Help with turbocharging my SC400 1UZ-FE

[mickesanda]

First run

Hi guys,
Today i started the engine for the first time with the supercharger.

Here is a short movie with the first run:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow_7fPCn-Dk

The idle is a little rough, but not very bad, it tends to stop but it doesn't. I believe that part of the problem is that the ECU has been reset and needs to relearn (my aggressive driving style), but i need some advice on what the problem may be.
I took it for a spin on the yard of the workshop, it felt powerless. The bypass valve seems to be working correctly, whenever i floor it, it closes the valve and it releases air when i take the foot of the gas pedal. It is partly open at idle. Does it sound like it works correctly? I have no experience with bypass valves. I tried to change it with the bov i had from my old Passat, but it behaved the same, the bypass valve seemed to work better.
Any ideas are greatly appreciated.
/Mike

 

[MMCtuner]

Did you hook up a wideband? If not, you should. I think your car is fighting with those 315cc and you are running way too rich, hence the powerloss.

 

[mickesanda]

Did you hook up a wideband? If not, you should. I think your car is fighting with those 315cc and you are running way too rich, hence the powerloss.

Hi Martin,
I bought an AEM Failsafe Wideband, but i didn't have time to install it. I'll do that next saturday, i'm planning also to install an AFPR.
There a a few minor details that i need to complete this weekend:
1. Connect the fans, i need to see where in the fuse box i have ignition plus and battery plus.
2. Fill some oil in the gearbox because I changed radiator.
3. Check whether the fans start when the temperature reaches 85 celsius.

I spoke with a tuner already and he asked me to take a picture of the ECU since he has some adapter for Toyota ECU. If i understood correctly he wants to replace the OEM CPU with an adpter board equipped with another chip that he can control. He said he's done it numerous times and it works every time.
We'll see if this works, if not i'll probably end up buying a stadalone.
/Mike

 

[stevechumo]

I'd think the same that the rough idle is due to the rich fuel from the 315 cc injectors. But you're almost there. Besides the A/F gauge, an addition of the boost gauge will be helpful to monitor the boost.

If you have a high stall torque converter, it'll be a perfect match. Next would be the LSD.

 

[mickesanda]

Almost there

Everything is in place now except for minor details. I bought a new windshield washer tank and installed it on the passenger side. I checked that the fans are working by short-circuiting the temperature sensor connector, they started right away. However, when the temperature reached 95 celsius they did not start. I'm guessing it is a defective sensor, i'll buy a sensor with a lower temperature.
After speaking to the tuner i bought an additional ECU from Ebay that has exactly the same numbers.
Otherwise, the idle is rough, when i accelerate it kinda chokes and it smells unburnt fuel at the exhaust pipes. The fuel pressure is somewhere around 50 psi, dunno if its bad or good, i'll leave that to the tuner. I took out the O2 sensor from the passenger side and installed the wideband sensor. I did not have the necessary time to install the rest of the cables in order to check AFR and boost. I'm leaving for a 2 weeks vacation in Varadero, Cuba in 5 hours time and the boss at home is really mad that i'm not helping with the luggage.

More in 2 weeks time
/Mike

 

[stevechumo]

50 psi of fuel pressure at idle is high. The stock setting is about 40 psi. My car has it adjusted at 20 psi.

 

[mickesanda]

50 psi of fuel pressure at idle is high. The stock setting is about 40 psi. My car has it adjusted at 20 psi.

Hi Steve,
Thank you for the advice, the idle got a lot better after I adjusted the pressure to 20 psi. It still needs adjusting by a professional tuner though. I also shredded a serpentine belt while testing.
I got 2 small problems and i need advice:
1. The OEM temperature sensor in the radiator does not have a ON/OFF function as i thought, it changes resistance with the temperature. Where can i get a temperature sensor with switch function that will replace the OEM one? See earlier post http://www.lextreme.com/forums/showpost.php?p=134258&postcount=93 for wiring diagram
2. Where is the best location to connect to tachometer signal?

Thank you in advance,
/Mike

 

[MMCtuner]

Mine came with the wiring kit and fans. It should be very cheap and fits in the exact same position as the OEM. What's with the tach?

