Turbo Sebring Sedan Log

[SebringLX]

I originally put most of this down starting in 2007 here: http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=12004

I figured it's time to continue the log here. Not much has changed, so I'll just start with what's happened so far in 2010.

Had the A/C fixed. An error in my tune caused me to lose all my freon. Fixed the error, had it charged. The car has ice cold A/C for the 1st time in almost 2 years.

Had the solenoid pack replaced with a brand new Borg Warner solenoid pack. Hoping this has fixed the weird RPM drop and P0740 issues I had all last year.

Replaced the battery after it died due to me leaving my headlights on while I took my son to see Iron Man 2. I still had the OEM Mopar battery in there, which would be at least 7 years old. I was going to put an Optima Red Top in it, but couldn't find one that fit. After noticing that Optima is made by Johnson Controls, I went with a Farm and Fleet Platinum battery that cost half as much as the Optima. Farm and Fleet's batteries are also made by Johnson Controls (made locally too), so I'm sure they're very similar, if not the same, on the inside.

Yesterday I went to work on a new tune for the car. Noticed my fuel pressure gauge was reading 75psi , thought maybe it had crept up or the adjustment bolt on the fuel pressure regulator got knocked loosed when it got moved around to replace the solenoid pack. So I tried to lower the pressure, and the gauge stayed in the same spot. Great, gauge is broken, and I have no idea where my fuel pressure is at.

I ordered this gauge to replace the cheap (and now broken) one I've had on the fuel rail for years now. It should be here Wednesday. Hopefully I'll have enough time to get it in, and get a good tune on the car before the dyno day, drag racing, and autocross I have scheduled next week.

[SebringLX]

Fuel pressure gauge came in today. It's much nicer than the broken one it's replacing. The old one went up to 160psi and this one only goes up to 100psi, but that should be plenty. The old gauge was stuck ~70psi, even after removing it, it was still reading ~70psi. I also picked up a bolt to re-mount the fuel pressure regulator, it lost it's bolt a long time ago and was just kind of zip tied to one of the intercooler pipes. Looks much cleaner now that it's mounted again.

After getting everything installed, the car barely wanted to start. Looked at the new gauge, and it was reading ~5psi! I adjusted the fuel pressure regulator up to 58psi where it should be. Running extremely rich now. Not sure how long the old gauge was broken, apparently I tuned around improper fuel pressure. Have to re-tune now.

I took some pics and will post them when I get a chance.

[raccoon]

ouch that sucks, i hope it didn't cause damage.

[Shadow24]

Good luck retuning! if you were running rich all the time to some degree, i don't think you would have hurt anything...

[SebringLX]

I got part throttle looking good in just 1 flash. Fuel trims look good. WOT was way too lean though. Going to adjust the rising rate ratio on the FPR and see if that helps. The adjustment screw is currently all the way out, can't remember what ratio that gives. IIRC it starts at less than 1:1 and goes to around 2:1.

[Aries_Turbo]

ummm, wouldnt you tune via the tables in the ecu over a RRR if you have full control over the tune???? doesnt using the RRR seem a bit backwards at that point?

you have a return line setup right?

glad to see the sebring is still kicking along though.

Brian

[SebringLX]

ummm, wouldnt you tune via the tables in the ecu over a RRR if you have full control over the tune???? doesnt using the RRR seem a bit backwards at that point?

you have a return line setup right?

glad to see the sebring is still kicking along though.

Brian

Yes, but I have the tune setup for 1:1 rising rate & return line, so I need to play with it to get it back in the right spot.


Took it to the dyno today, results here:
http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...921#post674921

Going to the track on Saturday.

[Aries_Turbo]

Yes, but I have the tune setup for 1:1 rising rate & return line, so I need to play with it to get it back in the right spot.

ahhh hence my confusion. so you want to put it back to 1:1 from the previous setting rather than add fuel via the RRR.

nice pulls.

Brian

[SebringLX]

Great day at the track! 12.9 @ 110mph! Thread on there here: http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=50282

Asside from winning 2nd place in the Quick 8 (got a trophy, $65, and a t-shirt!), the best part was driving 100 miles to the track with ice cold AC, and still being able to drive 100 miles home with ice cold AC.

Still have lots of tuning to do. Needs less fuel in the lower RPM and lower boost range. Needs more fuel in the higher boost and mid to upper RPM range.

Room for more timing all around. I finally have a way to monitor KR after spending some time on the phone with Autoenginuity, got my Enhanced Chrysler Pack running... there's so much stuff I can monitor now, it's like information overload.

[SebringLX]

Tried a different mix of fuel today... 6 gallons of E-85, 8.4 gallons of 93 octane. Held mid 11:1 AFRs peaking 26.3psi falling to 25psi at redline. 58psi static fuel pressure. Need to see if I'm getting knock with this mix or not.

[SebringLX]

UPS delivered a PT Cruiser Stage 1 auto trans PCM to me today. I put it in the Sebring and it starts right up. Cluster appears normal. Car shuts off right away due to VIN mismatch. If I can get someone to flash the VIN from my Sebring to this PCM, it should work. This will bring about a whole new era of tuning for me.

[SebringLX]

I managed to do about $1600 worth of damage to the transmission. Blew up the torque converter clutch, metal everywhere. So the converter is getting rebuilt and beefed up, going to have a 4000rpm stall now. Should help drop my 1/4 mile time by at least .5, hopefully more. I won't be able to get the car back until the 16th, so I'm not going to have any time to tune it before drag racing on the 17th, and I'm not going to be able to get the PT Cruiser Stage 1 PCM going in there since I can't drive the car to Springfield when I go for ANG duty Tuesday.

[SebringLX]

Finally picked up the car today. I put 60 miles on it to break the new torque converter in before racing tomorrow. It's driving really nice now.

[turbovanman²]

Cool, report back on the TC.

[SebringLX]

I should have my car back on the 13th. Putting together a little "To-Do" list for when I get it back.

1. Attempt to clean EBC solenoid. Replace if cleaning doesn't fix it.
2. Get 2-step setup.
3. Get that PT Cruiser Stage 1 auto PCM flashed with my VIN and SKIM to see if it will work

There's a few other things to do, but I think those 3 may be all I finish this year.

[Dusty_Duster]

4. Install an external transmission cooler and transmission temperature gauge.

[SebringLX]

4. Install an external transmission cooler and transmission temperature gauge.

Never! j/k, that's on the list, but not likely to get done this year, along with suspension, and a few other things, due to budget

[SebringLX]

$800 later, I finally have my car back. Broke now, so won't be doing anything with it anytime soon.

[SebringLX]

It's ALIVE! I got it up and running today, drove it to the car wash. Got the repaired DIS2 hooked up, doesn't like to start without a little throttle with it hooked up though. :\ Without it hooked up, it starts right up. Seemed to run OK once it got started though. Going to have to take another drive with the DIS2 bypassed and see if it runs better without it. I wanted to use the DIS2 for the 2-step, but if it's going to run like crap with it hooked up, forget it.

Got all my gauges working again, and dash put back together. I parked it with a full tank of gas, so it's got 6+ month old gas in it.

[SebringLX]

Oil was nasty from sitting for so long, so I changed it. Went for another drive with the DIS2 bypassed. Seems stronger and smoother. I'm thinking maybe the dual channel ignition adapter is the problem? The DIS2 won't work without it. The DIS2 got repaired so it should be working great, the ignition adapter however hasn't been touched, and was on when the DIS2 broke.