Problem with AA twinscrew supercharger

[bigjae1976]

I'm on of the few AA TS kit owners here. I have the TS stage 2 kit, cams, and headers all of which was professionally installed. I keep getting an SES light for running rich. I get some occasional surging at idle.

My shop has been in contact with AA and has done everything that they've suggested. The one big thing was that the car needed to be re-flashed by the dealer to clear the adaptations or something. There are no vacuum leaks and everything is hooked up correctly. I'm making pretty good power as well, 337whp.

If you look at the before dyno, you can see my car ran a little rich in the stock configuration. If you see the after dyno, the a/f ratio gets pretty rich down to an a/f ratio of 10. My car runs rich if you compare my after dyno to the AA TS2+ dyno. AA has said their tunes are usually on the rich side for safety reasons.

My shop has been trying to get AA to trim the fuel a tad but they have refused to reflash my DME and keep blaming the install. I've talked to 3 different people pretty smart on this stuff...all have said that the install looks good and the fuel needs to be trimmed a bit.

So does anyone have any suggestions? I'm about to rip this sh1t out and buy an ESS unit. I'm pretty tired of dealing with this and going back and forth with AA. 3 months and counting...

[Aktiv3]

I feel you man I've sent emails and tried to call but never really got any help so I'm saving up and going with ess ts3 I've sent messages and everything and they have been a great help ... Customer support means everything.... Good luck man with everything

[EIAlfonso]

Did the owner before you have these problems, any other AA TS owners that can share their dynos?

Has AA asked for your dyno file so they can troubleshoot it and try to resolve the problem?

I wonder if you can keep the blower and have ESS sell you the other parts. The ESS support was great and helped me get on the right track.

Good Luck

[HighBoostin330]

That bump at 6000RPM should raise a slight concern. However, it coincides with your AFR starting its richening decent. Car pulling noticeable timing at that point?

Seems like AA is pretty adamant about not helping you any further in this matter...

Best of luck to you on solving this issue. :thumbsup:

[Lemonsqr]

Sounds like you need a custom tune...GL!

[bigjae1976]

Did the owner before you have these problems, any other AA TS owners that can share their dynos?

Has AA asked for your dyno file so they can troubleshoot it and try to resolve the problem?

I wonder if you can keep the blower and have ESS sell you the other parts. The ESS support was great and helped me get on the right track.

Good Luck

This is Garrett's kit from UED so I'm not sure if he had the same issue. My guess is no since AA is right there. I think this is the first production TS kit for an E46 from AA.

I was thinking about talking to ESS about a DME flash...I haven't quite given up on AA yet.

That bump at 6000RPM should raise a slight concern. However, it coincides with your AFR starting its richening decent. Car pulling noticeable timing at that point?

I noticed that on the dyno. I'm not sure, I really didn't notice any sag in power towards the top end. The kit runs fine for me. It has plenty of power, runs good, seems reliable. Just need to get this stupid SES light fixed.


I feel you man I've sent emails and tried to call but never really got any help so I'm saving up and going with ess ts3 I've sent messages and everything and they have been a great help ... Customer support means everything.... Good luck man with everything

AA had the balls to ask me to bring my car to FL from TX...yeah the support hasn't been as good as it could be. I've been thinking about my next car (135i, E92 M3 maybe???) and I will be looking somewhere besides AA for upgrades since they don't seem too interested in fixing this.

I have a long story for another time and another place.

[TxZHP04]

Are you absolutely, 100% positive that your intercooler has been adequately bled of air bubbles?

I agree with whoever mentioned that the dip around 6k looks like timing is being pulled. My initial dyno looked very much like this, except mine was pulling timing twice (once about 5100 and again about 6000). I did 2 things to resolve it.

First, the ESS kit relies on gravity to some extent to return coolant from the manifold back to the pump (pumps uphill, then flows back down). When I installed it, I had a bit of an uphill U-bend in a coolant line that I needed to get rid of. I'm not sure how the AA kit routes their coolant lines but you might have your shop confirm the routing with AA as there may be just enough of a bend or uphill routing to cause a problem.

