wastegate solenoid problem, please help

[TurboBeagle84]

i think i may have a wastegate solenoid problem. i think it might be stuck closed because im only building 12 pounds of boost and i used to be running at 17. how do i diagnose this problem, what are some test i can do?

 

[Ken Cunningham]

One of the major TR vendors, and I forget which one, once wrote that he had NEVER seen a wastegate solenoid go bad. I would suspect something else, such as the vacuum lines which go bad all the time.

 

[Steve Wood]

I have a couple of bad ones...after this many years, electrical things start to go bad.

Simplest thing to do is to pull the hose off the solenoid and drive the car...hit the gas and see if the boost goes past 12#. obviously take your foot off the gas if the boost rises above 12# as my back hurts when I change head gaskets!

You did not redo the hoses or change the y did you?

 

[GN-231]

Double check your vacuum lines, sounds like one might of popped off.

 

[1badTTA]

I will vouch for the "NEVER seen a wastegate solenoid go bad." as I have a nice shiney new one in my car that did absolutely nothing different than the old one. I replaced all the vacuum lines and it will still overboost whenever I connect it up correctly using the solenoid. I have it hooked up tuner style now and haven't looked back.

 

[87gnstock]

Same as 1badtta i was overboosting and i thought it was the wastegate solenoid. It was 25 bucks down the drain. I have it hooked up tuner style now. Only 10 lbs, but alot less speeding tickets and don't have to worry about blown headgaskets with 10lbs of boost. Still haven't figured out my problem. Working on it though.

 

[TurboBeagle84]

thanks for your help guys. i hope it nothing major. i checked to see if i had a bad intercooler hose but they look fine to me. ill see what i can find.

 

[1ARUNEM]

Well, i have seen a bad wastegate solenoid and it almost cost me alot more than $25.. (in the form of a h/g or worse..)..

Car was overboosting terribly.. Tried a different y hose with no luck, tried a different wastegate with no luck, puck was fine. Then i hooked it up tuner style (eliminating the solenoid) and boost was back where it should have been.

Went to the local GM dealer, got a new one and "viola", problem solved..

BTW, if your y hose is on bass ackwards it can affect the boost you will see.

 

[TurboBeagle84]

i found the problem. you guys were right it was a vaccum leak. it was one of the plastic hoses, i had repaired it once with a rubber hose but it came loose. i took the car out for a ride today and the boost went to 17# the dropped to 5#, i got out and looked and it came apart again, im gonna have to zip tie the rubber hose to the plastic one so it doesnt come apart.