Running rich under light acceleration and overboosting

[1Saucyyy_brz]

Ive been having the same issue for a few months now and was wondering if someone here can help me. (This is my first post so forgive me if i do anything wrong)
Things you should know: 2014 subaru brz with 62k miles, turbocharged with a built motor (piston rods)

After the break in and tuning process of the built motor the car has been running rich under light acceleration. (9's to 12's AFR). During the tuning process the tuner thought that i had a bad AFR sensor. (Changed it out for a new one and it still was reading rich) After a few weeks of driving my short commute to work I got a CEL and SLIP lights, went home and read the codes and this is what came up: P0456, P0441. (EVAP emissions system detected a very small leak, EVAP emissions system incorrect purge flow)

My first thought was my purge solenoid under the intake manifold, which wasnt even connected to the car because the wires were stripped to wire in a boost controller (which didnt end up working, this is where i think the problem started) Shorty after another problem occurred, my car started over boosting because the external wastegate wasnt opening. Now my head is going to a vacuum issue. I thoroughly checked through all of the vacuum line that involved anything boost related. I found one line that had been melted by my downpipe and decided to just replace every vacuum line in the car (because that will be one less thing that i have to worry about) This didnt fix either problem i was having

I did lots of research, the internet saying that it could just be my gas cap or some sort of breather valve for the gas tank located above the diff. I also saw that some FI guys were removing the purge valve entirely and plugging the line that go to it. I figured i would give it a shot. I removed it and plugged the lines. The car was still running rich and overboosting. CEL came on after some time, np SLIP light this time. This time it was just one code, P0456.

So im coming here today asking if anyone has any idea what could be the issue or any feedback they could give. I am happy to answer any questions anyone might have about the issue.

After some thinking my head is going towards maybe the fuel pressure regulator or some sort of vacuum issue that is throwing everything out of wack. The car has aftermarket fuel pump and injectors which have maybe about 10k miles on them.

Sorry if the post is all over the place i just wanted to make sure i can cover as much as i possibly can some you guys have the most information. Thank you in advance!

[x808drifter]

Can you manually move the wastegate?

[1Saucyyy_brz]

Originally Posted by x808drifter

Can you manually move the wastegate?

The spring in there is too tight to move by hand, but i have taken it off and cleaned it (multiple times).. i even put some air through it with a compressor and everything operates how it should. Which is why i am puzzled as to why it wont open under boost. There is a 9lb spring in the wastegate and im running 18lbs of boost. Im thinking that a vacuum issue is causing both my running rich problem and over boosting problem.

[Irace86.2.0]

It seems like there is obviously a leak or signal issue with the EVAP that needs to be sorted out. I was going to ask about your setup, but everything was fine at one point and now you are having problems, right? So something changed. You didn't swap hoses or route something wrong on the wastegate because then it never would have worked, but it did work initially, right? I see the car made 460whp, so everything was working fine, or no? You said after the break and tuning the car started having problems, so please clarify if the car was ever normal?

Are you running an electronic boost controller or manual boost controller or are you just off the wastegate spring right now? Just to clarify, are you over-boosting to 18 psi, or are you suppose to hit 18 psi with a 9 psi wastegate, and you are over-boosting to 20 psi or something? If it is the latter then are you actually over-boosting or is this just boost creep from having an improperly sized/small wastegate or poorly positioned wastegate? Is this a custom kit or off-the-shelf? Any chance we could see a picture of your setup, the wastegate vacuum lines/routing, etc?

[1Saucyyy_brz]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

It seems like there is obviously a leak or signal issue with the EVAP that needs to be sorted out. I was going to ask about your setup, but everything was fine at one point and now you are having problems, right? So something changed. You didn't swap hoses or route something wrong on the wastegate because then it never would have worked, but it did work initially, right? I see the car made 460whp, so everything was working fine, or no? You said after the break and tuning the car started having problems, so please clarify if the car was ever normal?

Are you running an electronic boost controller or manual boost controller or are you just off the wastegate spring right now? Just to clarify, are you over-boosting to 18 psi, or are you suppose to hit 18 psi with a 9 psi wastegate, and you are over-boosting to 20 psi or something? If it is the latter then are you actually over-boosting or is this just boost creep from having an improperly sized/small wastegate or poorly positioned wastegate? Is this a custom kit or off-the-shelf? Any chance we could see a picture of your setup, the wastegate vacuum lines/routing, etc?

