Driving my car tonight i was only hitting a max of 0.5 bar of boost. My car has giac ecu, evoms dv's and speedtech exhaust and normally hits 1 bar. My car has new plugs (2k mi ago) and seems to be running fine other than the lack of boost. I looked in the engine compartment and didn't see any obvious loose hoses. What are the possible problems? thanks.

 

Have you been able to get the codes read?

 

There was no CEL or any other message. Do i still need to get the codes read?

 

jb,

It sounds like the car is in limp mode, but you should have a light. Try disconnecting the battery, wait a minute or so and reconnect, then go for a drive and see if that clears it. Is the car running smooth to .5 bar or rough?

 

john,
The car is running smooth. What does disconnecting the battery do?
Does that reset the ecu?

 

Yes, if you are in limp mode, it should re-set it. I had this happen a few times with upgraded wastegates prior to dialing them in...I hit the 1.3 bar throttle body shutdown, which sends the car into limp mode...disconnecting the battery cleared it.

 

do you hear any "whoosing" noise under boost- maybe the boost hoses under the car right where the connect from the turbos to the intercoolers- had this happen a few times until I upgraded hoses....

Sameer

 

sameer,
I actually thought i may have heard a little bit of a different noise under wot the last couple of days. I guess i would describe it as a whoosh. I wonder if one of the hoses was coming loose and now completely came off. Thanks for the input.
Do you have upgraded hoses and if so, what kind?
jb

 

sameer,
did your car have the same problem as mine (decreased boost) when your hoses malfunctioned?

 

I had the same exact problem although I got a check engine light also and the whoose was very apparent under acceleration.

I got my silicon hoses from Dan at Vivid.

Good luck

Sameer

 

My thoughts:

1. in doing diagnostics you should always get codes read by a real code reader (e.g., durametric, PST2, PIWIS)...codes will be stored regardless if they trigger a CEL.
2. symptoms you describe are likely some leak somewhere....this could be hoses or DVs and codes may help narrow the choices.
3. disconnecting the battery clears the codes unless of course the cause is still there and the codes will return. there are gradations of seriousness of codes...some will self reset if the conditions improve (after so many cycles and in some cases with just a restart of the car), some will be reset with battery disconnect, still others can not be cleared except with appropriate tools (see above).

 

I took the car to hergesheimer in OC (they do excellent work). They read the codes and found a boost leak. Turns out the boost hose that connects to the intercooler came loose- good call sameer. Thanks everyone for your input. I'll be back to 1 bar for the weekend.