Help Advice Please: The Epic Neverending Supercharger Installation

[M3DREAMIN]

I had a ActiveAutowerkes intercooled kit (the only one available for my 2003 325i) installed in my car. Immediately after installation, the car threw the check engine light and was misfiring on account of what was diagnosed to be 1 bad coil. The light followed the coil from cylinder to cylinder as they moved it, so they replaced that coil with a Bosch. I drove home and about 20 minutes into the drive the light came back on. But the car drove fine. About 3 days later, it began to run funny. It had no power and hesistated to the point of it being a safety issue. I dropped it back off at the shop, and they attributed the misfiring to the remaining coils and put in Bosch all the way around. The car now runs great, even better than before. However after 20 minutes, the CEL came back on. The technicians have been working with AA for over a week to get it fixed. Right now they see the DME is not communicating with BOTH oxygen sensors (this makes it highly unlikely that both sensors failed at the same time, and coincidentally just when I installed the SC). As a result the DME, to be safe, assumes the car is running lean and "enriches" to prevent cylinder damage. The car has been there for over a week! Has anyone had a problem like this? Do you think the wrong software was installed in the DME?

Current State of Affairs
1. All 6 coils are new and Bosch
2. All hardware was checked to be perfect tight and properly fitted
3. No hoses are cracked
4. Scanning shows no feedback from O2 sensors
5. Car runs fine but light is on as DME is enriching due to no communication with O2 sensors

I just want my car back and running...it's been too long. (over a month this has been going on) I am at a point where I regret having signed up and paid over $5,800 for this....:tsk:

[EIAlfonso]

Sounds like you're in trouble, it may be a bad flash? Is the kit new or used?

Can AA send a tech out to you? ESS sent a tech to fix my bad install, call AA and see what the cost is. It may be cheaper than to try and start changing a bunch of stuff. In most cases, such a mine, it's the install that is the problem and not the kit itself.

Your only other chance is to find a really good tech, hopefully you have one already, because this stuff is hard to troubleshoot from long distances.

[M3DREAMIN]

Bump: First off thanks EIAlfonso for the response. Will talk to Active about this if the problem persists, or go down to Miami on a nice little roadtrip ;0

My tuner shop is pretty experienced. They have currently given me the following update. Active has instructed them to "solder" the pins on the black box (the jumper), and reset the CEL. After completing this, the car was test driven yesterday and no CEL liight came on, they are doing a another 20-25 min test today. Hopefully this solves it. I know very little about the black box and whether this seems like a likely cause.

[M3DREAMIN]

:bow:

[EIAlfonso]

So was the install bad, shop mistake, or were the instructions incomplete?

[MachRc]

prob too busy out enjoying the blower :P

[EIAlfonso]

^ You may be on to something

[M3DREAMIN]

Haha, you were right, I go through gas like a drunken sailor goes through Whiskey on account of driving for fun. The MPG combined is well over 20 :)

Basically the black box that Active ships that connects to your MAF has a jumper pin in it. The same box is used for the 330 and 325, but the pin connection is different for each. The first suspicion was the pin for my 325 was set for a 330, but that was not the case. The pin was set correct. However when the car got hot, the pin failed to make a connection. Active had the shop "solder" it to make a permanent connection, and the problem went away. In my opinion that should have been soldered up front. Such a small issue caused several hours of troubleshooting. It was not the shop's fault.

However my memory is short :) as I'm out having fun. I can only imagine how much fun a supercharged M3 is!

[EIAlfonso]

Thanks for the update, it may help others with their install.

[Nico3k]

Congrats! How does the blower feel on your 325? Can you feel any difference in the lower rev range (1500-2500)? I am trying to decide what FI route to go with.

[M3DREAMIN]

Thanks! Strangely the CEL came on again yesterday, and stayed on for that day. It reset overnight, and hasn't come back. It could be one of the O2 sensors, the car runs perfect though. It's hard to explain because the power does come in a linear fashion. If you rev a little before you engage you can sort of a cheat (think wheelspin launch), but there is very little boost right out of the gate. When the tach is between 3500 - 7000 it's another animal!

