THIS LOW RPM ENGINE STALLING SAGA POSSIBLY SORTED

[BOOSTMEISTER]

It Seems that heaps of guys on here and SDU have reported their engine stalling at low rpm, say as you approach an intersetion or your driveway and get on the clutch and allow the rpm to drop off, sometimes it drops so low that the car stalls.

POSSIBLE CAUSES:

While there seems to be heaps of possible causes I have personally found a way to solve it in my instance, I had the problem and now it gone, here's how.

Find the earth wire from the pump and cut it and run it directly to a good ground on some bare metal in the boot area......fixed.

Now it is possible that this may not fix YOUR problem but it did fix mine, that was until I pushed the power up and the pump could no longer sustain the fuel supply.

The reason this worked is because the R32 and the silvia's (possibly more) use a weird earth switch to the pump to keep it quiet at idle and low rpm. when the rpm drops say at idle the pump sent only half of its normal current, just enough to keep the pump going. By hard wiring it to the chassis you keep full current to the pump all the time.

I have done this on both a 180 and my car, both had the problem of stalling and now neither do. Give it a go, may save you the cost of the pump if it isn't the pump.

What you need:

Small phillips head screw driver

Small flat tip screw driver

large phillips head screw driver

wire snips

solderer

solder

heat shrink

hair dryer (do not use a lighter as you are working next to a fuel tank !!)

elecrical tape

sand paper

self tapping screw

electric drill with phillips head bit

about 30 minutes

Oh and by the way do not shine a torch into your fuel tank as most torches are not intrinsically safe and can cause your fuel tank to explode.

Go hard.

Cam

[Guest 33GTS25]

cam, you are an amazing man and the level of your contribution to these forums is growing and i believe, appreciated by all

keep up the great work, those of us that are not mechanically minded really need it

regards

rod

[BOOSTMEISTER]

Thanks mate, its great to help people out and I have learned heaps from this forum as well.

[two40]

Oh and by the way do not shine a torch into your fuel tank as most torches are not intrinsically safe and can cause your fuel tank to explode.[/quote:75c0682d4d]

8O

he he

have you ever heard of this happen or is it just a theory?

[BOOSTMEISTER]

A friend of mine and I were working in a silo doing some confined space cleaning (Good Money if you like the work) and another guy was wearing a cheap head lamp and after only 15 seconds in the space there was a big flash, we got very hot and very scared. Fortunately the vents had been open for 48 hours prior and most of the gasses had escaped.

So yes, torches can ignight fumes.

Cam

[NIZ180]

I didn't realise there was so many people with this problem. I originally thought it was caused by a dirty AFM but haven't gotten round to cleaning it. I'll try your solution tomorrow and clean my AFM hopefully all goes well.

[BOOSTMEISTER]

There is now a second thread with another possible fix, check it out, its from a guy with a 180 (SR20)

[Buttoned_Down_Psycho]

yeah reguarding the silo - its the dust that would have exploded - sounds really dumb but it happens - apparently a silo in europe took out a good portion of a hillside from a dust explosion. BOOSTMEISTER - reguarding the fuel pump - you say its negatively switched? - so when you ground it permanantly it runs on full speed ALL the time? - im not doubting that it worked for you but i always thought the stalling on idle was most often caused by the motor going temporarily rich on idle - not lean. but yeah youve contributed alot to the forum - good to have you here - your site always has some eye candy on it

[BOOSTMEISTER]

Yeh, I can't explain it, but from what I understand the earthing wire is a bit dodgy and when your revs drop the pump cuts some of the voltage, now if the earth is not good then that drop may be a bit too much and actually stop the pump from well pumping....no fuel car stalls....

As I said this fixed mine and a mates so it MAY be ONE of the solutions..

Thanks for the compliment on the site....The silo was a hazadous waste storage silo that had been empty for 12 months and aired for over a Month, there was still some nasty gasses in there.

[Ait]

It seems to happen to mine intermittently. Yeah as I approach the lights, I push the clutch in and the revs drop really low. Hasn't stalled yet, but really low like 400rpms, and it seems to be struggling. This particularly happens with the headlights on too. Can anyone comment on this?

[red17]

Many seem to have problems with stalling and aftermarket bov's. Particularly on 33's it seems? Mine does it on occasion since installing a new bov. Doesnt bother me too much, once a week i can put up with.

Perhaps boostmeister had more chronic issues. Many thanks for the tip though!

Red17

[Ait]

Originally posted by BOOSTMEISTER

There is now a second thread with another possible fix, check it out, its from a guy with a 180 (SR20)

Where's that thread? I can't seem to find it.

[Ait]

Boostmeiser, would my problem be similar to yours?

[JH32]

Ait that happens to me too.

Try what BOOSTMEISTER says .... I know I'll certainly be giving it a go!

Cheers Cam!

[R33GT]

This used to happen to me. At times can be very embarrasing and thats when it usually happened. What BOOSTMEISTER

says makes sense, cause that what it feels like is happening (surge). But i dunno. When i took it to UAS for a service i told them about it and they said it was just the throttle position sensor. The way they explained it to me was that all they do is connect the car to a computer and adjust things. So i dunno it is fixed now. I havent had it stall like that since.

[cowboyb]

Hey, I have the same problem as well!

My other problem is during take off from the lights. I have to ease into it, otherwise my car stalls (the rpms falls dramatically as I release the clutch). As a result, I usually have to rev the car to about 2000 rpm and slowly release the clutch. Any sudden release results in car stalling. Any ideas guys??

And no, its got nothing to do with my manual driving skills..i can drive!

[T0nyGTSt]

I find that if I downshift and leave it in gear, it's fine.

It only does it in neutral so to me it feels like a BOV issue.

T.

[Ait]

Mine's stalling really badly now. At 400rpms or so...but once in awhile it behaves itself. But more stalling then behaving. Either dead AAC or some electrical problem.

[mr180]

My 180sx has a very similar problem. When I start it up it idles normally for about 30 seconds then it jumps from about 1500rpm to 500rpm and then after a while it stalls. Dr drift checked out the TPS and that wasn't the problem. I've swapped over a BOV and AFM from a working SR20 and that didnt fix it.

I don't know if they are related, but I also have a problem that sounds similar to cowboyb. If I release the accelerator and then go to press it again it's like the engine dies for about a second.

[fatz]

added bonuse is that you have removed the resitor within the earth thus giveing you fuel pump 100% duty..'

which mean more fuel casue the pump is flat out 100% of the time