car only idles when i open vaf flap

[deathtrigga]

my bp only turns on when i open the vaf flap with my hand. Or else the car doesn't turn on. exhaust gas temperature is very hot because fireballs come out from the exhaust manifold, and other parts of the exhaust piping are getting very hot as i can tell because the inside of the car is burning hot because the heat is transferring from the piping to the chassis. I think plugs, wires are good because the car runs once u open the vaf. you can rev it and all. i tried to check for codes but it didnt flash anything.

[bcowie]

is it running lean? has anyone played with the vaf?

[323driver]

So it doesn't start without you holding the VAF open?

Once started does it run without you holding the VAF?

[crazycanadian]

my bp only turns on when i open the vaf flap with my hand. Or else the car doesn't turn on. exhaust gas temperature is very hot because fireballs come out from the exhaust manifold, and other parts of the exhaust piping are getting very hot as i can tell because the inside of the car is burning hot because the heat is transferring from the piping to the chassis. I think plugs, wires are good because the car runs once u open the vaf. you can rev it and all. i tried to check for codes but it didnt flash anything.

You have posted this all over mazda323performance.com as well.. did you ever look for a vacuum leak intake tubing between the throttle body and vaf?

[deathtrigga]

is it running lean? has anyone played with the vaf?

idk how to tell if its running lean, i've switched between 2 u code vafs that i have and same problems on both

So it doesn't start without you holding the VAF open?

Once started does it run without you holding the VAF?

no i have to keep holding the vaf or else if i let go the flap closes and it dies

You have posted this all over mazda323performance.com as well.. did you ever look for a vacuum leak intake tubing between the throttle body and vaf?

lol im not even on mazda323performance

[progt91]

you have to check for vaccuum leaks. thats what it seems to have based on the vid clip you posted a while ago. either that or the timing is not right.

[deathtrigga]

those are old video clips i got the car running after that because the injectors where the problem in that video now it just doesn't want to start, itll kick over but dies in like half a second unless you hold open the vaf, vaf open at full throttle makes the engine idle great.

[FazdaBoy4ever]

the vaf held wide open means your dumping fuel into the cylinders...

so your plugs are black indicating a rich condition,

it doesnt idle unless you dump TONS of fuel in

its not your vaf... you dont have 2 of the same problem its just they mask the symptom when held wide open. its something else.

did you ever even clean your plugs??? if you didnt, for the love of god im done. it doesnt cost a penny... I just worked on a vacuum leak of my own, when I got it done I had a misfire at idle I pulled my black plugs out and cleaned them and no more misfire... being at school I have seen cars not start regularly because they get cranked so much and not really run to get cleaned out.

I dont mean just soak them in solvant or wipe them with a rag, do what I said in your other post (or get new plugs @ 1.90 a piece).

[progt91]

when did it start doing this? honestly it shouldnt be running if you hold the flap wide open. it should conk out and die

[deathtrigga]

first it started off with the car running on 1 cylinder because it turned out the fuel injectors weren't firing, so i replaced them with a spare set and so they all started working and it was good, the car would start and idle good but would read hot. so i replaced the temp sensor on the front of the head with the pro one and it started running great idle was good temp was in the middle. Before this i had some problems with the thermostat opening up like my fan wasn't working but after i changed the temp sensor everything was ok. I did mess before with the idle switch a little bit to get idle down but after i swapped over tb's i havent touched the idle screw. So it was running great i turned it off for a couple hours was working on another part of the car went to turn it on later and it doesn't turn on correctly and there was misfire coming from the intake, it still does that sometimes if u rev high and let revs drop sometimes itll misfire. The exhaust gets really hot u can see smoke or something coming from the exhaust piping my friends said they say little fireballs dropping from like the cat area or something. It gets really hot and u can feel the inside of the car getting really hot cuz of it too. this happens if im running the car with the vaf manually opened and i rev the engine a few times after a while these high exhaust gas temperature symptoms occur.

[redheddude222]

You have a vacuum leak, like stated above. The problem is probably your rubber intake hose that connects the VAF to the throttlebody. There is a "ribbed" flex section in the middle that is pretty much guaranteed to leak on our cars. Check to see if it's cracked. If it is, tape it up the best you can and that should help.

Also, check your fuel pressure solenoid and VICS solenoid on the side of the intake manifold. It's common for the nipples to break off of those, also causing a vacuum leak.

[bcowie]

if you can try and pressurize the intake with a air compressor (I used 10psi) or a bike pump with the car off. See if you can hear anything, that worked for me.

[deathtrigga]

You have a vacuum leak, like stated above. The problem is probably your rubber intake hose that connects the VAF to the throttlebody. There is a "ribbed" flex section in the middle that is pretty much guaranteed to leak on our cars. Check to see if it's cracked. If it is, tape it up the best you can and that should help.

Also, check your fuel pressure solenoid and VICS solenoid on the side of the intake manifold. It's common for the nipples to break off of those, also causing a vacuum leak.

the intake hose from vaf to tb is brand new man im telling you there are No rips or anything in it im telling you all nipples are connected but illl check anyway what does the fpr solenoid and vics solenoid look like?

if you can try and pressurize the intake with a air compressor (I used 10psi) or a bike pump with the car off. See if you can hear anything, that worked for me.

how can i do this ? could you tell me exactly what you did ? im just wondering how this will work if you are dumping air into your manifold wont you hear anoise because you are putting air into your manifold it would cover up any sounds of air leaking wont it?

[redheddude222]

the intake hose from vaf to tb is brand new man im telling you there are No rips or anything in it im telling you all nipples are connected but illl check anyway what does the fpr solenoid and vics solenoid look like?

On the passenger side of the intake manifold, near the head, there is a bracket with 2 black plastic solenoids on it that have vacuum lines running to/from them. Make sure they are both in good condition.

Also, if you've messed with your fuel injectors at all, make sure they sealed back in the head ok. I've had a similar problem when I put my injectors back in and a piece of gasket got under one and caused a leak.

[deathtrigga]

On the passenger side of the intake manifold, near the head, there is a bracket with 2 black plastic solenoids on it that have vacuum lines running to/from them. Make sure they are both in good condition.

Also, if you've messed with your fuel injectors at all, make sure they sealed back in the head ok. I've had a similar problem when I put my injectors back in and a piece of gasket got under one and caused a leak.

both are a check, actually to be honest i took those solenoids of the parts egt i have because i think the pro ones i have were broken. this is sucha stupid problem i hate it because the engine SHOULD at least start and have a rough idle if there was a vacuum leak, but it doesn't do that, ill try to get a video or something so i could explain to you guys a little clearer what exactly is happening =/