A few problems...

[Mikelb]

Huh, I'm not sure if these are related... but here goes...

I put on a CAI... and my IAT dies...

I just got the car back... I drove it a week, and the car seems to hesitate every now and then... the other night... my battery light came on... I assumed the alternator belt was busted... it wasn't (needs to be replaced, but not gone)... so I got the alternator checked... it is in great condition... even under load(system, lights, A/C)

I was headed to a friend's house... and my speedometer suddenly stopped working... I thought the gear exploded (speedo gear)... but it is fine... I had the engine codes scanned when I got the alternator checked... "Speed Sensor A" has malfunctioned... damnit... are all of these electrical???

I was talking... and a DSM guy seems to think I might have weak coils... and that it could make the car hesitate...(reasonable)... but he also says it might be the reason the sensors are going... ???

[SLoe]

Have you checked your ground wire? I have had some strange probs in the past due to loose grounds(ecu in particular).

[Mikelb]

no actually I haven't... I've been workin' two jobs to get ahead on bills... and haven't had a chance... it's been raining this week, so I haven't worked... but still no time to look...

are you talking a/b the battery ground or the engine to chassis ground???

[david-b]

Maybe your ECU is going out. When that happened on my Olds, all the sensor started malfunctioning. It could just be in the early stages for you. That's my guess.

EDIT - Oh yeah, plus the car ran like shit. CEL kept coming up with different codes each time.

[Mikelb]

Originally Posted by david-b

Maybe your ECU is going out. When that happened on my Olds, all the sensor started malfunctioning. It could just be in the early stages for you. That's my guess.

EDIT - Oh yeah, plus the car ran like shit. CEL kept coming up with different codes each time.

yeah, mine's malfunctioning the sensors... but it actually fried the IAT... the sensor element is just hanging inside the little plastic cage...

damn, maybe I'll check into another ECU... is there a way to check the one I got???

and yeah, the car's running like shit...

running too rich (IAT high current)
and no speedometer (speed sensor malfunction)
and the DSM guy at Advance told me it sounded like weak points (possibly ground) b/c of the hesitation and power loss... especially when it's an instant-demand situation... who knows...

[SLoe]

Originally Posted by Mikelb

no actually I haven't... I've been workin' two jobs to get ahead on bills... and haven't had a chance... it's been raining this week, so I haven't worked... but still no time to look...

are you talking a/b the battery ground or the engine to chassis ground???

Engine/ecu to ground. Exactly, if the ecu doesn't see proper voltage due to poor grounding it is a possibility that it will fry it's self. That's what happened to me. So yes, the ecu is definitely a suspect but if you just replace it, and still have poor grounding you may smoke the new one too.

[Mikelb]

ah, thanks for that advice... how a/b if I added a high-flow cat... and disconnected the ground from that??? could that cause any problems???

[david-b]

Originally Posted by Mikelb

ah, thanks for that advice... how a/b if I added a high-flow cat... and disconnected the ground from that??? could that cause any problems???

No. You'll get a little worse gas mileage, but it won't fry anything. I haven't put mine back on yet. It'll be closer to the engine/ECU.

[Mikelb]

I found one grounding the ECU to chassis... but it was fine... I took off both connectors (to ECU) and checked to make sure they were fine and put on correct... I don't really see a problem with wiring/connections...

Does anyone know where I can buy the IAT sensor (Advance doesn't sell them) and the speed sensor (error code: Speed sensor A malfunction)...

The dealer wants $65 for the IAT, and I know that (if I can find them) they shouldn't cost more than half that...

I found the speed sensor at Autozone, I think... but it was like $90... is that the cheapest I can find it???

and will a faulty IAT harm the engine (other than gas mileage)??