Betsy Blue

[Charlie B.]

Greg Ross called me about 4 o'clock this afternoon, He was in Scranton, Pennsylvania getting on to rte l-84 heading toward Ct. He said the car was running perfectly

with the new engine and 5 speed.

We had a lot of snow last night but the roads are all clear now, so he doesn't have to worry about that.

As they used to say, GODSPEED, G.M.

Charlie B.

[Guest]

He is like tracking Santa!

[Charlie B.]

Greg here,

Made it to New England safely and had a pleasant evening with Charlie B.

And accommodations at Charlies' as well, EBSO now you know where you can stay if you ever make it to Conn.

Betsy Blue Canada bound.

[Guest EDBSO]

GMRoss, you have got horse shoes.

Great friends, car and missed the huge storm.

Hi to Charlie and continued safe trip, Robert

[Guest]

How far is this trip going?

[Guest EDBSO]

could be N 44 38 9.1 W 63 37 12.8 I believe? " [color:\\"white\\"] Halifax "

[Charlie B.]

Greg Ross came to Ct. last nite, we enjoyed a meal at a local Restaurant,with a small amount of libation.

My only problem is that he left at about 7:00 am this morning and I did not get to take any photos of "Betsy Blue". It is a very nice car. I just don't know how he could have driven it so far and kept it so clean. He figured he had about another 12 hours of driving to get home.

He really is a <span style="font-weight: bold">nice guy</span> and I am Jealous of his Reatta. I will have to start looking for a 5 speed transmission for one of my babys'

and then spend hours getting info from Greg and Paddget, who is a computer whiz and did the reprogramming on Betsy Blue.

He's enjoying the ride.

Charlie B.

[Guest Greg Ross]

Home now, landed in about 8:00 pm last night.

ECM is acting like it's been the subject of an amputation, still thinks it has a TCC. Am only getting one ECM Code setting, E038 for the Torque Converter Clutch, it doesn't affect closed loop operation so not a problem.

VSS is in need of an adaptor to correct the input pulses from the Getrag transmission. The only "Drivability" issue at this time is the IAC, cold start is instantanious but the IAC kicks in with a very fast idle and then settles down. When up-shifting the revs don't drop down quickly, kind of hang up there and when slowing down the IAC values don't seem to be entirely stable-several stalls along the way.

Padgett describes this as an "Anti-burp" feature, programmed to not allow unburnt exhaust gasses to be expelled. With the TCC disengagement you'd never be aware of it with the Automatic, but with the direct drive through the manual transmission it's a distinct lumpy transition.

The more agressive camshaft entirely changes the power band, toward the end of the trip I as starting to wind it up a bit and like the response. It really pulls now in 4th and 5th, rpm range between 2700 and 3800. Haven't had it over about 4K rpm yet. Watching the IAC values indicated, the sweetest throttle response is coming when the IAC is showing above 100 (130 avg) It bottoms out about 30-32 and this is where the stumble in the idle seems to be occurring.

Overall, very, very pleased!

Horseshoes you say!

[Guest kennyw]

Betsy Blue;know the problem you are talking about. All following the progress can get this experince that you have while shifting the manual transmission. Just start drifting any Reatta with no gas applied and put the grar selector in nutral. Then you will see that the rpm stay at the same place. They do not drop down to idle like you would expect. When ever this system stops working the idle wil drop to normal. I guess you will have to disconnect this part of the old Reatta's auto trans mode. ken

[padgett]

This is one of the difficulties with engineering from aa distance and from a uncommented disassembly that is over 15k lines long. Have a good understanding of the data areas but not yet all of the programming.

Now that I know that a code 38 is being set, that is an easy fix. Finding the throttle holder may be more difficult. Is obviously why the TCC disengages when you take your foot off the gas.

[Guest Greg Ross]

Padgett,

Haven't gotten an E-mail Address created for myself here at home yet, and can't seem to access my MSN Acc't.

On top of that, New Home Comp./ with Windows XP and I've some learning to do.

Added Info;

VSS is probably the major consideration, even though the Inst. Cluster was constantly maxed out at 124 mph I'd occasionally see no mph indicated while in ECM Diagnostics. While it was reading "0" the IAC would be bottomed out at 30-33. While the ECM was seeing a mph value the IAC would respond and with throttle would rise uniformly, peak somewhere around 130 and provide delightful throttle response. Best I can describe, is like the difference between having the "Choke" On or Off in the way the revs pick up.

Mentioned to you the ECM detail is indicating "Closed Loop" and has defaulted to 4th Gear. I didn't ground out the 4th gear Indicator from the Auto Selector Switch, just the "Park/ Neutral" jumpering for the Starter Solenoid I'd mentioned.

Is this worth a try?

[padgett]

First let's get the mph straightened out since a number of things such as the IAC use that as an input.

The bad news is that the speedo display goes through the BCM first (see BD60 also see code B124 on page 8D2-26 of the '88 FSM. Now I can adjust the multiplier on the ECM to read right but the speedo will still be off since it comes from the BCM.

I have a good feel for what goes on in the ECM but am afraid the BCM is still "here there be monsters".

