wtf... huge problems
 

Ok.. I did a bunch of stuff today.. Fixed the exhaust leak (whoo!)
fixed the oil leaks (I think, we'll see)
changed the clutch
and changed the injector O-Rings.


Now:

Car won't idle. It actually might, now, but it wouldn't when it was cold.

The tachometer stopped working when I got about 1/2 way home.. what can cause this? More importantly, how do I fix it?

It ran like SHIT on the way home.. coughing, spulttering. It died a few times, even in gear at moderate RPM (like 2500? I dunno, this was after the tach died)

like, just driving down the road and engine stops firing. . it was weird

Also: I had someone follow me and they said every time I got on the gas it poured out tons of blue smoke out of the tailpipes.. wtf could have happened here? I'm sure no oil got IN the exhaust system, allthough it got just about everywhere else.

It went BANG just before I got home and now it won't run at all.. I'm sooo pissed off

please help!

Did you connect all of the injector plugs? Did you reconnect the ground to the bellhousing after removing the tranny?

Yes to both.

BUT:

The ground (bellhousing to tranny) is pretty ghetto. It's been burnt once before. I am going to replace it tomorrow, I think. I wanted to do it today but I didn't have any wire handy, and the wire place closed early yesterday (the sign says NOON, I got there at 11:45 and they were closed.. bastards)

my O2 Sensor is disconnected.. could that cause any of this? I just remembered now.. the exhaust fell and it destroyed the wire, I'm going to have to solder it back together..

nope. ECU defaults to strictly rich if it detects a problem with the o2 sensor.

It really does sound like an electrical problem though. I'd suspect the ground.... also check the wires on the starter... the battery wires go to the starter first, then to the rest of the car.

Good luck!

Not anymore they don't :) That system pissed me off once in the past, and I fixed it.

But the engine and transmission aren't grounded properly yet/anymore. I'm going to reground them tomorrow

Aside from that, what's up with the rest of my problems? the tach, etc

Check your coils, if the tach doesn't work, that's usually why.

you could be running on strictly trailing coils :P

I would make sure your lead coil has a solid ground.

I had the same situation when I got my GXL. A new ground proved to be the solution. :)

Im having a similar problem. After I changed the clutch it ran really rough, sounded like air leaking from the rear housing near the ACV and manifold. Well I checked for leaking hoses and what not. Well I noticed the manifold bolt wasnt tightened all they way so I figured that was the prob. I figured Id leave it till the next day cuz I was late for work. Well coming home the check engine light pops on and the tach drops to 100RPM and back fires. I tried reving it but the tach didnt move. Well I got it home and tried starting it again. The same thing with the check engine light and does back firing blah blah. I did the poor man compression test and one rotor was 3 whomps and the other was 2 and a whpss. Wich makes me think its a side seal. I did a on board test and got code 34 BAC, but thats off the car and has been on for awhile. Now its flooded and wont start at all. Teerh your car seems to have the same electrical problem as mine. Could the grounding problem have made my motor go? It seemed to be getting lower and lower compression though, hard to start from cold having to floor it when cranking it. I dont know what to do. I found someone with a rebuilt long block for a really nice price. Really sorry for the long post, just confused.

I'm sure my engine is OK, it's a fresh rebuild with under 10,000 KM.


and the car seems to have pretty damn good power. It's almost NEVER hard to start, and when it is, its because I flooded it.


I hate these random problems though, they drive me nuts!

NO, Probably only working on leading coils.

The trailing coils provide the tach signal as well help the engine burn smoother.

If the leading coils were not firing (and the trailing were) then the tach would still work.

i have the kinda same problem with you....
car wont idle....
ah ... i need a rotary shop around ....

Um, why wouldn't a disconnected O2 sensor make it run rich and badly? One of my old VWs (watercooled!) ran like dirt when I disconnected its O2 sensor. It ran great again once reconnected, even though it was a very old sensor and needed to be replaced.

my car did most of those things when i forgot to plug back in my AFM once :)

bingoboy, yeah I pulled one of those yesterday... while adjusting the tps, i left the intercooler off... went to crank the car... "PUH-PUH.. .stall"... meanwhile i'm shitting my pants thinking there's no compression... then i'm like "wait, why would it be cranking over like normal if there's no compression"... looked under the hood... DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Felt like slapping the stupid out of myself.

wow fingers, do you ever sleep? :)


Anyways, I'm out to look at the car... hopefully I find a really obvious problem right away.


Oil seals don't generally fail instantly, right?

Never. I'm a goddamn vampire buddy :)

Naw i had to get up at 6:30 today for work. I really gotta stop going to bed at 2... 4 hours of sleep is really insufficient :P

Let me know how it turns out.

Oil seals? Shouldnt fail on a rebuilt motor. But hey, if your OMP is stuck open, it will do plenty of wonderful and surprising things :)

went outside, ripped off the I/C.

Didn't notice any problems.

Oiled the throttle body, because it looks like the secondary throttle plates are sticking.

Fixed the O2 Sensor.
Put the car back together, fired it up.
Sounded weird when cranking. (it cranked really quickly.. maybe because I cleaned up the starter contacts yesterday? (they were oily and crap)
Idle settled down to a smooooth 850. Tach works. WOW, its quiet with the exhaust proper. Took it out for a quick spin... LOTS of power, clutch feels FANTASTIC (wow!).. the car is almost too quiet now. If the radio is on at all its hard to tell if the car is running. Before, even with the radio blasting, the car would be loud enough to hear.

The car isn't as powerful as it was before I fixed the exhaust, but hey, it's not bad. Boosting about 5.5-6PSI now. I was boosting 8-9PSI before, so that's why.

It doesn't smoke now, either.. whoo!

It's the amazing self-healing car!

Anyone have an idea what my prob would be? Confused if its electrical or my engine is gone. Where is the ground wire on the bell housing?
-Stew

and now the car doesn't work again.. all of the other issues are sorted except for the tach/running ghettoness.

BAH, wtf.

hmm ... check the main relay, as well as the main fuse. The contacts might get corroded. As well check the ground on the ecu, as well as all the connectors/wires.

I'm betting all my peanuts on an electrical problem.