Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

Okay,

So, as many of you know, I recently installed a new Supercharger and new built engine into my SVX. After a few vacuum leak issues I have finally gotten it back and for the last week it has driven fabulously....until yesterday morning.

I went out to get it washed so I could start cleaning her up some (she is still rough to look at) but the car wouldn't start. It would turn over but not start. I tried 3-4 times but got nothing. It seemed like it wasn't getting fuel so I popped the hood to take a look. It was too dark to see anything so I went in to get a flashlight. When I came out there was smoke coming from the engine so I ran over and there as a small fire on the wire bundle going to the driver side injectors.

I ran back into the house to get the fire extinguisher (which didn't work) but it didn't matter as the fire was almost out on its own anyway. I blew out the remnants and looked for damage.

The keys were still in the car and it was set to 'on' so I went to take them out but noticed that nothing was lit up now. The car seemed like there was just no power getting to the car at all.

I checked the fusible link and sure enough it was blown (see pic below).

After reading a little bit on the club it seems the most likely cause is the alternator which kinda ticks me off. Right before I started this whole "rebuilding" gig a couple years ago, I took off my old alternator which was the original one the SVX came with. It has never given me problems but being a 20 year old alternator, I thought it best to get it rebuilt so I'd have one less thing to worry about.

Seeing as Maniac Electric motors is not far from me (about 45 minutes) I took it to them to get it redone. I even had them beef it up to the high output so that I could eventually upgrade the stereo system too. Since then, it had been working fine but realistically its only got like 200 miles on it since it was redone.

I've called AWD Tuning and I'll have it towed back to them tomorrow and I'll call Maniac and see what they can do about this. My concern, however, is a lot of people said on the other threads that something like this can burn out your ECU. So i'm wondering if that is true. I'm running the stage III ECU from ECUTune and i know he is not making these anymore so what other options do I have (worst case scenario).

Eventually I'd like to get a Hydra, but from what I understand, the Hydra plugs into the subaru ECU...is that right? I still have my original ECU, would I use that with the Hydra instead?

Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated. Thanks everyone! :D

Ray

Pics:

Burned Fusible Link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...3&l=41e9936d7f

Burned Wires: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...3&l=30cf2d6ca3

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

What makes you think alternator?

I'd start by gently pulling the wire bundle open to find the short.

If the ECU (injector drivers) is fried you can modify another stock ECU to take Stage 3 chip.

/T

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

I don't know for certain its the alternator, but all the threads I found about the fusible link frying were due to the alternator regulator being shot.

How would one modify another ECU? Do you mean taking the chip from mine and putting it into another stock ECU? I thought these had to be flashed?

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

Well, if the injector wires are burned I'd think the problem is there.

Or is the fusible link located at the same spot?

The chip is what you need to swap. It has all the new maps. But the ecu needs to be modified a little.... you need to remove the original ROM and install an empty socket for the Stage 3 ROM to be pressed in.

It's really simple - you just need to be careful.

/T

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

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The description of the fault is vague. Even basic electrical knowledge seems to be absent. I believe there is no way that the alternator could be involved in the short circuit as has been described. It would appear that the original and standard wiring has been modified or disturbed

The evidence provided indicates that the illustrated injector, or its close connection, has become a direct short-circuit. This is the first point to be disconnected and checked.

The injectors are normally energized in sequence via the ECU, which is supplied via the main relay, and 30 amp fuse 2 located on the main fuse compartment under the hood. This fuse is included as the first overload protection.

If everything was as OEM, fuse 2 should have blown before the fusible link and limited the ECU supply current to 30 amps, which should not have caused the fire described. Even so, the protection afforded is minimal and damage to the ECU could be expected, but as things stand, is probably a certainty

It would appear that fuse protection has in some way been bypassed. This is bad news and dangerous as gasoline fumes are present.


Ray,

I don't really have any reason to suspect the Maniac alternator to be at fault at this time. Did you do any alternator wiring upgrades or check the original wires for cracking and corrosion. I eliminated a lot of these problems when I developed the new alternator wiring configuration.

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Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

At this point I don't know for certain if it was the alternator. That is just speculation from the other threads that I found where the fusible link fried. I've taken the car back to AWD Tuning to see if they can determine what happened and how best to fix it.

With any luck, no other damage was done to the car. I didn't see the #2 fuse you mentioned, I didn't look at that. I just saw the fusible link was toasted so I remove it, then disconnected the battery terminals.

I'll let you know what I hear from AWD

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

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http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/atta...1&d=1418064935


http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/files/Beav/2461.gif

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Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

Thanks a lot for these! :) I've sent this thread link over to AWD. I hope it helps them narrow down the culprit. I'll let you know what I find out

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

The strange part is that it ran well for that week or more period..I assume nothing was touched in that period, right? Could some wiring have gotten progressively pinched/rubbed through re: the SC install ? Would seem like the injector wiring was getting shorted distal to the ECU output.

