Low Boost?

[SrsBsns]

I've been having some trouble lately... Hopefully it's nothing big but I'm looking for some advice.

I've been running a Stratified 91 tune.

About a month ago, I got a CEL for the boost solenoid. The car never went into limp mode and drove pretty normally. I replaced the solenoid with an aftermarket one and that seems to have fixed the problem there. No more CEL.

A week later, going to pass another car in normal traffic, I'm accelerating and suddenly, no power. Got home and checked and the hot side pipe had blown off. I tightened it back down and switched it back to the stock map. Car feels slow compared to the tune, but I figured that's normal. I don't think I ever went WOT, but I was seeing boost in the 7-8 lb range when driving.

Car was fine for a week or so of normal driving so I put the Stratified map back on. Went to go get groceries and went WOT and the AP peaked at 4.5 lbs. The car still felt night and day faster than the stock map, but I know I should be making ~20+ lbs at WOT. It felt like it was ramping up and then just kind of hit a wall and held at the 4.5ish lbs. I tried one more time with another WOT pull and only got about 4ish lbs.

I saw some threads about eco mode when searching but I can't tell if I'm in it. I have the Stratified map loaded in slot 1, which is the 91 tune. Slot 2 is E30 and Slot 3 is valet. I would think if I were in eco mode, I'd be hitting 5lbs exactly?

I'm not sure what to start looking for or even how to verify that I'm in eco mode.

Any ideas on what to check? Car feels completely fine otherwise. Sounds normal, starts normal.

 

[Dialcaliper]

To change maps on any Accessport tune that has map switching:

- Make sure cruise control is OFF
- Press the CAN/RES (cancel/resume) button.
- Your Tachometer will move to one of the numbers on the dial instead of reading RPM - this indicates which map you are in.
- Use the Set+ and Set- buttons to change maps - the dial will switch to the next number (as long as there’s another map)
- After a delay without touching anything the Tach will go back to reading RPM.

If you turn cruise control ON, it will act normally as cruise.

That said, while low boost/eco on Cobb tunes is wastegate pressure (5-6psi), Stratified and Dizzy “eco mode” are usually more like 15psi so that there’s a bit more oomph when you need it. Usually on all the maps “2” is eco/low boost unless you’ve had the tuner specifically customize it differently.

If the map switching is not the culprit, check your wastegate solenoid - most likely problems are something like a loose or damaged vacuum hose.

 

[SrsBsns]

Thanks for that. I verified that I'm in map slot 1, which is the normal 91 tune. Map slot 2 is E30 and 3 is for valet. So I don't think I can be in "eco" mode with this tune file.

I'm going to lift the car up tomorrow and check the solenoid. I just replaced it like 2 weeks ago but it wasn't the Ford part. I got it on Amazon and it's made by NATAFOX? Reviews were mixed with some people saying that it failed pretty quickly so I'm wondering if the part itself is shit or if there's another reason.

The clamps that the solenoid came with did not seem as tight as the OE hoses, but maybe they were just easier to put on because the pinch tabs were longer and gave me more leverage to squeeze them. I'll check again tomorrow.

Anything else to look for when I'm down there?

 

[SrsBsns]

So, update...

Lifted the car up last night. Added an extra hose clamp to the hot side charge pipe that had blown off a few weeks ago. Took a look at all places where it looks like there could be a boost leak... counted 17 spots. 6 for solenoid, symposer delete, 6 on the cold side, 4 on the hot side. Everything was tight and looked fine.

Do you think the boost solenoid I replaced the OE one with could be bad? Would that cause this problem? I don't want to throw money at a part, but this was a cheap one that I got on Amazon instead of going OE.

 

[SrsBsns]

Update again... I like to update these in case anyone is searching in the future and wants to know how it was resolved. I always find threads that are missing this post and it kills me.

It was the boost solenoid. If yours fails, don't cheap out and buy a third party. Buy the Ford part.

Swapped out the Natafox unit with the Ford Pierburg unit and the problem was fixed completely. Boosting and running like normal now.