Guest jeremy Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 Hey guys, I'm a new ZX owner, just bought the car from some guy and decided to do some cleanup on it. Yesterday I ran about 1/4 bottle of seafoam through a vaccum hose (the one that goes from the vaccum canister to the intake) and let the car run for about 10 minutes. It died once while I was doing that (probably because I didn't give it enough gas as it was sucking it down) then afterwards I let it sit overnight. This morning I got up and started to drive to work with it. I noticed right away I couldn't rev past 2k rpm. When I tried to rev it in neutral it would sputter and pop and backfire when it got over 2k rpm. After about 5 miles I noticed it wouldn't rev above 1.5k rpm....then by the time I got to work, it would barely break 1000 rpm in any gear. It drove perfectly prior to putting the seafoam in the lines, and I didn't make any other adjustments. Any Ideas what may be causing this? I can't believe the seafoam on it's own would cause the car to behave this way. I did a search and found a few others with similar problems, but nothing that seems to have come about like mine. thanks in advance. Jeremy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_82_ZXT Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 Sounds like TPS adjustment or in need of drying. It might have gotten wet with seafoam. Also, did you bump any electrical connectors? Temp sensors are very important to the original EECS. Mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeremy Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 Pretty sure I didnt bump any connectors, but I'll do some checking. Is there any info on how to dry the TPS sensor? (i.e. where it located, how to remove/install it, etc...) I've got a lot of mechanical know-how, but I'm brand new to this motor, and my shop manual wont be here until thursday. Thanks, Jeremy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-Z Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 The tps is the 3rd mechanical piece following the air route from the intake assembily. Should be: filter->air flow meter-> throttle body. TPS is the electrical piece on the throttle body. I had the same problem. In my case it was the connections getting old and corroded. I just reversed eletrode plated all the lead (water with washing soda and a low amp 12v source for an hour, only removes loose corroded metal). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeremy Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 I think I found what you were talking about...my setup is a little different because I have the L28ET and there's a turbo between the MAF and the throttle body. I took that piece off and it looked brand new so I just put it back on. Then I went to fire up the car and it wouldn't even start. Spins like it has a brand new battery but wont start. Got a full tank of gas, getting plenty of air, only thing I can't test right now is spark. All the connections to the distributer and coil look good. Don't know what to check from here....sucks to cause I might be stuck at work if I can't figure this out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-Z Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 check spark plug gap.then test to see if theres spark. Its really simple if you have someone helping. With all plugs screwed in, unplug one of the wires from a plug and have your friends crank it, not too long or you'll burn out the starter. while cranking, hold the wire with the tip about 1/2 - 1 inche away from the plug. you should be able to see a spark arc across to the plug. Maybe the fuel pump is going bad, I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNeedForZ Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 This is the seafoam instruction given by its website : "With engine warm, slowly pour 1/3 to 1/2 pint through carburetor or throttle body throat. (If vehicle is port injected slowly pour SEA FOAM through direct manifold vacuum line that will feed all cylinders, possible sources are P.C.V. valve or brake booster line.) This will pull SEA FOAM down on top of the pistons and to the back of the intake valves to dissolve carbon. Turn ignition off. Restart engine after 5 minutes. If severe carbon build up is apparent, use more Sea Foam as previously directed. Make sure exhaust is well ventilated when using Sea Foam in these various ways as fumes will be extreme for a short time. " I've never used seafoam but from reading the instruction, I think the correct use is to let the engine suck in seafoam and then turn off ignition to let it soak for 5 minutes. My guess is that with you running the engine for 10 minutes when it is full of seafoam, the engine has ran in a condition that is very very rich. I would check the oxygen sensor and plugs to see if it got dirty from the rich condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeremy Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Thanks everyone for your help, I never got it figured out I just ended up towing it to my garage. Not going to spend a lot of time trying to figure it out, just gonna start my engine swap a little earlier then expected. Thanks, Jeremy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thumper Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Unplug and clean all your electrical connections. AFM, TPS, ECU, etc... Sounds like a bad afm connection though. On these old electronics sometimes if you just breath wrong on the plug they will get messed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen87 Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 try this before you touch ANY THING.. DO NOT mess with any sensors.. the sefoam did not mess up any plugs or un plug sensors.. i would be willing bet every thing i own that you fouled the plugs.. go buy a BRAND NEW set of plugs, don't clean your old ones, and while you have the old plugs out, turn the engine over a few times, put the new ones in and fire it up.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big-phil Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 It might be your CAS I'm on my 3rd one, it did the same thing one day it would not go over 2K then would not rev past 1.5K It sputterd, poped. I don't know if there is a way to check it, I just got a new dizzy off e-bay. its been runnig great for about 3 or so months now, but for a time I had the same symptoms, and went through 2 CAS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2slo4u Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 Check your cylinder head temp sensor, it's on the side where the plug are with two wires going in. The plug usually corrodes easily because of its' closeness to the battery fumes. The car will flood totally and wet the plugs and not run if one of the wires gets loose or doesn't connect well. If not, I would bet on moisture or oil on the tps terminals where it plugs into the harness. You can clean it with a cotton swab and a little alcohol to dry it out. I'm suggesting these thing only if you haven't started the swap of course, ha ha. Let us know what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george.bryant Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 what the hell is seafoam? does it actually work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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