Stage 3 misfire / engine load issues

[Brett0712]

I think i figured the issue out... Ill post back when i confirm it....

[Overboostin]

Can't you take it back to EPL if you just got it tuned by them? I'm sure they could help you out on what's wrong before you buy replacement parts.

[Tifosi]

Can't you take it back to EPL if you just got it tuned by them? I'm sure they could help you out on what's wrong before you buy replacement parts.

+1. It is always a good policy to check with your tuner and vendor first for any problems you encounter, especially in this case. Custom tuning means CUSTOM tuning, they are the ones that knows or should know how to fix whatever that is going wrong with the car.

[Brett0712]

No, i totally agree with you guys! I have contacted them and they are helping me a lot. He told me to take a look at the ICMs, Coils, and injectors to eliminate those before we look at anything else. Which i'm in the process of doing.

I just discovered the whole clutch/load thing tonight... after they left. Im going to call in the morning about it but I figured a little input from you guys wouldnt hurt.

I was just seeing if anyone would have an idea what to look at before i take the next step.

[Tifosi]

Honestly tho, it can be anything and/or everything. I am very surprised that EPL did not scan your car for pending DTCs before letting you go. The injectors and plugs should be new as they are part of the fueling kit, are they not ? I guess you can swap coilpacks and ICMs to see what happens.

Did they check for boost leak post-install ? and also, did they either suggest or replace the ECT sensor ?

[Brett0712]

Thats the thing though... The misfires ONLY occur at idle... So the whole time they were tuning the car was either off while they were flashing the ECU or it was running while doing a dyno pull. I scanned for DTCs right as I got there, and I scanned again right before I left and there were NO codes just as they said. They scanned it and found nothing.

All the fueling hardware is brand new and the car was pressure tested before we started tuning.

[Tifosi]

So the car was fine as it was on the OTS setup then ? Some misfire is normal at idle for our cars, just shouldn't be enough to trigger a DTC or CEL, but if all these happened after the custom tune, I would say that EPL and their associates are the only ones that can help you in this case.

[Brett0712]

Yeah it was fine with the OTS setup i had. As soon as I put the new stg 3 fueling in i started getting the misfires.

Thanks for the input. Ill just wait till tomorrow when I talk to the guys at EPL.

[Brett0712]

So... Tonys pretty busy and I havent gotten anywhere with the issue...

Is it possible for a BAD ecu to do something like this?

[AudiSportB5S4]

yeah bad ECU can cause it as well. there are so many things that you can simply say, oh this can cause it lol. are you really far from them? i think best bet is swinging by, sometimes they dont answer the phone.

[Brett0712]

Im about 2hrs away... They are usually really good with getting back to me. Must be really busy this week.

Ive done EVERYTHING... swapped icms/coils, plugs, checked injectors, and pressure tested the car to no avail...

[AudiSportB5S4]

there is also a coolant temp sensor you can check/replace. cant really CHECK it

[Brett0712]

Yeah its right above the passenger side turbo...

But i dont understand why it would ONLY misfire at IDLE... And then depressing the clutch thus changing the engine load makes the misfire ~go away... Seems really weird to me!

[AudiSportB5S4]

i had that problem as well. i asked tony when i was there he said "some cars just misfire at idle" i mean how many are you getting LOTS? or just like 1,2,3, does it add up then go away then start coming back ? or is it like 100's!

[Brett0712]

I know some cars just misfire... But im getting anywhere between 40-70 per refresh cylcle. Thats too many and it is throwing a CEL now...

[AudiSportB5S4]

yeah thats deff. a problem, hmm thats weird. and sparatic or a bunch of cylinders ?

[Tifosi]

That doesn't sound good to me, if the CEL is now being triggered. Who and how long ago was it that you had your K04s installed, and did you go full EPL stage 3 all at the same time or was there some lag time in between ?

Keep an eye on your coolant level, report if you see any coolant loss.

[Brett0712]

Idk, maybe ill just get another ECU and take a ride down to EPL and have tony flash the ECU and see if that changes anything...

[Tifosi]

It sucks cause in order for me to go down to EPL i gotta take a day outta work. And the reason for a CUSTOM tune was so that my car would run GOOD.

Idk, maybe ill just get another ECU and take a ride down to EPL and have tony flash the ECU and see if that changes anything...

That will not work and don't start throwing money at the car until you actually knows what is going on with it. Besides, you already have Stage 3 hardware on the car, so unless you can borrow another EPL stage 3 ECU, the car will either run like crap or not at all. EPL is great, and while I understand your frustration, give them a chance to get your car right.

Not to add salt to the wound, but IMO, custom tune is great but only if you are close to an actual tuners, not just dealers or vendors. And unfortunately, there are far less tuners around than dealers/venders. This is why that some of us find it worth it to spend the money on setups such as APR's Stage 3 setup.

[Brett0712]

I think i figured it out

[AudiSportB5S4]

lol what was it ?

[Brett0712]

Pretty sure its a bad injector. I will post back tonight after i swap them around.

[s2the4]

brett it has to be the ecu that is the only thing that changed

[Brett0712]

Well it started misfiring after i installed the MAF/housing, injectors, new plugs, injectors, and ECU... So it could be any of those... I have eliminated the ICMs, Coils, Plugs, pressure tested and the only thing left is the injectors... If its not the injectors then I am taking it back down to tony and he said he'd take a look at it. I have a feeling it is the injectors though...