I have my mechanic friend acquiring the current wiring diagram for this specific year so I can verify the circuit before I buy parts but until then I have just a few questions. I've read the auxilary air pump posts and believe that I have a good handle on how the system is supposed to work.

1. Barring any other problems other than a defective pump, should the pump run withing a few seconds from a cold start (overnight sitting) every time?
2. The output from the pump exits via a 5/8" soft hose that travels along side the drivers side of the engine bay. Within this length is a connector that comes apart easily. I should be able to verify pump output here -- yes?
3. With a heavy blow, should I be able to force air into the other end that leads to the connection at the rear of the engine where the plumbing splits to the two check valves? -- I can't -- running (from cold) or not.

I should be getting my diagrams so I can be a little more technical soon.

 

No responses, hmmm...
1. Either this code failure has been beat to death on this forum and the people who know get a headache just thinking about it -- oh-no, not again...
2. It was something I said.
3. Summer has just started and everybody is out with their T-Tops off taking out a second mortgage to fill up their gas tanks and clocking up some miles.
4. I worded my query wrong.

I'm all giddy to finally get my codes cleared. I bought this car for myself as a retirement present after 27 years in the USAF. I came very close to getting a vet but the wife said no in a way that is reserved for very special occasions so I caved. I really liked driving a vet for the first time. I got this car with 20K and paid 20K for it in 2003. Its was flawless and still is. However, I have been to two dealerships over a dozen times and then a three week stay at my local mechanic to get the SES light to stay out. I have not driven this car for more than two weeks without the SES light coming on and it has really taking the wind out of my sails. The SES light has become a monument to the ineptitude of our local dealer mechanics. Last year, I replaced all of the O2 sensors with new Bosch sensors. The car now has 80K so I also replaced the plugs. A refurbished Brake ECM put out my ABS light that recently came on. A nice place in Idaho does a good deal. Over the last two years, the dealership has replaced my cat, the air flow sensor and a number of other things to put out my SES but it never fails to come back on in a few days. I had started a good relationship with the service manager at my nearest dealership who was starting to take me seriously and I was to the point that the dealership was now paying for all of the work but the fella left the dealership and the new guy didn't have a clue so it was back to square-one. My state inspection sticker ran out two years ago and I'd taken the car off the road out of frustration. I now have a a couple entry-level scan tools and I'm going to learn how the system works if it kills me. My current code is a P0410 which may not be the codes the previous mechanics had been chasing. Its the only code I get. I want to check out and troubleshoot with verification before I buy parts. I did find some mention in another forum that the check valves can be inspected physically so I'm going to do that. I cannot find any information on the device that sits on the back of the motor where the air pump's output becomes split. Its not too far fetched that I have a number of bad components but any info on check out the individual components of the system would be appreciated. I've seen too much stupidity at the dealership to bring the car back and its not that they can't fix it but rather actual acts of dumbness. I was a mechanic for Honda for six years before I joined the military so I know how to bend wrenches. Its the lack of on-hand and current information that's holding me back from smiteing this stupid SES light.

 

http://www.gearchatter.com/viewtopic9013.php

 

I posted that link for him last week in another thread...

First thing I'd check is for an open AIR PUMP fuse.

 

2001NBM...>>> Thanks for the post but I couldn't find it so I posted again. All help is much appreciated. So far, I found that the brushes on my airpump motor were worn down to the pigtails and the passenger side check valve is bad. As mentioned in other posts, there is a pulsating vacume on the good check valve and if I hook up a hose to it I can blow into it. The other check valve is rock solid clogged. There is a vacume accuated valve in the back (dang hard to get to -- it works) and a separate vacume solenoid to operate it (two separate components next to each other) that seems to be working but the solenoid works for only a minute or two on startup which may be correct. In any case, I certainly need to change the airpump and I'm going to change both check valves.

 

Any reason you can't block the code and unplug the airpump? If not, I got the one off my 99 you can have for free if you are in the Michigan area.

-Geoff

 

Thanks for the very generous offer but I'll just replace my broken parts with new. I can't block the code because NJ does a very intense inspection of the PCM and expects to see the specific check listed. I don't think a pcm tune can fake the process and make it look as though the test has run. The actual operation of the AIR system doesn't impact performance so I'll just fix the problem and be a little greener. I kinda wanna keep the car stock. A catch can is an actual useful item and there is a lot of literature to justify it. That said, I'm always a bit curious about installing a very mild NOS system just for a little insurance on the interstate against uppity mustangs.

You should put your smog pump on ebay. There are folks selling these used at new part prices. You should be able to at least get enough for a tank full of premium.
Thanks.

 

Fixed.
The troubleshooting chart didn't work but there's an explanation. The brushes on the airpump motor were worn down to the pigtails. The airpump would work when the engine was cold but didn't work when the engine bay was hot which is when the PCM runs a diagnostic. For a driveway mechanic I was lucky to find this by chance. I just happened to repeat the troubleshooting process again after a long drive. I got a new airpump and also replaced both check valves because bank#2 was clogged solid. What is really odd is that the car runs a lot smoother now. The only other thing that I did was replace the PCV. It doesn't make any sense to me that this would at all effect the perceived smoothness of the engine. Maybe it was just the drive at night with the T-Tops removed and the perfect temp/humidity and the right tunes on the stereo and a great road with lots of long sweeping curves where I needed to slow down to about 65 before accelerating back up to 80 something...

Next project is getting the gizmo to bypass that dangerous and annoying skip shift thingy.

 

Installuniversity.com shows you how to bypass CAGS with a cheap resistor from Radio Shack.