High RPM power loss/hesitation (yes, I searched)
05-15-2013, 10:31 PM
#26
Registered
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 49
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have a 2009 R3, and I have that exact same problem as of tonight? It seems like the car hesitates a lot to get to redline, and on the way to redline, has these random spurts of me "letting go of the gas" type of response??
At one point, it wouldn't even go over 7500~8000 rpm while going up a slight incline in 3rd gear?
I have no idea what the issue is, but I did reset my battery 2 days ago because my car was almost "stalling" when I would just come to a stop. I figured something was off with the tuning? I did attempt to clean my MAF at the same time as the battery reset, and again just now. It looks fine, but I didn't use "MAF cleaner".
Plugs were changed a few thousand miles ago. Oil changed < 1 month ago.
I am kinda worried that something else is a problem, but no CEL! Anyone else experience this?
Csspar, you are talking about a Series 1 or Series 2 RX8?
At one point, it wouldn't even go over 7500~8000 rpm while going up a slight incline in 3rd gear?
I have no idea what the issue is, but I did reset my battery 2 days ago because my car was almost "stalling" when I would just come to a stop. I figured something was off with the tuning? I did attempt to clean my MAF at the same time as the battery reset, and again just now. It looks fine, but I didn't use "MAF cleaner".
Plugs were changed a few thousand miles ago. Oil changed < 1 month ago.
I am kinda worried that something else is a problem, but no CEL! Anyone else experience this?
Csspar, you are talking about a Series 1 or Series 2 RX8?
Let me start by saying I've searched the forum for info on this particular issue, and I've found a few good threads, but I wanted to post anyway to see if someone has had the same issue as me AND has found a solution. Most of the threads I found lacked a definitive conclusion to the problem.
Anyway, I've had my 8 for about a year and a half now and it has around 125k miles on it. It's completely stock other than a catless midpipe I installed myself a couple months after I bought the car.
Up until the last month or so there have been no problems whatsoever. Recently, however, I've experienced a loss of power in the upper RPMs starting at about 6k up to the redline. The power comes on alright, then thins out and surges on and off until redline.
The problem is somewhat intermittent. Right off the bat (after the car is up to temp, of course) the car usually feels good with normal delivery through the RPM range. Only after driving for 20 minuts or so does the power loss occur. Sometimes the loss of power is apparent right from the start.
Other than the power loss, I can't detect any other issues with the car. It starts fine, idles fine, doesn't stall, etc.
In the year that I've owned the car, I've put about 6k or miles on it. I've changed the oil twice, but I haven't done any other maintenance. I haven't inspected the spark plugs (possible issue?), but I checked the air filter and it looks pretty clean and free of debris.
From what I've read, it seems like the main culprits could be the MAF sensor, e-shaft sensor, something with the ignition, or something with the SSV. I can rule out cat problems since I don't have one.
Sorry about the long first-time post, but I wanted to give as much info as possible.
SO... if anyone has had this problem and fixed it, please let me know about it! I'm probably going to end up checking out all of the possible causes, but it would be nice to know beforehand if there is a common culprit for this issue.
Thanks for your time and help!!
-Chris
Anyway, I've had my 8 for about a year and a half now and it has around 125k miles on it. It's completely stock other than a catless midpipe I installed myself a couple months after I bought the car.
Up until the last month or so there have been no problems whatsoever. Recently, however, I've experienced a loss of power in the upper RPMs starting at about 6k up to the redline. The power comes on alright, then thins out and surges on and off until redline.
The problem is somewhat intermittent. Right off the bat (after the car is up to temp, of course) the car usually feels good with normal delivery through the RPM range. Only after driving for 20 minuts or so does the power loss occur. Sometimes the loss of power is apparent right from the start.
Other than the power loss, I can't detect any other issues with the car. It starts fine, idles fine, doesn't stall, etc.
In the year that I've owned the car, I've put about 6k or miles on it. I've changed the oil twice, but I haven't done any other maintenance. I haven't inspected the spark plugs (possible issue?), but I checked the air filter and it looks pretty clean and free of debris.
From what I've read, it seems like the main culprits could be the MAF sensor, e-shaft sensor, something with the ignition, or something with the SSV. I can rule out cat problems since I don't have one.
Sorry about the long first-time post, but I wanted to give as much info as possible.
SO... if anyone has had this problem and fixed it, please let me know about it! I'm probably going to end up checking out all of the possible causes, but it would be nice to know beforehand if there is a common culprit for this issue.
Thanks for your time and help!!
-Chris
05-15-2013, 10:35 PM
#28
Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-...-video-184663/
Here is everything related to SSV troubleshooting, very helpful DIY.
Here is everything related to SSV troubleshooting, very helpful DIY.
Wow that's awesome. Thank you so much for that post.
05-15-2013, 10:37 PM
#29
Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have a 2009 R3, and I have that exact same problem as of tonight? It seems like the car hesitates a lot to get to redline, and on the way to redline, has these random spurts of me "letting go of the gas" type of response??
