CEL (missfire) w/UTEC

ScoobieSnaX · 10-07-2002, 03:08 PM

Anyone else out there get a CEL (missfire) with the UTEC? The car flashed the CEL last night while driving at light throttle just after a hard WOT run. I had the Subaru tech clear it this morning then got another one on the way home...

Mods are:

UTEC w/Stage4 components
Stock plugs/wires/etc.

ScoobieSnaX

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nmyeti · 10-07-2002, 03:15 PM

Check your plugs and coils. You also might have an injector going bad as that will often cause a misfire.

Did the car pop and studder a bit when this happened or what?

-Nathan
www.turboxs.com

ScoobieSnaX · 10-07-2002, 03:26 PM

The car didn't show any signs of a missfire. Smooth acceleration, no issues other than the CEL.

The dealership has a set of plugs in stock....but I wonder if I should be going with a 'colder' plug??

I have 20K miles on this baby and this is the first time I've seen this code. It was running quite rich for the time I was running the stock ECU (waiting for UTEC to ship) which was about a month or so. Could this have fouled the plugs?

Also, the Subaru tech just said the last CEL I just got might not be a missfire code since it flashed then went away. I currently don't have a CEL showing. He said the car could "work through the issue and remove the CEL". Could this be true?

Thanks,

ScoobieSnaX

nmyeti · 10-07-2002, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ScoobieSnaX
The car didn't show any signs of a missfire. Smooth acceleration, no issues other than the CEL.

The dealership has a set of plugs in stock....but I wonder if I should be going with a 'colder' plug??

I have 20K miles on this baby and this is the first time I've seen this code. It was running quite rich for the time I was running the stock ECU (waiting for UTEC to ship) which was about a month or so. Could this have fouled the plugs?

Also, the Subaru tech just said the last CEL I just got might not be a missfire code since it flashed then went away. I currently don't have a CEL showing. He said the car could "work through the issue and remove the CEL". Could this be true?

Thanks,

ScoobieSnaX

It's possible that it was a "fake misfire" we've seen several ECU's report a misfire when there was in fact no real misfire present.

A real misfire is hard to miss when you have a car strapped to the dyno.

RiftsWRX · 10-07-2002, 04:55 PM

OK... maybe everyone just missed this possibility..

Perhaps the flash was just knock correction....

Quote:

Also, the Subaru tech just said the last CEL I just got might not be a missfire code since it flashed then went away. I currently don't have a CEL showing. He said the car could "work through the issue and remove the CEL". Could this be true?

Jorge (RiftsWRX)
www.ProjectWRX.com

ScoobieSnaX · 10-07-2002, 07:24 PM

I wish....

In both cases it was just after hard driving. I'm going to replace the plugs tomorrow, cross my fingers, and see what happens...

RiftsWRX · 10-14-2002, 09:41 AM

Bumping this up to the top to see if changing the plugs did anything for you.

Jorge (RiftsWRX)
www.ProjectWRX.com

davidm_sh · 10-14-2002, 10:54 AM

Just thought I would throw my $0.02 in. When I was running the Link I started to have some "hesitation" issues. Since the Link gives NO CEL's whatsoever I had to figure this out without any aid. SO I pulled the plugs. They were brownish/red instead of black and suity so I cleaned them up with a dremel and everything is fine again.

BTW these plugs were one stage colder double platinum NGK's with only about 10,000 miles on them. I have another set just in case things start acting up again. But I was experiencing my problems during hard acceleration runs AND between shifts (bog badly).

Just a thought. It wouldn't hurt to pull one easily accessable plug to check and see what it looks like?

n2xlr8n · 10-14-2002, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ScoobieSnaX
The car didn't show any signs of a missfire. Smooth acceleration, no issues other than the CEL.

I have 20K miles on this baby and this is the first time I've seen this code. It was running quite rich for the time I was running the stock ECU (waiting for UTEC to ship) which was about a month or so. Could this have fouled the plugs?

