okay so we finished up the LT install today and ran into a few issues. started it up, and it idled at 2500rpms then after 2 or 3 seconds, it would drop back down to a normal idle, so i was thinking we had a vaccuum leak somewhere or the throttle is stuck open. there is a lyellow ittle piece that snapped off where the throttle cable is held, but it stays in place to hold the cable. we dropped the freeze plug into the egr hole and fished it out after taking the TB out, so im tihnking maybe that had something to do with it? we also started to unbolt the intake manifold before we realized the TB would be alot easir to go through so we bolted it back, so maybe this caused a leak somehow? EGR was removed btw.

2nd problem, the car would drive with the first problem, we took it around the block (open headers before we put the exhaust on) to see if it would fix itself or at least figure out what the problem was. well, after just a couple mintues off driving, the car suddenly shuts off and we notice tons of smoke coming from the hood. open it up and the wrap over the battery terminal wires are compeltely melted and smoking like crazy, absolutely pouring smoke. it also looked like it melted something else. well we were too far to push it home so we had AAA tow it and the guy said it sounds like the starter drew a ground from the headers, or it was arcing from them, or touching them causing a huge power surge, and drawing an immense amount of power from the battery, causing them to get super hot and melt. that sound right? it also looked like it melted a plastic tubing, dont know what this could be? and i was wondering how much those battery cables going to run me?



sorry, that was alot to throw out there. all of this happened about an hour ago and im just too frustrated to go and work on it or look or tonight or look at it. i just want to get rid of the ******...

 

hey man you should relax first off u said u removed the egr correct? Well for sure check the seal on the plug u used for the intake, the one 4 the big egr hole. then check the tb and intake gaskets with starter fluid or something of the like, spray it around all the gasket mating surfaces if rpm rises u have your vacumn leak. Second check for codes , its not good to drive around on open headers becase the o2's need so much pipe downstream of them to maintain the proper heat to work correctly. Lastly about the wiring problem check all of the wires around the starter check for signs of arcing, also check all of the fuses i find it hard to believe after such an electrical distubance something wouldn't pop Good Luck.

 

thanks man, i was pretty heated last night. im suprised you made sense on the mess i typed yeah ill tighten the freeze plug a little mroe if its not already, thats the only vaccuum leak i could think of.

i know about driving around open headers, i wasnt planning on going more than the 1 mile around the block (annoying to listen to also). just seeing if it would help anything. actually the drive was so short that the collectors werent even hot yet haha

i would imagine something had to have been damaged other than the wiring. ill probably start today on what all melted and whats gonna need replacing. heres hoping its not the start and/or battery.

 

Sounds like you might have melted some important wires dude.

No offense, but you shouldve gone through and made sure that there wasnt any wires near the headers and would stay away from them to prevent this.

That plastic tubing you refer to, sounds like the stuff the factory puts over the wires to help protect them from ****.

Good luck

 

for the record, i let my friend do the starter reinstall, and another (my wiring guy) doing the o2 extensions & install those while we were finishing up up top. so i wont be letting that happen again. got under the car today after class (only 2 hours woohooo!) and found it it really isnt anything too big yet. gonna get the starter checked and the bettery, but if those are ok, its just the terminal cables going from the starter to the battery and thats about it. not too bad, but i learned my lesson, ill work on my own car without help.

 

also i tighten the freeze plug until that SOB didnt wanna move anymore so thatll probably fix my vaccuum leak/high idle issue.

 

disconnect the battery for 30 min, then hook it back up, start the car and let it idle until the fans kick on, this will let it relearn a LOT of info.

 

ill make sure i do that whenever i put the car back together. i took the battery and starter up to be tested, both were fucked, which i expected but im still pissed about. oh well, gotta pay to play right? :/ friday i get paid so ill buy the starter then and hope that the alternator is fine. should be since its cables werent completely fucked.

 

i agree with what brian said, i had my battery unplugged during the install so when i plugged it back in it relearned. also a little smoke is normal because there are some oils left over from building the headers that are getting burned off, but i bet after a decent drive they will all be gone.