Wednesday 13 June 2018

Back from the Abyss

What a difference a day makes, as they say...

I took the aux panel off and, after a bit of head-scratching, I realised the incredibly stupid wiring mistake I had made. Seriously, I have an electronics degree - how the heck did I pass that?

With that fixed, my LED strip works fine and, most importantly, the lambda sensor is working properly. It really seems to be a good piece of kit - using the Emerald software, I can see it making continual adjustments and the strong petrol smell is mostly gone. It still needs some tweaking because the engine bogs down a bit when pulling away in first gear - I'm guessing the sensor can't keep up with rapid change in AFR (air/fuel ratio) but I'm sure there will be a setting somewhere to help with this. Bit of research needed...

I'm more and more convinced that my rattle is engine knock and not something mechanical. The rattle is just so random - there is no pattern to it at all. Sometimes it rattles at idle, other times not, sometimes while accelerating but not always etc, etc. If it was mechanical, surely there would be a clearer pattern? Anyway, that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

I reckon the 8 months or so of running rich has coked up the cylinders (and the spark plugs were pretty black when I checked them) and that is a known cause of engine knock. I'm going to buy some engine/injector cleaner and hope that helps clean the cylinders out; otherwise, I'm hoping they will eventually clear out now that I'm running with the correct mixture.

HINDSIGHT: get a wideband lambda sensor or a rolling road session asap after IVA.

Richy (the guy doing my doors) sent me a few pics of progress and they're looking awesome - can't wait to get them. Hopefully, end of this month (he is also busy building his own caravan from scratch!).

So, all in all, much happier today...let's pray my head-in-the-sand attitude bears fruit, hey?

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