Car running like shit after cam install
Car running like **** after cam install i did a cam swap in my car and finally got it ll back together the other night, and it started right up and idled pretty good, it is a small cam. i let it run for probably around 15 minutes, and then shut it off and changed the oil and then started it back up and let it run for around 5 more minutes. then yesterday i was going to drive it to the muffler shop which is about 20 miles from my house to have a Y pipe made, so i was running open headers and after about three miles of driving the check engine light started flashing, so i slowed down to turn off of the highway and as soon as i pushed in the clutch it died. then once i got off the road, it didn't want to stay running and wouldn't idle hardly at all. once i finally got it back to my house i fianally got it to idle on the driveway right before i put it back in the garage. anyonee know of anything that would have caused this?
Running open headers your 02 sensors are open to the air. Your 02 sensors could have picked up fresh oxygen instead of exhaust gas and tried to correct this by changing the air/fuel ratio causing your situation. Which is why people run extensions when they run open headers.
Tune-tune-tune... The reasson the car shut off after about 15 minutes is probably beacuse it went into closed loop. After my cam install I did the exact same thing as you (going to the muffler shop). The flasing SES light is I believe engine missfire's which is a common occurance after a cam install. Once I got it tuned I put new O2 sensors in and about 15 minutes the SES light went off, so I agree that part of your SES light is from your O2's now being trashed. You really need to get into the cpu w/ something like HPTuers to fix the above stated problems.
Yea, your engine was dumping massive amounts of fuel to correct what it was reading as a lean condition from your O2 sensors that were getting exposed to air. Pray that your O2's are still ok and either put extensions or your old exhaust back on.
If your running open headers (no pre-cat 02s) you not giving the PCM any data for closed loop once the engine warms up after a few minutes of driving. The flashing SES means the PCM is trying to protect the engine because it thinks your tailpipe emissions are way over the 1.5 FTP standard and if you don't do something soon you'll damage your catalytic converters and the EPA certainly wouldn't want you to do that. That condition probably sent you into limp mode which would make a car that was already running poorly act even worse.
Originally Posted by ArcticZ28
Yea, your engine was dumping massive amounts of fuel to correct what it was reading as a lean condition from your O2 sensors that were getting exposed to air. Pray that your O2's are still ok and either put extensions or your old exhaust back on.
