Superspec Lambda

[Guest Build-it]

OK I give up the sun's out & my car has failed with a problem that I find difficult to understand! I've read the latest reports of the Superspec SVA fails due to the Lambda and found the advice given by all you kind people who replied to Martins (Wick12) post most helpful pre my retest and all seemed to check out OK with the sensor giving between 0.2 and 0.5v when checked with the multi meter to ground. The ground test of the grey sensor cable shows no resistance when also checked with the multimeter.

 

My only fail now is the Lambda, which shows too lean at 1.26 & 1.25 on the second attempt. I have not yet tried RHSC as I have no faith in their help line, who recently said that I was the "only winger who keeps calling" I actually called the help line on 7 occasions over the past year !

 

I am not at all familiar with these electronics and would be extremely grateful if anybody has any idea how I could discover the problem, be it a leak on the inlet side, ECU, Lambda sensor etc etc. Is there some specialist service available generally that could check all the likely causes and provide a professional opinion. Also can anybody advise what I need to tell any garage in terms of checking my ECU, like what plug has it got and what type of unit it is.

 

The rest of the car has passed including the other emission tests at 0% CO & 7ppm HC. An independent test station tested the car purely for the exhaust emissions and has found the same result being CO at 1.26 at 2750rpm and at idle but say they are so many varialbes that they could not give any concise help.

[Guest TerryBarry]

1.26 is extremely lean

I believe that the testing device analyses the amount of oxygen in the exhaust gas emerging from the tailpipe.

My own experience is that a leak downstream of the lambda sensor can cause air to be sucked into the exhaust thus giving a "weak" reading. One of my tintops had a couple of very small perforations in the centre exhaust sector and this was sufficient to cause a failure.

If there is a leak prior to the sensor I believe that this will cause the ECU to try to enrichen the mixture - not the problem you have

[Guest gordon_macnab]

Don't suppose this is the response you're looking for but have you tried a replacement lambda sensor about £80(or possibly borrowing one from someone else to see if that's where the problem lies.

 

The garage you got your emmissions tested must surley know of someone locally who has the diagnostic equipment to check these things. I know when my last car failed MOT on emmissions they said it was probably the lamda sensor but it had to go to another garage who had the right kit to be checked for definite which cost £50 but confirmed the problem.

 

Not sure the garage you went to were too interested (as usual) as it would be too difficult and they might have had to think for themselves.

 

The engine in your car was fitted to rover 220's, 420's & 620's probably easiest to tell them it's from a 220 coupe (1993-1996) as these had less derivates than the other models.

 

Not sure what the ECU came from but would expect it to be a copy of the rover item (although just guessing) but the garage should know what they're looking at and have adaptors to suit most types.

 

What to do is go round in person to one or two till you find someone you get a good feeling about and who knows what they're talking about, then take the car along, you will be ok legally as long as it's pre-booked.

 

No real help but hopefully a few ideas

 

Gordon

[Guest bugsy]

Hi There,

I have a SPARE Lambda sensor for a super Spec, If you PM me your address i could send it to you for the price of a pint at Newark

 

Once you get it sorted you could maybe pass it on to someone else who is haveing the same problem .

 

Just one thought though, my tester at the SVA got a different reading form the two different outlets on the ex zorst, could it be that the air is being sucked into one and across the test thingy on the other, sorry i explained it best i could

 

Good luck

Bugsy

[Big Jim]

Just one thought though, my tester at the SVA got a different reading form the two different outlets on the ex zorst, could it be that the air is being sucked into one and across the test thingy on the other, sorry i explained it best i could

I think that in truth Bugsy he was willing it to pass as much as we were!!

there still seems to be a problem with the readings on Superspecs.

[Guest bugsy]

I think that in truth Bugsy he was willing it to pass as much as we were!!

 

Totally agree with you Jim, If i had the other tester (the one who said "I hate kit cars") i would still not be on the road,

 

Sadly it seems that RH arnt that interested either

 

 

Lets hope we get to the bottom of this one soon!

