EA82T runs great in cold temps, bad in hot

[civilpd]

My EA82T in a GL-10 wagon runs excellent in temperatures less than 40 degrees, but terrible otherwise.

In cold weather it runs great but has a high idle and gets pretty close to 20 mpg. The turbo kicks in great, it climbs hills in 3rd (slowly but at least it tries), and drives like a scalded dog.

In warm weather, the performance is intermittant with it being more bad than good. It seems that just when the turbo should kick in, it goes sluggish. It acts like it has a govenor to limit speed on every gear. To go faster I have to change gears. It gets 10-13 mpg, idles low, and has a hard time climbing a hill in 1st and 2nd. Downhill it runs pretty good, any kind of load bogs it down.

Trouble codes show 2 long flashes and 3 short which I read to be 23 which is MAF.

I expected an error code on the iddle ma-jiggy but the comp. just flashed the 2 longs, 3 shorts over and over. Should I clear the codes and go again?

I have a K&N style filter which sucks air like a semi tractor trailer(you can hear it).

I have checked and rechecked the vac hoses but could have missed something. I even took pics of another EA82's engine compartment.

I do not think the waste gate linkage moves freely on the turbo but can not be sure because of lack of a schematic with a neon sign pointing it out.

It runs like something is trying very hard to work but is not quite making it.

Sometimes I can run it in 2nd or 3rd longer than I should at high RPMs, then after that it runs good until I shut it off and it cools down (this seems to be more the case in cold weather).

I have the dealer service manual for the engine and a Haynes book and back during the summer I had the things almost memorized. I finally gave up and just drove it.

I read the thread on cleaning the MAF with brake cleaner. How do I do that? Squirt it up the hose? All the contacts are new and shinny looking. I have changed most everthing else. Can not remember if I changed the PCP valve ha-ha.

Any advice will be appreciated and tried and I will try to post my findings.

[Prospeeder]

well the oil from those type of filters can get blown onto the MAF hot wires and cause erratic readings, so i would clean the wires, do a search on that, they sell MAF cleaner at parts stores, use that.

[civilpd]

I put the open air filter on in an effort to solve the problem back in the summer, but will try your advise. Thanks.

Also just read another cold hot thread and will try engine temp sensor and TPS.

[mikeshoup]

An 87, so then I assume yours has a hotwire MAF?

 

You have a FSM for the car you say? Go through the testing procedures in the FSM for the MAF. Shouldn't be too difficult to figure out the problem from there. (As long as you have a multimeter)

 

Definitely clean it if its giving errors. Could also be that the little wires are loosely connected and/or broken, causing problems.

 

My 84 Turbo (flapper MAF, not hotwire MAF) shows the MAF code, but its the wiring from the MAF to the ECU. Check that out to, and maybe try running wires straight from the MAF to the ECU.

 

Good luck.

[civilpd]

Thanks, will do.

[4WDFrenzy]

I would highly suggest cleaning your MAF. You would be suprised at what a huge difference it will make. Dirty MAFs can cause all sorts of problems. You might also want to think about getting a different air filter too and here is why. Air filters that use oil to help trap dirt particles are not good for vehicles equipped with mass airflow sensors. When you open the butterfly to accelerate, the suction created by the engine will pull some of the oil through the filter and into the intake tract, thus coating the sensor wires of the MAF. Well, just like the oil on the filter, the oil that is now on your MAF will trap dirt particles too, which blocks the sensor wires from reading correctly. Don't get me wrong, K&N's are great, but not something I would recommend for a MAF equipped vehicle. For the price you pay for a K&N, you can probably get an APEX, an HKS(Foam or Stainless Steel), or a knock-off(Greddy, APEX, HKS, etc), and still have a little money to spare. It is just a suggestion that may keep you from having to spend more money down the line.

 

Patrick

[civilpd]

I cleaned the MAF and now it will barely run at all. The measured resistance is out of range for both ground wires. I am going to try yo ground the 2 ground wires directly and see what happens. The trouble flow chart says "check harness", which means SOL.

[RdNkBrt]

if it were ME, i would just move toAlaska or something and then call it good. no repairs required.....

[jkipina]

Probably engine coolant temperature sensor is broken.

[civilpd]

Just a quick update...

... the blasted thing is sitting there collecting bird poop. Am going to send to mechanic soon, will let you know what the trouble was. Will check coolant temp sensor though.

In the mean time, my Giant VT3 is getting lots of action...anybody got any high end mtn bike parts for sale cheap?

[moosens]

Probably engine coolant temperature sensor is broken.

 

Yup,seems that way to me too.

 

Like uncle Skip pointed out to me,check the connector to the Coolant Thermo Sensor.It gets corroded something nasty.I took mine out and cleaned up the male prongs on the CTS with flat toothpicks tinyand sandpaper strips that I used on the toothpick.Then check the connector.Usually they are broken and don't seat well and also have corrosion.If the connector doesn't seat well when you put it back on get some foil duct tape and strap it down with some thin strips.

[daeron]

It may also be the wiring associated with the MAF sensor... can you tell that the car is running poorly while its sitting, running, at idle with the hood up? Try going along every inch of the exposed harness of the MAF and bend and flex the wires, and see if the engine sputters at all, or suddenly "clicks" into running properly for a moment.

 

There is a distinct possibility that you've got a bad spot in a single wire or more than one, that is causing your ECU to get a bad voltage reading from the MAF.

 

Be sure to inspect the CTS as well, those things are infamous in many different makes and models of fuel injected vehicles.... some of them seem allright, but some cars just get really crummy connectors, and tend to go green and fitz out on you.. the sensor plugs on the EA82 turbos appear to be less than bulletproof

[Skip]

Sir Moosens mentioned the FI thermosenor.

 

It is rather buried in the rear pass side of the intake

manifold (as seen below in a stripped intake manifold photo)

 

The connector sits vertically and water tends to

collect in it's "well"

 

 

The pictured thermosenor has the green corrosion common to this sensor.

 

Moosens outlined the cleaning very well and

some folks have reported soldering the wires to the

terminals works well.

(I imagine using a pencil tipped soldering iron?)

 

The resistance of this sensor is inversely proportional to

temperature so a high resistance tells the ECU the engine is cold.

 

Thus cold weather derivability is good but as the engine warms the ECU does not adjust the mixture accordingly and

the engine can run rich.

 

(This is similar to a carbed engine with the choke stuck partially on)

 

Hope this helps