Check engine light after tune
 

Two weeks ago, I purchased and installed the SCT Tuner and AirRaid CAI from American Muscle. I installed the Performance tune, and everything seemed to be working OK for about 15 miles or so.

I kept it garaged during the winter (yes, I properly winterized it), so decided that since the temp was about 40F, I would take it to the quarter car wash to give it a thorough cleaning.

After about 4 miles, the Check Engine light went on. Mind you, the car still seems to perform well, but I'm wondering if the tune I received might be missing something. I checked all of the hoses, and made sure I didn't miss anything during the installation, and the tune completed without error.

I'm planning to take it back to stock tune to see if the issue goes away. A couple other questions include:
Can I use the SCT tuner to determine why the light is on?
If it is running well, should I continue to drive it?
If I take it back to stock, and the light stays on after another 15-20 miles, should I take it to the dealer, and is he going to ask me to remove the AirRaid CAI?

Your suggestions are greatly appreciated!

You should be able to read the code that was set with your sct tuner. I would start with that.

my guess is your threw a code for inproper fuel mixture. just plug the tuner into the car and read the codes that come up. then google the codes to see whats up. if your running to rich you can adjust the tune to reduce fuel

I would recommend, before you do anything else, pull the codes and call AM and provide the info..

Just curious,, did you get the codes after washing the car? Sounds like you went to one of those self-service bay type car washes where you blast the car with a power washing wand or something.. wondering if after you washed you got some sensors / wiring wet or something like that..

I saw a "check engine" icon (orange wrench) once after downloading Bama's performance tune. Shut down engine waiting for friend to join me, restarted, and never saw the warning light again. Even the most experienced electronics pro will tell you there are rare and unrepeatable "hiccoughs" that happen for no reason at all. If this is a one-time only event, I would not worry.

A CEL is telling you that your car is not operating in a normal fashion. Firstly...

Use the scan gauge (SCT TUNER) to check the codes. Right them down, and call the company you bought it from.

DO NOT drive the car until you can figure out what the issue is.

DO NOT waste your time going to the dealer at this point for something as small as this. It may very well be nothing, or could be (doubt it). Wait to hear what they say.

Did you install the option attachment for the tune/no tune required fitting on the intake?

And DO NOT take your car to the dealer with those mods installed. You're asking for trouble if you take a car with a CEL and mods installed to the dealer.

What do you mean by the option attachment? Are we talking about the air flow sensor module, or something else? The video I watched didn't really mention anything about a tune vs. non-tune installation.

I installed the air flow sensor in the Airaid unit. The SCT tune I received should include the "tuned" version of the CAI.

The check engine light came on before I washed it, so it must be something else.

I'll check the trouble code tonight, and see what it comes up with.

thanks for your help.

That cai has a removable insert that should be removed if the car is to be tuned.

would be cool if that is all that is wrong with the car...

According to this Airaid CAI install video on Youtube... Someone asked the Airaid guy if they needed to remove this insert after a tune....and he replied:

"The only time you will want to remove the MVT insert is when you go really radical with modifications such as Cylinder heads, Camshaft, Rear end Gears, or forced Induction, Basically modifications that would constitute a complete custom tune. When using basic modifications like headers, cat-back exhaust, or a Hand Held Tuner or Programmer you will want to leave the MVT alone and not remove it."


So....maybe since all these Bama tunes are considered "custom", like he says above, it should be removed then?...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2ZJPTPgGTg

That was me....

However, if you are running a Bama Custom Tune with the Airaid cai, they tune it for the insert removed.
Call them to double check.

I removed the insert and it runs great with the Bama tune, no CEL or anything.

I'm thinking your fuel may have degraded over the Winter storage, even if you put in stabilizer, or maybe you over did it with the stabilizer. Check the codes. best regards Plum

The code I received was a P0172, which, according to James in tech support at SCT:

"This is a lean code and is most likely due to the CAI. The MAF has not been tuned to compensate for the additional airflow coming into the motor, so it runs lean. The option for CAI on the tuner when you load a tune should help with the issue."


I am not sure what you guys on the forum are talking about when you say that an insert needs to be removed from the Airaid CAI. It can't be the Mass Airflow sensor, is it?

In any case, between this forum and SCT tech support, I'm sure the issue will get resolved today.

Thanks again for your responses.