madrid, so now must be getting colder. This car has been in Southern California, where the weather is pretty much the same all year round, all his life, until now. I recently discovered, that the provious owner tampered with the air injection in the exhaust, and the CAT system, which did not make me very happy to discover. So as I said, it might well be that swaping the CAT for the test pipe just opend the Pandora Box in my car. The car runs wonderfully once it warms up, it takes only 5 minutes to settle. But deeper in the winter it won't be 5 minutes. What it is for sure is that my car is now running rich on cold, I can even see some drops of unburnt gas at times. I will try what DGS and Fernando sugested and I will let you know. Thanks for the help. | ||
| TOM BUCKLEY (Tom_b)
Junior Member Username: Tom_b Post Number: 113 Registered: 6-2003 |
Julio, To try to clear up the controversy as to what else the thermocouple may do besides turn on the SLOW DOWN light , I tried something this morning. I removed the therocouple from where it's been tied the last three years and strapped it to the top of the test pipe. After driving about 20 miles, the car felt the same. Sorry. Tom | ||
| hiran Fernando (Hbferdy)
New member Username: Hbferdy Post Number: 6 Registered: 10-2003 |
Try disconnecting the cold start injector plug and see if there is any inprovement. | ||
| DGS (Dgs)
Member Username: Dgs Post Number: 388 Registered: 5-2003 |
The cat module provides a signal to the Lambda loop. The loop is disabled until the cat reaches 300 degC. The four pins are voltage (1), ground (3), slow-down light (2), and loop enable/disable (4). It grounds pin 2 to turn on the slow-down light. I'm not entirely certain of the signals used on pin 4. I suspect that the signal would be ground with the cat cold, making the Lambda computer think the car is at WOT, causing the car to run open loop. Because of the diode in the circuit, it shouldn't override the ignition WOT signal (unless the diode is shorted). If pin 4 is showing ground with the cat cold, you might try just removing the cat module completely, if your cat is gone. That way, the WOT signal should operate normally. It's possible, however, that the CCU provides the pull-up voltage for the WOT signal when the cat is hot. If that's the case, removing the CCU wouldn't help. If you read voltage at the connector pin 4 with the CCU removed and the car at idle, then you should be okay to just leave the CCU out. (The signal should ground when the throttle is full open.) | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 112 Registered: 2-2002 |
Tha is what I though, and I was told. However if so why my car started idling bad in cold and smoking just after I changed the CAT for the Testpipe and tied the thermocouple out? What makes me also think that the CCU for the thermocouple does something else is that there are 4 pins in that connector, to close a circuit for the Slow Down light you only need 1, if is to GND, or 2 at the most, right? I might be complytly wrong, but it is extremly strange that those problems just started just after remplacing the CAT for the Test Pipe. However what it makes no sense is that in cold should not mater if the thermocouple is in or out, as the temp should be lower at a cold start the thermocouple would be about the same temp in than out. I do not discard that the smoke problem was somehow hiden by the CAT, and I will have to look for that problem somewhere else. What worries me is the rough idling. | ||
| TOM BUCKLEY (Tom_b)
Junior Member Username: Tom_b Post Number: 112 Registered: 6-2003 |
I have the same Stebro "test pipe" and have the thermocouple wire-tied to the trunk. I've been told that the thermocouple only turns on the "slow down" light. Then I've had other people tell me it sends important information to the ECU. I believe a thermocouple is a switch that merely closes a circuit ( slow down light ) when a prescribed temperature is it. It doesn't send temperature information to the ECU. At a preset temperature, VERY HOT CAT , the slow down light comes on. I believe the ECU receives temperature information from the tenperature sensor located on the bottom of the coolant expasion tank. Or, I could be totally wrong. Tom | ||
| Julio Valladares (Jbanzai)
Junior Member Username: Jbanzai Post Number: 111 Registered: 2-2002 |
I just replaced my CAT with a Stebro Resonator. I put in it the O2 sensor and I and left out the thermocouple. However no I have the same sypmthoms described here, an uneven idle until the car is warm. Some smoke only by the left exit of the muffler ( btw, I do not understund why there is no smoke through the other one, as there is only one pipe going into the muffler). The card didn't when the CAT was in place. The idle was smooth and there was no smoke. Once the engine warms up the smoke and gas smell disapears and everything is fine. I have been told that the thermocouple was no longer needed once the CAT was removed. I did not disconnect the themocouple though. I just place it in the trunk, but it is still connected, if I disconnect it the Slow Light will come up. However now I have my doubts, running with the CCU disconnected will be similar to running with the thermocouple out as the ECU will always think that the smoke temps are cold, right? - Julio. | ||
| Mark Collins (Markcollins)
Member Username: Markcollins Post Number: 370 Registered: 7-2002 |
On the rhs of the intake plenum is a blue 2 pin connector, it's worth a check and clean of the connections to this | ||
| Steve Magnusson (91tr)
Intermediate Member Username: 91tr Post Number: 2158 Registered: 1-2001 |
Not sure I would describe Tillman's symptom as completely "normal" (did they do that at the dealer when new?). At cold start-up, a K-Jet with Lambda will run open-loop and should be slightly enriched by the warm-up regulator's effect on the FD (and probably some other electrical bits), but "large volume of greyish smoke"? Also, at cold start-up (assuming you've got a US version), some form of air injection into the exhaust should be occurring (to help burn off that extra richness added for cold start-up/running) so you might want to check that system as well (it's not unheard of for this system to literally fall apart). Even if your cold-running (open-loop) set-up has a problem, if your closed-loop stuff (frequency valve, O2 sensor, etc.) is healthy it can compensate, so your report that warm-running is good doesn't necessarily mean all is really OK. Have you tried making some O2 sensor output voltage measurements during open-loop warm-idle (O2 sensor unplugged) and closed-loop warm-idle (O2 sensor plugged-in)? | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 6540 Registered: 12-2000 |
I believe this is normal, there's an auto choke on start up that will run the car rich until warmed up. It smells like gas and does smoke a little. | ||
| Tillman Strahan (Tillman)
Member Username: Tillman Post Number: 987 Registered: 11-2001 |
This has been occuring for a while, and it really hasn't been bothering me, but emission testing is due this month. Immediately after startup, I get a strong gasoline smell in the exhaust and a large volume of greyish smoke from the driver's side exhaust. After just a few minutes, when the car warms up, the exhaust smells normal and isn't visible anymore. I pulled the plugs and they all look exactly the same, so I don't think I'm dropping a cylinder or bank. The car runs fine, pulls to the redline and doesn't overheat or turn the cat red, nothing like that. The cat ECU is unplugged due to it failing the self-test. At idle in the morning it does sound a bit uneven, but it smooths out quickly. Any thoughts? |