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TOPIC: Hello from Marin County, California

Hello from Marin County, California 27 Feb 2013 09:24 #1

  • bluebatch
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I just got my license and bits, and will be grooving my daughters Honda CR-V this weekend, if not before.
My name is Mark Bachelder, and I will change my login to that once I find the edit button on my profile (any hints out there on this?)
I have also purchased a Scan Gauge II, and a laser-pointer infra-red thermometer to help me with diagnostics.
I am looking forward to seeing my manifold exhaust temps go down, as an indicator of increased efficiency. And mileage going up. of course. Fiddling around in the dark last night, I got 471 degrees F, shooting from under the car up the manifold/headtube flange. Much of the pipes are shrouded, skewing the temps (as they are supposed to).

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Hello from Marin County, California 27 Feb 2013 09:29 #2

  • Ron
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You're going to love it, Mark.

I am taking care of your Username right now. Use your Login as "Mark Bachelder" from now on.

Ron

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Last edit: by Ron.

Hello from Marin County, California 05 Mar 2013 00:09 #3

  • bluebatch
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I cut my first groove 2 days ago on my daughter's 98 Honda CR-V. Not very skillfully I would say - somewhat choppy and it seems as I moved from left to right that I wandered away from the throttle plate about .050. Strange.
The good news - the car runs and runs well. I did the full ECU reset protocol, exhaust smelled sweeter or not at all after the ECU run.
I would say I have more power - but that is only subjective - it does seem to drive more smoothly though. I just fitted it with a Scan Gauge II, and still calibrating. I filled up right after grooving it, and then about 4 gallons later (to start calibrating the SGII) Preliminarily not very good mileage - about the same as before. We shall see.

The Check Engine light came on this AM - and it started in a very strange and bucking way this AM, but only that one time. Been driving it all day. I will reset the CE light once I read up on it in the SGII manual.

If I don't get good economy results pretty soon, I think I will fill and regoove. I used the largest bit in the set - any comments anybody?

Also - there are two large ports upstream of the plate - idle air ports I suppose. One goes thru a valve that opens and closes with radiator water temp, and back into the downside of the throttle body. The other port flows to a valve on the side of the manifold, also water-heated and this one has an electic sensor (maybe actuator as well?) 0n it. Any more comments? I left these intact.

No vacuum leaks as I can tell, pulled of the PCV hose to the manifold and capped the manifold port. The other PCV hose goes upstream of the TB and I left it alone. Also pulled off the charcoal canister hose and capped the manifold port. Will reroute to upstream of the TB after getting clearer about my results. No other vac conduits (pretty clean?) .

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Hello from Marin County, California 05 Mar 2013 12:20 #4

  • Ron
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Howdy, Mark!
Glad to see you popped your cherry, and that one you receive a challenge with makes it a good one to open with.

The bucking is generally the result of the ECU having to adapt to the change in air flow into the intake caused by eliminating the flow from the PCV. The IAC range will now be different and the ECU has to learn that new range.

You will want to find out what that code is. If you don't have a code reader/clearer just pop into the nearest AutoZone and get them to read it for you. They'll print out a sheet with all codes and suspected causes. Then come back here.

As to the air valves, you will find more success if you block the one that is temperature controlled. The ECU will adjust the electrically controlled valve to compensate, and you will have eliminated one of the vac leaks engineered into the system.

Now, get the code and let's get the next level started!

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Hello from Marin County, California 10 Mar 2013 21:39 #5

  • bluebatch
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The trouble code I got was PID02 1457. On troublecodes.net the note I found was:
P1457 Unable To Pull Vacuum In Tank

This seems reasonable as I disco'd the vac hose from the charcoal cartridge and capped it for now. I can reconnect to the passive side later.

I cleared the code using my brand new Scan Gauge II, and the check-engine light went off.

After my first full tank of gas, I got 22.3 mpg - not a breakthrough, but Ron says in the Vacuum Sytems PDF



that Honda's often need a couple of tanks to show results. I think I will try that. And my exhaust temps are high, maybe higher than pre-mod (476 up to 560 or so).

This suggests to me that I need to research my vacuum leaks, maybe the TB gasket, or the Idle Air passages (two big ports, see above).

That said, I swear this car has more power and runs smoother. It seems I barely need to squeak the gas pedal to get all over town really easy, and it pulls great on the hills when I need it. We have a lot of these out here.

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Hello from Marin County, California 10 Mar 2013 22:04 #6

  • Ron
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Congratulations, Mark! You are no longer a Groovy Virgin!

If you don't mind, please repost this under Foreign vehicles, with the header "(year) Honda CRV" that way anyone looking for info on Honda's can find it there.

Good job!

PS: You will want to consider installing a MAPster on this one...

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