bugeye boost solenoid
 

hi where is this located as my turbos not spooling up like it should do im gona give it a clean and see if it spools up better or would i be better reseting ecu have been driving off boost for a while 2001 wrx:thumb:

Stand by your drivers side front wing and look into the engine bay. Directly below you is the Airbox. To the left of that you'll see a small plastic cover held down with two fasteners. Directly under that you'll see the electronic boost control solenoid with two vacuum pipes going to it if it's an original OEM solenoid.

You cannot reset your ECU unless you either have a laptop with the appropriate software or a decent hand held diagnostic device that can perform a check engine light/ECU reset. The only other way is to leave the battery off for a week or two so you're better off with one of the other two options.

HTH

Resetting the ECU shouldn't make any difference. Whuilst it is smart and will learn, it has limited variables and boost is not one of them, other than to cap it if there is a significant problem.

Boost solenoid is under the black cover in front of the drivers side strut. Make sure you plumb it back in right.

Also, have oyu added any silicon boost hose to dress up the engine:?

thanx are they easy to clean what do you use

Use brake cleaner, not WD40 as it will cause it to clog again. The classics were quite easy because you could put 2 plugs together and with the ignition on it would cause it to pulse - you could then spray the cleaner in. Not sure about newages as I have a 3-port now.

If the ECU has retarded a lot of timing to the point where it's had to lower the IAM below 8 then it will drop boost in which case a reset may help. If the IAM goes to 6 it will properly go into limp mode and drop boost right off by not allowing you to rev much over 3000rpm. Again a reset will help.

If you have had a very bad batch of fuel or have thrashed your car to within and inch of it's life and it didn't like it it could pull a lot of timing to the point where it lowers IAM right down to 8 or below that. Equally if your MAF sensor or a Lambda sensor has gone down you may struggle to get much boost at all as it relies on both sensors to work out open and closed loop fuelling which in turn hits effects timing and boost as well.

i think the dv has summat to do with it personaly its a forge

Mine ran fine with a forge. It currently has a turbosmart on the FMIC pipework, and happily pulls 1.2bar all day:D

Connect together the two green test connectors under the dash to put the ECU into test mode. You'll know when this is happening because you will hear the cooling fans cycle on and off and the boost control solenoid should be clicking on and off. Spray your brake cleaner in there while it's clicking away.

Afterwards disconnect the green connectors before driving.

I remapped a newage STi with a forge DV that kept dropping IAM because it wouldn't hold boost. Popped the original recirculating air bypass valve back on and it was perfect and boosting 1.3bar on a VF35 no probs.

Did it need one of the uprated springs to handle the additional boost. I know we played with the spring setting on my TS when we started mapping as it wasn't holding boost initially and I had to harden it up.

thanx mate gona try it with original one on when i can find one dump valves proberley fooked:thumb:

If you need bits mate, I have both a factory DV and a boost solenoid in the garage. I've just upgraded, but both were working fine prior to removal.

The spring in the forge was so weak you could very easily move the valve up and down with your fingers and very little pressure. Try doing that with the original OEM bypass valve and you'll see the difference.

Why forge supply such weak springs as standard i have no idea. You can specifiy the stronger springs for them but nobody ever bothers or it's not so well advertised, and hence why so many people complain about issues like loss of boost and other problems to do with aftermarket valves.

If it's VTA or not adjustable don't bother with aftermarket ones and stick to the OEM valve. I run over 360bhp and it works perfectly.

The forge spring kit is only a tenner and I uprated the spring in mine when I had it. I've gone VTA because I have a FMIC. I may change to a hybrid ar some point if the noise gets on my nerves, but I actually like it.

t he other thing is i run the car on 99 ron tescos i do a lot off motorway driving and tend not to drive the car like i should do hardley ever on boost but what i notice is i floor it in first then in second dv working then when i put in third no boost no spooling no dv

You don't have to have a VTA when running an FMIC. You can still run a recirc valve and avoid both rich AFR's between gearchanges and a jerky (somtimes violent) gear change.

I don't see the point until you're running a big turbo, making big power and running MAFLESS where recirc ceases to be of any advantage and may end up being be a disadvantge, and VTA is the right way to go.

thoughts on my other post guys

That's because you're making much more boost in third gear than you would be in either 1st or second. You make most of your power in 3rd and 4th gear. That's when you see highest engine loads, torque and boost so very likely most of the boost is leaking out through the weak DV. Get rid of it and go back to the recirc original for trouble free boosting.

Agree you don't have to, but I chose to. The rich AFR also means some nice pops and bangs, and I've not got to worry about a CAT when it comes to raw fuel down the exhaust:D

Gearchanges have not been a significant problem:thumb:

thanx ill do that ill pm you jon ill take it mate

Pops and bangs are great but there is also a little matter of bore wash during those gearchanges due to the rich AFR state. It might not do much harm short term but long term regular borewash will have some consequences in terms of premature wear on cylinders, rings and engine oil.

As they say...Whatever floats your boat. :thumb:

And you really think there's enough fuel during that process to cause borewash? I have my doubts and unless there was some significant overfuelling, or a leaking injector, then I am happy that borewash will not be a significant factor, particularly as the car is remapped and has been safely leaned out compared with the regular subaru map. Regular oil changes are the norm anyway, and I use the car only for play so miles are low.

Worst case - rings wear out, I'll buy a CDB and build a stroker:D

:D In which case i'll wish you a merry borewash and happy new CDB. That's the spirit!! :D

P.S. Next time you've got a wideband plugged in see what your AFR's go to during gear changes. Have a good one!! :thumb: