Translator

[daveismissing]

copy

[daveismissing]

,,

[daveismissing]

..

[daveismissing]

T-Plus?

[Scoobum]

Thanks!

[Scoobum]

Call I got today has a Reds chip in it. He went from a stock MAF to an LS1. Waiting to hear back about the BLM's at idle warmed up. Guaranteed he'll have to change the knob to lean. Had a local with a Reds chip a couple of weeks back. 108 BLM warmed up. Red likes fuel.

[Steve Wood]

Red just changed the injector constant and moved the entire fuel curve up.  Given that the ECM has a wide correction ability, I assume he just figured it was easier to let it correct his fueling errors at idle and cruise which the blm numbers do reflect as exemplified by the 108 at idle.

Lately, I have seen a lot of people obsessed by blm's and they refuse to accept that a blm number that is not anywhere near an extreme is not a cause for panic.

What I wonder is when a blm is showing fuel being added due to an air leak on the exhaust side such as 146 for an example, is this really making the car run much richer than it should?  The Lean a/f that the ecm is reacting to is really a false indicator because it is in the exhaust after the combustion event and not related to what is going on within the cylinder.


I normally leave the translator settings on the defaults and sort out any fueling with the chip.

[Scoobum]

BLM's in my engines ran 118-122. Exhaust smelled 'clean' so I left it alone. I see guys losing sleep cuz they can't get 'em to 128.

[Steve Wood]

Moved

[Scoobum]

I don't think Steve realizes how often I go to his site to look shit up.

[Scoobum]

Eric got back to me on the other board...link is fixed for the Translator instructions.

[gnonyx]

I want to 1st said Thanks You Steve for your generosity and patience for helping me out with my many issues with my GN
My problem began when I finished changing the oil and then saw smoke coming from the powermaster. I had a back up but it was resting on the shelf for around 15+ years, and I decided to switch over to vacuum.
I also wanted to replace the original MAF to a LS1 type, but once did the replacement is when the blm was at max 160
I made a smoke machine and found about 8 vacuum leaks, including the new throttle body vacuum block which all fittings were loose, and still blm was high.
After checking that there was no vacuum leaks I then check for exhaust leaks, so I place a shop vac into that tail pipe and block off the other end of the tail pipe blowing air into the engine, and found the ds header was warped.
After machine shop resurface the header I installed it back and the blm was still high, so I recheck again with the shop vac and this time the pass. header was also warped.
After machine shop resurface, I installed and now the engine was running rough, or as Steve calls it misfire.
YES, Steve has pounded my head with his terminology of:
Misfire, vacuum air leaks throughout the engine, and exhaust leaks
I have read and collected many PDF files from mentors members and one them came in useful (attached PDF file)
I did found the #1 cylinder injector was not firing, and continue to troubleshoot and found the injector connector was not making contact as one end of the clip was broken off.
I made a temporary repaired it and now the engine was running smoother, and not misfiring, and the BLM was at 146
After replacing the MAF with new type: Delphi AF10056 - 3/1/2" MAF I switch the translator base to #1 setting adding 10% rich at idle, and now the BLM is between 123-128
I drove the car down the block which ran good and let the ECM learn more better adjustment
And as I mention before, Thank You Steve for your knowledge and patience throughout my ordeal
And yes I'm still taking my aspirin for my headache:)
 

[daveismissing]

I thought Scoobs idea of instruction jpgs that one keeps on the phone a good idea, dunno if we can upload pdfs?

[Steve Wood]

Julio... your problems were timely!  I had been thinking a lot lately about BLMs.  When people see high blm numbers, they think the car is running lean, but, if the problem is exhaust leaks, the ecm is actually making the engine run richer.

If the problem is an air leak between the maf and the intake gasket, then there will actually be a lean condition in all the cylinders and high blms will show the ecm is trying to fix an actual fueling problem rather than fixing one that does not exist in reality.

You had a major air leak and a bunch of smaller exhaust leaks.

When you said the car was running "rough", I immediately knew there was more going on than simple air or exhaust leaks.  I called it a misfire but perhaps I should have just said the engine is missing. 

It is possible to get one to miss if something is far enough out of the park (too much air, or too much fuel), but that is a very rare case in our cars.

To have the engine run smoothly, we have to have correct combustion in each cylinder. This takes fuel/air, spark, and compression.  If one of those is lacking, then you have a "rough" running engine, or, as I call it, a misfire.

You were obsessed with finding leaks.  I was obsessed with trying to find a miss!    Misses greatly affect the blms.  As I said above, O2 sensors measure unburned O2.  If the injector does not spray, or the plug does not fire, one has a massive amount of unburned air which is going to overwhelm the O2 sensor.

I was about ready to come to your house and start unplugging those injectors because you did not want to. LOL

For me, it was a good learning experience and I am happy that you are well on the road to have a good running car once again.  I am going to send everyone that has a header problem to you because you can change them in your sleep by now!

[Steve Wood]

daveismissing!  This is what I did.  I can see it on my phone, but, I really like big screens

http://www.vortexbuicks-etc.com/Translator.html