Ok....the frustration with the cars continous to mount. Am I like doing something seriously wrong, here?? I've mentioned that my TSTE idles like crap. I changed the TPS sensor for the hell of it quite a while back, because I plan on changing ALL the sensors on both turbos. Well, when I started it up after changing the TPS out for a brand new one, it idled even WORSE then it did before, shooting up to 3k RPM on the first start up, and accelerating spuratically. It's run like crap ever since, while occassionally giving me the code for "TPS voltage low". I still suspect a wiring issue, but I haven't had a chance to do anything with the TSTE in a while. Plates got suspended due to not being notified my emissions test was due.
So...I pull off the one on the TGP last Sunday, along with the IAC, to clean them up. Then I figured I'd try something since I had that one off, and the TGP idles fairly decent. I tried putting it on the TSTE to see if maybe it WAS a faulty new sensor. No good, still idled horrible. So, I put the new one that I removed from the TSTE on the TGP since the original TGP one was already bolted down on the TSTE. And now........THE TGP IS IDLING WAY TOO HIGH, and accelerating like crap!! *tears hair out* WTF?? These aren't adjustable, are they? On both cars, I went in with a que tip, and cleaned the thingamagiggy sticking out of the throttle (the part that goes into the TPS), and just put the sensor back in place, bolted them down, and plugged them back in. Isn't that all there is to it?
The thing worrying me now, which is probably not related, is that it tends to tap really loudly now from time to time. Like the last 3 days to and from work, I'll start up the TGP and hear nothing. A quarter through my trip, when I come to a stop at a light next to a car, I'll hear it knocking/tapping really loudly off the cars next to me. keep in mind that this thing is idling at like 1,500 RPM in drive when I come to a stop. The sound speeds up with the RPMs. And then by the time I get to home/work, most of the time, the sound is gone again. I checked the oil, of course, and it's half way up on the crosshatch mark, and still fairly clean. Not sure what to make of all this. I think it's time I said to hell with all of them, and just got something new. :cry:
First off I had the same problem with my car and the idling issues. How dirty was the IAC valve? When I fixed my oil leak on my TGP I took off the throttle body and the intake plenum and there was a black build up in both (Carbon build up). Went to the nearest automotive store and bought two bottles (just for safe measure) of throttle body cleaner. Started Spraying the plenum and cleaned that crap out of it. Now on top of the throttle body is a plate the the vacuum ports plug into. It's held on by 6 or 8 torxs screws. Take that plate off and see how dirty the vacuum passages are my had a lot of build up (this is how your engine breaths when the throttle body is close just for those who don't know). After cleaning that out the car started idling properly. :D
Second if your speedometer is off your tach is off also (I don't know if yours if off or not?). My car used to idle at 1,100 RPM fully warmed up. However it sounded more like 700-800 RPM. After sending the cluster to GM and having it recalibrated it idles at 600 and sounds dead on. 8)
Third with the knocking noise, do a compression check it could be a valve sticking (would cause low compression on that cylinder), its possible but not likely. Is the sound more of a tapping noise (valve chatter), pinging (detonation), or ticking (injector tick)? Just hope its not a valve problem. :drinking: :bad-words:
Well, I forgot I have a CODE 43 stored, too. ESC Circuit. :shock: And sure enough, one of the things it says to check under "Symptoms" for knocking/detonation is the ESC, so I'm hoping that's the culprit. As for the sound, it is a high pitched, but very loud (when it gets going) tapping. It is VERY, VERY faint and hard to hear when I start the car up, AND by the time I get to my work, which is about 25-30 minutes away. Only when it very first turns over, can you hear it literally for 5 seconds before the sound shuts up completely. It's only in between there, and when it gets warmed up after a while, that I hear it. Then it disappears again.
As for cleaning the throttle, the TGP's issues started AFTER I went in and cleaned everything. Much to my surprise, the IAC wasn't too dirty on this car. The TSTE's was FILTHY! But the TGP's wasn't bad at all. I sprayed the vacuum ports on the top that you mentioned, along with the throttle plate/intake with some throttle body cleaner, and wiped it up real good. It's wierd, because it started immediately, like when I first got the fuel pump fixed to get the car running for the first time since I got it. But then, the idle immediately went nuts, and it's back to having an EXTREMELY hard time getting started in the morning. 2-3 tries of 4-5 seconds worth of cranking before she'll turn over. It's only like that if it's been sitting a while. If I shut it off, go to a store, and come back, it fires right up. I'm suspecting this is related to the TPS, too.
I did an idle relearn this morning, and it didn't cure anything. But.....I DID see small, but visible amounts of white puffs of smoke trailing out the rear. :shock: I didn't want to lower the windows to see if I could smell what it was, because I didn't want anything interfering with the idle relearn process. But, when I came back out after getting ready for work, and started her up, you could clearly smell fuel.
