Paulyy

i was driving home. i had a bit of a spirited run with my friend in his wrx. I got to my mates house to notice my car wouldn't hold idle. I tried to rev it, and it developed a pretty big miss-fire. Hmm.. I looked at the cap and rotor, clean. Now my leads aren't that old, 2.5 years. same goes with the plugs. But in the mornings i notice a small miss for a minnut when i rev it but it goes away.
I'll probably change plugs and leads anyway (not sure if thats the issue)

The miss got so bad that i had to give it fuel to start. it would idle then slowly die. i thought my intercooler pipe had come off. That wasn't the issue.

I got a long screwdriver and tapped and moved the S&R wires around, turned it on and it seemed good. drove it home, no issue.

Does this sound right? will the sensors make an issue like this?

At one stage i was driving up the street when it happend, and it would rev but on load it would choke

& RHD guys, how hard is to to change the sensors?

kbrickman

Yes, a faulty speed or reference sensor or related wiring will cause a 951 to have load related symptoms. I believe the KLR commands some type of limp mode when the square waves aren't right, or even non existent.

I remember specifically a 951 that would spin up to rev limit if worked gingerly through the rpm range with a light foot. But as soon as I loaded the engine with WOT, thus making boost, spark would go away 100%.



As far as the other symptoms you mention, like having to give it fuel on cold start, aren't sure signs of sensor issues. That's not to say though that they're not related.


DME sensors are always a good diagnostic start to drivability issues, and should be replaced if original anyway.

Good luck!

Paulyy

Today i tried to drive to work. i went over a bump, felt a miss fire. got to the lights and turned right... There it go, a back fire and car shut off. Clutch in, turned it on (tach jumps) turns on, but no power. I ride the clutch for some go but it just shuts off again. I managed to get back home, driving on the last stretch of road the car shuts off. i roll as far as i can get and turn it on, i made it home with the car in the driveway.

Does anyone know what is going on?!

Paulyy

It does feel weaker at times when i give it throttle. i can feel it bog down. it's not so bad but i can feel it and i know its there.

Rogue_Ant

Pauly,
The S&R sensors are the most important sensors in the car. If you are running on original sensors & wiring, then it is time to replace both.

refresh951

Pauly,

Zims Autotechnik has pretty good prices on the S&R sensors. I replaced both of mine. Also, check very carefully the wiring to the S&R sensors on the engine harness. Very common to have frayed wires at the back of the boot on the engine harness connectors.

Paulyy

Oh i know that one, But are my symptoms pointing in that direction, or i've got a problem somewhere else?

the PO deleted the plugs and soldered the wires together. So i'm not sure if they had been replaced, but the harness is old.

If and most likely, i'll be replacing both harnas and connectors.
I just had a look at both LR and Zims, so it's the 2 sensors are both the same? and there's 2 different brands, OEM and aftermarket and the aftermarket is half price?

Scott H

Pretty easy to determine, how pliable are the wires coming out of the sensor? If they're brittle/stiff they're old. Mine were like bakelite after 25 years. And at least your PO had the common sense to solder the connections, mine shoved the bare metal leads into the female/harness side then HOT GLUED them in place.

JET951

I wouldnt call that common sense Scott. Common sense would have been to buy 2 new sensors if the sensor plugs were the problem, Or alternatively buy 2 new female connectors and install them if the connectors were the problem. Cutting and soldering them is a nasty fix. ( Not that glueing the pins in isn't )

This now makes it harder for Paulyy. If you get new sensors Paulyy buy some female plugs and install them like the factory had it. Makes it a lot easier to work with.

refresh951

Both sensors are the same. I went OEM but was very tempted to go aftermarket. Anyone ever go with the aftermarket sensors from Zims?

Paulyy

How hard is it to replace the sensors? we have the harness on top of ours.

I'll be replacing the harness with the LR one with the connectors already on there.

URG8RB8

Paul:

I just bought the LR replacement harness and the sensors as well. I wanted to go with the cheap $88 for both Japanese sensors, but since they were out of stock at the time, I bought the factory ones. I got shipped out before I could install, but I think you are on the right track. I had very similar issues on the CA car. I also cut one of the connectors last year in a pinch and soldered the wires, worked for about a month and then problems came back. Note: Troubleshooting these can be misleading. I performed all tests per Clark's Garage, even with my digital O-scope. Everything looked fine during diagnostics, but in application they stop working. Not sure if heat or just bouncing around, but something causes them to loose signal. My fault for not replacing them a long time ago.

See Clark's garage for replacement as it is very easy, if the previous units are adjusted properly. If not, need to glue an appropriate size washer on one of the old ones to set the proper height, again see Clark's garage for procedure. Either way, pretty simple, but would have been much easier a few weeks ago when everything was out of your way.

Paulyy

I've seen clarks garage with installation. The problem is mine being a RHD my harness goes into the left side which is on top of the sensors. So i think i'll need to rip the harness out and do it. which will make it easier to replace the wires.

If i can find the connectors i may just rebuild the rest of the harness myself with new connectors and covers.

refresh951

I bought my connectors from Ian at 944online.com

URG8RB8

But since you are down under, doesn't that cancel things out?

Good luck, rebuilding the harness is not a small task! Shawn would be the one for pointers there. I will be doing this soon as well.