matt87FC

iTrader: (12)

Hey everyone. So i am new to the site and new to rotarys, and emissions problems for that matter. haha. I have an 87 rx7 n/a and have had issues with it passing smog. it is high on HC and Co both at 15 mph and 25 mph and registered as gross polluter...so Went through troubleshooting and have run into some issues.

1) the o2 sensor was broken off at the top of the sensor. I replaced the sensor and got the car re-tested. The new test still had the HC at gross polluter at 15 and 25 mph. i decided to go through and check and test everything as noted on this site. (air pump, tps, lean out the fuel.)

I got as far as the tps and noticed that a wire going to the acv was melted at a plug connector.









Would this be a problem with the air pump possibly not kicking in and pumping air into the cat? the plug connection is fairly messed up but the connections seem fine. I will replace this as soon as I get time, just wondering If this may be a culprit.

Also, I followed the wire harness back and found a stray wire that is supposed to go into some type of maybe filter or something? there is another wire going into it and the stray one is broken off inside it. Can someone identify this part and if this may also have lead to my melted plug?












thanks in advance guys.

matt87FC

iTrader: (12)

I forgot to mention that after the new 02 sensor, it still failed HC as a gross polluter at 15 and 25 mph and as gross polluter on CO at 25 but passed at 15 mph.

Thanks.

satch

iTrader: (1)

The first pic is of the Port Air Solenoid which adds a minute amount of extra air to the exhaust port during the first 20,000 miles of every 100,000 miles. This means it works during the first 20k on the car odometer then shuts off for the next 80,000 miles only to turn on again for the next 20,000 miles whick would be from 100k to 120 k. This has no bearing on your emission test results.

The second group of pics is of the Air Bypass Solenoid which is partially responsible for the high rev startup function which causes the engine to rev up to 3500 rpm or so upon startup to help preheat the cats to make them more efficient. Again, this should have no material affect on your emission test results.

TheAbsence

iTrader: (19)

If that second wire is preventing your car from doing the accelerated warm-up "feature," I would leave it off.

Not to thread jack, but what is the point of the small amount of extra air to the exhaust port during the first 20k miles of every 100k?

satch

iTrader: (1)

I'm not a 100% sure but I think the cat converter becomes more efficient as it ages somewhat thus during the first 20k it needs a bit of help to get the job done. As far as why it is used later on I think it's because the device is based on the odometer reading and doesn't know the difference between 5k and 105k.

matt87FC

iTrader: (12)

Ok thanks. i was hoping that this would fix my problem, but nothing is that simple i suppose. lol

I will fix the air bypass solenoid though so that way atleast the cats heat up faster. I will continue on my search for the culprit on my next days off. The cat is in pretty good condition. the previous owner has been running a test pipe in place of the cat and the cat is not burnt up or used up so I am not suspecting the cat as the culprit as of right now. I am thinking it is just running really rich. anyone have any tips or links on how to fix this? I will search it but if any of you have some other tips about why my HC and Co would be high please feel free to share!


Again, Thanks for the replies.

satch

iTrader: (1)

Use the advanced search function and enter emissions testing HAILERS in the keywords box and then select 2nd generation specific in the forum selection list and then click on search now at the bottom.

matt87FC

iTrader: (12)

ok thanks I will do that now.

matt87FC

iTrader: (12)

So i went and looked at the acv some more and found that yet another connection is fried. This one goes to the bottom of the acv. I unplugged the connector and it literally fell apart as if someone just twisted the wires back together. Look at the pics and let me know if THIS may now be the culprit. lol Either way if it is or isnt, I will fix all the problems I found today.

satch

iTrader: (1)

The broken off plug with two Black/Red wires goes to the Sub Zero motor which was a failed system and was disconnected on most cars. Just tape up each of the two individual wires and leave it be.

matt87FC

iTrader: (12)

ok well the plug has black/red wires but the wires going to the solenoid are a white/black and Black. I looked on the fsm (i probably read it wrong) but i thought it said the bottom one was the port air solenoid for the air that goes to the cat. Where is the port air solenoid if that one isnt it? Im still trying to decipher the fsm diagrams!.....lol

satch

iTrader: (1)

The Port Air Solenoid is the one with the mutilated Black plug which you took pics of.

matt87FC

iTrader: (12)

Ah i see. so wiring these both back ul will do virtually nothing as far as emissions go then correct? One they are essentially cold start solenoids or cat preheat solenoid. which hose do i block off on the air pump so that it puts more air into the cat then? Is it the one coming frkm the air box to the pump or from the pump to the acv? Or is it a whole different hose entirely? I thought i had it all figured out but now im more lost than ever! Lol

TheAbsence

iTrader: (19)

From those pictures I can see that you don't have a hose running from your block to the air pump's quieting unit. Is your air pump hooked up correctly?


