My Skyline Is Playing Up!

[Freeman]

Hey guys. I took my R33gtst for its first service a couple of months ago and from then on it has been playing up. One day it will run strong, then all of a sudden it will jump around, the idle fluctuates, theres very little power then all of a sudden full power and you nearly get sent through the window, then it runs fine. Some days it perfect, some days it does this for days so bad its undriveable. It does it sometimes when cold, sometimes when warm, its completely random. It will start to splutter for 5 minutes then go away again, its completely random and it's giving me the shits.

I took it back to the guys where i got it serviced, but it had been two months since i first got it serviced there and i wasnt really going to blame them. They changed the plugs, cleaned the AFM, checked the coils (splitfires), theres nothing suss in the oil, not milky or pieces of anything, and they dont have a clue, ebentually i didnt go back cos labour was costing me too much. They also swapped the ECU but nothing.

Has anyone had a similar problem? Crank angle sensor was also swapped. One strange thing, i also have a slow power drain so need to charge my battery every 5 or so days (cant get it fixed til i get the engine fixed), and SOMETIMES when the battery drains the car fully and its fully recharged again it runs ok for a while but then has a spaz again. If anyone has any ideas what it could be please let me know!!

I have a feeling something may have been left loose during the service but we cant find out what. Im booked into Turbotechnics tomorrow to have it looked at but these bills are piling up.

Cheers everybody

[paulr33]

check the cars voltage, if its f**ked, ie too high or too low the car can run like poo. check voltage from ground at idle. also check afm plug

[700HP-GTR33]

AFM's need clean and re-soldering......

If they are good...check your throttle cable.(TPS)

If that is good.....check your fuel pressure.....(Could be your fuel pump or fuel filter(dirty)

If all of the above fail....more than likely they have incorrectly spaced your plugs .

Or more than likely...put the wrong ones in...what are your mods?

??????When is the last time you have had it tuned?

Does any lights come on when this is all happening?

You can try re-setting your computer.......this is off-course if it is stock

[700HP-GTR33]

Sorry....lots of questions......but i solved my Nephews car problem this week by adding some injector cleaner

into his fuel tank and changing his plugs.M ight have been the injectors clogging up.

He also had your symptoms except the car would die...but half an hour latter you could start it up again

and drive around.

It looks like you have an ignition problem ......which is fuel- spark related.

Hope I have been of some help.

Cheers

[Freeman]

Paulr33 - thanks mate ill try them

700hp - afm were apparently cleaned when checked out?

what would i be looking for with the throttle cable?

Filter was changed less than 500km ago. If the plugs are spaced incorrectly wouldnt it stuff up all the time?

My mods are: front mount, boost controller on 10psi, splitfires, pod, thats pretty much it engine wise.

Has never been tuned while with me (1 year), stock computer.

Resetting computer? is that where you unplug the batt and put ur foot on brake to drain excess then plug back in? if so ive tried that too.

One other possibility might be water in the cf bonnet and into the pod?

Thanks guys

[Freeman]

no probs with the questions, helpful for later if someone else reads it and can help!

[paulr33]

oh you didnt mention those mods

does the problem occur if you turn the boost down

[raz0r$harP.UK]

i would definitely try another afm not just cleaning it and see if it works... my car would work intermittently with the afm being cleaned but as soon as a swapper over a second hand afm there was no problems

is your pod filter one that requires oiling?

[Freeman]

Razor - The pod is apexi but not oiled.

Paul - Havent tried it with the boost wound down. Should it do it at idle when its not on boost?

[paulr33]

ah yeah misssed that point

nah boost wont affect idle

have u checked cooler pipes etc for leaks ?

[Freeman]

um... nope! Ill duck out and have a look

[Freeman]

Nah all pretty tight

[Burgerman]

I currently am having my R32 GTR looked at because of similar symptoms you are describing. I've had the AFM's checked = ok. Hydrocarbons put through any air pipes and intercooler pipes etc. to check for leaks = ok. spark plugs and coils = ok. Today I was told by the mechanic that because I have a vacuum assisted clutch when you put the clutch in it draws on air (I'm not entirely sure of the details here). But suffice to say it makes a sucking air noise when you use the clutch (twin osgiken plate incase it makes a difference) and lately I have noticed my engine can rev higher or lower a couple of hundred rpms when the clutch is in, up or down it's random sometimes it's fine. I'm getting a new vacuum booster thingy (forgot the actual name) that should hopefully fix the problem of the clutch drawing random amounts of air. It's possible that it's also randomly leaking air so the engine is'nt receiving the proper air fuel mixture.

My symptoms are that the engine will idle a bit rough on warm up but when it's warm and you're idling it will randomly idle lower and start to cut out. So far it' hasn't stalled and if I accelerate it will go away and happen only when idling. When it cuts out and splutters it blows a bit of black smoke. It also sometimes happens when I"m driving and that feels horrible cause you lose power.

I hope all this helps you. I'll keep you posted if this clutch vacuum booster thingy is in fact the problem causing what I have cause it's something I didn't think about when the problem started happening to me.