ScoobieSnaX

I vote for plugs. Modern day ignitions are far better than they used to be, but if I'm reading your post correctly, you ran Sti injectors with the stock ECU for a month...wouldn't hurt to swap in a fresh set.

ScoobieSnaX · 10-14-2002, 11:49 PM

I swapped them out...got the same issue, then loaded the stage4 map from Phil. Have not had one since

Just came back from the race track today. Wow, I managed to get the car tuned just right...and I'm amazed at how it handles in the corners

ron_c1 · 10-15-2002, 06:06 PM

I also got a flash of the CEL.....with slight hesitation when at WOT in 5th between 3-3.5k. I am running the stage 2 map....skywalker made a few changes to my map, and it seems to have gone away.....or at least the CEL doesn't flash anymore. He wasn't sure if it was being caused by fuel (91 octane here in cali) or timing....

TurboXS · 10-15-2002, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ron_c1
I also got a flash of the CEL.....with slight hesitation when at WOT in 5th between 3-3.5k. I am running the stage 2 map....skywalker made a few changes to my map, and it seems to have gone away.....or at least the CEL doesn't flash anymore. He wasn't sure if it was being caused by fuel (91 octane here in cali) or timing....

That flashing CEL was caused by detonation not a misfire code. The "slight hesitation" was the UTEC pulling ignition timing. It was caused by the fact that you were using a UTEC map tuned for 93 Octane gas with 91 Octane gas. If you have to run anything less than 93 Octane gas, you will most likely have to either lower the boost or reduce ignition advance (or perhaps both) to avoid detonation.

Remember guys, high octane gas is a friend of the turbocharged car. You should see the ignition advance and boost we can run without detonation on VP C16 Leaded Race Gas (MON 117, RON 118).

Mark
TurboXS

ron_c1 · 10-15-2002, 07:49 PM

Mark, any chance of a 91 octane map for us people that have to live with it out here in cali?

motoxphil · 10-15-2002, 09:50 PM

We will definitely make some changes to our STG1-3 maps for the CA 91 Octane. We are just absolutely swamped getting ready for SEMA.

Will most likely pull out 1-2 degrees of ignition advance at the onset of boost and pull about 1 degree out between 4750-6000K RPM. We run the maps pretty rich overall at about 10.6-10.7-1 but we might add about 10% more fuel.

If you have a UTEC and are using CA 91 you should follow these tips. We are waiting to get some reformulated "winter" gas to continue testing on in November.

Thanks,
Phil
TurboXS

titsataki · 10-16-2002, 05:41 PM

I heard that California will get 93 octane after the end of the year. But I got to see it to beleive it.

Cheers

Nick

10-07-2002, 03:08 PM	#1
ScoobieSnaX Scooby Specialist Member#: 10844 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: location, location... Vehicle: 2004 Acura TL Navi Pearl	CEL (missfire) w/UTEC Anyone else out there get a CEL (missfire) with the UTEC? The car flashed the CEL last night while driving at light throttle just after a hard WOT run. I had the Subaru tech clear it this morning then got another one on the way home... Mods are: UTEC w/Stage4 components Stock plugs/wires/etc. ScoobieSnaX * Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

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10-07-2002, 03:15 PM	#2
nmyeti Scooby Specialist Member#: 4980 Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Albuquerque, NM USA	Check your plugs and coils. You also might have an injector going bad as that will often cause a misfire. Did the car pop and studder a bit when this happened or what? -Nathan www.turboxs.com

10-07-2002, 03:26 PM	#3
ScoobieSnaX Scooby Specialist Member#: 10844 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: location, location... Vehicle: 2004 Acura TL Navi Pearl	The car didn't show any signs of a missfire. Smooth acceleration, no issues other than the CEL. The dealership has a set of plugs in stock....but I wonder if I should be going with a 'colder' plug?? I have 20K miles on this baby and this is the first time I've seen this code. It was running quite rich for the time I was running the stock ECU (waiting for UTEC to ship) which was about a month or so. Could this have fouled the plugs? Also, the Subaru tech just said the last CEL I just got might not be a missfire code since it flashed then went away. I currently don't have a CEL showing. He said the car could "work through the issue and remove the CEL". Could this be true? Thanks, ScoobieSnaX

