I had Nismo cams installed in my car about three weeks ago. Other than having a rough idle my car has run fine since the install. I was planning on having the idle bumped to 850 or 900 rpm this week to hopefully fix the problem of the engine bogging down to 600 rpm on occassion at idle.

On Saturday I got up to drive the car to a local car show. After I started the car and let it warm up for a couple of minutes the check engine light came on. It was cool Saturday morning, in the low 40s. It hasn't been that cool yet this Fall. It stayed on while I drove to and from the show. I checked everything I could think of but couldn't find the problem. Today I started the car again and the light came on again. Anyone else had this problem? I have the Technosquare ECU reflash and most NA bolt on mods.

I was wondering if it might be one of the sensors in the cats or headers. I had one of the sensors in the cats work its way loose before, but it didn't trigger the check engine light. It caused a rattling sound so I took it to my dealer who put it on the lift and found the problem.

I am beginning to wonder if I don't need to get my ECU reflashed again, although my dealer and Technosquare have both told me that I shouldn't have to. I am going to call my dealer tomorrow about getting the car in to have it checked out on the computer.

 

You're going to have to check the code... try autozone or an equivalent shop that will check the code for free.

No way to diagnose the problem without doing this

 

My other question is it safe to drive it 30 miles to my dealer?

 

find a local Autozone as suggested and get it scanned...so when you go to the dealer you know what to tell them

 

Every person should OWN their own OBD2 scanner............so inexpensive.

 

or even better, Cipher

 

yep, i wish i had a Cipher

 

Just got back from my dealer. The check engine light was caused by a sensor detecting that the car was running too lean. They reset it and bumped my idle up to 900 rpm. Since the check engine light came on while the car was idling they hope bumping the idle will fix the problem. If not I may have to get my ECU reflashed again. It seems to be running fine now.

 

Good news. A cipher would be a good investment for you, if you get the CEL again. If not, then you should be good

 

Where's the best place to get a Cipher? I am not really familar with it. Does it allow you to make adjustments to the ECU?

 

AAM

 

If you have cams and all the basic bolt ons I think its time for a utec. Get that thing tuned to perfection. How do you like the cams by the way?

 

defiantly... you need an ECU if you have cams... plus its a must to raise the idle to circa 850 rpms with cams too

 

I have the Technosquare ECU reflash. I had it done just before I got my last bolt on mod, the headers, to include them. I was told by Technosquare that I wouldn't need another reflash if I got cams. I wonder if I don't need some fine tuning now though.

I really like the cams, except for the idle issues I have had. They really bring out the power above 3000 rpm up to the rev limiter. After I got my 3.9 gears I noticed that power seemed to drop off quickly above 5800 rpm. Now it pulls hard all the way. There are several cams out there that are more aggressive than the Nismos, but I wanted something reliable and something that didn't make the car hard to drive on the street.

 

Just had my idle raised to 900 rpm. It seems to make a difference.

 

The reason having the cipher tool is useful... is that you can do a lot of air/fuel checking, troubleshooting, etc.

You can plot your AFR and timing versus RPM and see how the technosquare reflash is holding up. Just for example.

If you race, you can see where you are shifting, as well as intake/coolant temps.

Overall, it's a really great tool...for the serious enthusiast it's a must IMO

 

+1

 

How do you reset the Check Engine Light?

 

You can reset the CEL? Wow! I've been driving around with it on for several months; I thought it was on forever once set...

 

I just unplug the battery for a bit and it resets it. Probably a better way but its always worked for me.