hey lads i didn't want to start a new thread but i have been searching and trying to fins the cause to my problems for a few weeks now and haven't found the answers. My vl began running a bit rough and rich about a month ago ill list the problems: > runs a bit rough on cold starts. (not all of the time) > every now and then will pop and back fire when cruising at 60ks. but its fine when i floor it. > blows black smoke most of the time. (getting 300km to a tank) > when i start it when its cold and its idling fine ill be driving for 5 mins and stop at lights and it will seem to be idling fine then all of a sudden just start dying and want to stall if i dont touch the throttle to keep the revs up. but after another 5 mins of driving it fine. so far i have checked the dizzy cap for cracks and cleaned the points ive replaced the o2 sensor and temp sensor and i replaced the cas about a year ago when that died. ive also sprayed all the plugs with silicon spray to try to clean the contacts. the car has a nistune, 044 fuel pump GTR injectors and z32 AFM i replaced the fuel filter when i put the 044 about 8 months ago im thinking of replacing it again anyway just to make sure but im thinking it could possibly be the internal fuel pump?? ill change the spark plugs soon aswell but i dont think they are the problem.. if anyone has any suggestions orhas had similar problems and managed to solve them im all ears. thanks alot guys. matt

Stalling when off throttle could be either iac or acc ( idle air control or air cond control ) or cold start not opening correctly , running rich could be dirty afm hot wire ---------- Post added 28-04-12 at 10:40 ---------- http://www.calaisturbo.com.au/showthread.php?t=15560 This will help show you how to find / clean them

thanks mate ill go give that a go now. i have just hit another problem i have been away for work for a few days and when i got home last night i went to start my car and it took a few shots to start where it usually starts 1st go i didnt think much of it because its been sitting for a few days but i just went to start the car now and it wont start it just keeps cranking i can hear the fuel pump prime and smell fuel but it wont start. could it be the coil? im gonna try and see if its sparking but its hard to do when you are by your self..

Not startin when cold sounds alot like the cold start valve etc not opening to let the extra air in , cleaning them out will should help alot

i cleaned up the one thats pictured in that thread you linked but still no go. it sounds like its not getting a spark it just keeps cranking and i know its getting fuel because i can smell it im starting to think its the CAS again. where is the cold start valve on the back of the manifold? is it the solenoid looking thing that screws to the side of the manifold? i pulled that off and it had a small pin style thing in it but i could seem to remove the pim or anything..

yeah that sounds like youve pulled off cold start it should be open and when power feed to it it will slowly close off , i'm guessing your still on your own and cant check spark at the plug

when i pulled it off it seemed shut to me i didnt try blowing through it though just looked inside. can i just bypass that valve and put a small pipe in its place just to see if that is the problem?

Sounds more like fuel pressure reg to me. Fuel pressure is way too high and i'd guess it's now flooded. Pull a plug out and fair chance it will be saturated.

Yeah I pulled a plug out to check for spark and noticed it was soaked in fuel. It had spark aswell so is there anything i can do to check the fuel reg?? Is it worth replacing it with another standard one or should I just go aftermarket? Thanks alot for the help fellas its much appreciated.

If you've got access to a fuel pressure gauge, that will confirm it. Otherwise, just replace it. Standard reg is fine.

No worries. Cheers

just got a price on a new standard fuel reg and they want $110 so i might go aftermarket or just get a second hand one from the wreckers. has anyone got any suggestions on a aftermarket fuel reg to get i dont want to spend a fortune?

Hey guys I ended up getting a second hand fuel reg just so i could see if that was the problem and so i can get my car back on the road but it hasn't changed anything it still just keeps cranking and won't start. Would the coolant temp sensor be causing this if say it was the wrong one or the plug was on the wrong way?? Because the one i bought looks the same but the groove in the plug doesn't match up? ---------- Post added 02-05-12 at 19:23 ---------- well i managed to get it started by removing the fuel pump fuse and cranking it for a while then putting the fuse back just as it started but i still runs pretty rough and blows alot of black smoke but when i unplug the temp sensor it clears up but still runs a tad rough.. should anything happen at idle if i unplug the o2 sensor?? if anyone can help ill really appreciate it cos i need my car for work my boss is getting sick of picking me up. cheers ---------- Post added 03-05-12 at 06:44 ---------- Bump

well i replaced the spark plug with new ones and its running fine except its still blowing a fair bit of black smoke but as soon as i unplug the coolant temp sensor it clears up. any ideas?

Quote: Originally Posted by vlwagz [View Post] ...Would the coolant temp sensor be causing this if say it was the wrong one or the plug was on the wrong way?? Because the one i bought looks the same but the groove in the plug doesn't match up? It won't matter if it's on the wrong way, but if the groove doesn't line up, it must be the wrong type. Sounds like the CTS you have in it is acting the reverse to a factory fitted CTS. If you unplug a factory CTS, the ECU thinks the engine is super cold so adds more fuel......yours is doing the opposite. Specs from Gregorys: 20 degC = 2100 - 2900 ohms 50 degC = 680 - 1000 ohms 80 degC = 260 - 390 ohms 100 degC = 180 - 200 ohms

One other thing to check would be the tps in case it sending full throttle at idle and flooding engine. ive seen it happen washed the bores and bearings then spun bearing before owner figured out what was happening same sympton too blows black smoke fouling plugs hard to start

Ok ill check it out but i ended up upgrading the coil to a ea falcon coil and it seems to be running mint but haven't taken it for a good drive yet. But the black smoke at idle has cleared up and starts first shot.