I'm hitting some wiring possibilities tomorrow to narrow down the TPS issue. Man alive. I'm ready to toss in the towel, here, and get me a new G35. :cry:
The problem could, like you said, most likely be the knock sensor. If its bad it actually retards your ignition and could cause the knocking you hear (also send the 43 error message). Seeing as you said its a high pitched sound that does sound like detonation. You should really get that fix ASAP before you risk hurting your engine.
Well....the bizarreness continues. I spent most of the day cleaning up my apartment today, so I didn't have too much time to mess around with the car. But I did go out to look at a few things. Started her up (did its usual very difficult to start thing), and the idle wasn't really too high this time. I unplugged the IAC, which caused a very quick, minor surge in idle, and then it went right back to where it was, so I don't think that's an issue. Then I went to take off the TPS harness. I couldn't tell if the idle started to get erratic on its own, or if me touching the TPS wiring was causing this. Hard to say. But when I unplugged it, the idle dropped a bit. Plugging it back in didn't seem to make a difference, though. I revved the throttle after that, and it COMPLETELY cut out, and shut the car off 2 times in a row. On the third try, I let go a little sooner when it cut out, and as soon as I let go, the engine went right back to firing away. I shut her down after this.
Next, I pulled the computer out of its spot to see if I could find any obvious wiring damage to any of the harness. I also pulled the mini harness in that area for a brief look. Nothing suspicious. I then pulled the front plug to make sure the gap wasn't too horrible. It was actually still gapping at exactly .045, much to my surprise. I put that back, and reinstalled the plug wire.
I started her up again to see if I could hear any knocking. The EXTREMELY faint pinging was still there (nothing out of the ordinary that I don't hear an many GMs). What surprised me though was.....it was idling perfectly. :shock: No surges, and nice and low RPMs. I waited for a few minutes to see if it would go nuts again. Nothing. So I got in, and took it around the block a few times. It was driving just as smooth as when I first got her running. I pulled into the back of a strip mall, and drove close against the wall there to see if I could hear any knocking. Nothing. So after 10 minutes of driving it around, I parked again, still running. My dad stopped by, and I commented that it wasn't making the sound anymore, and actually regained some power and smoothness. So we took it out again for a spin (haven't shut it down, yet). I pushed it fairly hard on a straight away behind my apartments, and it actually hauled some ass, and chirped into 2nd. :shock: I came around to the strip mall in front of my apartments again, and listened closely against the wall. Still nothing. So I parked it yet again, let it run for a few more minutes, then shut her off. It was running for around 25-30 minutes (equal to a trip to/from work), and everything was functioning fine.
Earlier tonight, I drove it to a friend's house (about 10 minute drive), and still smooth and powerful, with good idle. Leaving his house, it sounded good. Had the stereo up a bit, so I'm not sure at what point this started, but I stopped at a gas station just a bit passed my apt. to grab a drink, and when I pulled in, I noticed it was tapping again. Needless to say, I was disappointed. When I got back in the car and started it again, it was there still, but shortly after leaving the gas station, it was gone again, and never came back during the 2 or 3 minute trip home. Man......what GIVES with these cars?? I'm just glad it's nothing as serious as a rod knock. I would assume that that wouldn't really go away ever, let alone after 30 minutes of non-stop operation. Need to do some more probing tomorrow. Oh.....and to top things off, I my harddrive is taking a dump on me. Rebooted itself 4 times this morning. Luckily, I squeezed this post out. Man....when it rains, it pours.
Aren't the plugs supposed to be gapped at .040 ?. Half the time it is like that for me too with the noisy motor. I have been much happier with mine lately though.
Man that doesn't make any sense at all. You could have just had a vacuum leak around one of the spark plugs from not being in all the way. Not very likely but possible. Have you checked the fuel pressure lately (theres a valve on the fuel rail)? Could have just had a dirty fuel system for a while (probably why its hard to start). I had a similar problem when I first bought my TGP. The car was EXTREMELY hard to start, but the more I drove it the better it became.
If I was you I would check the back three spark plugs to see if they are in all the way. As much of a pain it is to get to the back ones, it couldn't hurt. :wink:
Well, the problems aren't really gone, per se. They just disappeared for a little while, there. They were back in full force Monday, as the car was ticking louder then ever and idling terrible again. I've decided to stop using it for a while till I can get it looked at. I'm really starting to think it's starving for oil for some reason. Oil pressure looks ok enough to run without problems, but there does seem to be periods of fluctuation, even when I hold the speed steady. So I'm going to get that looked at, first. I hope I don't have sludge, or anything to that nature built up in the motor. :shock: I just hope this isn't going to be super expensive to fix or get to the bottom of, because I can't stand a blow that big to the wallet right now. Not while I'm trying to get all of these cars looking and running decent. We'll see what happens.
As for fuel problems, it has a cleaned out tank and injectors, with a brand new fuel pump, fuel filter, and sending unit. Most everything fuel related is covered. I was hoping that was going to be the biggest expense on this car. :cry:
run some seafoam through the oil, its supose to do wonders for sludge, it cant hurt