When do you plan on getting it? I plan on moving to the LA area late in the year, you can come for a ride and tell me what you think.

[The Nebulizer]

Glad to see you got an SC and got it working.
Do you still get the SEL?
Mine still comes on periodically, but is only due to the oxygen sensor reading a high value. (my SK+ does not use ECU flash, but rather a little box that compensates fuel ratio settings - but seems to send an SEL - drives great.)

But, I have been saving up a bit and am thinking of just going all out and picking up an M3 (used - like 2002 SMG)

Congrats!

[M3DREAMIN]

CEL is back on :( Not sure I'd recommend this kit..

1. Replaced the Coils with Bosch
2. Soldered pins in the black box per AA
3. Triple checked all hardware and installation, hoses clamps etc you name it
4. Sent ECU back to Active and they pronounced it "fine"

Active recommended that I change the MAF with a new one and reset the light to see if it comes back. We're going to try it, but it seems odd
that the MAF worked perfect before the install.

I'll be testing it tonight. The car runs fine with the CEL light on :( Is this common? The Active rep told me they've sold hundreds of these kits with no such problem.

[malina]

What errors does your ECU detect?

[M3DREAMIN]

Hey guys - SES light STILL on.

1. Replaced the Coils with Bosch
2. Soldered pins in the black box per AA
3. Triple checked all hardware and installation, hoses clamps etc you name it
4. Sent ECU back to Active and they pronounced it "fine"
5. Replaced the MAF sensor per AA
(Light came back on)

6. Replaced one O2 sensor that had a fault code (heat side no feedback)

After testing it came back again. It doesn't come on right away, usually after 50-60 miles of driving, and usually on the second start up.

P0175 - Left Bank Fuel Trim
P0172 - Right Bank Fuel Trim

[M3DREAMIN]

Okay so I'm still in the same boat. Active suggested trying to replace the "Oil Seperator Cyclone" as vacuum leaks occur there. Has anyone done this before to resolve a vacuum leak?

[travisbickle]

Get a scan tool and see where the trim values are sitting.

Has the DME trimmed fuel out or added it back in? If you have a vacuum leak that is allowing unmetered air to be sucked into the intake tract AFTER the MAF sensor then the ECU is registering this while in closed loop operation and will try to ADD fuel in order to get the AFR to stoichiometric (14.7:1).

What do the voltage readings coming out of both pre-cat O2 sensors look like? The normal pattern for a properly operating narrow band sensor is to bounce back and forth between rich & lean right at stoichiometric. If your leak is large enough the O2 sensor will always read lean. The DME might interpret this as faulty pre-cat sensors, especially if the downstream post cat sensors are within some sort of normal limit.

Do you have a boost gauge? It would be really helpful to see what kind of boost your making and whether or not you have a leak. A vacuum leak *might* also cause a boost leak.

Also, it would be really helpful if you had a wide band O2 sensor. A WBO2 would tell you if you're running lean during cruise/vacuum operation and rich while under boost.

[MarvelPhx]

I am pretty sure P0172 and P0175 are running rich adaptations beyond CEL limits.

[M3DREAMIN]

Everyone thanks so much for your input and help.

Thankfully the problem is officially fixed! 400 miles with SES OFF!!!!

In the end all it was (as originally thought by the install shop), was the software. Active adjusted the software to deliver less fuel at idle and through the range, and the problem was solved. It took two iterations of cut back software.

I can't ignore the fact that this led to SERIOUS vehicle downtime. That was due to the software program provided.

However just judging the kit as installed and the vehicle as it drives right now. I'd rate it a 10/10. Well engineered, and solid componentry. Very much in line with how BMW builds the car from the beginning. As for drawbacks (once everything is running correctly) I see none. I've used only a half tank of gas to go 200 miles, and the temperature guage is pegged at dead center after warmup. The combination of the supercharger and the Borla catback team up for a nasty intake and exhaust note too ;)

Hopefully this helps the next guy out when chasing an SES light due to the same or similar problems.