Boost leak issue? Or controller? Where to start?
 

I have a boost issue which I believe has to be a leak.. I have a haltech that will adjust the boost if the e85 content isn't high enough but also have a boost controller which is a aem 12 Position Trim pot connected to the ecu. My tuner/mech is toooo busy (:rolleyes:) to look at my car right now and I want this fixed.. max psi is 21psi.. but no matter where I move the switch to it only boosts 13-14 psi.. now im not sure if that would mean the switch is messed up or its a leak. I don't say it's the solinoid is because it was checked already by mech.

you have two independent boost control systems plumbed in parallel? Why do you have one system with ethanol percent controlling it and one system that runs on a dumb switch? You could end up overboosting. What's the boost limiter set to in the ECU? Has it ever exceeded this 12-13psi? How high of boost has it been tuned to?

You gotta slow down here, you could break something if you're not careful.

I expect that this may be all controlled by the Haltech EMS. If so, did it ever work as described? If it did work like that and then quit, then a mechanical fault like a boost leak MAY be the culprit. If it never worked right you still can't rule out a mechanical issue, but it may be because it is not configured correctly.

As said, did it ever work?

Post your map.

I wish I could post my map but it is locked. Crispeed doesn't unlock maps for ppl... and yes it worked fine just before I had to send the turbo in to be rebuilt, I Remer driving it home a couple days before it went to the shop to get it rebuilt I did a pull and noticed no mater what I switched it to it would still boost the same 13-14 psi...(I thought at the time either something was really up with the turbo or possibly low e85 content.. after the car got the turbo back on I drove her home and put her in the garage for about 4 weeks before I took her out again and noticed it still did the same(with brand new plugs and I even drained the gas and put fresh e85)


. Max boost is about 21-23psi... I kind of built a boost leak tester but my turbos inlet is about 5 inches and I have no idea what to use to cover it so I can pressurize the system...

And yes the haltech controls all the boost so if my e85 content is low and I have my switch (which is connected to the ecu) to max for 23 psi or 18 psi or whatever it is, the computer should not allow it to boost is what I am told.

If Kris did the tuning, it's right. What is the gate spring? Sounds like you just lost a hose connection. Maybe lost the electrical connections at the solenoid? Check for 12v+ at the solenoid. Also possible the solenoid died. Never happens but it could.

You can try to log or simply display the AVI voltage of the input used for the trim switch. See if it's registering each step. Log DPO DC on the output that runs the solenoid to see if the ECU is commanding a legitimate signal to the solenoid.

First, you say it did the same thing before the turbo was rebuilt? Is that why it was rebuilt?

What was wrong with the turbo?

What is the wastegate spring pressure? If it's 13-14psi I'd be more inclined to think its a control issue over a mechanical issue.

Boost leak issue? Or controller? Where to start?
 

I believe it's 10-12 psi wg spring. Anytime the switch was turned all the way down it was about that. Also running dual wg

What i meant was the car was fine boosting everything with the turbo going bad still 20 psi.. and i noticed about 2-3 days before I dropped the car off it was having this issue.

The oil line needed a restrictor so believe the oil killed the turbo.


Can I still log even though the tune is locked? I don't think it's the boost solinoid because about 3 weeks ago when I passed by the shop speed was able to hook up the ecu to check the e85 content to see if it has just been bad gas, he then proceeded to test the solinoid because he did something in the ecu and the solenoid started making noise, he said it's working.. I took his word... how would one go about pressurizing the system to check for a leak?

You can logged even though the mapping is locked.

Check the plumbing. Sounds like you have a vac line that's come.off or a hole in it and it's running off the gate.

Take photos of your setup and draw a diagram so you can understand where everything is going.

found the issue.. the boost solenoid was working but leaking, but that didnt cause the boost issue.. it was the aem trim pot switch that went bad somehow.. and i even wanted to look at that first but figured it was only a couple months old and wasnt sure how to test a switch .. stupid me.