I gave up!!

[kzbill]

I poured gasoline all over the car and lit it, what a spectacle!
(well maybe not)

I am going to take it to a local manufacturer of ignition and computer control parts, Wells Mfg. it is about 30 mi. from here and I know one of the service trainers. He is going to use it for a training unit to find the problem then return it fixed and I will be able to report to all on the fix. I will be taking it next week and will have to wait a few days while they track it down.
This is a national supplier of ignition and control parts.

[25Horseplay]

I can't imagine what it is, you have replaced everything that anyone could think of. It will be interesting to know what it really was causing the problem.

[kzbill]

fix

Thats the reason I finally let my pride out of the way long enough to call an expert. he will find the reason
Then I can make a full report

[skeeters_keeper]

Well it sure will be interesting to know! you have stumped us all, thats for sure!!

good luck i hope he can find the problem!!!

[kzbill]

it's in the Hospital, they are running tests, scans and such. hopefully it will make it!

[neanderpaul]

Re: fix

Thats the reason I finally let my pride out of the way long enough to call an expert. he will find the reason
Then I can make a full report

You have a pride!?!? in America!?!? Just kidding :lol: :lol:

[kzbill]

so far the experts are stumped too

[kzbill]

This is the report I got from my friend this am. he is checking the whole thing over. and trying to find the intermittant power loss issue.
B6 Stutter

"How about this? I scoped the ignition primary signal and the Hall Effect pick-up coil…..The pick-up had a spike in it that resonated into the ignition system. I cleaned the grounds and the spike is gone. With the clean signal I don’t hear the misfire/popping I was hearing before at higher rpm’s.


It appears the front pulley is mounted in the wrong position. I went through a manual mechanical timing set up this am and made my own TDC mark on the pulley. I then searched through the wires over by the master cylinder and found that the wire that shut the motor down when grounded is actually a pigtail for the coil primary circuit. I found the correct wire and checked timing; it was at 20° advanced. I dropped it down to 10° with the correct wire grounded.


Flashing codes I’ve got them for the VAF sensor and the CKP sensor. The CKP is explained by the spike in the pattern, the VAF I don’t understand. They don’t give an expected value at any PRM so I can only guess that doesn’t matter, only if the signal is missing or there (half full/half empty). The “good Festiva” scope trace has the VAF signal in it. At idle the voltage is about 3.10 volts, I’ve got no noise or signal break down throughout the pattern. Could the sensor have been unplugged with the engine running at some time?

I’ll take it for a test drive this afternoon but seeing it was intermittent I probably won’t feel it’s solved until you put some miles on it."

[kzbill]

I thought the pulley was mounted on correctly too. I have to check it now that I have the car back.
it runns better than ever.
The offending ground was called a "sensor ground" it is located on a metal bracket mounted on or near the thermostat housing on the engine. It is a ring terminal with two black wires in it. The sensor ground is part of the engine harness when I swapped engines I obviously missed cleaning that ground. The engine I put in had 90,000 or less mi. on it but had sat, inside, for about ten years.
plenty of time to corrode the connection. The connection cased spikes to appear on the sensor outputs to the ECU. The spikes caused symptoms from a very slight miss on Idle, to rich fuel mixture, and the intermittent stalling. It immitated an O2 sensor failure caused a VAF code and other annoying things. So even the the code outputs were strange.
My friend the "diagnostition" used a scope to see the spikes. He said it is very common to have Asian, and european cars, even the top of the line european cars to have bad grounds. He said grounds are the most common problems on BMWs and Volvos.
So just think of yourself as driving an orphan Beemer.
And thanks guys, many people may find thier problem this way
Bill

[25Horseplay]

Nice! Now enjoy driving the car!

[kzbill]

Thank you i am

[skeeters_keeper]

glad you found it!!! seems like a mini-custom ground kit probably wouldn't hurt our cars. I've been surprised at the mini ground wires they have, doesn't leave much room for dirty connections!

[kzbill]

Well, I may have phinaly phixed the ph**king phestiva
for all you injected 90-93 phartiva owners with the optical distributor and this problem I will explain.
I was searching the Distributor number T2T52371 all over the web, I found what other cars it fit.
Mazda 323
Mazda Protoge
Kia sephia
Mercury Tracer

Then I went to some help phorums about the Mazda and read. Many places were I at! Somewhere and for the life of me I can't remember where I saw a similar problem described. everyone describes it differently, although lack of power, bad idle and the givaway.......ta da......turn the key off, turn the key back on and it starts and runs ok for a while again.
Seems as though as with mine it gets worse daily. most people replace a Vane airflow meter, and numerous other things as did I.
Someone on the board I was at answered the question with what seemed to make much sense.
He said: On the optical sensor distributor the front seal, between the engine and the front bearing., will leak after a time. When oil gets on the optical diodes or lights or LED's or whatever they are. it goes blind from time to time.
If there is any oil in the Distributor you have a problem. The cure was a new Distributor!
being both cheap and inquisative I decided to take both my distributors apart and make a good one from the two.
Once I get a new bearing and seal I will fix the one that remains.
I disassembled the entire thing all the way to the sensor level. it was soaked with oil. I removed the sensor and cleaned and cleaned it with alcohol and compressed air, about five times.
I took the better of the two distributors, the one without any oil seapage, and put the known good sensor in that one.
I then reassembled it and put it in the car and it ran and so far after twenty miles or so it hasn't quit.
I am going to reserve judgement but I couldn't make two mi. yesterday.
I know I have false alarmed before but now I think it makes sense, dirty optics was one thing I did ask the master technician and he said he had never seen that to be problem. My guess is that positive crankase pressure could push a little oil between the seal and the shaft. A known Problem on other cars that use this distributor.
Gosh I hope I am right but all seems good.