A nightmare CTSC problem?

[NSXRguy]

Joe, im in the process of sending the car to larry for my timing belt water pump install. Maybe hell figure it out.

Then... Itll be off to you in the winter for some paint work again

i hate knowing what the problem is and how to fix it but not sure how to repair it permanently

 

[NSXRguy]

Hey joe can you explain more about the tcs causing problems?

 

[Alittleboost]

Sounds exactly like what the OP is experiencing.
FWIW You never mention finding a solution in that thread.
Where was the leak ?

My boost leak was coming from below the manifold....the vacuum that connects to the map sensor. It sounds like his problem is a boost leak.

My car has the old whipple and it was showing 6 cylinders misfiring...so this is what I did.

1. Check plugs and coil packs.
2. Check for vacuum leaks...then I found out that one of the vacuums was unplugged!

I couldn't get to my ignitor since it's located on the under the charger on the whipple. So I decided to upgrade my bypass hose and extend all vacuum hoses in case they popped off again.

But his misfire issues sounds like a vacuum leak, but then again you track your car more than I do so maybe wanna do a leak down test.


My guess you have a vacuum leak....keep us updated.

 

[LJSB]

Hey joe can you explain more about the tcs causing problems?

Beats me. I was quoting this:

I had the same problem when i had the CTSC. Could it be the boost cut or the tcs?

 

[fourringpilot]

Any updates?

 

[Russ]

Last night idling around town looking for a parking lot my 95 CSTC threw a set of misfire codes: cyl 1, 3-6 and random. A search uncovered this thread. Car runs fine.

Any updates?

 

[TURBO2GO]

Yeah I guess I should update. When I posted this I had an exhaust system that tapped into the speed sensor. The combination of the CTSC harness and the speed sensor harness of the exhaust was something the ECU didn't like. Once I removed the speed sensor wire that was part of the exhaust, this problem went away. To date I have not had the engine die once, or get any more misfire codes. It still isn't perfect. If the engine is hot, and I shit it off and let it sit, then go back and start it shortly after, sometimes it runs rich. I can smell the unburied fuel and the car hesitates for about 30 seconds. After that it seems to clear its throat and runs fine. Since it doesn't die at all, and there are no misfir codes and it seems to run strong and pass emissions, I have not worried a whole lot about it. I doubt it is the CTSC at all, something else isn't quite tight or at the right voltage. Possibly a small vacuum leak. It's just not enough to bother me but I did make an appointment with Larry B and that takes years... LOL

 

[NSXRguy]

try running seafoam. i used seafoam on my 100k motor and all my misfiring problems went away. pm if you want more info on how i did it.

not only did my misfiring go away, she feels and drives like a brand new car. supercharger feels even better than when i first bought her

 

[DRIFTER]

try running seafoam. i used seafoam on my 100k motor and all my misfiring problems went away. pm if you want more info on how i did it.

not only did my misfiring go away, she feels and drives like a brand new car. supercharger feels even better than when i first bought her

That stuff scares me. But I have heard a lot of people have used it without issues and say it works great.

Larry ended up fixing my Pops CTSC that was misfiring and had a wandering idle. Ended up being the plate the SC bolts to was loose causing a vacuum leak.

 

[NSXRguy]

if anybody in the NJ area wants, we can have a "seafoam party". i can help do the actual treatment. yes, there will be A LOT of smoke. i will give you a $1 if you do not feel a difference..... im just kidding.

but yeah, if anybody has misfiring issues and running of ideas, i can seafoam your car for free. it solved mine, might do wonders for you too. takes like an hr to do the whole process.

 

[EAC]

Yeah I guess I should update. When I posted this I had an exhaust system that tapped into the speed sensor. The combination of the CTSC harness and the speed sensor harness of the exhaust was something the ECU didn't like. Once I removed the speed sensor wire that was part of the exhaust, this problem went away. To date I have not had the engine die once, or get any more misfire codes. It still isn't perfect. If the engine is hot, and I shit it off and let it sit, then go back and start it shortly after, sometimes it runs rich. I can smell the unburied fuel and the car hesitates for about 30 seconds. After that it seems to clear its throat and runs fine. Since it doesn't die at all, and there are no misfir codes and it seems to run strong and pass emissions, I have not worried a whole lot about it. I doubt it is the CTSC at all, something else isn't quite tight or at the right voltage. Possibly a small vacuum leak. It's just not enough to bother me but I did make an appointment with Larry B and that takes years... LOL

How was your speed sensor tied into the exhaust?

Mine has a issue like this. Once it warms up, my rpm's sometime drop and has even died a few times while coming to a stop. I was thinking some has to do with my light weight flywheel? Maybe not.

Two times, it's thrown misfire codes where I cleared the codes and reset the the ecu.

I've cleaned the throttle body several times with no luck.

Might make my own thread about this.

 

[angus]

There is a TSB that outlines replacement of the coils, igniter and spark plugs - this seems to be a fairly common problem with OBDII cars and it has fixed every one I have done it on, including my own.

There is a big difference in price between the OBDI and OBDII coils (OBDII are WAY cheaper because there is a warranty part # for them)

 

[TURBO2GO]

How was your speed sensor tied into the exhaust?

Mine has a issue like this. Once it warms up, my rpm's sometime drop and has even died a few times while coming to a stop. I was thinking some has to do with my light weight flywheel? Maybe not.

Two times, it's thrown misfire codes where I cleared the codes and reset the the ecu.

I've cleaned the throttle body several times with no luck.

Might make my own thread about this.

My exhaust had a valve that adjusted according to RPM. It was the GT-One version 5.0. It was more sophisticated and expensive than the 5.1. It came with an Apexi controller inside the cabin.

I am sure your flywheel doesn't help.. but aren't you turbo with AEM? If so I'd say your issue is very different than what was here.

 

[TURBO2GO]

There is a TSB that outlines replacement of the coils, igniter and spark plugs - this seems to be a fairly common problem with OBDII cars and it has fixed every one I have done it on, including my own.

There is a big difference in price between the OBDI and OBDII coils (OBDII are WAY cheaper because there is a warranty part # for them)

So how much does all that cost?

 

[EAC]

My exhaust had a valve that adjusted according to RPM. It was the GT-One version 5.0. It was more sophisticated and expensive than the 5.1. It came with an Apexi controller inside the cabin.

I am sure your flywheel doesn't help.. but aren't you turbo with AEM? If so I'd say your issue is very different than what was here.

Yes, but my problem was present before I went turbo and Aem Fic.

Any ideas ya'll?

 

[EAC]

There is a TSB that outlines replacement of the coils, igniter and spark plugs - this seems to be a fairly common problem with OBDII cars and it has fixed every one I have done it on, including my own.

There is a big difference in price between the OBDI and OBDII coils (OBDII are WAY cheaper because there is a warranty part # for them)

My car had all that except the ignitor replaced by Acura 2 years ago. It was covered by some emmisions bill in California.

 

[curtsr]

Mine has a issue like this. Once it warms up, my rpm's sometime drop and has even died a few times while coming to a stop. I was thinking some has to do with my light weight flywheel? Maybe not.

Two times, it's thrown misfire codes where I cleared the codes and reset the the ecu.

Might make my own thread about this.

My LF turbo does some of both of your issues and mine is a 95 also running a FIC. Some construed to mean enough that I can plug in a scanner, clear the codes and shut down/ restart on the fly. Familiarity breeds contempt...

I'll update you in your new thread when I go to the S2 EMS which I bet fixes this for me. I believe that it has something to do with the pre-OBDII flavor that the 95 ECU has and your 96 is probably similarly coded being pre-97 also.

 

[jorligan]

My LF turbo does some of both of your issues and mine is a 95 also running a FIC. Some construed to mean enough that I can plug in a scanner, clear the codes and shut down/ restart on the fly. Familiarity breeds contempt...

I'll update you in your new thread when I go to the S2 EMS which I bet fixes this for me. I believe that it has something to do with the pre-OBDII flavor that the 95 ECU has and your 96 is probably similarly coded being pre-97 also.

Don't count on this fixing the stalling issues. To prevent stalling, I simply coast down until I am around 1500 RPM. My car is otherwise running great and my biggest problem is traction related at this time because of the torque and although the stalling issue is improved since Cody did some road tuning, it still stalls. I think that this is related to closure of the throttle body too quickly and the transition between the AEM and the factory ECU. The factory ECU still handles the throttle position. I know that this does not occur on his OBD1 tuned AEM cars. I suspect that for this to completely disappear, it will require the new AEM which can handle DBW and completely replaces the factory ECU.

I haven't yet cleaned my throttle body, just ordered the big bore throttle body from SOS which will be clean and have a recalibrated throttle position sensor. I have already replaced my ignitor, spark plugs and coils with absolutely no improvement. I did not have this issue with the FIC.

 

[docjohn]

I'm not FI but Larry B chased down a stall issue I had when depressing the clutch on coast down, I have a 96 ecu talking to a 00 motor.This occured regardless of using the original 96 TB and my SOS bigbore TB...I think Larry had to readjust the idle sensor and had to reset the ecu which has some quirks on the early obd2 cars.PM him.

 

[TURBO2GO]

Such a stupid title on this thread. I was so upset and frustrated at the time I posted, but honestly the CTSC was never at fault and it has ran so well. I wish this thread would not keep getting bumped because it puts blame on a product that has really been reliable and good.

 

[MOMSPH]

Ok glad I found this thread. I got a 98 CTSC and have been experiencing CEL, random misfires 1, 2. I just had the plugs replaced yesterday, automatically cleared the CEL. It ran for 20 mins before the CEL came back on again but the car runs fine. Before I bring it in to a shop, what are the top 3 things I should expect?

Bad fuel?
vacuum leak?
Voltage?
All 3 or more?

 

[DRIFTER]

Ok glad I found this thread. I got a 98 CTSC and have been experiencing CEL, random misfires 1, 2. I just had the plugs replaced yesterday, automatically cleared the CEL. It ran for 20 mins before the CEL came back on again but the car runs fine. Before I bring it in to a shop, what are the top 3 things I should expect?

Bad fuel?
vacuum leak?
Voltage?
All 3 or more?

Can't you just scan the a 98. What kind of codes is it throwing?

 

[MOMSPH]

According to the shop I bring it in, it's giving a random misfire cylinder 1 and random misfire cylinder 2 code. I really should get an obdii scanner.

 

[docjohn]

best thing to do is get your own reader,the good ones give you prompts,and are easy to use,then you can list on prime,and get some direction.

 

[ScienceofSpeed]

The codes indicate the problem is probably fuel delivery. A number of reason for this to occur, including those above. I recommend checking fuel pressure when this occurs to confirm it is a fuel delivery problem.