 

[spf_lexus]

You could try an OEM fan temperature switch from a gs300/400. Then install the sensor inline with a radiator hose (with a steel tube adapter). I found a lower temp than stock fan switch at auto zone (175 degree). They also sell lower temp thermostats too.

 

[mickesanda]

Updates

Thank you for your answers. I solved the problem by using a dual fan controller that i bought on Ebay. It has built-in relays and a few extra features, such as run-on after ignition is switched off, different temperatures for each fan. Here is a wiring diagram:

I also had some trouble with the alignment of the fish bracket. The spacers that i had were 100mm long and the belt jumped out. I made 6 new spacers, 106mm long. The belt still jumped out. I then shortened them to 103mm and discovered that there was one more problem, i needed 2 washers between engine block and fish bracket like in the picture below:

That fixed the alignment problem and hopefully i won't have to buy more belts coz they are pretty expensive.
I also cut out a bit of the fish bracket to get better clearance against the chassi:

More to come in a few days
/Mike

 

[mickesanda]

Tachometer signal

Mine came with the wiring kit and fans. It should be very cheap and fits in the exact same position as the OEM. What's with the tach?

The tachometer signal is needed for the AEM Failsafe gauge. I'm guessing it has nothing to do with the function of the AFR reading, but for the graphical display of the logs and the interpretation of the logs.
I'm not sure where i can find that signal.
As you surely have noticed the electrical part of this build is not my favourite

/Mike

 

[cribbj]

That's a nice little fan controller box, however the terminals for the fans themselves do not look very robust.

Depending on the size of your fans and their current draw, I think I'd be tempted to install a pair of high current relays, ie 50 amp Bosch types between your box and the fans.

Also, in the past I've melted standard fuse holders that were designed for the Maxi fuses when they were used for radiator fan duty. Although they're ugly, the better choice for fuses & fuse holders are the large glass type used in stereo applications. There's more contact surface area on this type of fuse, and thus less heating.

 

[mickesanda]

That's a nice little fan controller box, however the terminals for the fans themselves do not look very robust.

Depending on the size of your fans and their current draw, I think I'd be tempted to install a pair of high current relays, ie 50 amp Bosch types between your box and the fans.

Also, in the past I've melted standard fuse holders that were designed for the Maxi fuses when they were used for radiator fan duty. Although they're ugly, the better choice for fuses & fuse holders are the large glass type used in stereo applications. There's more contact surface area on this type of fuse, and thus less heating.

Hi Cribbj,
That was my first thought too, however the manufacturer insists that the relays on the board should be good for 2 X 360W. My fans are 14", 12V, 80W.
But I agree, 2 extra relays can't hurt, just for the peace of mind.
/Mike
P.S. Here is the link to the fan controller: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251084012188&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:3160

 

[stevechumo]

For the temp sensor, I tap into the nut right above the thermostat housing and plug the fan temp sensor there. I get higher reading and the fans start sooner. Before this setup, I made a T out of the radiator's temps sensor and plugged the fan sensor there. It got lower reading, so the fans start slower.

 

[mickesanda]

Boost and Tachometer signal

I connected the AEM wideband failsafe gauge today. The AFR reading is working perfectly, however the boost indicator shows weird values; I got the option of showing InHg/PSIg or BAR. It show negative values, something like -20. I connected a T-connector in 2 different places like in the picture below:

with the same result in both places. I don't know if i connected to the wrong vacuum line or if it is the bypass valve that is of the wrong kind. The BPV is open like most of the time, venting into the atmosphere, it closes briefly when i floor the gas pedal and as soon as i release the gas pedal it vents again.
This is the BPV:

The other thing i need help with is the tachometer signal. I connected to the IG- connector on the DLC1 diagnose connector. Is that the right place?

/Mike

 

[stevechumo]

I know what you're saying about the boost gauge reading weird. I had that happened before. I connected it after the throttle plate and it read vacuum with no boost. I then connected before the throttle plate and it read from 0 to positive boost. I think it's because of a boost gauge because I used a cheap Ebay gauge. I bought an AEM boost gauge, but I didn't have a chance to test it out by connecting after the throttle plate. However, my AEM ECU has a boost sensor solenoid connecting after the throttle body, and it reads perfectly.

