After observing my LMPG do it’s annual winter drop below 75, I decided it was probably time to implement the warm air intake modification, which draws engine intake air from behind the catalytic converter.
I opened the hood for the purpose of surveying the best routing for the warm air duct. This was an initial survey, not the actual modification!
While venturing out on a short trip, within my home town, I noticed within about 1/8 mile of leaving the driveway, that both the “IMA” and “Check Engine” warning lights were on, and I confirmed that the IMA charge and discharge indicators were not functioning.
The garage temperature had been approximately 38 deg. F, and the outdoor temp. was 25 deg. F. After almost 50K virtually trouble-free miles on this car, I was justifiably apprehensive. I stopped after a mile and re-started the engine. It was a rare 12V start. In fact, it was only the 3rd I can remember. The “Check Engine” warning remained on, but the “IMA” warning was off, and the charge/discharge indicating seemed normal. I assumed that the IMA was working OK. Since then, the “Check Engine” indicator has remained on, and the auto-stop function seems to have been disabled. All subsequent starts have been “12V”.
In accordance with Murphy’s Law, this occurred on the Saturday afternoon of a long holiday weekend, with a messy snowstorm predicted to begin on Monday afternoon.
Since I don’t own a maintenance manual, and don’t have access to the diagnostic codes, I can only speculate as to what may have gone wrong.
My best guess would be a faulty outdoor air temperature sensor, but that might not explain why the IMA trouble indicator was on during the first mile of travel today.
It’s possible that I may have lightly “brushed” the temperature sensor while removing a temporary winter baffle (another modification) that had been dislodged by strong headwinds. However, the wires to the sensor appeared to be OK from the outside.
I filled the tank last night at a familiar "no-name" gas station. Could this be the infamous O2 sensor failure?
I’m not necessarily superstitious, but the thought did cross my mind that “Sputnik” may be trying to tell me not to consider any further modifications.
Without knowing the specific cause for this problem, I’m not sure whether there’s any risk to continuing to use the car with this condition or not.
I’m hoping to hear from the experts and/or anyone who may have experienced these symptoms.
Thanks in advance for your help.
I opened the hood for the purpose of surveying the best routing for the warm air duct. This was an initial survey, not the actual modification!
While venturing out on a short trip, within my home town, I noticed within about 1/8 mile of leaving the driveway, that both the “IMA” and “Check Engine” warning lights were on, and I confirmed that the IMA charge and discharge indicators were not functioning.
The garage temperature had been approximately 38 deg. F, and the outdoor temp. was 25 deg. F. After almost 50K virtually trouble-free miles on this car, I was justifiably apprehensive. I stopped after a mile and re-started the engine. It was a rare 12V start. In fact, it was only the 3rd I can remember. The “Check Engine” warning remained on, but the “IMA” warning was off, and the charge/discharge indicating seemed normal. I assumed that the IMA was working OK. Since then, the “Check Engine” indicator has remained on, and the auto-stop function seems to have been disabled. All subsequent starts have been “12V”.
In accordance with Murphy’s Law, this occurred on the Saturday afternoon of a long holiday weekend, with a messy snowstorm predicted to begin on Monday afternoon.
Since I don’t own a maintenance manual, and don’t have access to the diagnostic codes, I can only speculate as to what may have gone wrong.
My best guess would be a faulty outdoor air temperature sensor, but that might not explain why the IMA trouble indicator was on during the first mile of travel today.
It’s possible that I may have lightly “brushed” the temperature sensor while removing a temporary winter baffle (another modification) that had been dislodged by strong headwinds. However, the wires to the sensor appeared to be OK from the outside.
I filled the tank last night at a familiar "no-name" gas station. Could this be the infamous O2 sensor failure?
I’m not necessarily superstitious, but the thought did cross my mind that “Sputnik” may be trying to tell me not to consider any further modifications.
Without knowing the specific cause for this problem, I’m not sure whether there’s any risk to continuing to use the car with this condition or not.
I’m hoping to hear from the experts and/or anyone who may have experienced these symptoms.
Thanks in advance for your help.