I tried to do something awesome... and failed (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Sep 2, 2007
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Location
Longmont, CO
I've been enjoying the turbocharged life, but without a project a man gets restless. So I'm looking at this empty plug in my dash and I get an idea...

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So I get a $6 control cable make a quicky bushing and install it in the hole...

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Then I grab a $5 manual boost controller from ebay...

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And modify it so that it is cable operated instead of knobbed...

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Finally I install it in the wastegate lines...

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And put a sweet knob on my dash...

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... and then.................. it didn't work. :frown: I'm not a turbo expert by any means, but even with the boost controller turned all the way up I didn't see over 10lbs. Not really sure why, maybe thats all a 3B has in it? I'm sure I've heard of people running more??

Anyway, please educate me as to why this didn't work?

I was soo looking forward to having a turbo knob on my dash. :(
 
Block the wastegate line and see what you get. You might only have enough fuel to push 10psi boost.
 
You HAVENT FAILED !!
You just havent got the results you want !!
Keep at it...

Sorry I cant help much, since I dont know anything about diesels !!!
 
That would be a neat option of temporary block off of the wastegate via cable when you want total boost, then relax the cable to let the waste gate function again. Never thought of that, cool.
g
 
I dont have much advice, but that is a really cool knob!
Maybe increase fuel and see what happens, I dont know?
 
Before you increase the fuel, what EGTs are you running (at the hottest)? If you don't have an Exhaust Gas Temperature probe and guage don't mess with the system until you do. If you do then you can play. If the EGTs are already sitting high (maxing out at 1200F) then you likely have enough fuel added. Depending on what type of turbo you are running it may be the max output of the turbo/engine combination. Get the EGT it you don't have one, after that try increasing the fuel if the temps are low at high load (going up a long steep hill with some weight in the truck), if you still don't get more boost, bypass the waste gate totally and cap off the feed to the wastegate and see if that changes anything. If that's all you get then it just might be the max the turbo can do.
 
Before you increase the fuel, what EGTs are you running (at the hottest)? If you don't have an Exhaust Gas Temperature probe and guage don't mess with the system until you do. If you do then you can play. If the EGTs are already sitting high (maxing out at 1200F) then you likely have enough fuel added. Depending on what type of turbo you are running it may be the max output of the turbo/engine combination. Get the EGT it you don't have one, after that try increasing the fuel if the temps are low at high load (going up a long steep hill with some weight in the truck), if you still don't get more boost, bypass the waste gate totally and cap off the feed to the wastegate and see if that changes anything. If that's all you get then it just might be the max the turbo can do.

I've got a pyro and room to play; fuel setting is still stock.
 
Fuel = boost.

Just make sure your egts are within check.
 
You need more fuel. As I stated before;) you are fuel limited. You can ask that turbo to produce 15 psi but if you don't add fuel it won't do it.

Good luck and I like the idea of a push pull boost control, yank her out when you need emergency power! Better put a warning on there though, someone may give themselves whiplash thinking it is heater blower motor speed!

Daryl
 
Why is there 2 rubber tubes on that boost controler? one is to be at atmosphere and the other one connected as a T between turbo and wastegate actuator. So there should only be one rubber tube connected to that boost controler.
 
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Why is there 2 rubber tubes on that boost controler? one is to be at atmosphere and the other one conencted as a T between turbo and wastegate actuator. So there should only be one rubber tube connected to that boost controler.

What you say is only true for a bleeder type boost controller. This one is kinda like a pressure regulator - there is a ball and spring inside, and a vent hole on the side.
 
The pressure your working with is 10 psig ? as i read it as that , as in your max boost.

Next is decide if the waste gate is only allowing it by opening or the max fuel is the limitation.

If the waste gate is not opening at all , then no amount of any trick or toys would make any difference on the system your working on there.

If you have a Boost gauge , carefully pinch off the small rubber hose going to the waste gate actuator / dashpot . Drive it carefully and see if you can monitor the boost gauge , anyway if your over boosting then what your trying might work to a point. If you find it over boost's real quick and scary , unpinch waste gate sensing line, to drive home. Im leaning towards just makes 10 psig.
If you were to do that to a designed euro gasser , then the OVERboost protection would cut in, plus ping like s***e.

If you still only have max 10 psig , then , Nice try till it has the potential to make more boost than needed. The waste gate is the limiter. And bleed the air back to compressor inlet is what i have done. ;)

VT

Now back to post a question 4 me.
 
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Drew. It is actually more simple than you think.

A boost controller can only lessen the max boost as allowed by the wastegate. I get 15psi by disconnecting the wastegate actuator and having the outlet from the compressor housing go straight to my boost gauge. Therefore, I essentially have no wastegate.