So am afraid you will need to get one of the Dakota VSS conversion modules and set to 4:1 divide. Once that is straighened out then we can see if the IAC self corrects.

While waiting I can create an ECM PROM that will do the correction and see how it drives - speedo will still be off but the ECM readout should be right. Can do this weekend and mail if you e-mail me an address. Mainwhile wil stop the TCC error code from happening - that part is easy.

BTW EO38 code is from the brake system - was it EO39 ? That is TCC but thought I cleared that one. If 38 that is caused by the brake switch missing ckt 420 - no biggie, can mask but 38 is what warns you if the brake swich is not activating properly.

[Guest Greg Ross]

Yes, will get the Dakota Unit on order, and yes it was E038 that was cropping up.

ITMT

Was doing a bit of "Trial and Error" yesterday, thinking that it was taking more then just the IAC to vary the RPM's as much as they were floating;

Unplugged and disconnected the Cruise Module-no change.

Removed the "Cruise Vac. Switch" from the Brake Pedal-Bingo, no more surging between shifts and the Idle drops right back. The IAC has been affected partially, bottom end is fine but now it's limited to a range of 0 to 66 vs the 0 to 160+ that I would see. And the 160 end of the range is the "Sweet Spot" where throttle response is concerned.

Don't know what I've unwittenly done here but think I'm on to something! Will need your thoughts back on this detour.

[2seater]

Do you have any idea if the throttle body on the new engine is a larger, or smaller, diameter than before? When I had mine opened up 5mm, I had to close the throttle blade further to get the IAC to control the idle properly, (I actually removed the screw). Even with it removed, IAC idle counts are only 4-6. It had the same symtom, kind of a floaty feeling when the throttle was released and it slowed very gradually. Your IAC counts at idle seem a little high. I don't know if this has anything to do with the cruise control brake switch but you might start by setting the base idle at about 450-500 rpm with the IAC closed. Using the diagnostics you can overide the IAC and run the counts down to zero to see where the base idle is set. The cam may want a little different base setting too.

[padgett]

This is the frustrating part: am home with all of the tools/instruments (including the Diacom system for frame by frame analysis) & the longest factor in iterating PROMS is erasure time but Greg is now in the Far North.

Have a new one now just waiting for an address.

[2seater]

My hats off to the both of you, (Padgett and GM ROSS) for going where none have gone before. I can understand your frustration as I would think a transplant like this one will require a fair amount of tuning, but you have done a masterful job just to get this far.

[padgett]

When able to wind a bit would like to know what the airflow readings are doing.

Suspect when you removed the cruise control brake switch (may be what triggers the code 38), the ECM no longer knew you were braking so didn't add the burp control. Keep in mind you need the vaccuum disconnect to pull it out of cruise quickly (and a disconnect on the clutch to avoid overreving).

As to high IAC = better response: that does not make a lot of sense since it is just adding a minor bypass. 3/8" hole compared to 1.5" passage. We really need to get the mph under control before making further decisions.

Throttle plate diameter should not make much difference since MAF is cal'd to it and the mixture feedback should be based on O2 reading anyway. Still the most complex tables are based on airflow but with the integrators real close to 128 everything should be right on.

Am a bit bothered by the low mpg (23), would have expected road mpg to be high 20s-low 30s particularly on the long interstate legs with a/c off. BTW BB has the ANCX mpg calibrator which should be real close to actual unlike the original PROM.

[2seater]

It is normal for the IAC to read quite high when running up through the gears. It tends to follow the throttle opening somewhat which I imagine is to provide additional air when the throttle is closed so the computer can slow the engine a little more gently for emissions reasons. As for the larger diameter throttle body, I agree the whole package is designed to work together, but the only mismatch is the ECM is for an earlier model engine. You know what the parameters are that the ECM is looking for and I am only speculating. My speculation goes something like this (based on what happened with my larger throttle body): The part throttle response from idle is definitely less snappy than before. I believe the expected TPS curve is slower than the actual increase in airflow, so it takes a short time for the ECM to refigure. Driving a little more aggresively does not exhibit this "softness" as I suspect the TPS signal goes high enough to be ahead of the slower acting air flow. I do agree with you the mileage should be somewhat higher but considering the lack of time you had to tune the whole system, it's not too bad. I defer to your expertise in the computer department, a very weak area for me.

[padgett]

If we all pool our strengths, we all win - is what "diversity" really means. Personally have never been able to do "pretty", even a proper wash and wax never seems to turn out rite for me.

Reminds me of a number of years ago when HR chided me for not being "well rounded". Responded that the only way I could balance technical and managerial skills would be to lose some of the technical. They did not like that.

Of course a 50-60 hour work week not including travel) makes a lot difficult, looks like I may actually have two weeks in a row at home which is a first for the year. Actually changed oil and flushed coolant in three main cars already.

Speaking of which, is Castrol GTX 10W-30 @ U$15/case decent these days ? Supply is getting low but last buy was Valvoline for U$10.80/case.

Personally still believe a case is 24 quarts, not twelve but oil companies disagree. Guess 12 is eaier to lift.