Excellent!

 

Good to hear.
I has a PSE rattle as well but it turned out to be the baffles on the muffler, so I just replaced them with AM.

 

i'm sad to say that my problem hasn't gone away after all. the rattles aren't the issue at this point, as i can make that go away by revving the engine or driving a little. the problem is i can't turn the exhaust to loud mode via the button or removing the plug from the solenoid. i have to remove the vacuum hose that goes to the exhaust valves.

i have a voltmeter and want to start checking voltages and resistances of the plug, but i'm having a hard time finding a ground point in the engine bay so far.

 

the bottom line seems to be that i can't get vacuum out of the system unless i unplug one of the vacuum lines.

 

would someone with PSE mind verifying that they do NOT get suction at the solenoid when their PSE is in loud mode? i'm beginning to wonder is i somehow shorted out the new solenoid when i installed it.

 

There is no suction at the solenoid output when PSE is in loud mode (i.e. there is no power to the solenoid).
I thought you said it worked when you installed the new solenoid. Did it work for a while and then quit again? With an electrical fault in the solenoid, I would expect the system to default to the loud mode just like it would if you unplug the solenoid, unless by "shorting it out" the solenoid plunger got stuck in the activated position. Would be curious to hear what voltage you're reading at the solenoid when it is powered on. Did you install your own on/off switch or is it powered the normal way through the Sport button on dash?

 

Vector- sounded like you had solved the problem then I read further. I'll see what info I can come up with here for you.

 

i thought i did fix it, but maybe i'm going crazy!?! i don't have any buttons wired inline, just using the normal in-dash button for activation. i did measure voltages from the plug that goes into the solenoid and it read:

~13.8v in normal mode
~10v in loud mode

thanks again guys for the help with this.

 

You shouldn't be getting any voltage in loud mode unless the DME is over-riding/controlling it. Since yours is apparently a factory option PSE, the DME puts it in quiet mode at certain speeds. (That is why I wired mine through a dedicated on/off switch and bypassed the DME.)
But since you can't even make it revert to loud by unplugging the power to the solenoid, I'm baffled. Again, it suggests a malfunctioning solenoid that is locked up in the powered position even if it gets no power.

 

yeah, i'm thinking that maybe i plugged the plug out of the new solenoid while the car was running and maybe that shorted it out, but that's a lot of maybe's.

 

I don't think that would do anything as all the solenoid cares about is if there is 12v or nothing at the connection, regardless of whether or not the motor is running. It would be almost impossible to create a short (to ground) at the connector.

 

yeah i figured as much. either way, i'm looking on the bright side (for now). all of this thinking is good for my brain.

 

any insight would be much appreciated!

 

UPDATE:

i got my hands on another solenoid today. i physically installed it but left it unplugged. so far i have no vacuum and am now in permanent loud mode, which tells me i somehow broke the last new solenoid or it was defective.

i'll let it run this way for a day or so then plug it in and run as usual. if it breaks again, i guess that means i have some sort of electrical problem that's frying the solenoid (not good).

 

well, i plugged the new solenoid in and i'm back to broken after 20 miles or so. time to start looking for f*%^ing electrical gremlins.