Boost issue

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frankhovis
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:50 am

Boost issue

Post by frankhovis »

Hi all,

Got a boost issue on my car. As I know little about them, I am after some advice on what it might be. Car is a rev 2 and is totally standard. I don't use it much and the lack of boost has been getting progressively worse. It started by taking quite a while (10-15mins) of driving before i could get full boost. I always take it easy when cold anyway and always allow it to warm up properly. I was only getting around 3/4 boost (showing on standard gauge) until 15mins or so. Last time I used it, It took around 30mins before it would boost fully. Later during the same run, I lost full boost again, same as earlier and boost dropped back to around 3/4. Car is running fine and turbo's sounds ok when spooling up. Its not just a faulty gauge because I can feel its not pulling as hard. Any ideas what i need to look for?

Cheers,
Ryan S
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Re: Boost issue

Post by Ryan S »

you won't get full boost until the car is fully warmed up, could be a number of things but the symptoms sounds like a knackered CAT, get a decat pipe, will solve it, although as i said, it really could be a number of things??
Quigonjay
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Location: Blackburn

Re: Boost issue

Post by Quigonjay »

boost issues can usually be traced to electrical problems but not sure in this case
have you tried an error code check?

http://www.ayrpark.plus.com/errorcodes.html
mr2turbo99
Posts: 566
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Location: Bournemouth

Re: Boost issue

Post by mr2turbo99 »

I had a similar problem with my car a few years back, took a while before i could get boost and when i did it would drop off to around 3/4 of the standard dial. Mine turned out to be the timing.......could be worth a shot?
frankhovis
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:50 am

Re: Boost issue

Post by frankhovis »

Thanks for the replies

The engine light goes out as normal when started, so can I assume from that its not an electrical problem?

When you say timing out, what timing do you mean? Surley if the engine timing was out, it would run badly all the time?

Is there any way of testing whether the cat is knackered?

Cheers,
mr2turbo99
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Re: Boost issue

Post by mr2turbo99 »

Ignition timing. Mine was out but it felt normal (apart from full boost). Took it to a mate of mine and he pointed the finger at the timing, so we checked it and sorted it all.

Not saying that this is your issue but its worth a shot.
alan wheeldon
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Re: Boost issue

Post by alan wheeldon »

I would tend to ignore the standard boost gauge, its only there for show really, your better off getting an after market one to be honest.

Sounds like you could be hitting safe mode, best thing for you to try is just disconnect the battery for 30 seconds then go for a drive again :wink:

Oh and check all your air hoses are nice and tight, you could have a boost leak from one of them
mr2turbo99
Posts: 566
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Location: Bournemouth

Re: Boost issue

Post by mr2turbo99 »

I would tend to ignore the standard boost gauge, its only there for show really, your better off getting an after market one to be honest.


True to a certain extent. Ok it wont tell you how much PSI your running but it does indicate full boost and safe mode. At least mine did anyway.

Because my timing was out the car was being put into safe mode hence the low boost.
frankhovis
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:50 am

Re: Boost issue

Post by frankhovis »

Hmmm. I'll try and do all the 'free' stuff first then. The car is only a 2nd car, and didn't go down too well with Mrs H, so paying much out on it isn't really an option (isn't worth the earache I get!).
Probably have a look at the wekend and see what I can find.

Thanks for the help.
Steve Horrocks
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Re: Boost issue

Post by Steve Horrocks »

When I first got my car, it was only runnin low boost all the time due to knackered thermostat so car thought it was cold all the time. Does your temp guage go to half way like normal when warm?
frankhovis
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:50 am

Re: Boost issue

Post by frankhovis »

Yeah, the temp gauge is operating normally. I did think a while ago that it might be temperature related, but there are so many possibilties :?
frankhovis
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:50 am

Re: Boost issue

Post by frankhovis »

I was going to start looking at this today, but as the car hasn't been run for over a month, I thought I'd take it out for a while before I began. It was doing its normal stuff while warming up, limiting the boost to around 3/4 on the gauge. However, when it got to full operating temperature, I got full boost. It felt great!! I don't know what to think now. I'll try it again tomorrow and see what happens.
Ryan S
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Re: Boost issue

Post by Ryan S »

i think it's the CAT, sounds erratic, this is how mine behaved with a fooked CAT, don't know how you would test this though?? :-k :-k :-k
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