During the tuning process, the tuner thought my AFR gauge was bad (because we thought it was reading wrong) So during that process he tuned it with what he thought was just a bad gauge. At the time the car was still running rich down low but it was not overboosting. After replacing the gauge via the tuners orders, the new gauge read the same as the old.. so i knew there was definitely a problem still about. The only thing that i changed once i got the car tuned was i installed an oil cooler and replaced a vacuum line that was cracked that was going straight to the wastegate. (Maybe the car got tuned with that cracked line and since replacing it the cars overboosting because there is no longer a leak) Currently there is a 9lb spring in the wastegate and 18lbs i target boost there is a restrictor pill in one of the vacuum lines to control the boost pressure as we couldn't get the electronic boost controller to work. I am overboosting to about 22lbs before i either get out of it or the car cuts throttle for safety. The turbo kit i have is a full blown motorsports kit. Ill have to get some pictures sent your way the next time i have a chance! Thanks in advance for the help!

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by 1Saucyyy_brz

During the tuning process, the tuner thought my AFR gauge was bad (because we thought it was reading wrong) So during that process he tuned it with what he thought was just a bad gauge. At the time the car was still running rich down low but it was not overboosting. After replacing the gauge via the tuners orders, the new gauge read the same as the old.. so i knew there was definitely a problem still about. The only thing that i changed once i got the car tuned was i installed an oil cooler and replaced a vacuum line that was cracked that was going straight to the wastegate. (Maybe the car got tuned with that cracked line and since replacing it the cars overboosting because there is no longer a leak) Currently there is a 9lb spring in the wastegate and 18lbs i target boost there is a restrictor pill in one of the vacuum lines to control the boost pressure as we couldn't get the electronic boost controller to work. I am overboosting to about 22lbs before i either get out of it or the car cuts throttle for safety. The turbo kit i have is a full blown motorsports kit. Ill have to get some pictures sent your way the next time i have a chance! Thanks in advance for the help!

He wasn’t tuning off that gauge though, right? Was it a wideband or was it just linked to the OBD2 system?

I’m assuming the restrictor pill either got clogged or is twisted in the line. The only way to over-boost is to run the wrong sized pill or have a crack in the line or other way the wastegate is not seeing enough boost pressure to open. The only other way is having a wastegate that is too small/turbo that is too big/external wastegate that is improperly positioned, so even if the wastegate is open not enough exhaust gases are vented, so the turbo continues to spool. I doubt that is the case because the Full Blown kit is a good kit and not known for this.

Is the wastegate getting a boost signal directly off the turbo and is the external wastegate vacuum lines set up correct?

[Irace86.2.0]

On a separate note, you proposed have two separate problems if you are running rich. Do a leakdown test or something to check for cracks in your exhaust/intake/lines. Obviously consider the EVAP solenoid because you threw codes there.

[1Saucyyy_brz]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

He wasn’t tuning off that gauge though, right? Was it a wideband or was it just linked to the OBD2 system?

I’m assuming the restrictor pill either got clogged or is twisted in the line. The only way to over-boost is to run the wrong sized pill or have a crack in the line or other way the wastegate is not seeing enough boost pressure to open. The only other way is having a wastegate that is too small/turbo that is too big/external wastegate that is improperly positioned, so even if the wastegate is open not enough exhaust gases are vented, so the turbo continues to spool. I doubt that is the case because the Full Blown kit is a good kit and not known for this.

Is the wastegate getting a boost signal directly off the turbo and is the external wastegate vacuum lines set up correct?

The tuner wasn't tuning off of the AFR gauge in the car, it was just something he noticed during tuning and told me to change it out. The AFR gauge is reading from an O2 sensor.

As far as the restrictor pill goes, the wastegate and turbo haven't changed. The entire system was working just fine when bought the kit. At the time the wastegate had a 6lb spring and opened every time I would get into boost. The only thing that I have changed is going from the 6lb spring to a 9lb spring. The restrictor pill seems to be very secure inside a portion of the vacuum line leading to the wastegate. How likely are they to get clogged or twisted up? I am more than willing to cut into the line to check things out but that means replacing it. I would ask the tuner what size pill is in the line but unfortunately he passed away. How hard would it be to squeeze the pill into another section of vacuum line after I have removed it? Maybe I could cut the pill out, clean it up then stick it back into a new section of line to see if that fixes my problem?

