earossi

Sorry to hear about your stalling issue. A couple of comments on your post.

In retrospect, I do not believe the LWF played into my stalling situation. The PO installed the LWF, and other than an occasional screw up on my part, the car never stalled prior to me doing the rebuild. I changed back to the DMF simply to make use of the mechanical inertia produced by the heavier DMF to "smooth" out an impending stall, giving he ICV a little extra time to catch the stall.

I believe now that the cams in my car (Web Cam RS Hydraulic) are contributing to the lower idle speed that I am seeing. Having researched what it would take to raise the idle speed by 25-50 rpm's, there are a few things that I may try. First off, the idle speed is set by the ECU software. Anything that you do external to the ECU that props up the idle speed will be countered by the ECU attempting to adjust the speed.

There is one tech out in Calif that drills a hole through the ICV vanes that effectively produces a bypass around the ICV to admit more air than called for by the ECU. Discussions with the owner of the car disclosed that his stalling issue has now disappeared. Unfortunately, the drilled hole is a trial and error solution. You start out with a small hole and then begin to enlarge the hole until your car's idle stays slightly elevated.

mr_bock

earossi,

Yesterday I did the ISV adjustment to up the idle speed some. What I found was that the engine rpm would now drop to a higher rpm before going to the OEM rpm. A 'softer' landing if you will that seems to prevent a stall. I have driven around for two days with no issues. I am a very happy man!!!!

This forum is so awesome!!!!!

Here are some pix of the mod. The amount of adjustment and the screws hot melt glued in place.

earossi

UPDATE:

ECU Doctors in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, just provided me with upgraded performance software for my ECU. They were able to install a software upgrade that raises the idle speed of my engine by about 50 rpm. And, as reported by Mr. Bock in an earlier posting, the raised idle results in a "softer" landing on deceleration that allows the ISV to intervene and establish a stable idle.

I have put approximately 100 miles on the re-worked ECU, and have yet to experience an intermittent stall.

I believe that the root cause of my low speed stalls is still present; however, the raised idle speed mitigates the issue allowing the ISV to control idle stabilization.

So, I'm a happy camper now. I'll continue to search for a solution to the root cause of my stalling; but, in the meantime, the car is drivable and a delight once again.

I would like to provide a compliment for ECU Doctors. My ECU has been sent back to them 4 times now for revisions suggested by them. The process of working with me on my engine issues has evolved over a year of time. During that period, the folks at ECU Doctors actively participated and spent a lot of time discussing the situation. It was all covered by their initial fee for the work. I definitely recommend them for Bosch ECU work.

Ed Hughes

Enjoy your car this summer; you've earned it!

nine9six

What Ed said! Congrats on your solution Ernie. Were you able to keep your LWFW, cam mods?

earossi

Unfortunately, in trying to sort out the stalling, I replaced the LWF with a new dual mass. I did keep the cams though. Last thing that I have still got to try is to replace the throttle position sensor. I had gotten a new one, but wanted to see what the ECU mods did first. So, next week, I'll throw the TPS into the car and see if there is any noticeable difference.

ECU Doctors

earossi,

Thanks for the nice words.

This job was definitely not an easy one!

But we are always happy to help.

earossi

I have now put over 300 miles on the car since installing the reworked ECU and have yet to experience a stall. There have been a half dozen times when the idle dropped below normal in the course of driving the car; but, in every instance the ISV was able to catch the idle returning it to normal idle speed without an actual stall occurring. This leads me to believe that the root cause of my stalling phenomena is still there and is being overridden by the modified ECU programming.

I still have not replaced the TPS, but plan on doing that eventually. We are getting ready to drive the car to the PCA Parade at Jay's Peak, Vermont. I'll wait until I return from that trip to install the sensor.

Thanks to all for your suggestions, consultations, advice, and moral support during this last year. With every drive in my car, the paranoia I had developed is slowly dissipating. I still find myself scanning the tach when I come to most stops anticipating a stall. But, my love for the car is reappearing and all is well.

EMBPilot

best of all you kept your cams! nice job Ernie seeing this through, what a journey