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

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In some other posts, there seemed to be some evidence or speculation that the technical ability at "ECUtune" could be suspect. It is quite possible that internal ECU Stage III mods have bypassed or eliminated fuse protection, by sourcing voltage from a different pin connection.

Food for thought...

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Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

Amazon.com
Kidde 21006287 Auto Fire Extinguisher, 5BC, Silver
:)

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

Funny, but that is the extinguisher that I had in my house. Well, not the exact one, mine is red, but it is a 2lbs Kidde brand one.

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

Auto fire extinguisher. Keep one in your car. I do :)

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

i have seen this happen a lot on older vw (90's) because of a bad ground connection. the bad connection makes the power flow through the smaller grounds and ecu, melting wiring and frying the computer. never seen it on a subaru but quite a few vw. just something to check.

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

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One in the car, one in the garage. Halotron: no mess, residue or damage to components.

http://www.gatewayfiresupply.com/Buc...ign=amazon+PLA


The dry powder used in most ABC extinguishers is messy, horrible to remove and quote corrosive to electronics and wiring The dry powder main ingredient, ammonium phosphate, can have a chemical reaction with water and form into phosphoric acid which is a corrosive element. Potassium bicarbonate (baking soda) is also added.
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Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

Good to know, I'll order one of these instead :) Thanks for the info!

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

Halon is a banned product in Canada. Ozone depleter.
http://ec.gc.ca/ozone/default.asp?lang=En&n=D90FFDBB-1

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

Halotron-1 is the approved replacement in Canada, as well as the US. It was originally introduced in 1992 to replace severe ozone-depleting Halon 1211.

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Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

**UPDATE**

I've gotten the car back now and it is running well again. Fortunately, it only cost me a couple hundred to fix. They said that the problem was that the injector wires on the drivers side were exposed slightly and came in contact with the valve cover and shorted out.

They replaced all the wires to the injectors and when I went by it still wouldn't start. They also replaced the Fusible link and so everything would come on, it just wouldn't start.

We all looked at it together for a little while and they decided to start at the beginning and see if it was getting fuel. This was going to take a while so I started to leave. About 5 minutes down the road I got a call and said they fixed it. Apparently they unhooked the fuel pump and saw that it was actually pumping when they turned it on so they reconnected it and it started right up.

Indirect fix? Who knows. They did tell me that the gauge on the fuel pressure regulator didn't work. It was set to 40psi but when they tested it, it actually was set to 70psi. They dialed it back down to 40 but I can definitely feel a loss of power, but I really dont' want to burn out my fuel pump so i'll leave it I guess.

I'm still running the 9psi pulley right now. Once i'm sure everything is nice and stable, I'll replace it with the 12psi one and see how that runs. I've been driving it the last few days and Master Kuo is helping me install a new security system w/remote start right now. I purchased an Excalibur AL-2050-EDPB and its a sweet little security system.

We've taken out the old system and will install the new one probably this coming weekend. I'll do a new post about that if anyone is interested.

Thanks everyone for your help, you guys are the best!!

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

Glad to hear you got your car back and it is running. I'm interested in the security system w/remote start install. It would be nice if you do a How-To thread with pictures. I know there already is a How-To thread but don't recall if it has pictures.

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

Do you have a wide band AFR gauge? If not, I highly recommend getting one installed ASAP.

Just make sure you are running with the fuel pressure Mike intended... double check - especially if you feel a loss of power. The fuelling maps are done to match a certain fuel pressure at a given load level. Make absolutely sure you are not running lean or you will destroy the force fed engine in no time.

/T

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

No, I don't have a wide band sensor but I can get one. However, after I get it, how do I tell what it is supposed to be? I was looking through some of the supercharger threads but I can't find anything that talks about what things should be set to. Got any suggestions?

Ray

Re: Dag nabbit @#$&*$!
 

Google for example

afr tuning boost

Go and find a basic book on force fed engine tuning.

When cruising you should be at stoichiometric 14.7 and under boost below12to fight detonation .... it all depends on so many things that universal advice does not exist.

I run at only 5 PSI and the stage 2 maps from Mike result in an AFR around 12.2-12.4, which is on the lean side, I think. Especially with the rather agressive timing maps Mike utilizes.

Do not increase the boost level unless you know what AFR you're at and you are aboslutely sure you know how to play the game. And get the wide band working - it's cheap insurance. My sensor is located around 6" down stream from the turbo. I do not know what the best place is with a stock twin exhaust system.

Kind regards,

Tapani