So, to get higher boost, you need to adjust your wastegate to set the max boost you want (with the boost controller off - fully blocked), and then use the kick ass system you built to allow earlier waste gate action when you want to reduce the boost.

This is all under the assumption that you have an adjustable wastegate. If not, see if you can modify the actuator arm to have the WG open later to increase boost under the same fuel level before adjusting the fuel just for more boost.

Edit: I realize I just summarized what everyone is saying, but the gist is that no boost controller blocks all of the pressure to the wastegate. Wastegates also are not on-off only, so even with the controller all of the way on, you may be opening the wastegate a little, just enough to spill that extra 5psi. try running your wastegate hose to your boost gauge only and see what you get with no wastegate connection. if you are still at 10psi, turn up the fuel and get the rig to where you want it at max boost, then add in the controller and wastegate to be able to adjust on the fly...
 
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I just looked at your build thread and it looks like your wastegate is not adjustable. You may want to cut the rod, cut threads on both sides and add a long nut to spin to adjust the diaphragm tension.
 
Actually it is adjustable - somehow 90% of my pictures managed to obscure the actuator rod, but you can see it in the pic below.

I must have had a brain fart when I threw my hands up over this, what everyone has said makes good sense. Still, the actuator is tough to get at, so I figure what I'll do is:

-Disconnect the waste gate to see what the current maximum boost is.
-Add more fuel to bring the maximum up to whatever point I think is the most I'd ever want to be able to run (I dunno, 14psi?).
-Add the boost controller back in and set my cable so that the cable "in" position corresponds to the lowest boost I'd ever want to run (also dunno, maybe 5psi?)

And hopefully I wont have to dig in there at the wastegate. Yeah, I'm being lazy.

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The problem is, if you bring up the fuel to give the max boost you want, then attempting to run less boost will give EGT's that are dangerously high.

You're better to use it as a valet switch, try to reduce fuel with it and use the fuel to reduce boost. I don't know of any easy way to acheive that on your engine, on my Isuzu I could simply switch off the line to the boost compensator on the fuel pump.
 
The problem is, if you bring up the fuel to give the max boost you want, then attempting to run less boost will give EGT's that are dangerously high.

You're better to use it as a valet switch, try to reduce fuel with it and use the fuel to reduce boost. I don't know of any easy way to acheive that on your engine, on my Isuzu I could simply switch off the line to the boost compensator on the fuel pump.

Yeah, I was worried about that. Also I'm worried that even if I drive carefully its going to blow lots of black smoke which really offends the delicate Californian sensibilities I live near.

Truth be told I had started this project wanting to control the fuel setting but decided it was too tough. I'm sure I could make something, but the effort vs. return curve is not looking very favorable.
 
crank the fuel up and take it for a drive with the wastegate blocked right off
you will probably find that it is pretty easy to control the black smoke with your foot
just dont stomp on the throttle when there is no boost
once the boost starts building it builds quickly and still doesnt smoke much
if you have the multi layered steel headgasket that part of the engine will take a lot of boost
I think that running an engine with super high exhaust temps is harder on it then running cooler with some boost
its easy to set the fuel back to stock (well exept for that little voice in your head that says more is better...)
 
These inline pumps are pretty hapy to return almost full fuel with not much throttle until the revs pick up to the throttle position your at and the governer backs the fuel off. Much easier with an auto than a manual because in a manual you would have to gradually depress the throttle as the revs pickup in order to eliminate the smoke. Of course the same is true to an extent with an auto, but the torque converter is your friend here.

Its a nice little design you have got from the pictures your cable is tied directly to the spring tension in the boost controller. This type of ball and spring with bleed boost controller work really well at curbing boost spike and work well period, but 1 turn of the screw makes for alot of change in boost (on one I played with on the weekend, 1 turn went from 1.2 Bar to 1.4Bar). Of course, it depends on the spring spressure and design. To achieve what you want, you might need to put in a spring that is longer but more softly sprung. Otherwise, it may be too hard to make parts of a mm adjustment using your modified choke cable.

As Dougal said, best to first disconnect and blank off the wastegate actuator feed and take for a drive. Your EGT's will be far lower doing this, not higher. If it still only does 10psi then its fuel. If it does 10psi and smokes while doing it but wont make more pressure, you need to look at your exhaust turbine sizing - either smaller turbine or tighter housing or both. Given you have the turbo already, a tighter housing is the easiest option. Typically even in an under fueled condition with your actuator boost disconnected, the boost will rise with rpm.

I assumed no aneroid, is that true?

Cheers, Graeme
 
be careful disconnecting your waste gate line, i did that and maxed out my 45psi gauge straight away lol.
 

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