My new Auto Xray 6000 scanner arrived this afternoon. I can now scan the following vehicles:

82 and up GM OBD I and OBD II (includes enhanced OBDII)
83 and up Ford OBD II
83 and up Chrysler OBD II
91 and up Jeep OBD II
96 and up Toyota OBD II
96 and up Honda OBD II
96 and up Nissan OBD II
96 and up other Asian and European OBD II

It will also link to a PC and allow graphing of capture data, printing of reports and creation of spreadsheets. This is gonna be a fun toy.

I'm going to run it on the GTA later today.

 

SWEET!!!!!
hey hows the PC software?

 

 

So Brett, when's the X-Ray party?

 

Haven't tried it yet since I don't have a PC to install it on. I only have Macs at the moment. At some point I'll pick up a PC laptop.

 

I was thinking I'd bring it to the February meeting. We could do a little diagnostic session.

The new scanner gives tons of info. and blows away my old Actron. I checked out my car and everything looked good at idle. Readings are within GM spec. The only area that indicates a possible problem is the block learn.

My ECM is showing a block learn of 160 at idle, which indicates it's seeing a lean condition and fattening up the fuel to compensate. It should be closer to 138. I hope to bust out the multimeter later today and test the ohms of the injectors. It's also possible that my de-screened MAF may be having an influence.

 

Cool, I will have to keep that date open. I know I have an autocross on Sunday.

 

I wonder if you need to get together with Kevin for a custom chip?

 

yeah...how about that party? THERES GOTTA BE CHICKS too

 

It should be closer to 128, that is the middle of the range. Did you try raising your fuel pressure? Also keep in mind that MANY of the MAF cars I have done will show lean at idle, but as soon as you touch the throttle, it settles down at 128 BLM's. I have no idea why.

 

I haven't tinkered with the fuel psi. I want to eliminate any other items first. I tested the ohms of the injectors today and all came in at 16.3 to 16.6. I also replaced the CCV hose.

Here's what the #1 plug looks like:

 

Monitor the mv for the O2 sensor. You should see numbers in the 6-8 hundred range every few seconds at an idle. If the highest number you see is below 400 after watching for a minute, your O2 sensor is bad.
The higher the milivolts, the richer the exguast is, so a low reading would cause the ECM to richen the fuel mixture.
At WOT your O2 sensor should be consistently around 700-900 mv. This is considered good range. I use this reading to adjust my fuel pressure. 700 mv is on the lean end and 900 mv is on the rich end.

 

O2 readings at idle are in the 600 to 1000 range. I also recently replaced the O2 sensor in case it was the problem. It made no difference.

The problem I'm having occurs during warm-up while the ECM is in Open Loop and the block learn hasn't yet been enabled. During this time the ECM ignores the O2 output and relies more on the coolant temp sensor. I may replace the CTS since it is inexpensive and see if makes any difference.

 

Hey Bret, change those plugs and you probadly get rid of your problem . Must take some time to heat past all that carbon.

 

Glenn,
I have to admit that's a thought that has crossed my mind. However, these plugs aren't very old. I was running the Bosch +4's, but good ole Pep Boys didn't have enough on hand last time I changed plugs. So, instead I went with the Bosch 2's.

It wasn't all that long after installing these plugs when the problem started. Hmmmm.

Lon and I saw some Denso plugs at SEMA that looked pretty good and they claim to perform better than Bosch. It might be worth trying a set out.

 

Those +2 and +4 spark plugs are just a gimmick. They cost more so they can put more of your money in their wallet.

I use regular Bosch Platinums. NGK is a good brand too, the LS1'ers like those.

 

i have heard that the plugs will foul if your ignition isnt up to par. with my platnium plugs i fouled them every two seconds until i changed the cap rotor and wires.

 

Cap and rotor were changed just before the plugs back in like June or July. I also installed a new MSD coil and ignition module at the same time. Wires are Accel Extreme 9000 and I also run an Accel 300+ ignition box.

I think it's the 162,000 miles and typical SBC leaking valve seals that are gunking up my plugs.

 

I have used regular plain ole Bosch Platinums in my Formula for almost 9 years now with never a problem. Tried those AC rapidfires once and all they did was rapidly wind up in the trash.

I did put NGK TR55's in my '96 Z28 along with MSD 8.5mm wires at 36,000 miles. Made a huge difference.