I do NOT need this...

 Holy Cow, what an horrendous couple of days! A couple of posts ago, I worried about changing anything in case it endangered my Wales trip, so what do I go and do...?

In my defence, it seemed innocent enough - sort out the throttle cable so it didn't keep popping out of the bracket on the throttle body and clean out the fuel filter to maybe improve the hot starting - what could go wrong?

I worked out a much better way of re-using the old plastic pieces on the throttle cable to get it running smoothly and securely - much better than it was, thought I.

The fuel filter is supposed to be cleanable, so I unscrewed it and actually replaced the plastic insert with a new one from a spare filter I had.

Now, I thought, let's go for a drive and see if I have cured my hot-starting problems. Start the engine and....Holy Feck, what the Hell?! Engine started but wouldn't idle or run unless I kept revving it, popping and running like a 3-legged dog in a bag.

Fired up the laptop and re-calibrated the TPS, no change. Re-loaded the map - no change. The Lambda sensor was all over the place, not getting anywhere near its target AFR. So many things were wrong, I couldn't work out where to start.

At worst, I thought maybe I had somehow fried the £700 ECU, or maybe introduced dirt into the fuel system while changing the filter. Most likely, given my history, was the possibility that I had knocked a wire out somewhere, maybe to the fuel injectors? The possibilities were endless...

I started with the cheap options and tried to reverse the changes I made. So I disconnected the throttle cable and actually completely removed the plastic insert in the fuel filter, as well as re-calibrating the TPS again. Now, I could get the engine to idle, just. But any small throttle input caused the engine to stall.

At this point, I noticed that when opening the throttle to half way, the Emerald software showed it just open to 17%, which was strange. I re-calibrated the TPS for at least the 3rd time but I had spent so long cranking the engine, my battery was low on charge, so I left the charger on while I got back to my day job.

After work, I reluctantly dragged myself to the garage for round 7 of a battle I felt I was losing, turned the key and.....hey presto, Zedster fired up as normal, settling to a normal tickover, with the throttle working as normal!! WTactualF!!!

So it looks like the ECU was just not saving the TPS settings properly? I dunno, it's just weird - the TPS calibration function is pretty straightforward - how could I have got it wrong 3 times but then it worked on the 4th? I didn't do anything differently. Maybe it was doing it with a fully-charged battery?

Whatever - the relief is wonderful but, damn, I really didn't need that stress.

One bonus - I went for a test drive and I seem to have 100% throttle travel because Zedster felt like a rocket ship! Seriously, I really don't remember him being that fast since I finished the build. Have I really had that little throttle travel for 3 years!!!

So, lets hope nothing happens between now and Friday morning - bring on Wales!

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?

The lows and the lows

Not having a good time...

Alternative theories for the rattle were propounded and then i noticed that it also sometimes happened when i pressed the clutch, even gently, which suggested a possible problem with the thrust bearing or even the clutch itself.

Another suggestion was the water pump bearing and that seemed to be a possibility; when i took off the fan belt and ran the engine briefly, no rattle. So, for £25, i bought a new one:

Sadly, that didn't help - argh!

Then, after some time on YouTube, i heard a typical engine knock and it sounded exactly like my rattle. Its also a bit more random which fitted better with my symptoms.

Engine knock is basically a result of bad engine tuning. A clutch problem needs the engine taking out, something I'm desperate to avoid doing - just the thought of trying to do that in my single garage; draining water, oil, unbolting exhaust, engine mounts, wiring - arrgghhhhh!!!

So, I'm praying that the wideband lambda sensor will fix everything - but its not looking good.

I've changed the coolant and oil. There were a few tiny metal particles in the old oil but it doesnt seem to be enough to suggest engine wear, more like normal wear from a relatively new engine.

The sensor took 2 weeks to arrive  (i had to order it from Holland) and i finally fitted it a few days ago. I decided it would be easier to go through the passenger footwell, so drilled a hole through the side:

Wired up and, initially, everything seemed ok - followed the calibration process after some discussions with Richard and i could see the sensor doing its thing; after reaching 60 degC, system went closed loop and i could see the AFR figures hovering round the 14.5 mark, as it should. Best of all, i could tell that there was no strong petrol smell from the exhaust.

Now, unfortunately,  at this point, i decided to wire in an LED strip under the dash to give me some light at night on the aux panel and my clock. What i didn't realise was that my superb wiring abilities (not) meant the labda sensor and LED strip are on the same circuit and as soon as i connected up the LED, it blew the fuse. So off i went on a test drive with a non-functioning sensor! Not surprisingly, i had running problems; stalling at low speeds and RPM.

So, i need to revisit the wiring...but I'm still worried that the rattle might be mechanical.

Couple of extra pics - first, a pretty clam shell to hide the hole:

This is the lambda controller under the scuttle:

...and this is the new switch for the LED strip: