R33 Sounds Like A Boxer...

[kevlo948]

I've just taken out my sparkies and coilpacks.

Attached are pictures of the 6 spark plugs. Spark plug 1 refers to the cylinder closest to the radiator.

I checked the plugs like you guys said and the only one that was slightly different was the 2nd plug. It was black and had a very distinct smell of fuel. it was ever so slightly moist.

Anyway I checked my coolant levels and it hasn't dropped. Checked my oil levels and oil cap (no white residue on the oil cap).

I'm getting really worried about the car now...I spent so long researching before I did this build making sure i was doing it right.

Once again, your help is greatly appreciated!

http://s1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii542/kevlo948/

[34GeeTeeTee]

That would be the culprit missfiring then Is that cracked on the tip of the plug?

[ARTZ]

Plugs look fine, must be your coilpa ks.

[Birds]

I've just wasted half an hour

FYP brah. Did you bother to try the suggestion I made...you know...the easiest test of all...coilpack pulling with the engine running? No? Oh, that might be why you didn't find the problem. Nevermind, you might notice my post one day.

Blue Steel, Ferrari, Le Tigre...they're the same face!

[DVS JEZ]

Part of internets Birds.

[Kenna802]

Yeah Birds at least you can Raise Fist and give the whole " I told you so!!! " Look

[kevlo948]

haha sorry birds I actually did what you said straight after the post. To behonest I must have missed your post.

Anyway I've replaced the second spark plug and tested the coilpacks. Second coilpack is dead!

So now im thinking the white mist is unburnt fuel from the second cylinder (the smell is incredibly strong)

Sorry Birds I didnt mean to disregard your suggestion. I pretty much woke up this morning and started on it.

I'll be ordering Splitfires and I'll let you guys know.

Once again thank you guys muchly!

[ARTZ]

Yeah Birds at least you can Raise Fist and give the whole " I told you so!!! " Look

thats exactly what imagined him doing too...

,

On the upside, at least you know your spark plugs are in GC...cmon lets be honest here if you are checking your coilpacks you may as well pull your plugs out for a quick check while you're there right...

right Birds

[kevlo948]

haha ok fine i guess i deserve the flaming...

let it rip boys ><

[Birds]

Haha all good dude, it's just that I've posted similar things in other help threads and then it's always the last thing OP tries or they spend hundreds of dollars misdiagnosing the problem!!! Only so much ignored advice I can take!

Glad you got it worked out. Did you also try swapping the coilpacks around to see if the problem follows the coilpack rather than stays with the cylinder? This is just as important to work out, don't want to be replacing coilpacks for nothing in case you have no power going to that loom plug.

And yes Artz no harm checking spark plugs while coilpacks are out Although if you keep your valley cover off like I do, you can do the coilpack iagnosis without lifting a single screwdriver

[Birds]

Oh and

*raises fist*

TOLD YOU SO!

[34GeeTeeTee]

haha ok fine i guess i deserve the flaming...

let it rip boys ><

No flaming man... These guys are happy it's gunna be fixed... Everyone has to start somewhere, I'm learning as I go and take

These threads as a good thing

[ARTZ]

Haha all good dude, it's just that I've posted similar things in other help threads and then it's always the last thing OP tries or they spend hundreds of dollars misdiagnosing the problem!!! Only so much ignored advice I can take!

And yes Artz no harm checking spark plugs while coilpacks are out Although if you keep your valley cover off like I do, you can do the coilpack iagnosis without lifting a single screwdriver

lol..your such a drama queen

but I like keeping my cover on.. ..1..makes it easier for my OCD that wants me to hose done my engine bay daily..2..cause it looks the sexy

[kevlo948]

ahh right birds i forgot to do that.

I'll do it before i spend drop cash on the splitfires. cheers fellas

[Birds]

Just a side note too, might help to drop Paul at Performance Wise a line and see if he'll sell you a single replacement coil pack. Saves you forking out $600 for a whole new set of Splitfires when you only have one dud. Nothing wrong with (functional) Yellow Jackets in powerful applications, I run them in my R33 (258rwkw) and S15 (287rwkw) without issue.

In fact, the S15 was back to back tested on the same dyno with Splitfires followed by YJs. The graphs were basically the same, with both brands being incrementally better than each other in different parts of the rev range. Overall they were on par.

[GTSBoy]

Please...you can say the same thing about Splitfires, JJR and any other brand of coilpack. They all have their issues occasionally - at least Paul stands behind his product.

Except that the death rates for cheap coils seems to be about 5 times as high as for Splitfires or new Nissan coils. At least from where I'm sitting.

[kevlo948]

_{Just a quick update, I've just spoken to Paul from performance wise. He's a top guy and agreed to send a replacement coilpack over for me (this was at 1am last night!).}

[Birds]

He's great to deal with mate, and that's exactly what I meant by "stands behind his product". And why I'm always happy to recommend them. In contrast, you can find stories on here of other companies telling people where to go or having a lot of trouble getting faulty parts replaced.

Same reason I bought a Hypergear turbo - Stao will help you long after you have purchased his product and that's what matters most to me as a consumer. You just saved $600

[LANDSCRIBBLE]

thread revive.. and i really hope someone can help me out here, as im pretty much in the same boat as the op.

bit of info about the car:

1996 r33 gtst

basic rebuilt rb25, acl bearings, arp studs, metal head gasket, tomei poncams..

vipec v44 ecu (MAP sensor)

atr43g3

nismo 555cc

splitfire coilpacks

last tuned at 340~rwhp on 15-17psi.

so i know its something that i have done to it as the car ran fine until a few months ago it developed an oil leak and i had to pull the motor out to replace the rear main and front crank seals, re-tighten the headgasket and change the oil pan.

turned the key for the first time today and it sounds exactly like a wrx. runs really rough, strong smell of petrol (coming from i think the engine bay aswell as the exhaust), doesnt idle steadily, and i found it difficult to notice the difference when pulling some of the coilpack plugs off.

pulled the brand new plugs out. 1 2 3 4 and 6 were as sooty as a chimney, while 5 was actually wet and smelled of petrol.also all the tops of the pistons looked wet.

the vipec ECU is throwing out fault code 46 - "AN temp 2 error high value" (air intake sensor exceeding 5v). apparently if this value is exceeded it puts the car into safe mode and might be contributing or causing my rb25 to act like a boxer motor.

does anyone know where the IAT sensor is located?

might see if i can get borrow some coil packs, and i will probably look into the coilpack loom. no obvious nicks or cuts in it from memory or do the wires just break apart from the plugs?

[GTSBoy]

RB25s do not have an intake air temp sensor. So if your Vipec was originally installed with one, then only you or the installer would know where it was put. In the intercooler cold pipe or perhaps into the plenum are the only places that make sense. If however, your Vipec expects there to be an IAT but it never had one fitted......then the signal line on the ECU is probably sitting high at 5V and it might complain the way you report.

My guess is that no-one would be that foolish, so I'd suggest the wire is probably not connected.