Vx check engine light

[Speedwayracer3800]

Hi all first time ever posting in any forum so I'm breaking my virginity, ok I've recently bought a vx v6 commodore for a good price ($400) as the young owner didn't want it because it was unreliable and he couldn't get it going I turned up with jump leads gave him money started it and drove off but on the way home approx 40mins later it stopped. I had a good idea it was the cas anyway, trailered it home and removed the balancer and replaced cas to my surprise the cas looked brand new Delphi too.

So I changed it anyway and started straight away but I noticed there was a knocking sound that was coming from balancer was definitely not there before car ran smooth with no abnormal noises before,so I tightened balancer some more and it went away but what I noticed us when the knocking was happening there was a knocking sound coming from right top end head almost like a detonation knock, I drove it some more and again the balancer was knocking this time I took to it with all I had including ratchet gun, it seemed good I took a chance and drove it 100ks away drove perfect so on the way home I gave it a little and then when cruising at 110 the cel came on but would go away when I depressed accelerator pedal and let it off a bit it did it a few times on way back but I could make it go away every time by doing as I described.

The first set of lights I came to when I got off the hwy I noticed straight away the knocking from balancer was back so I put it in nuetral and revved it and sure enough the knock from right bank top end was back,now my question is could the knock from the balancer be making the knock sensors pick up a false engine knock? Also what's with the CEL coming on and going with accelerator movement? There is no broken valve spring or anything like that somehow the knocking of balancer us connected to it all I think and any thoughts why the cas that I removed was brand new but failed? Sorry for long post trying to give the best description I can

cheers

 

[Tatiana]

Welcome to the world of forums, glad you popped your cherry with us.

Just to make it easier to read, no one likes a wall of text, I have popped in some paragraphs

Hope you enjoy the forum and get lots out of it.

 

[devilly]

if check engine light is coming on,it should also be giving you a code via bridging pin's 5-6.

its easy to do all you need is a paper clip bent put in pins 5-6 and turn on accessories.the engine light will blink: 1 blink pause 2 blinks pause equals 12 no fault logged .it will do this x3 then give you a different code for the problem .this is how you get your codes.

then post it on here some-one will help you out and let you know what the codes mean.

 

[lout]

remember vx is 4 digit code
so will be 10 flashes, 10 flashes, 1 flash, 2 flash equals 0012 if nothing logged
but you will have something logged

 

[Speedwayracer3800]

Cheers all but yeah that's the thing there is no codes I checked everything before posting the CEL comes on and then I can make it go off by just dabbing the accelerator so I'm assuming it's not logging the code becuase it doesn't stay on ? I did how ever notice that the knocking was back so I made sure I locked up the balancer and tightened it good and proper and no more knocking(yet) and CEL hasn't come on I'm sure the two issues are linked cheers

 

[billythakid]

Check the wiring from cas and both knock sensors
Also check the MAF plug is tight and ok as it might be chucking weird air intake readings

 

[Speedwayracer3800]

Yep I've checked every plug and sensors replaced with known good ones as I have many parts cars for my speedway car I'm leaning towards it being the harmonic balancer,as the knock is only there sometimes and it only started doing the knock and CEL thing since I changed the cas there was no visual sign of damage to balancer but I did take it off with a 3 claw puller and when it shifts into 2nd at full noise it squels under the bonnet like belt slips a bit but it's not that becuase I've replaced belt with new one and tensioner and idler pulleys anyone think it could be balancer related?

 

[lout]

you cannot remove a balancer with a claw puller
the balancer will now be damaged
you will need to replace balancer
and in future
you need to use a correct balancer puller

 

[ShaneD]

There is an easier way to both find these codes and clear them

I bought a bluetooth OBDBII reader for under $10. It was an ELM327 from ebay as I thought I'd try it before spending more. downloaded the "torque" app from playstore and away I went. It's great and a lot of fun.
I just leave the divide pligged in all the time and turn on the app when needed or wanted. I have a Vz adventra. Anyway, allows you to clear faults on the fly, even when driving, tell you the code and the fault and give lots of live info straight from the computer, including real car speed, not what the speedo says. It also logs using GPS so you can select what you want to log, fuel air ratio, timing advance, fuel trim, what the computer is recording, go for a drive and download the file to examine/graph in excell, or upload to their website and see the realtime data at any time overlaid on on a map. so you can see what has been happening going up hill, around corners etc, where ever the fault occurs.

Any way I splurged and paid for the app, I think it was 4 or 5 bucks and the interface is better than the free one. and pay for it once and as long as you log into another device with your google account, you can download it again for free. I had it on my old phone, on my new one and on my tablet.

So for less than $15 you have enough to diagnose a lot of thing and clear faults until you can work it out.

Hope this helps.

 

[Speedwayracer3800]

Yeah I thought so I have tried another balancer I had on another motor and removed it with three bolts type of puller I've put it on and I honestly think it's worse the knocking sound is intermittent when you rev the engine it's there but then engine revs clean and no noise sounds normal but it drops back to idle and it starts intermittently knocking or if you hold at say 2g, it doesn't sound like big end or rod bearing and the knock isn't in time with anything it's random I noticed when I switch it to petrol the knock is different, also I can grab the outer balancer and twist and can see it slightly move slightly the word,but I have 4 engines here and they all seem to be the same the vs motor I have here looks to be a newish balancer but I notice the balance drill holes are different to the vy/vt/vx ones I have, it's almost like the timing is out or something becuase when I rev it, it does knock/rattle as if it's detonating but after a rev or two it is perfect no noises and nice sharp clean revs, I have good motors I can swap over but I believe this motor is a good one it has no oil sludge plugs are all perfect on inspection,and I'm not sure as I'm concentrating on this specific problem but I think it has either a little cam or high ratio rockers it goes extremely well for a "stock" motor and I have a 240hp speedway v6 so I can see the difference