Ill get those pictures to you as soon as I can, but when i was at the shop nobody mentioned (or changed) the vacuum lines being oriented wrong. As well as after tuning the car didn't over-boost for a while. Ran fine for months. So maybe it is likely that the restrictor pill got clogged or disoriented.

I definitely need to take the car and get it smoke tested to see if there are any leaks in the system. Although I have replaced every single vacuum line I could see I'm sure there are just certain things that i cant get to.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by 1Saucyyy_brz

The tuner wasn't tuning off of the AFR gauge in the car, it was just something he noticed during tuning and told me to change it out. The AFR gauge is reading from an O2 sensor.

As far as the restrictor pill goes, the wastegate and turbo haven't changed. The entire system was working just fine when bought the kit. At the time the wastegate had a 6lb spring and opened every time I would get into boost. The only thing that I have changed is going from the 6lb spring to a 9lb spring. The restrictor pill seems to be very secure inside a portion of the vacuum line leading to the wastegate. How likely are they to get clogged or twisted up? I am more than willing to cut into the line to check things out but that means replacing it. I would ask the tuner what size pill is in the line but unfortunately he passed away. How hard would it be to squeeze the pill into another section of vacuum line after I have removed it? Maybe I could cut the pill out, clean it up then stick it back into a new section of line to see if that fixes my problem?

Ill get those pictures to you as soon as I can, but when i was at the shop nobody mentioned (or changed) the vacuum lines being oriented wrong. As well as after tuning the car didn't over-boost for a while. Ran fine for months. So maybe it is likely that the restrictor pill got clogged or disoriented.

I definitely need to take the car and get it smoke tested to see if there are any leaks in the system. Although I have replaced every single vacuum line I could see I'm sure there are just certain things that i cant get to.

Geez, he died. That sucks.

Which O2 sensor are you using for the gauge? The first one, right? I'm wondering why your gauge is reading different than what the ECU is reading, which is what the tuner was reading.

If someone cut the hose to length, but then didn't clean it out, and it had a little rubber in the line then that could do it. Running the turbo without an air filter could potentially do it or if something got through. Running a pill that is too small for the line, so it twisted itself in the line could do it. You could remove the hose and try to shine a light through the hose and verify the pill is straight. Do you have an air compressor? Maybe it is worth pulling off the hose and verifying that air can pass through the pill by shooting some air through the hose, or leave the hose on and verify the wastegate is opening.

Why did your electronic boost controller fail? Have you figured that out? Also, is this a boost spike or is it stable over-boost situation? You said you get fuel/throttle cut during this high-boost event, but if you slowly take the car to WOT in a high gear then does the car still over-boost? If it doesn't then perhaps all you are getting is a boost spike from the turbo ramping on so fast and the there is a delay in the wastegate opening. Essentially, if the wastegate has a spring or quality that the spring doesn't open until the last possible second that it sees wastegate pressure then it has the potential to spike beyond the desired boost level, but if the wastegate is built to slowly open, so the wastegate may have a spring at 10 psi, but start to crack at 8psi, then the chance of boost spike is less. You can see that the wastegate in the video above cracks at 10 psi then opens at 12 psi. I think a lot of this behavior is down to the wastegate spring style.

If you are getting boost spike then you could change out the wastegate spring to something that opens gradually, or you could get a boost controller, or you could get a new pill or drill out your restrictor pill to lower your boost spike to 18 psi, but then your boost might settle to 15 psi or something too low, but it is an option if you are more concerned about the boost spike. Please verify if this is a boost spike issue by slowly ramping into boost in a high gear situation and that it is not a true over-boost situation.



https://www.turbosmart.com/news/boos...ing-explained/

[1Saucyyy_brz]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

Geez, he died. That sucks.

Which O2 sensor are you using for the gauge? The first one, right? I'm wondering why your gauge is reading different than what the ECU is reading, which is what the tuner was reading.

