Hey legends,
So, I did a bit of DIY diagnostics today and have noticed something strange. In another post I've explained that I've noticed this EGR bypass valve arm to be in the 'closed position' @ 12 o'clock when the ECU noticed something it didn't like at the same time the P0400 showed up. So after my DIY diagnostics today with my scan tool and my intuition, I noticed that upon startup at idle, with the engine being cold, the EGR bypass valve was open and the rod thingy was at @10 o'clock.
The scan tool is a cheap $100 one but it does the job for some basics readings. My MAF readings were in tolerance(5-12 g/s, the EGR_PCT% (Commanded EGR) and EGR_ERR% (Actual EGR) were reading within spec. I thought everything was wonderful and it fixed itself at this stage, just besides the MAP which was reading around 78/80 kpa which I believe is low according to reference values.
This is where it gets interesting. While monitoring the data and watching the engine at the same time, all of sudden the EGR bypass valve just closed @ 12 o'clock position?? I quickly went to the scan tool when I noticed that the MAF was reading around 12-15 g/s, out of spec, and the EGR_PCT% and EGR_ERR% were way out of the 25% threshold needed to not throw a code.
I did this a couple of times with the engine cold and letting it idle up to warm and came to realise that the EGR bypass suddenly closes at the 12 o'clock position when the ECT reaches exactly or above 75°C. I mean I did this about 5-6 times letting the engine coolant temp get below 75°C and had the same result. The EGR bypass valve would stay open, 10 o'clock position, below 75°C and suddenly close, at the 12 o'clock position, when the engine coolant temperature reached 75°C or above all while engine was idling.
Would this mean that the ECU in this car has been programmed this way on purpose? I mean I think this would make sense since the original owner disconnected the vacuum hoses to the VSV, VRV and swirl control valves and maybe decided to get someone to program this feature in? I mean would this be possible? I'm thinking now that there was no VIN # recorded on the ECU when I ran techstream, so I'm starting to think the ECU might have been tampered with?
This has to mean something to somebody on this forum. Anyone care to chime in please?
Below is a pic of the EGR bypass valve. FYI I know the cap is broken on the VRV, I've order the part and waiting on delivery for replacement.