You may want to think twice before you dump more air into the cat. If you leave that setup on all the time theres a good chance you'll heat the cat up so high that it melts. I can't remember where the post was, but Aaron Cake recommended not doing this if I recall correctly.

matt87FC

iTrader: (12)

yes all the hoses from the air pump were on when i started looking into everything. I just took them off to give better access to take off those solenoids so i could repair the connections and wiring. I am aware of it not being safe to run the air pump like that constantly, I only want to run it to get it to pass emissions, then i would hook it up the correct way. The car runs like a champ, just wont pass emissiopns. I dont drive the car, it is my project car. I am just trying to get it to pass smog so i can get it legal in case i do want to drive the car.

I have searched and searched and all the posts say to block off the top hose from the pump, but thats the fresh air hose from the intake. I may be thinking of it wrong but it doesnt really make sense to me to block off the fresh air coming from the intake that should go into the cat to lower the HC's and CO. can anyone enlighten me?

LunchboxCritter

iTrader: (9)

Fix your wiring issues, then double check the rest of the harness as you probably have others that are jacked up.

I believe once you get your ACV working correctly your emissions problems will be solved, granted your cat is working properly.

I think that there is some confusion going on between posts. This is part of your AWS.


The ACV has to do with directing fresh air to various places during various stages of acceleration, one being the split air pipe to the cat.

What RPM does your car idle at? If your wiring is that deteriorated, how are your vacuum hoses?

satch

iTrader: (1)

The AWS is the name given to the system on an S5 while his car is an S4 and the item is called the Air Bypass solenoid.

matt87FC

iTrader: (12)

I have checked the rest of the harness and have found only 1 more wire that may need fixed. it is a green wire that comes out of the harness about where the connections are that were broken and i do not know where it goes. Other than that the res of the harness is fine and all vacuum lines are in good shape. Nothing is brittle and no cracks in them. I fixed all the wiring issues (minus the green one just specified) except for the part in the picture. I believe I am going to have to replace it because the wire is broken off inside the part itself. My car WAS idling at about 1700 but i adjusted that so it now idles at about 900.

satch

iTrader: (1)

Is the Green wire by itself or not? If not, then a description of the other wires would be helpful and a pic or two also would be good as well.You could test the various parts of the ACV be using the advanced search function and using relief solenoid and switching solenoid along with the name "hailers" as the keywords. The Port Air solenoid is not relevant. The Split Air solenoid is slightly more relevant.

Brian Conran

I always found my sub zero starting assist system to work really well when I owned my original '84 FB. I remember we had a cold snap in Chicago in the mid 1990's where it was 50 below for almost two weeks and amongst my friends it was one of the few cars that I knew of that would actually start in that weather.

Brian Conran

In Illinois when I had my '84 FB, the state emissions test facility always told me that they had to set up their computer to analyze the results as if the car were a five-cylinder engine, and then it had no trouble passing. My point is that even after you have fixed the problems that you have posted about, and made use of all the advice that everyone has been helpful to provide, your local emissions facility may still have to alter their set up. Does anyone know if later cars had to be tested this way?

matt87FC

iTrader: (12)

The green wire iby itself. It just sticks out of the harness and i havent located another one that it might go to. I will try and post a picture as soon as i can.

matt87FC

iTrader: (12)

Just a little update everyone. Finally got a new (used) AWS and installed it. Also re-wired the port air solenoid and switching solenoid and put heat shrink over them for protection. Made the tps light to make sure that tps was set correctly.

Now when I do this, is the light just supposed to flash or stay on. One light flashed for me but did not stay on, but i assume this means it is set properly.

I let the car sit overnight after messing around with it and it being nice and warm. Today I go to start the car and it is running like crap. revs up to 3000 then slowly just dies out. I went to take off a plug wire and see that the metal thing that actually attaches to the plug is not attached inside the plug and is broken. So i take out the trailing plug and its burnt to sh*&. then take out the leading plugs and they are even worse!. So i replace the leading plugs and put in an order for the trailing plugs and get plug wires. Install them and the car runs so much more smooth now and seems to be burning the fuel a lot cleaner.

I will be taking the car in at the end of the week to test it again but hopefully this may have fixed it. I am aching to drive her on the road legally already!

satch

iTrader: (1)

Setting the TPS to 1 volt when the engine is fully warmed via the Green/Red wire is the surest way to set it according to spec. The ECU needs to see 1 volt coming from the G/R wire. Using the test light has fried the ECU for some in the past so you might want to take that into consideration.

matt87FC

iTrader: (12)

Yeah i will try and adjust it with the multimeter next. I just ran a code checker on the car and it came up as a water thermo sensor error. So just for funzies i yank off the upper radiator hose and stuff to check the thermostat and sensor, and lo and behold, THE THEMOSTAT ISNT THERE! haha. could this be related to my emissions problem? either way, a call to autozone and 20 dollars later i will have my thermostat and water temp sensor tomorrow or the next day.