If someone cut the hose to length, but then didn't clean it out, and it had a little rubber in the line then that could do it. Running the turbo without an air filter could potentially do it or if something got through. Running a pill that is too small for the line, so it twisted itself in the line could do it. You could remove the hose and try to shine a light through the hose and verify the pill is straight. Do you have an air compressor? Maybe it is worth pulling off the hose and verifying that air can pass through the pill by shooting some air through the hose, or leave the hose on and verify the wastegate is opening.

Why did your electronic boost controller fail? Have you figured that out? Also, is this a boost spike or is it stable over-boost situation? You said you get fuel/throttle cut during this high-boost event, but if you slowly take the car to WOT in a high gear then does the car still over-boost? If it doesn't then perhaps all you are getting is a boost spike from the turbo ramping on so fast and the there is a delay in the wastegate opening. Essentially, if the wastegate has a spring or quality that the spring doesn't open until the last possible second that it sees wastegate pressure then it has the potential to spike beyond the desired boost level, but if the wastegate is built to slowly open, so the wastegate may have a spring at 10 psi, but start to crack at 8psi, then the chance of boost spike is less. You can see that the wastegate in the video above cracks at 10 psi then opens at 12 psi. I think a lot of this behavior is down to the wastegate spring style.

If you are getting boost spike then you could change out the wastegate spring to something that opens gradually, or you could get a boost controller, or you could get a new pill or drill out your restrictor pill to lower your boost spike to 18 psi, but then your boost might settle to 15 psi or something too low, but it is an option if you are more concerned about the boost spike. Please verify if this is a boost spike issue by slowly ramping into boost in a high gear situation and that it is not a true over-boost situation.



https://www.turbosmart.com/news/boos...ing-explained/

The ecu AFR only goes as low as 11.02, so maybe in the tuners eyes that wasn't a problem (although that still sounds really rich for casually driving) When I drive I usually have my phone connected to my Bluetooth ecutek dongle, when casually accelerating, the aftermarket AFR guage will read low 10's but my phone will be pinned at 11.02 and will never go lower. This might be the reason that the tuner thought the aftermarket gauge was faulty.

Tomorrow if i have the time i will remove the line that has the pill in it and make sure it is clear of obstructions. Ill see if i can see through it and blow some air through it with a compressor. If air goes through it ill but it back on the car but open ended so i can see if the wastegate is functioning properly.

When I first got the kit I had purchased an electronic boost controller (an add on option full blown offers) I had one of the guys at full blow remote tune my car (what a headache) At the time there was a 6lb spring in the wastegate that opened every time the car was under boost. The tuner said he was comfortable going up in boost, so we unplugged the connector that goes to the purge solenoid (located underneath the intake manifold) cut the harness off and used that to power and operate the electronic boost controller. For whatever reason the tuner couldn't get it to operate at all. I sent him pictures of how it was connected and he said everything was correct. He uploaded a tune on the car that would verify the boost controller was receiving his information (verifying by there being a check engine light when the car started after the tune was uploaded) and it was, the check engine light was on which was what the tuner wanted to see.. but the controller still wasn't operating how it should. The tuner ditched the idea of the electronic boost controller and just told me to change the wastegate spring from the 6lb spring to the 9lb spring, then he just tuned off of that.

The reason my car is over boosting is because the wastegate is not opening at all. After watching the first video that you sent, I believe my wastegate lines may be hooked up wrong. The gentleman in the video stated that the top port of the wastegate usually vents to atmosphere or equalizes boost pressure from the bottom port.. (I took pictures of my setup for you to look at but i cant figure out for the life of me how to upload them onto here, i know you need the link to it but i cant find that.. even in the pictures properties.) Anyways my vacuum source is coming from my brake booster.. then i have that line going to the bottom of the wastegate (this is where the pill is located, just above the wastegate) in the middle of this line there are two tees.. one going to the blow off valve and the other going to the top of the wastegate. When i was getting my car tuned the guy putting the pill into the vacuum system didn't say anything about them being hooked up wrong or didn't change them himself. During tuning the wastegate operated like it should (i left a big black spot on their dyno ) It was a few months later that i was doing some work on my car and noticed some cracked and melted vacuum lines, so i went to the store got some new line and fixed them... it was after this when the car started over boosting. So here's my thought... one of the line was cracked that it was actually venting to atmosphere through the crack.. thus making the wastegate open when it should. Now that i fixed the line, the top port has nowhere to vent and now the wastegate wont open at all. Just my guess and thought process.. i clearly lack knowledge in the wastegate plumbing department.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by 1Saucyyy_brz

The ecu AFR only goes as low as 11.02, so maybe in the tuners eyes that wasn't a problem (although that still sounds really rich for casually driving) When I drive I usually have my phone connected to my Bluetooth ecutek dongle, when casually accelerating, the aftermarket AFR guage will read low 10's but my phone will be pinned at 11.02 and will never go lower. This might be the reason that the tuner thought the aftermarket gauge was faulty.