Second, I had a really hard time getting my coolant lines bled properly and finally had to use a milk jug and some clear hose to build an external reservoir so that I could allow the pump to circulate the air bubbles through the reservoir and out of the system. Then I had to carefully disconnect the reservoir and reconnect the intercooler hose to the manifold without allowing too much air back into the system. Again, not sure how the AA kit is set up but if it's not properly bled you could see dyno results like yours.

Good luck and keep us posted. We'll do what we can to help you through this.

EDIT: I'm not sure about the surging at idle. Were throttle adaptations reset?

EDIT: The surging could be ICV related. Is the harness connection to the ICV secure? It's not likely if it was working before the SC intall but maybe the ICV quit working? I'd be more suspect of the connection though.

[steelgrey330ci]

check for a bad plug or even coils. I was running rich one time cause of this and after changing these parts went up 20whp

Just a thought

[Active Autowerke]

Dear Bigjae,

Not sure who you spoke with here at AA but please contact us via phone so you can speak with one of our engineers to assist you in trouble shooting. I apologize for any trouble you have and we look forward to getting this problem resolved in a timely manner.

We will be in office for an additional hour or so. Please keep in mind we can always be reached over the phone during business hours, we would also prefer if you and your mechanic contact us via conference call so we are all on the same page.

Best Regards,

[Active Autowerke]

edit: I have just spoken with one of our engineers, this car came off a similar E46 330. The contact this morning was the first our head engineer has had with the customers mechanics. We have requested dyno charts for perusal and will move on from there.

Jae, please contact us via phone so we can update you on what is taking place.

Thanks.

[bigjae1976]

Are you absolutely, 100% positive that your intercooler has been adequately bled of air bubbles?

I agree with whoever mentioned that the dip around 6k looks like timing is being pulled. My initial dyno looked very much like this, except mine was pulling timing twice (once about 5100 and again about 6000). I did 2 things to resolve it.
EDIT: I'm not sure about the surging at idle. Were throttle adaptations reset?

EDIT: The surging could be ICV related. Is the harness connection to the ICV secure? It's not likely if it was working before the SC intall but maybe the ICV quit working? I'd be more suspect of the connection though.

I'm pretty sure it has been bled, I've been checking the coolant flow since the kit's water pump is making a howling noise...guess I need a new one. But the AA kit is pretty similar to the ESS kit as far as basic component layout and stuff.

I did just clean the ICV with was pretty dirty amd helped a lot. Not sure about the adaptations, I think my shop took care of that. It idled a lot better after cleaning the ICV...not really worried about the surging. I just want to get the SES light fixed.

check for a bad plug or even coils. I was running rich one time cause of this and after changing these parts went up 20whp

I just replaced the plugs before the install and the coils are relatively new. They were replaced under warranty.

edit: I have just spoken with one of our engineers, this car came off a similar E46 330. The contact this morning was the first our head engineer has had with the customers mechanics. We have requested dyno charts for perusal and will move on from there.

Jae, please contact us via phone so we can update you on what is taking place.

Thanks.

I appreciate the response.

I think Karl talked to Jasper or Colin from Soul Speed today. My shop informed me that Karl is supposed to get back with them on what to do next.

I have emailed the dyno's to 3 different people there at AA and Garrett from UED has sent them as well. Its been quite frustrating because everytime I call, someone does in fact answer the phone. But its a different tech and then I have to explain the whole situation again. Then it goes back to did you check for vacuum leaks...kind of like groundhog day. My shop has gone through the same thing and made the same comment. I would say that is the primary reason why this has taken so long to get resolved.

I will give you a call tomorrow since you guys are probably closed. Again, thanks for the response.

[TxZHP04]

I'm pretty sure it has been bled, I've been checking the coolant flow since the kit's water pump is making a howling noise...guess I need a new one.

Yeah, the pump shouldn't be howling like that. If it's not circulating coolant properly then the intercooler can't do its job and the DME will definitely pull timing to avoid detonation.

FWIW, I made repeated attempts to bleed mine when I installed it. Until I built an external reservoir though, I just wasn't getting the job done.

278154

[BimmerDude18]

Yeah, the pump shouldn't be howling like that. If it's not circulating coolant properly then the intercooler can't do its job and the DME will definitely pull timing to avoid detonation.

