and reading the threads here I have the same issues as other posters
unbelievably rich running - I can see the fuel guage going down as I drive !!!
inside the rocker box cover cap it smells fuelly - but then again I don’t know the correct smell for that area
all the plugs are horribly fouled
problem started about 2 weeks ago and won’t go away
I have inspected the hoses and most of the elbow rubber attachments broke and crumbled up. I have used some silicone tube to make new attachments. Drove my car for 20 minutes and it ran like a dream - I mean perfect
then turned round to come home and the idle was all over the place, tried to stall at standstill and would spin up too fast when accelerating
how can I better verify these little blighters - they have become the bane of my life
thanks allready for the superb post on this subject - any more wisdom here is mega appreciated
cheers
OK so if I attach a tube to the nipple on the bottom of the ECU unit and blow or suck on it should I encounter 100% resistance or should I be able to blow some. If I do this there is total resistance - still going through the other tubes and the fuel trap for about the 10th time now!!!
As I post about every few days… these are service items. Replace them.
Some folks have replaced them with silicon hose but for me I have used the original design and any time I have bought another SPi it’s the first job I do.
The sensor inside the MEMS ECU is what detects the vacuum, i wouldn’t be blowing or sucking on it. If you damage it the ECU is scrap.
It seems to me the rubber or whatever the manufacturers want to call it is what is known in the mechanical trade call crap. I’m of the opinion they they may be a subsidiary of the Kraft company because they appear to be made of cheese.
The last time I just removed the original ends a used some quality vacume hose in their place.
The first one to suffer is usually the short one from the inlet manifold to the fuel trap. When I replace that with some generic hose it collapsed on itself pretty quickly as the plastic softened due to the heat in that area. Maybe your silicon hose has become kinked. The genuine part (minispares send them out in Rover bags) seem to hold up to the heat well.
If you install anything other then original vac lines, you have to be REALLY careful in your selection. I bought some silicone tubing that has a very thick wall and was picked by a tuner for this reason. These are vacuum line after all…and so there is pressure in them. The wrong tubing and it can collapse onto itself or at least constrict. That could cause some very strange running behaviors.
Also, if your car was running that rich, did you notice any fuel/wetness inside any of the vac lines when you pulled them off? If so you need to check that the fuel trap is free and it might be a good idea to remove your ECU and let it sit in a warm, dry place for as long as you can so that the MAP sensor has a chance to dry out if it too got wet.
it’s sad but good to know that other’s have been here too -
boy I got my undies all twisted over this one
Yep I absolutely agree about the silicone tubing - I tried some and for half an hour had an amazing run and then…
finally I managed to locate someone nearby and just picked up 8 of them - adds up at 350 yen a piece
bunged them on and oh my goodness back to normal - what a joy
my life was misery because of a tiddly bit of rubber
and yes I agree 100% with peter-b the original ones seem to be made out of synthetic cheese, try to remove them and they literally (two ‘l’s’ one ‘t’) dissolve in your hand
nothing whatsoever wrong with the ECU, fuel trap or lines - and yes it’s kind of fun getting the two behind the manifold but once you have put it on and pulled it off a few times it’s a piece of cake really
most definitely a weak point of the SPI mini - threw me I can tell you - but I can live with this now I know what it is