10-07-2002, 07:24 PM	#6
ScoobieSnaX Scooby Specialist Member#: 10844 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: location, location... Vehicle: 2004 Acura TL Navi Pearl	I wish.... In both cases it was just after hard driving. I'm going to replace the plugs tomorrow, cross my fingers, and see what happens...

10-14-2002, 09:41 AM	#7
RiftsWRX Scooby Guru Member#: 6124 Join Date: Apr 2001 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Glendale Hts, IL, USA Vehicle: 2000 NFR AP1 S2000 '07 Honda FIT sport (5MT)	Bumping this up to the top to see if changing the plugs did anything for you. Jorge (RiftsWRX) www.ProjectWRX.com

10-14-2002, 10:54 AM	#8
davidm_sh Scooby Specialist Member#: 5994 Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Fort Collins, CO Vehicle: 2004 Impreza WRX STi Java Black	Just thought I would throw my $0.02 in. When I was running the Link I started to have some "hesitation" issues. Since the Link gives NO CEL's whatsoever I had to figure this out without any aid. SO I pulled the plugs. They were brownish/red instead of black and suity so I cleaned them up with a dremel and everything is fine again. BTW these plugs were one stage colder double platinum NGK's with only about 10,000 miles on them. I have another set just in case things start acting up again. But I was experiencing my problems during hard acceleration runs AND between shifts (bog badly). Just a thought. It wouldn't hurt to pull one easily accessable plug to check and see what it looks like?

10-14-2002, 11:49 PM	#10
ScoobieSnaX Scooby Specialist Member#: 10844 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: location, location... Vehicle: 2004 Acura TL Navi Pearl	I swapped them out...got the same issue, then loaded the stage4 map from Phil. Have not had one since Just came back from the race track today. Wow, I managed to get the car tuned just right...and I'm amazed at how it handles in the corners

10-15-2002, 06:06 PM	#11
ron_c1 Scooby Newbie Member#: 10299 Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: San Jose, CA Vehicle: 2002 WRX Sedona Red Pearl	I also got a flash of the CEL.....with slight hesitation when at WOT in 5th between 3-3.5k. I am running the stage 2 map....skywalker made a few changes to my map, and it seems to have gone away.....or at least the CEL doesn't flash anymore. He wasn't sure if it was being caused by fuel (91 octane here in cali) or timing....

10-15-2002, 07:49 PM	#13
ron_c1 Scooby Newbie Member#: 10299 Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: San Jose, CA Vehicle: 2002 WRX Sedona Red Pearl	Mark, any chance of a 91 octane map for us people that have to live with it out here in cali?

10-15-2002, 09:50 PM	#14
motoxphil Scooby Newbie Member#: 5094 Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Gaithersburg, MD, usa Vehicle: 2002 11.96, 1.64, 115mph!	We will definitely make some changes to our STG1-3 maps for the CA 91 Octane. We are just absolutely swamped getting ready for SEMA. Will most likely pull out 1-2 degrees of ignition advance at the onset of boost and pull about 1 degree out between 4750-6000K RPM. We run the maps pretty rich overall at about 10.6-10.7-1 but we might add about 10% more fuel. If you have a UTEC and are using CA 91 you should follow these tips. We are waiting to get some reformulated "winter" gas to continue testing on in November. Thanks, Phil TurboXS

10-16-2002, 05:41 PM	#15
titsataki Scooby Specialist Member#: 4402 Join Date: Feb 2001 Chapter/Region: NESIC Location: New Haven, Connecticut Vehicle: 2009 Outback XT DGM	I heard that California will get 93 octane after the end of the year. But I got to see it to beleive it. Cheers Nick