FWIW, I made repeated attempts to bleed mine when I installed it. Until I built an external reservoir though, I just wasn't getting the job done.

278154

Just as an aside...a lot of 350Z guys who have big FI builds use an external reservoir to bleed their normal coolant system because of how critical it is. Its not to say thats the problem in this case, but that reservoir trick is DEFINITELY functional.

[whiplash]

Yeah, the pump shouldn't be howling like that. If it's not circulating coolant properly then the intercooler can't do its job and the DME will definitely pull timing to avoid detonation.

FWIW, I made repeated attempts to bleed mine when I installed it. Until I built an external reservoir though, I just wasn't getting the job done.

278154

Yes the external reservoir is a good solution but after that putting back the upper hose in the permanent place is very tricky, because you can loose an amount of water.
Recently i had to uncross the two hoses and shorten them so after bleeding the circuit i incline the car (nose as low as possible) to maintain water in the inlet manifold : it was really easier to add water and put back immediatly the upper hose.
Now when i start the pump the noise is not so loud and i can hear water circulating in the Laminova with no noise of air (no cavitation).
After WOT driving i can put my hand on the inlet manifold : it's not hot (other parts of the engine are really when you compare !) but when i touch the hoses or fmic it's not very hot but maybe because i add "redline waterwetter" in the circuit...

[paraklas]

I followed ESS instructions to fill the system and it's fine. I just used my mouth to push the coolant within the system that's all until it came from the top part of the laminova. Last time I took it off it was filled with coolant.

[TxZHP04]

Yes the external reservoir is a good solution but after that putting back the upper hose in the permanent place is very tricky, because you can loose an amount of water.

Yeah, it is tricky. I had to develop another little procedure to top it off and expel the little air bubble at the top of the circuit once I had the hose back on the manifold.

[stimpee]

What are your fuel trim values?

[bigjae1976]

Yeah, the pump shouldn't be howling like that. If it's not circulating coolant properly then the intercooler can't do its job and the DME will definitely pull timing to avoid detonation.

FWIW, I made repeated attempts to bleed mine when I installed it. Until I built an external reservoir though, I just wasn't getting the job done.

278154

I had the SES light long before the pump started howling. And coolant is flowing at a pretty good rate.

What are your fuel trim values?

Not sure, my shop sent them to Karl at AA...waiting on a response. Between lunch, not being there and other things, still waiting to see what happens.

I guess I'll try to call tomorrow.

[bigjae1976]

Finally got around to messing with this. I cleaned the MAF sensor with some MAF sensor cleaner and then reset the SES light with my new Peake FCX3. I've driven 120 miles, still no SES light. When it came on before, it would usually come on after 5-10 miles.

Crossing fingers...

I have a new water pump on the way so hopefully my twinscrew kit should be in perfect working order by the end of this week!:excited:

Funny how things work. As soon as I fix this, I run over a brick in the middle of the road and messed up my rim and tire. The tire had 200 miles on it.:banghead: I can't win!:tsk:

[Matt Q]

Interetsing about the water pump.. I have a Stage 2 Gen 3 rotrex and the water pump is also giving me hassles.. been down on power as the water/meth just hasn't been delivering

[bigjae1976]

Interetsing about the water pump.. I have a Stage 2 Gen 3 rotrex and the water pump is also giving me hassles.. been down on power as the water/meth just hasn't been delivering

I got one on the way from ESS...they apparently use a high quality swedish pump:eek:

[bigjae1976]

I can't believe it! I was swapping out the pumps and the old one had a shipping peanut stuck on the inlet. Needless to say it was soggy with coolant. So I guess that would be the cause of the howling.

I didn't have any issues with bleeding. One of the differences betweenthe AA and ESS kit is that AA uses a k&n filter that goes behind the brake duct. This leaves room to relocate the PS resorvoir to where te OEM airbox was. So the AA used a little filler neck behind the pulley where the PS resorvoir was. I just opened the cap and poured the coolant in with the ignition on.

Other than that, ESS used better quality hoses, brackets, etc. I already have rust on 2 of the brackets and had a hose blow. Although I apparently have the first production kit.

SES light came back, maybe this will eliminate it.