Code 11 troubles are back tonight..

[Turbo Habanero]

OK some back ground on the subject

So when i drive the car from dead cold start it takes about 15miles to start and then all hell breaks loose. Car will start cutting out and when it happens to back fires then cuts back in seems to only happen at 75% or more throttle most of the time the CEL blinks on and off when it hits what feels very similar to fuel cut.

March 29th is when my problem first began. I changed my tps and to know luck it still was happening Checked timing and it was at 0 Degrees so i adjusted it to 10 Degrees with E1 and TE1 jumped.

Problem went away until tonight its back only difference is it only seems to happen in first and second hard pulls but not 3rd or higher gears.

So once again i went to check my timing and it was around 6-8 Degrees so i adjusted it back to 10.

Car sat off for maybe 45min in this time it took about 8-10miles for the problem to return so i got out and checked timing again but it still was at 10 with the Diag box jumped about 12-13 not jumped.

I've gone over grounds had alternator and battery tested.

Only code that shows up is 11 and check engine light does not stay on.

Thanks for any insight in Advance

It's usually the ground. You can determine if is the ground or power side by following JJ's suggestion in a recent thread: Take a long wire and ground to the battery terminal. Attach the other end to the ECU at the ground terminal. If the CEL goes away, you know it's the ground.

I saw this quote in a very old thread so i figured i could try it and see if my problem goes away but it did not

 

[Supracentral]

Check your ground wires. (I know you said you did - check them again)

ECU power problems are almost always a ground wire problem.

 

[Turbo Habanero]

Check your ground wires. (I know you said you did - check them again)

ECU power problems are almost always a ground wire problem.

Okay will do in the A.M

Also another note on the subject is that the lights/gauges/radio do NOT cut out with the engine. My headlights and dash lights tend to dim when i go to idle but thats about it

 

[radiod]

While you're checking your grounds take a wire brush too them and make sure there's shiny metal touching shiny metal and not just bolted securely. Any bit of oxidization/grime/dirt/etc can make a faulty connection.

 

[supraguy@aol]

The favorite guilty ground is the one between the #5 and #6 intake runners.
Make sure its clean and tight.

 

[ATL88Supra]

all my ecu grounds are spliced directly to the battery, i got fed up with the body grounds ZERO problems after that

 

[radiod]

all my ecu grounds are spliced directly to the battery, i got fed up with the body grounds ZERO problems after that

This might not be a bad idea for diagnosing and confirm a ground problem too if you want to just do it temporarily.

 

[Turbo Habanero]

Ok so I started checking everything with a voltage meter/muti meter.

Went over all the grounds took them all off and cleaned everything up re connected everything but problem still persist.

So then I turned back to engine timing and it was still set to 10degrees so i decided to play with it retarded it to 8 and went for a drive problem still there. So i re adjusted the timing to 12 degrees and now my car seems perfectly fine no problems at all....

Any explanation in this ?? Is my CPS going out and maybe I just found a sweet spot for it ? Could this even cause a code11
(keep in mind this is the second time I've solved this issue by messing with the cps and timing)

 

[Supracentral]

Ok so I started checking everything with a voltage meter/muti meter.

Went over all the grounds took them all off and cleaned everything up re connected everything but problem still persist.

So then I turned back to engine timing and it was still set to 10degrees so i decided to play with it retarded it to 8 and went for a drive problem still there. So i re adjusted the timing to 12 degrees and now my car seems perfectly fine no problems at all....

Any explanation in this ?? Is my CPS going out and maybe I just found a sweet spot for it ? Could this even cause a code11
(keep in mind this is the second time I've solved this issue by messing with the cps and timing)

Short circuit in your CPS wiring could cause it.

 

[Turbo Habanero]

So on the CPS side there 6 total wires

and four on the Harness side.

I do not have the clip anymore so but connectors are the only thing keeping my cps and harness together. been this way for way to long

So my question is what wire of should i be turning my attention too?

 

[jetjock]

If it's not ECU ground it's power. Simple as that. In fact it's more likely to be power. Harder to troubleshoot though.

 

[Turbo Habanero]

If it's not ECU ground it's power. Simple as that. In fact it's more likely to be power. Harder to troubleshoot though.

Thanks for the reply JJ do you think he CPS is even related ? or purely coincidence?

Like Mike said maybe a short in the CPS is causing the issue.

 

[GrimJack]

CPS wiring shorts... pretty damn common. I've seen them in dozens of cars, the wiring in that area gets hot and wears over the years.

No, it's not going to have anything to do with your code 11. Still, both need to be addressed.

 

[3p141592654]

Listen to JJ, code 11 is not a CPS failure, that would be a 12 or 13.

With the engine idling, I would start moving the harness around trying to see if you can find a section that cause the engine to stall when it is moved. For example, under acceleration your engine will torque over and put some stress on the harness where it goes from firewall to engine.

Also look closely where the harness goes through the intake manifold. Those clips in there break, and then the harness rests on the runners, eventually wearing a hole on the insulation. That usually blows the EFI fuse, so likely not the culprit here.

 

[Turbo Habanero]

Ok so trying to figure out if the CPS is involved in anyway i drove the car another 10miles and no problems got home and reset my timing back to 10degrees drove about 2miles and the problem is back.... So now i am confused.

Code 11 is still the one and only engine code i pull and yet again the Cel does not stay on for more then the split second the problem occurs.

Diagnosis
Momentary interruption in power supply to ECU.

Trouble Area
Ignition switch circuit
Ignition switch
Main relay circuit
Main relay
ECU

The CPS or timing can no way in any form cause this ??

Also i have tried my spare ECU and a new Ignition Switch problems still persist so i went back to my old switch so i didn't have to use 2 keys but i'm still on the spare ECU

 

[satx88supra]

Maybe unrelated but check the plugs into rhe ecu. Mine has a broken clip and backed out. Made just enough contact to run the car but when i would rev it hard or hit a bump it would run like crap then recover. Just my 2 pennies on my code 11.

 

[GrimJack]

IIRC, the code 11 will override any other codes... so when you get that fixed, chances are you'll be getting some more that deal with the CPS.

 

[jetjock]

^ Yep. Code 11 masks other codes.

OP: 11 is not your CPS. I'm pretty sure Mike was referring to your timing issue when he wrote that. Do what 3P said. Or jumper around stuff on the power side. You do know that most meters have a function to find just this sort of thing right?

 

[Supracentral]

^ Yep. Code 11 masks other codes.

OP: 11 is not your CPS. I'm pretty sure Mike was referring to your timing issue when he wrote that. Do what 3P said. Or jumper around stuff on the power side. You do know that most meters have a function to find just this sort of thing right?

jj is correct, sorry for not being clear. And yes, you've got got get the code 11 worked out before anything else.

 

[Turbo Habanero]

Okay so im super confused now.. I've now driven the car about 110 miles on 12 degrees timing and the problem has ceased.

I tried having someone sit in the car to watch the check engine light as I played and moved around every wire in the car and nothing happens.