[ack123]

Hello, I recently picked up an '87 WE4 and having some trouble troubleshooting. So far I have replaced the ECM (and chip), plugs (gapped to .035), wires (8.5 mm), O2 sensor, and TPS (.44v idle and 5.00 WOT). The car has the Alky setup (running 20 lbs boost). I am having trouble finding why the car has a hesitation under load, and when the throttle moves it sets a code 22 (TPS low). I have adjusted the TPS up to .50 volts but the hesitation won't go away. At idle the car idles very smooth, and the readings in DirectScan all look good, with the fuel mixture at 14.8 in closed loop. Any suggestions as to where I might look next would be greatly appreciated. :dunno:

 

[87geeinn]

Hmmm? If your TPS is indeed set where you say it is, then the computer should not be throwing that code. Did you snug up the two screws that hold the TPS in place to keep it from moving from where you set it? The symptoms you describe are exactly what the car feels like when the TPS is out of range (.42-.46). It seem to be idling fine and once you begin to get into the throttle, the car will sputter and act like poo.

 

[Steve Wood]

Here is the procedure for troubleshooting code 22

Does your tps increment smoothly as you mash the pedal down slowly?

5 volts can throw a code as that is too high...long as the tps is above 4.0 at wot, that is good enuf. Don't think that is your current problem, tho.

 

[ack123]

Thanks for replies! It turns out I think I had a few different issues beginning all at once. I took troubleshooting this one step at a time and pulled out the R43TS plugs and put in R44TS gapped at .040. I reset the ECM, recharged the battery, and set the TPS to .44. This got me back to the strong idle in open loop and rough idle in closed loop, where it would also hesitate under load. I unplugged the IAC valve and the RPM's shot up to 2500 - 3000 at idle. I then replaced the IAC valve with a new one and took the car out to get it over 40MPH. The idle is now better, but now a little high between 1200 and 1500. I also noticed that the digital boost gauge stopped working, and will take a look at that over the next few days. Thanks again to everyone who posted suggestions and stopped by to take a look at what I have going on. Its nice to know there is a great Buick community here! :headbang:

 

[Steve Wood]

You need to regap the plugs to no wider than .035".

Then go to my site and click on Basics...then set the iac and tps, etc. That should get you started in the right direction

 

[ack123]

I was doing some more testing and troubleshooting today and swapped out the extender chip with an original chip. Although the idle was a little rough the hesitation when the throttle position changed seemed to have gone away. I'm thinking about ordering up a chip from turbo tweak. :headbang:

Steve, thanks for the catch on the gapping. I pulled out the 44's and put the 43's back in at .035.

 

[Steve Wood]

The extender is a very good chip as is the TT chip. May just need some programming?

Glad you are making some progress

 

[ack123]

Your comment about maybe needing some programming sparked my interest. Is programming and burning chips something that can be done easily? If so has anyone posted any information on the topic? I'm not quite sure how to begin looking at something like this. Also, regarding the idle air adjustment, would you recommend modifying the idle air adjustment when a new IAC valve is installed. Sounds ignorant but I'm not sure when the idle air should be adjusted on these cars.

 

[Steve Wood]

I thought the Extender chip allowed some tuning by the user...I may be wrong as I am not up to date on them.

Go here http://fullthrottlenetwork.com/index.php

Go to the ask bob forum and tell him which chip you have and ask what can be done. Bob (Bob Bailey) is the creator of the extender chips