p2096 problem with catted DP

[Click Here]

Originally Posted by Tommy Plugs are pretty new too. What shoudl I use to clean them, assuming they are fouled? Wire brush? *edit* I have brake cleaner and MAF cleaner. Will either of them clean plugs?

Right, the plugs may be new, but if air was leaking past the sensor and making the car run rich in closed-loop that could absolutely foul the plugs in short order. Understand that I'm just taking a best guess here though. If it were my car the plugs are the first thing I'd check if I got a misfire code, especially if my O2 sensor was loose enough to trigger a CEL. Plugs are often the cause of misfires and they're also relatively easy to check.

Yeah, brake cleaner will work great if they are all gunked up. Wire brush should work fine but be gentle. Also while you have the plugs out double check the gap. If they're anymore than like 0.032" that may have contributed to the misfire as well. I'll be curious to know what you find.

And dude, I didn't read your post closely enough last time. Have you not tightened that sensor down with ah wrench yet? I know it's tough to get at but you really really need to get that taken care of asap. What is the issue exactly? Can you not even get an open ended wrench on there?

[Tommy]

Alright, so I finally got the sensor tightened up on it Saturday. About 130 miles driven on it since. The codes I cleared last week and no CEL since but should I rest the ECU again or just ride it out as is? I did not have time to pull the plugs but I gave it a few WOT runs after it was tightened down so hopefully that cleans up the plugs enough but I will check them before the week is out.

[Click Here]

Originally Posted by Tommy Alright, so I finally got the sensor tightened up on it Saturday. About 130 miles driven on it since. The codes I cleared last week and no CEL since but should I rest the ECU again or just ride it out as is? I did not have time to pull the plugs but I gave it a few WOT runs after it was tightened down so hopefully that cleans up the plugs enough but I will check them before the week is out.

Nah, you shouldn't have to reset the ECU so long as you cleared the codes. Let us know what you find after you've put some more miles on it. If the CEL does return make sure you check which codes popped back up.

[Tommy]

Ok, so I', l;ate with the update. I got it tightened down a couple fo weeks ago and all was fine until last night when I got anohter CEL. I had it checked and it is now the P0421 - Warm up Catalyst Below Threshold Bank.
I clear it out but the CEL came back on tonight. WTF?

[Click Here]

Originally Posted by Tommy Ok, so I', l;ate with the update. I got it tightened down a couple fo weeks ago and all was fine until last night when I got anohter CEL. I had it checked and it is now the P0421 - Warm up Catalyst Below Threshold Bank. I clear it out but the CEL came back on tonight. WTF?

That's another code commonly associated with a cat that is not functioning properly.

[smitty5788]

that says your cat isnt working. Its CPE's problem now, you need to tell them that. I have the same code with their catless pipe.

[www.cp-e.com]

Unfortunately, it should be noted that catalysts are fragile pieces. If you were running around excessively rich for an extended period of time (due to your original problem, and loose secondary oxygen sensor), you may have damaged the catalyst, causing the in-efficiency fault.

If you would like to email me on the issue, I will see what we can do.
smarques@cp-e.com

-Sander

[www.cp-e.com]

Originally Posted by smitty5788 that says your cat isnt working. Its CPE's problem now, you need to tell them that. I have the same code with their catless pipe.

If you have a P0420 with a cat-less down pipe, this is to be expected, as there is no cat to measure the efficiency of.

[smitty5788]

Originally Posted by www.cp-e.com If you have a P0420 with a cat-less down pipe, this is to be expected, as there is no cat to measure the efficiency of.

Im aware

[Tommy]

Originally Posted by www.cp-e.com Unfortunately, it should be noted that catalysts are fragile pieces. If you were running around excessively rich for an extended period of time (due to your original problem, and loose secondary oxygen sensor), you may have damaged the catalyst, causing the in-efficiency fault. If you would like to email me on the issue, I will see what we can do. smarques@cp-e.com -Sander

Well, I emailed you yesterday but with the holiday, I don't expect a response until next week. Anyways. assuming that the short time I drove with the car running richer than normal has managed to somehow clog up the cat, is there anything I can do to clean it out?

[MattJackson86]

I just started throwing a P0421 code with my CP-E catted downpipe. I have had the DP for 30,000 miles ish I would say. I have cleared the code a couple times and it comes back after a day. Any ideas?

[Tommy]

I'm gonna seafoam it in a couple of weeks when I change the oil since the can mentions cleaning the cat.

[www.cp-e.com]

If you guys have made sure that the o2 sensors are tight, and that the exhaust system is free of leaks, we will take the catted DP's back with a copy of the original purchase receipt and either repair or replace the cats under warranty.

Any questions on this please email me at smarques@cp-e.com

-Sander

[smitty5788]

At least some vendors here stand by their work

[MattJackson86]

Thanks Sander. I am sure mine is good as its been installed for over a year. I will let you know what I decide to do. For now I am going to see how it goes as its not affecting driving. Will replace it probably when I replace the turbo. Only want to do the install once.

I really do love CP-E's customer service.

[Tommy]

Thanks Sander. I'll still try to Seafoam it and see what happens. I don't have another car so I can't just take it off and wait for it to come back but if you are having another dyno day in the near future, I could come down there a day or two beforehand to get it done. I was planning on this anyway since I wanted to get tuned also.

[Tommy]

Ok, for Sander and anyone else that may be concerned. This weekend, I cleared the P0421 code out again and once again saw that I had the misfire code as well. So, with codes cleared, I seafoamed after getting it good and hot, cleared it out with a few strong highway pulls in 4th and then cleaned and regapped all 4 plugs. Two of the plugs were pretty blackened. I cleaned out the MAF sensor too for good measure. So far, I have put 180 miles with no CEL but 250 has been the magic number. I'll hit that in a couple of days and report back. Hopefully the DP can be saved.

[www.cp-e.com]

Thanks, just keep me posted.

[Tommy]

Ok, the CEL is back. Any other ideas before returning the DP?

[MattJackson86]

Try resetting the ECU by disconnecting the battery. I know that may sound odd but I will say that I have not received that CEL code in over 1500 miles as shortly after I posted I reset the ecu.