Air intake temp sensor / intercooler

[Joeb]

Hello people,
would like your thoughts on the following...


every few months i use my liquid gauge to run a few diagnostics, blah blah



Ive had my forge intercooler for about a year now so i checked my Air intake temperatures over the course of 3 days.
heres what i found....

i discovered that, SOMETIMES, the temp doesnt really seem to be falling that much - perhaps about 2 or 3 degrees. (where as before it would decrease about 10-12 degrees ALWAYS)
- this seems to be an intermittent issue - either the intercooler is flowing well, or it isnt


question is, could this be a problem with the TEMP SENSOR or INTERCOOLER?



your thoughts would be appreciated.

thanks

Joe

 

[Joeb]

oh and no fault codes,

not sure if a code would flash up if there was a fault?

 

[JamJay]

I can't imagine that the IC would have anything to do with this, it either cools or it doesn't. Give it a squirt with the pressure washer and take it for a drive to dry it off, that'll clean any road grime off of it. Like most sensors on this engine they seem to die slowly only releasing a fault code at the last moment while robbing your power for weeks/months before. How does the car feel compared to when the temps dropped more greatly?

Are you comparing temp drops between now and when it was freezing? I'd still expect a bigger drop than 3c with a FMIC in any condition though.

 

[Joeb]

hi jam,
where roughly would the sensor be located so i can give it a good jizz?


ive been tested for the past 3 days and noticed this.
tbh, i did noticed a 'knock' when i was giving it the beans yesterday, perhaps somethings not quite right

hmm

 

[JamJay]

It's the sensor that's right after the throttle body, it has a connector plugged right onto it but I have never removed this part so unsure of how easy it comes out. Cleaning the IAT Sensor is said to help with throttle response & idle if any of those are your issue?

What do you mean by knock?

 

[Joeb]

ok thanks, ill check it out and give it a clean.

not really any other issues, i.e. idle/throttle or anything
have noticed it being slightly hesitant in higher revs - perhaps thats to do with the sensor feeding back incorrect temp readings?


knock - correction factor on the liquid gauge when giving it the beans

 

[JamJay]

If you Google the IAT, loads of the US guys rave about cleaning these. They have a lot to answer for, can cause many problems like jerky running, hesitation, poor idle, lower boost etc so well worth a FREE clean. Let me know how you get on, I will be cleaning mine this weekend also while doing other maintenance bits, brake cleaner or carb cleaner will do nicely for this.

You should really be getting less knock with a FMIC so if this sensor is acting up, it would certainly contribute to engine knock. Other factors are low octane fuel & engine mapping, something to consider if the FMIC isn't mapped in.

 

[Joeb]

thanks for the heads up,
ill search for a link so i know exactly where this sensor is located.





its funny you mentioned that, ive been thinking about this for the past few months....
..... i have a stage 1 map so its generic. therefore the FMIC wouldnt have been mapped in!
whats your views on this....

 

[Joeb]

is this the little bugger?

 

[JamJay]

Sorry, I can't see pics on image hosters at work but this is it. Can you see the connector plug that sits right of the dip stick and just left of the throttle body motor?

That's where the sensor sits .

My thoughts on running a Stage 1 generic map with Stage 2 mods fitted after mapping are that it's not ideal. A generic map is just that, a single code intended for an otherwise standard car where it expects the car to perform in a certain way and receive fuel/air in a certain volume. Adding things like a FMIC & 3" DP will confuse the car as it's no longer receiving the volumes of air & expelling gases in the region that it expects, this can cause over fuelling which in turn leads to hesitation, bad MPG and not forgetting that the car is now working harder so EGT will be higher and may trigure fuel dump.

I have several problems which I believe are caused by running my car in this way and after much head scratching & research, me, mechanics & other enthusiasts have reached the conclusion that the mapping is wrong. The car is able to suck in huge volumes of air at the filter & TIP now which tells the turbo to work harder/push up boost, this is bad as the engine is not physically at the point at that RPM when it can ingest all of the air which causes compressor surge (air built up in the system/turbo), I am also running SMICs right now which can't cope with the red hot air passed to them by the over working turbo & then you have my 3" exhaust which is spinning the compressor wheel at a massive rate only adding to the issue. I like to add mods bit by bit to monitor the gains but it's now been pushed too far and has become upset, like I say what the car wants to do and what is is getting are too different things, it's trying to pull itself back in keeping with the code in the ECU but it can't quite do it so it's time for FMIC to go on and Stage 2 to be loaded.

 

[Joeb]

yes thats the same sensor in the pic i posted up. seems as if it clips on/off - but will research further before giving it a good clean


that was a good read, its exactly how ive been feeling in the past few months. it makes sense as stage 1 maps are just designed for standard cars - putting all the extras in is only going to confuse the car as the map hasnt taken them into consideration

i have a Forge TIP/Intercooler/jetex air filter and just think that the intercooler isnt being used to its full potential
think ill give revo a call and get their opinions on this.
perhaps just get the exhaust on and go stage 2 now

 

[JamJay]

It's worth noting that I have a 3" TIP on there which for me was the icing on the cake. A fantastic bit of kit, really is but the code in my ECU doesn't like it coupled with all the other bits. When I had the Forge TIP on, the car was just about happy as the volume of air it could ingest was acceptable but now it's right out of its comfort zone...poor Bumble, you shall be restored to your former glory within the next 2wks .

You can't discount mapping as a problem really, after all it's what's telling your car to do what it does based on what it's equipped with. I'd almost class the 3" TIP as a Stage 2+ for the LCR.

 

[Joeb]

lol. poor car

who you mapped with, have you had a word with them?

 

[JamJay]

I'm on AMD Stage 1, all I had when mapped was a 007 & an air filter. I've spoken to them but they just said what I know, needs Stage 2 so there we have it. I'll be glad to be rid of all these issues and can then concentrate on suspension, uprating all hoses & catch can.

 

[Joeb]

good luck, and thanks for the heads up.

time for stage 2 for me too.


ill let you know about the sensor cleaning. hopefully ill get back to correct readings.
i may just replace it, it seems pretty simple to do.
*forever shopping in GSF*

 

[JamJay]

No worries. I just looked at mine and the element of it was a little dirty so I've cleaned it off with some brake cleaner, I can now see the copper colour of the probes. I'll let you know if it helps any of my issues on mine , it seems to idle nicely any how.

 

[Joeb]

UNBELIEVABLE!


so i decided to check out the sensor on my lunch break and i noticed that the copper part of the sensor was pretty much shagged.

went to german & swedish and got another sensor for £11

installed it and kept an eye on the liquid gauge....
INSTANT CHANGE!! the temps are now racing down about 10-12 degrees compared to the 3-4 degrees beforehand.


such a simple solution but im presuming that this will have a very good impact on performance when the car gets used to it.


cheers

 

[JamJay]

Congrats mate, nice to hear it. Mine's got it's old savagery back since doing this today, I thought I might die with the rate acceleration . Roll on Stage 2!

 

[t0m]

Helpful thread. Think I may replace my IAT sensor soon too. Or at least get it out and have a look.

I'm guessing it's never been done so fancy just replacing it for future proofing

Also Jason how long till stage 2?

 

[JamJay]

Tom it's worth a go. To be honest unless it's really coated in oil and deposits then there's not point in replacing it but my car is low mileage so maybe that's why .

2wks I hope Tom, plan on fitting FMIC next weekend so Stage 2 wknd after I would hope or as soon as AMD can do it on a Saturday.