Tomorrow if i have the time i will remove the line that has the pill in it and make sure it is clear of obstructions. Ill see if i can see through it and blow some air through it with a compressor. If air goes through it ill but it back on the car but open ended so i can see if the wastegate is functioning properly.

When I first got the kit I had purchased an electronic boost controller (an add on option full blown offers) I had one of the guys at full blow remote tune my car (what a headache) At the time there was a 6lb spring in the wastegate that opened every time the car was under boost. The tuner said he was comfortable going up in boost, so we unplugged the connector that goes to the purge solenoid (located underneath the intake manifold) cut the harness off and used that to power and operate the electronic boost controller. For whatever reason the tuner couldn't get it to operate at all. I sent him pictures of how it was connected and he said everything was correct. He uploaded a tune on the car that would verify the boost controller was receiving his information (verifying by there being a check engine light when the car started after the tune was uploaded) and it was, the check engine light was on which was what the tuner wanted to see.. but the controller still wasn't operating how it should. The tuner ditched the idea of the electronic boost controller and just told me to change the wastegate spring from the 6lb spring to the 9lb spring, then he just tuned off of that.

The reason my car is over boosting is because the wastegate is not opening at all. After watching the first video that you sent, I believe my wastegate lines may be hooked up wrong. The gentleman in the video stated that the top port of the wastegate usually vents to atmosphere or equalizes boost pressure from the bottom port.. (I took pictures of my setup for you to look at but i cant figure out for the life of me how to upload them onto here, i know you need the link to it but i cant find that.. even in the pictures properties.) Anyways my vacuum source is coming from my brake booster.. then i have that line going to the bottom of the wastegate (this is where the pill is located, just above the wastegate) in the middle of this line there are two tees.. one going to the blow off valve and the other going to the top of the wastegate. When i was getting my car tuned the guy putting the pill into the vacuum system didn't say anything about them being hooked up wrong or didn't change them himself. During tuning the wastegate operated like it should (i left a big black spot on their dyno ) It was a few months later that i was doing some work on my car and noticed some cracked and melted vacuum lines, so i went to the store got some new line and fixed them... it was after this when the car started over boosting. So here's my thought... one of the line was cracked that it was actually venting to atmosphere through the crack.. thus making the wastegate open when it should. Now that i fixed the line, the top port has nowhere to vent and now the wastegate wont open at all. Just my guess and thought process.. i clearly lack knowledge in the wastegate plumbing department.

So you have two choices on how to upload pictures, which is to use a picture hosting website like Imgur or you can add attachments, but they can't be large files, so you would need to reduce the size of the files.

You forgot to mention which O2 sensor you are using for the signal for the AFR gauge. The rear sensor is just a basic high/low type, but the front sensor is a wideband style if I remember correctly. Regardless, I think the ECU needs to be recalibrated to read lower than a given AFR, but I am not sure; I am not a tuner, and it is just what I have read. I think your problem with running rich might be also related to the vacuum/EVAP issues, so I would try to resolve that. You are definitely running too rich. You will be fouling plugs and killing the cats and stuff.

I don't know which Full Blown kit you have, but here is a diagram for the Precision wastegate and something for the Tial one. It does sound like your vacuum routing is off. In general, the top is vented unless you are running a controller. Going all the way off the brake booster line isn't ideal. There is also a one-way check valve there, so you need to be on the engine side of that and not on the brake booster side. Try to upload the pictures. The picture I uploaded below is the best routing where it goes just off the turbo or close to the turbo. This will lead to less boost spikes too.

https://www.precisionturbo.net/tech/...structions.pdf

[1Saucyyy_brz]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

So you have two choices on how to upload pictures, which is to use a picture hosting website like Imgur or you can add attachments, but they can't be large files, so you would need to reduce the size of the files.