It would be easier if the problem happened all the time, but cause it comes and goes it's hard to figure out.

good luck

[raz0r$harP.UK]

i would definitely swap afms even if they are tested and okay .... i had mine tested by mechanic and it was fine however it was not working all the time ... which the mechanics didnt pick up on as when they tested it all looked okay

it will only take you a few minutes to swap them if you know someone with working ones

[mjones]

i get someone to put to put one of those testing computer thingy's on,mine was doing the same thing,cleaned afm still done it,then they put this computer on it and watched the air flow threw it,and after awhile he could see that it was dropping in power after a rev,(mind you the bloody car didn't play up at all the 3 times i took it there) put after putting that computer on it he found the prob within 10mins,swapped afm no probs at all now,hope that helps(sorry i cant think of the name of that computer he used)

[blind_elk]

If your battery is continually needing a re-charge, replace it. Also, get the alternator checked for correct charging rate. An overcharging alternator will destroy a battery, so that the battery cannot maintain charge.

Skylines are notoriously sensitive to voltage - one wiff of a bad voltage and the ECU chucks a wobbly.

[Freeman]

Hey guys

Blind elk - Yep already replaced the battery once, the current one is from nrma and had it 2 months. Sounds like until i find the fault with the engine i should d/c my battery after driving?

Razor and mjones - Thanks guys i have a mate two doors up with one ill definately try swapping the afm, hav 2 wait a week he is at schoolies. would the computer need a reset for changing afms? even tho they are the same, could the computer hav gotten incorrect readings from the old one and stick to them or theres no problem there?

Burgerman - mate i really hope it isnt that! it has a heavy duty organic clutch, but im not sure about this vacuum assist thing, it was already installed when i bought it. yeah keep me informed!

Well i just rang Turbotechnics, they drove it and put it on the dyno for an hour and a half and it didnt miss a beat. Im about to put a hole in the wall!

Only good thing is when i asked about the cost of the labour, they said dont worry about it. I was pretty shocked you dont usually get that.

Cheers,

Luke

[mjones]

Hey guys

Blind elk - Yep already replaced the battery once, the current one is from nrma and had it 2 months. Sounds like until i find the fault with the engine i should d/c my battery after driving?

Razor and mjones - Thanks guys i have a mate two doors up with one ill definately try swapping the afm, hav 2 wait a week he is at schoolies. would the computer need a reset for changing afms? even tho they are the same, could the computer hav gotten incorrect readings from the old one and stick to them or theres no problem there?

Burgerman - mate i really hope it isnt that! it has a heavy duty organic clutch, but im not sure about this vacuum assist thing, it was already installed when i bought it. yeah keep me informed!

Well i just rang Turbotechnics, they drove it and put it on the dyno for an hour and a half and it didnt miss a beat. Im about to put a hole in the wall!

Only good thing is when i asked about the cost of the labour, they said dont worry about it. I was pretty shocked you dont usually get that.

Cheers,

Luke

ahh your from newy.. go into destoj his the bloke who fixed mine up,he usally has a few afm's laying around aswell that he could prob lend youif thats the prob,h'ell find out what is wrong with it,i was taking mine to turbotechnics for about 2 months and they didn't fix crap

Edited November 29, 2006 by mjones

[Burgerman]

free time on a dyno is always good!

I got my GTR back today from the mechanics and they replaced the booster unit for the clutch and I would have to say it's better but not fixed. They showed me the old one and it indeed had a crack in it and I have noticed with the new booster when I put the clutch in my revs stay stable. As for the the idling problem though my mechanic told me that it's all due to the ECU. He thinks it's from another car setup for the same engine but with different mods if you get my drift. The guy who had it before me either got something done to the ECU or it fount it's way on my engine from another engine when it was rebuilt a year ago (before I bought it). Anyhoo my mechanic has recommended I get a Power FC, especially if I want to pursue any modifications in the future. I was wanting to get one down the track anyway but yeah, I don't really have the funds at the moment.

I'm going to take my car to another mechanic though just to get a 2nd opinion if my problems are indeed because of the ECU. I know the guy or garage that rebuilt the motor so at least I can contact them and they would have the best idea as to what the problem is and if it is the ECU hopefully have some idea as to what has been done to it.

I'll let you know freeman if I get it sorted out but as for now it's just running richer than it should. The spark plugs start to foul up and that's when it doesn't ignite properly and it just splutters. So he told me to just flog it and it will clear out the spark plugs! oh well, at least it gives me an excuse to boot it out of corners now

good luck getting to the bottom of your idling problems

[Freeman]

Hey guys finally figured out what was the problem. bad fuel! filled up a tank with bp and its running perfectly. took a bit for the old stuff to work through, but running heaps strong now and doesnt try and bunnyhop me through the windscreen which is a bonus.

bottom line - listen to the threads that say dont go to shell! their premium isnt worth ten cents a litre. ill only be using bp or mobil from now on

thanks everybody for your help appreciate it