I've posted about my Z overheating because Technosquare
forgot to replug the fan connectors after the ECU reflash.

Ever since the overheat, my Z has lost significant power across the whole powerband.
First I thought the engine might have been damaged...
But I am beginning to think that the ECU might be in some kind of safe mode.

This is very VERY weird...
First of all, no power/torque across the power band..
Second, All I hear is the exhaust noise...There's nothing
going on in the front...no engine noise or Pop Charger growl...
Third, when I gas the car, the pedal feels as if
there's no resistance, and also goes in VERY little.
When at WOT, the pedal is only pressed in about two inches.
Feels like the throttle isn't opening up 100%...
When I do WOT the rpm is going up rapidly while the car doesn't pull.

I thought it could be in limp mode, but I can rev past 2500rpm...

Do you think if I get the ECU resetted and reflashed, my car would return to normal?

Thanks for your input.

 

Drive by wire dude. There is no feedback from the engine to the pedal like in a conventional system. WOT can occur at different pedal positions - drive by wire again. As for the rest, do have any CELs? You can reset the ECU w/o affecting the reflash; I suppose you can try that. But how about some objective results, like a quick 0-60 romp?

 

Thanks for your reply.
Yes I did have CEL come on, but I went to Technosquare and they turned
it off for me...
I'm not sure if they reset the ECU, but they did turn it off...
0-60...I don't think it's even worth trying...Today I had hard time
passing 2000 4 banger Accord :/
I was actually going to take it to dyno tomorrow, but I'm afraid that'll push
the car in this mode...

I'm going back next Tuesday to Technosquare for ECU reflash...I'm hoping that will
get rid of the power loss...
Would it be ok to drive the car around by then?

 

Yet another reason to avoid reflashes.

 

When exactly did you notice the lack of power? Immediately after the reflash or sometime after the overheating event?

 

I started noticing it immidiately after the overheating...when I tried to
drive the car home...
It could have been minutes before the overheat too..because I
slightly remember thinking why the car wasn't pulling as hard...
I thought it was because I was driving slowly because my mom was sitting next to me.
There's a possibility that it already was entering limp mode when the
temperature started to get hot...I've also noticed that
my clutch started acting weird (I've read something about clutch acting certain way
to prevent transmission damage during limp mode)
But then at the same time my clutch was having problem due to
prior pedal mis-adjustment by the dealer...

I've managed to fix the clutch pedal issue, but dealer didn't do anything
about the engine, saying it's normal...BS

I've disconnected the battery to reset the ECU last night...
I hope this will take care of the problem.
BTW, when I went back to Technosquare to have them turn off
SES light, did they already reset the ECU then?
If so...what I'm doing right now won't help then..
Or can they just turn it off W/O resetting the ECU?
It seems that all my settings like clock and station settings were
still intact. But then again I have aftermarket Pioneer navigation unit
so it could not have been affected like OEM system some how...

 

Im pretty sure i know what it is. You might have a knock sensor going bad. I know if those go bad that can re-tard timing on the car which would cause loss of power. esp. the faster you go. If you are at about 65 MPH and you try and go WOT it will barely kreep up the spedometer.

 

Knock sensor? Then would it be best to take the car into the dealer?
It should be covered under warranty right? I was also thinking something
may be affecting MAF also.

 

Ya if you take it to the dealership that is covered under warrenty. Parts and labor are covered in the warrenty fix for that. Good luck and keep me updated on it.

 

I've driven the car for quite a few more today after resetting the ECU...
My verdict is that I dont think my car's in any kind of 'limp' or 'safe' mode.
Either my engine's shot or something's wrong with my throttle control...
The fact that my gas paddle only goes in about two inches for WOT,
and when flooring it the car don't pull, it means that my throttle control
unit might be messed up...

I'm going in for compression test and engine check tomorrow or if not on monday...

Damn, there's so many possibility it's making my head hurt...it could be
the engine itself, MAF sensor, knock sensor, and now throttle control...
SIGH