You forgot to mention which O2 sensor you are using for the signal for the AFR gauge. The rear sensor is just a basic high/low type, but the front sensor is a wideband style if I remember correctly. Regardless, I think the ECU needs to be recalibrated to read lower than a given AFR, but I am not sure; I am not a tuner, and it is just what I have read. I think your problem with running rich might be also related to the vacuum/EVAP issues, so I would try to resolve that. You are definitely running too rich. You will be fouling plugs and killing the cats and stuff.

I don't know which Full Blown kit you have, but here is a diagram for the Precision wastegate and something for the Tial one. It does sound like your vacuum routing is off. In general, the top is vented unless you are running a controller. Going all the way off the brake booster line isn't ideal. There is also a one-way check valve there, so you need to be on the engine side of that and not on the brake booster side. Try to upload the pictures. The picture I uploaded below is the best routing where it goes just off the turbo or close to the turbo. This will lead to less boost spikes too.

https://www.precisionturbo.net/tech/...structions.pdf

Ill have to give uploading pictures another try, thanks for the help.

The AEM gauge came with its own sensor and is being read directly from the downpipe. I'm also fairly confident that the rich issue is related to some sort of vacuum/EVAP issue. The codes i received are pointing to the EVAP system, but I don't know where to start. The code states there there is the "incorrect purge flow" obviously there the incorrect purge flow, the solenoid valve is gone because of the failed attempt at using the boost controller. What I'm confused about is why the code took so long to appear. I drove the car before the motor was built for maybe 8 months with the solenoid missing and I never had this issue and never threw such a code. It was maybe a month after tuning the built motor where the code was thrown. And yes, I've already had to change one set of plugs, gotta get this shit figured out.

After I check on the restrictor pill, ill try rewiring my vacuum lines and leave the top of the wastegate to atmosphere. I am also on the engine side of the check valve so we are good there. Unfortunately there isn't a port on my turbo to get a boost source because the turbo is a bit outdated. Once i get these issues figured out I'm actually looking at getting a newer more efficient turbo. Ill work on getting those pictures to you!

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by 1Saucyyy_brz

Ill have to give uploading pictures another try, thanks for the help.

The AEM gauge came with its own sensor and is being read directly from the downpipe. I'm also fairly confident that the rich issue is related to some sort of vacuum/EVAP issue. The codes i received are pointing to the EVAP system, but I don't know where to start. The code states there there is the "incorrect purge flow" obviously there the incorrect purge flow, the solenoid valve is gone because of the failed attempt at using the boost controller. What I'm confused about is why the code took so long to appear. I drove the car before the motor was built for maybe 8 months with the solenoid missing and I never had this issue and never threw such a code. It was maybe a month after tuning the built motor where the code was thrown. And yes, I've already had to change one set of plugs, gotta get this shit figured out.

After I check on the restrictor pill, ill try rewiring my vacuum lines and leave the top of the wastegate to atmosphere. I am also on the engine side of the check valve so we are good there. Unfortunately there isn't a port on my turbo to get a boost source because the turbo is a bit outdated. Once i get these issues figured out I'm actually looking at getting a newer more efficient turbo. Ill work on getting those pictures to you!

If the vacuum routing was botched then that also explains why the EBC was not working. Just to explain: the turbo produces pressure, which is fed into the side of the wastegate; this pressure forces a cavity to expand, putting pressure on the piston to go up and compress the spring, which is connected to a rod and a diaphragm that opens the wastegate; the top of the wastegate is a hole going into the spring area or into another cavity that is being compressed, so that as the spring compresses, just atmospheric air is being pushed out of the wastegate; the manual boost controller or EBC basically pushes back down on the top of the wastegate, which aids the spring in keeping the wastegate closed longer.

Now, if you had a line going straight to the side of the wastegate then that would mean the wastegate would open at spring pressure or 9 psi. If you ran a second line to the top of the wastegate then there would be equal pressure on both sides of the wastegate, which is like running no lines, so the wastegate would never open and the car would overboost. I don't know if you are running a pill to the top of the wastegate or to the side of the wastegate and have two lines going, but I think you would run it to the side of the wastegate and still vent the top. I could imagine you running a line to the side of the wastegate, but then also running a line to the top, which had a restrictor pill in there that is only providing some resistance to help keep the spring open. I don't know what the size of the pill is or how they are best used, as a restrictor to the side that squeezes the spring less or a restrictor to the top that trims the boost to a level that perfectly assists the spring with keeping the wastegate closed longer. Typically, if someone removed the restrictor pill then more air would go to the wastegate, which would open the wastegate sooner or at a lower boost, which means the restrictor goes to the side of the wastegate and the top still vents to atmosphere.

