my egr valve/heat sensor/solenoid are all alilttle over a year old car barely driven till now

just as soon as i start my car cold after sitting over night or even a day or two i get engine light and only read 12 and 32

code 32 is soemthing with the egr system obviously

heres my problem or situation

if i turn off and turn on the car a few times after jsut starting it cold usually by the third try the light doesnt come on with the car

and does not come back for the rest of the day even after sitting for a few hours and being driven again

doesnt come on while driving through town or on the highway

car seems to be fine for a stock car with some bolt on upgrades but internally all stock original from 1986


but sure enough next day start it up and code comes on start it turn it off 3 times and goes away


i have no idea what to make of this

all vacuum lines are hooked up and if soemthing that stupid was wrong wouldnt the light stay on or come back while driving?

same thing if something was wrong with the valve or solenoid?

 

no one? ive done searches and no ones problem compares to mine.

anyone?

 

Maybe someone with more experience will jump in to help, but I don't think it is an egr problem. The ecm should not call for egr activation on start up. That code should not come on unless there was a problem occurring when the ecm tried to turn on the egr which would only happen after the engine was warm and the car is cruising.

 

Make sure your vacuum lines are all hooked up like they are supposed to be, often they are not. Most of the time I see the solenoid vent capped off or hooked up to something. I cant think of the malf check that the ecm runs for the EGR right now, but that would be a good idea to read and see what conditions are required to set a code.

 

Heres a thread with a simular problem...'
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tpi/...ld-starts.html

 

On the side of the egr you got an egr temperature diagnostic switch. The ecm will set code 32 if this switch is closed during startup. If you follow the black cable from the egr you will find a bulkhead connector.Disconnect this and measure if the switch is grounded. If so , you got a faulty switch that needs to be replaced. Got the same problem on my car and it acts like yours do too.When warm no problem with code 32 , but on startup (cold) it will set a code 32. Measured my switch and it is grounded when the car is cold .

 

how do you test for ground? and with my volt meter what should i read? 0v?

if i dont get a code when the engine is warm up does that mean the egr is working once warmed up?

 

and just to clarify i have no code 32 while driving

i get code 32 on cold starts and if i start it 3 times it doesnt come back on

does this still sound like the temp switch to you "KOOGA"?

 

You use your voltmeter , test between positive terminal on battery and the black cable , if the switch is faulty you will get a reading of 12.7 volts .This is when the car is cold.
I assume that if you have the same problem like I do with my car , and trying to start once the car is warmed up , and you dont get a code 32 ,that things are alright , but thats just a guess based on my experience on how my car runs...

If you disconnect the bulkhead connector (disables the switch on the egr)and starts the car cold and it still throws a code 32 you either have a short to the ground (cable from the ecm to the connector) or a faulty ecm...

 

ok thanks for the info. i'll check it out. it jsut seems so weird that the engine light wont stay on if its that bad like a bad ecm.

if i dont get a code whle driving is it safe to assume my egr system is working? i just dont know what to make of it.

but yes im havign same symptoms as you jsut sucks because the temp switch is only a yr or 2 old

 

my egr temp wire was loose and it caused the same symptoms

 

If the switch is only grounded when cold, but looses the ground when it gets warm, it may be getting warm enough by the third start attempt to no longer be grounded. On most codes the ecm shuts off the "check engine light" once the problem goes away, but I think with an egr code, the light stays lit once it comes on unless you shut off the ignition even if the problem goes away. I may be wrong on this one so don't flame me.

 

When I start the car when its warm the check engine light wont come on. But when checking for codes its still there! Will this code change the performance of the car? Havent noticed any difference but still wondering.Anybody know?

 

yea once the car is warm the engine light doesnt come back after restarting does this mean the egr system is running properly at this point/temperature or is it hurting my car?

 

If the light is not on, the system is operating as if everything is fine.

 

i took a look and turns out the wire for the egr temp switch was pinched under the fuel rail where the rear bolt screws into the intake post

this must of happened when i changed the o-rings on my injectors and put everything back together a few weeks ago

this may have grounded the wire but the insulation around the wire is pretty thick.

its late and my car is pretty loud in my garage so ill start it tomorrow and see if that did the trick otherwise i gota buy another stupid temp switch and remoe my plenum all over again

i'll also test the wire liek koogs suggested tomorrow. i just noticed the wire being completely pinched between the rail and the post so i decided to fix that first.


i hope this did the trick

 

sure enough it was the egr temp sensor. now that its not being pinched i guess its not getting grounded anymore.

i started the car for the first time this morning and yay no engine code

thanks for the tips guys i really appreciate it.

kooga try your temp sensor it seems to be the only thing taht will set an egr code on cold starts.

hurray to no engine codes