Too Rich - Code 45 - Brake Fade

[tscruggs]

I have taken this car to the only two mechanics near New Orleans willing to assist me - PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!! The car floods out at anything below WOT. The code reads a 45 - O2 sensor - it has been replaced twice. The brakes fade out - to the floor. Vacuum pressures and compression tests are good. MAF, TPS, O2, EGR, ECM, etc. have all been replaced. Any other advice??????

 

[Novacaine]

Did the car just start this or was it a previous condition ? also what injectors do u have ? what chip is in the car factory or aftermarket? We need some more info to give you and idea where to start looking.
There is one thing that you might look at tho vac is diff down to have the brakes to fade, so u should look over the lines to make sure u dont have a major vac leak which would cause this, a large vac leak would also freak the o2 out btw.
Also do u have a adj fuel reg. if so what base pressure do u have it set to?

 

[tscruggs]

Thanks!

Car just suddenly started doing this one day on my home home. Stock injectors, stock ecm, now has stock chip back in, MAF from Harper's racing, fuel pressure is not "regulated" - is stock, etc. Vacuum has tested at proper pressures, I will post them later - I do not remember them -
THANKS FOR THE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Novacaine]

Ok do you have any type of scan tool on the car or access to one? If u have access to a scanmaster check to see what the maf is reading at idle if its anything other than 5-6 g the maf is most likely out of cal or bad. To give u an ideal how picky the MAF is there supposed to read 5g at idle if the car reads 6g then the fueling will be changed by about 20% so if its reading something crazy like 10 or so you can get an idea how messed up the fueling could be.
Also will the car idle ok or do u have to give it some pedal ?
Sorry about the questions being so strung out just trying to think of them in order to isolate the problem.
BTW One way to check the MAF fairly easy is to simply unplug it and see if the car will idle ok without it, however DO NOT drive the car with the MAF unpluged!! if it idles ok without the maf and will not idle with it then try another MAF.

 

[tscruggs]

Thank You!!!!!!!!

Novocaine - MAF reads 10-15 idle to acceleration - this is the third new MAF from different vendors - will not idle without revving - car definitely floods out at anything other than WOT - gas smells will knock you out - Code shows a 45 - could it be an injector sticking?

 

[Novacaine]

It is possible it could be an inj sticking but that is rare, unplug the MAF just to see if it will idle. I hate to say it but is sounds like that MAF is bad, this simple test will let u know if it is or not.
If it isn't then we'll check some other things just let me know ..
BTW if the maf is bad personally i would just go ahead and bite the bullet and buy a translator and a LS1 maf , reason being i went thru about 6-8 stock style maf's through various vendors before i finally got one that was calibrated correctly, basically if that thing reads anything other than 5-6 at idle when its warmed up they will not fuel correctly at anything other than WOT and then only after the maf reads 255

 

[tscruggs]

Unplugging of the MAF does not chaneg anything. I have unplugged every sensor one at a time and none changes the way the car runs. Where is teh best place to get a translator and the LS1 MAF?

 

[Novacaine]

well if unplugin the MAF had no effect then the maf is most likely ok. I guess the next best thing to check is fuel pressure get a gauge and check it at the fuel rail with the vac hose off the regulator you should have around 43 psi.
Did you say u checked for vac leakes already?

 

[tscruggs]

Yes sir - Test indicated 42-43# psi on fuel rail - all vacuum pressures checked out good - ????

 

[TurboBuRick]

It could be a number of things. You can check the plugs to see if its one or all the cylinders that are rich. That MAF signal is high though. Do you have a scanner? Whats your tps set at. Post all readings. Have you seen the fuel preasure yourself?

 

[TurboBuRick]

O and your brakes are a whole nother issue. Sounds like the master cylinder.

Seems to be hard to find a real mechanic in New Orleans. I gave advice to another guy with almost the same story.

 

[tscruggs]

THANK Y'ALL for helping me with this issue!!!! I just thought that it was odd that the master cylinder went out at the exact same time that the engine started running funky. What advice did you give that other gentleman? Yes, it is very difficult to find a good mechanic in New Orleans right now. The good ones have stayed gone since Katrina. We have gutted 550+ homes for rebuilding. There are still 10s of thousands of homes in NOLA that need this work to be habitable again.

 

[TurboBuRick]

Wow! You guys got your hands full. As far as the car goes you need a scantool, like a scanmaster or something. Got one? Also a fuel preasure gauge. With the other guys car the mechanic turned the throttle plate screw thinking it was a idle adjustment. That threw off the tps and the iac.
The best way is to learn this stuff youself. It not rocket science.

Scanner?
FP Gauge?