As far as the EVAP, get that working again. The system may not have needed to purge itself. Maybe the car wasn't driven much. Maybe the gas cap was off and allowed pressure to vent. Maybe the tank was low. Maybe it was cold out. I don't know. It is hard to know from here.

Maybe if there was an exhaust leak, the O2 sensor would have a different reason, but maybe the calibration on the ECU for the signal is limited, as you shouldn't be running so rich. You probably have a vacuum leak, which is why you are running rich, so fix the EVAP and check for exhaust/vacuum leaks after you fix your routing.

[1Saucyyy_brz]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

If the vacuum routing was botched then that also explains why the EBC was not working. Just to explain: the turbo produces pressure, which is fed into the side of the wastegate; this pressure forces a cavity to expand, putting pressure on the piston to go up and compress the spring, which is connected to a rod and a diaphragm that opens the wastegate; the top of the wastegate is a hole going into the spring area or into another cavity that is being compressed, so that as the spring compresses, just atmospheric air is being pushed out of the wastegate; the manual boost controller or EBC basically pushes back down on the top of the wastegate, which aids the spring in keeping the wastegate closed longer.

Now, if you had a line going straight to the side of the wastegate then that would mean the wastegate would open at spring pressure or 9 psi. If you ran a second line to the top of the wastegate then there would be equal pressure on both sides of the wastegate, which is like running no lines, so the wastegate would never open and the car would overboost. I don't know if you are running a pill to the top of the wastegate or to the side of the wastegate and have two lines going, but I think you would run it to the side of the wastegate and still vent the top. I could imagine you running a line to the side of the wastegate, but then also running a line to the top, which had a restrictor pill in there that is only providing some resistance to help keep the spring open. I don't know what the size of the pill is or how they are best used, as a restrictor to the side that squeezes the spring less or a restrictor to the top that trims the boost to a level that perfectly assists the spring with keeping the wastegate closed longer. Typically, if someone removed the restrictor pill then more air would go to the wastegate, which would open the wastegate sooner or at a lower boost, which means the restrictor goes to the side of the wastegate and the top still vents to atmosphere.

As far as the EVAP, get that working again. The system may not have needed to purge itself. Maybe the car wasn't driven much. Maybe the gas cap was off and allowed pressure to vent. Maybe the tank was low. Maybe it was cold out. I don't know. It is hard to know from here.

Maybe if there was an exhaust leak, the O2 sensor would have a different reason, but maybe the calibration on the ECU for the signal is limited, as you shouldn't be running so rich. You probably have a vacuum leak, which is why you are running rich, so fix the EVAP and check for exhaust/vacuum leaks after you fix your routing.

A bit of an update for you. I adjusted the vacuum lines to the wastegate to match what was in the video (leaving the top port open to atmosphere) I am no longer over boosting and the wastegate opens up all the way. But here's the problem, even though the wastegate us opening i am only making 10lbs of boost. The restrictor pill is still in place and hasn't been touched. I've gotten in contact with the new tuner at the shop I've gone to and explained to him my over boosting issue and now the issue of not hitting target boost pressure. He said the easiest way for me to manage my boost is to ditch the restrictor pill and install a manual boost controller. He recommended to me either Grimmspeed or Hallman (if you have any experience with either of these products I would like to know.) But, I think it is safe to say that my boosting issues are fixed. Thank you again for your input and time.

As far as the running rich situation I was told to try putting back the EVAP purge solenoid and just hard wiring it (because the harness is no longer there.) So that next on the list. I also noticed something a bit peculiar on the way to class today.. while looking at all the parameters on my phone i noticed that the fuel pump duty was in the 60% range while casually accelerating and, every now and then would randomly flicker to 70% while still casually accelerating. Also I noticed the fuel rail pressure was on the higher side (probably because the pump duty was high) but these were just some important things I figured I should mention. I'm looking around my local area for a shop that will smoke test my car.