It looks like your bypass valve is leaking boost. I'm not sure exactly how the bypass valve works like a wastegate in turbo app, but the wastegate gets the positive pressure right after the turbo. Therefore, I think your bypass valve can be treated the same.

Try to connect the line right after the supercharger. When you let off the gas, the throttle plate is closed and creates positive pressure back to turbo/supercharger. When the pressure is too much, it'll push the valve in the wastegate/bypass valve to open and vent out.

 

[stevechumo]

Try to shorten the line of the bypass valve as much as possible, so it can sense the extra boost immediately.

 

[mickesanda]

Hi Steve and thank you for posting,
I believe that you are right about the boost line,--> it needs to read before the throttle body. I spoke today with a welder that promised to weld a nipple right here:

P.S. My gauge is a combined AFR and boost gauge from AEM:
http://www.aemelectronics.com/gauges-26/digital-gauges-27/wideband-failsafe-gauge-85/
Tomorrow I'll install the fan controller and PCV. I ordered an adjustable bypass valve that was a bit more expensive than the one i have now. Hopefully it will do a better job.
This is the new BOV/bypass valve that i bought:

/Mike

 

[mickesanda]

Updates

Today I connected the catch tank to the crankcase on the passenger side and installed the new fan controller. Unfortunately the fans did not start when the temperature reached 80 celsius. I short-circuited the temp-sensor connector and the fans started, which leads me to believe that i have a faulty sensor.

/Mike

 

[mickesanda]

Update

Hi friends,
I've done some work over the past days:
1. Finally solved the problem i had with the electrical fans, they behaved erratically and worked only sometimes. The problem was the connector to the temperature sensor. I had to cut the plastic cover around the sensor and solder the wires directly to the sensor. Now i have a new connector somewhere along the wires. The first fan opens at 77 celsius and the second one at 85. I do not know If this the correct setup, it just felt right. I'm open for suggestions here.
2. Yesterday the car did not want to start anymore and threw a CEL at me -->12 which means "No NE or G1 or G2 signal to ECU within 2 seconds after cranking". I checked cam position sensors and engine speed sensor, it turned out it was the connector to the engine speed sensor that was dirty.
3. I bought a refurbished A/C compressor on ebay which arrived a couple of days ago, I will be installing it on Saturday.
4.The new bypass valve made wonders to the way the engine behaves, at WOT and 3000 RPM I can now feel that the boost is kicking in. The new boost gauge that previously showed negative values read 3,7 PSI. I ordered a new pulley 2,87" from Vortech and I'm hoping it will take me where I want to be, around 6, 7 PSI.
5. I left my spare ECU with the tuner who promised he will desolder the chip and send it to Japan. I'm not really sure what will happen to that chip, if it's going to be reprogrammed or he just wants the software from it. He told me that he has great experience with Toyotas and he usually replaces the chip on the original ECU with some adapter board which he can control and reflash as he wishes. He also said that this would be the first option because our ECU controls the transmission and it is difficult to replace it. The second option would be a piggyback and third would be a stand-alone.
I do not know what to make of it, first of all I do not want to argue too much with him, tuners who want to be involved in such a project are rare over here, most of the tuners nowadays are content with replacing chips on OBDII cars because it's easy money.
All this is very confusing for me although I am a computer guy myself. If i were to choose something myself I would go with the AEM F-IC8, mainly because I already have a AEM wideband and boost gauge that would interact better with a piggyback from the same manufacturer and secondly because it's been proven to work with our ECUs. (Martin, if you read this, you promised to send me a better wiring diagram now that you figured out where to solder those resistors)

This is where I am right now, the engine is running pretty badly, at least it's not overheating anymore, I am working on a cold air intake where the air filter would be inside the wheel arch instead of the windshield washer container and I'm waiting for the tuner to give me a call. I am at his mercy, although I would really love to fix this on my own! The summer is almost over and I would really love to be able to drive a few miles with the new supercharger.
/Mike