 

Bugsy

[Guest paul2]

where are you? may have help if in essex

[Longboarder]

Doesn't it seem too much of a coincidence that all superspecs are having this same problem. There must be a fault in the installation, wiring, sensors or the ECU's. RH have always bought job lots of 'remaindered' stock and modified the car design to fit rather than purchase specificaly to improve the car. (The ECU is probably quite an early model and there may be software updates from years ago to sort this problem.) With a pinto that does not matter much but not on the rover engine.

Or this may turn out to be something like not a faulty sensor such as lambda or engine temp but on a mismatch. So the components all check out as OK but just don't work together.

Job for the experts such as ATP and their Network 500 centres or the local injection guru. Sorry I haven't got a definitive answer.

 

Nigel

[Guest paul thompson]

SVA fails due to the Lambda

Isn't that sopme kind of Latino dance you can go to classes for?

[Guest bugsy]

Isn't that sopme kind of Latino dance you can go to classes for?

 

Yeah its a bit like the one on your Avitar

 

Back to the topic, If RH have not put a Super Spec through the SVA whats to say that they have checked the Emissions?

[Guest Build-it]

Thanks for all the input, which has been most helpful. I am now speaking with another local garage and the local Rover service station who say they should be able to connect to the ECU (I've sent them both photos of the round plug) and let me know what or where the problem lies.

 

Other than the problem of securing an SVA pass my other concern is that with the mixture so lean any heavy use of the engine, say on long motorway use, it is likely to result in the piston heads blowing !

 

Bugsy; many thanks for your kind offer of the loan of the spare sensor, which I will take up if the garage reports that it is the sensor that has failed.

 

Despite my earlier comments I did speak with Richard and he is unable to help but asked me to send a history breakdown and a copy of the SVA emissions report so that he could pass it on to his technical chaps. I will send him a copy but he added that he has one other lambda reported problem and suggested that I keep an eye on that on this web site, which of course I am doing but I do not believe it is only one other who is experiencing this problem.

 

I will let you know how I get on at the local diagnostic centre or centres or if I can sort it by following all your help.

 

Shaun

[Guest salty_monk]

Perhaps a lot more of you "Super" bunch need to make a fuss then... Or perhaps he told you that in an attempt to make you go away

 

You have to ask yourself.... now the company is sold, does he really give a monkey's???

[Guest Dredd]

Not one to defend the customer service ethos of RHSC, however, mine did pass the test with no problems, as did Friars I believe

[Guest Build-it]

Hi, back again after more tests !

 

The local diagnostic garage kindly ran their checks late yesterday and concluded that the lambda was not the problem but a ground in the ECU is suspect. They said it may be a ground missing or broken down within the unit but are unable to say for certain as the Lambda is a sensors that is not accessible from the diagnostic plug.

 

Having reviewed all I can find on this site on this subject I thought I'd try to provide a ground to the sensor, which Richard also advised. There is a good ground to the heater already but the information I have from a reputable Lambda web site is that the two white wires are the heater, the black wire is the signal and the grey wire is the ground. However, my wiring (all as the RHSC diagram; lambda grey to car green and Lambda black to car grey) gives a 1.5v positive reading on the wire that is connected to the lambda grey !! Are we sure that the lambda sensor grey wire should be grounded ??? or will this just short out the lot and cause irriversible damage.

 

Here's hoping someone out there can help further or confirm whether I should provide a ground to the Lambda grey wire.

 

Regards

Shaun

[Guest Wick12]

The whole thing is a mess, I have spent endless time £700 and still the 02 level is too high.

 

I have got another ecu from RH this is worse! the lambda sensor I replaced with a universal one! I have made phone calls to RH they seem as helpful as they can be but I supect without the engine,ecu and the complete exhaust in there workshop they are unable to diagnose the fault.

I have measured everything and it seems ok the earth is ok but I have now bought an EMERALD ecu which is on the car at the moment it is re- programmable with a laptop, so far I have managed to get the co level at tick over down to the required level BUT there is a lot to programme and I don't think I have made the best of decisions taking this on?

But persist I must as my wife knows how much I have spent on this box.

I think the bargain thing as advertised for the super spec is now turning into what I hoped it would not be, "A nightmare".

 

I wish it was a pinto.

 

Does anyone know if RH ever got any of their Super Specs through the SVA?

 

 

Martin