At one point, it wouldn't even go over 7500~8000 rpm while going up a slight incline in 3rd gear?
I have no idea what the issue is, but I did reset my battery 2 days ago because my car was almost "stalling" when I would just come to a stop. I figured something was off with the tuning? I did attempt to clean my MAF at the same time as the battery reset, and again just now. It looks fine, but I didn't use "MAF cleaner".
Plugs were changed a few thousand miles ago. Oil changed < 1 month ago.
I am kinda worried that something else is a problem, but no CEL! Anyone else experience this?
Csspar, you are talking about a Series 1 or Series 2 RX8?
At one point, it wouldn't even go over 7500~8000 rpm while going up a slight incline in 3rd gear?
I have no idea what the issue is, but I did reset my battery 2 days ago because my car was almost "stalling" when I would just come to a stop. I figured something was off with the tuning? I did attempt to clean my MAF at the same time as the battery reset, and again just now. It looks fine, but I didn't use "MAF cleaner".
Plugs were changed a few thousand miles ago. Oil changed < 1 month ago.
I am kinda worried that something else is a problem, but no CEL! Anyone else experience this?
Csspar, you are talking about a Series 1 or Series 2 RX8?
05-17-2013, 04:01 PM
#30
Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
So I think I've found the issue!
I removed the upper manifold to gain access to the ssv solenoid, and upon removing the manifold, the ssv solenoid just fell out of the back! The little tube was broken off inside the back of the manifold. It also looked like some ape tried to weld the plastic tube back onto the solenoid at some point but did a very sloppy job. Theres no way a solid vacuum could've been maintained with this broken piece. I removed the part that was broken off inside the manifold easily.
I did a little suck test on the valves and they all operate smoothly, so no problem there.
The problems I was having all seem to point to this broken piece. The intermittency of the issue can be explained by the vacuum having a slightly better seal when the engine bay is cooler. The surging under acceleration can also be explained by the valve fluttering as the vacuum fluctuates at the busted solenoid.
Also, the other night after discovering that the SSV solenoid could be at fault, I did my best to reach around the manifold and check that the electrical connections were all snug. When I pressed on the SSV connector, It moved towards the manifold maybe an 8th of an inch. I thought that this was the plug settling in place and didn't think much of it. I drove the car around immediately after and didn't once experience power loss. I thought MAYBE there was a chance that maybe the plug was loose, and I had fixed it simply by pushing the plug in completely. The next day however, the same fault code popped up again and I lost power. What probably happend was I pushed the solenoid a little more firmly into the broken piece, forming a better seal for a little while.
I'll post an update once I get a new solenoid in the car and let everyone know if it worked or not. (I hate it when people make threads asking for help but never actually follow up on wether or not they solved the problem.)
Once again, thank you guys so much for pointing me in the right direction! There's no way I could've done this without those great DIYs.
I removed the upper manifold to gain access to the ssv solenoid, and upon removing the manifold, the ssv solenoid just fell out of the back! The little tube was broken off inside the back of the manifold. It also looked like some ape tried to weld the plastic tube back onto the solenoid at some point but did a very sloppy job. Theres no way a solid vacuum could've been maintained with this broken piece. I removed the part that was broken off inside the manifold easily.
I did a little suck test on the valves and they all operate smoothly, so no problem there.
The problems I was having all seem to point to this broken piece. The intermittency of the issue can be explained by the vacuum having a slightly better seal when the engine bay is cooler. The surging under acceleration can also be explained by the valve fluttering as the vacuum fluctuates at the busted solenoid.
Also, the other night after discovering that the SSV solenoid could be at fault, I did my best to reach around the manifold and check that the electrical connections were all snug. When I pressed on the SSV connector, It moved towards the manifold maybe an 8th of an inch. I thought that this was the plug settling in place and didn't think much of it. I drove the car around immediately after and didn't once experience power loss. I thought MAYBE there was a chance that maybe the plug was loose, and I had fixed it simply by pushing the plug in completely. The next day however, the same fault code popped up again and I lost power. What probably happend was I pushed the solenoid a little more firmly into the broken piece, forming a better seal for a little while.
I'll post an update once I get a new solenoid in the car and let everyone know if it worked or not. (I hate it when people make threads asking for help but never actually follow up on wether or not they solved the problem.)
Once again, thank you guys so much for pointing me in the right direction! There's no way I could've done this without those great DIYs.
05-17-2013, 06:23 PM
#32
Just to pipe in regarding the Torque app for iPhone, there are apps out there that do similar functions as Torque and that are available for iOS, but unfortunately they will not work with a BlueTooth dongle due to Apple's limitations with Bluetooth.
So if you have an iOS device and want a Torque-like app, get the app and you will have to get a Wifi OBD2 dongle, no bluetooth.
So if you have an iOS device and want a Torque-like app, get the app and you will have to get a Wifi OBD2 dongle, no bluetooth.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
