bwa! reduced engine power light!?

[Fireball27]

i just sea-foamed my car (following the guide that is in the how too section), and when getting to the last part where you dump the remaining sea-foam into the brake booster line and stall the engine the "reduced engine power" light came on right before the engine cut out. i reconnected the line and after waiting about a half an hour started her up and the light is still on and (obviously) there is very little power. in addition the fuel gauge now reads waay past full, it's at about 5 o'clock (it was also acting kinda funky at start up all day. twitching around, which it's never done before).

is this likely a vacuum line problem or prehaps something to do with the fuel (pump/lines/bad gas)(i did fill her up today..)?

[ssms5411]

Re: bwa! reduced engine power light!?

Let it run for a little bit and take it on a drive to get all the seafoam burnt out of it, then reset your SES light if you have a $30 OBII scanner, if noy try Autozone or someone that can reset it.

[Fireball27]

Re: bwa! reduced engine power light!?

Let it run for a little bit and take it on a drive to get all the seafoam burnt out of it, then reset your SES light if you have a $30 OBII scanner, if noy try Autozone or someone that can reset it.

is that code common when seafoaming?

i can't take it for a drive because it won't drive properly. the engine won't rev past 3000 and it tops out at 10mph (limp home mode). there is an autozone near by that i could get to to clear the codes, but i'm more worried that there could be something wrong.

[ssms5411]

Re: bwa! reduced engine power light!?

I would think it just needs to dry out , probably got the maf with the seafoam. I was just thinking let it idle and warm up to burn any more seafoam thats left in there,I'm sure once the code is reset it will return to normal. With the code on its not going to run right.

[cam98aro]

Re: bwa! reduced engine power light!?

this is the exact reason why i tell people not to use seafoam, and they dont listen to me!

i would try letting it idle for a bit longer until it gets to operating temp

[jmbrooks]

Re: bwa! reduced engine power light!?

Maybe try disconnecting the battery to reset everything, i know it will clear your radio presets but just another option.

JM

[Finkledbody]

Re: bwa! reduced engine power light!?

this is the exact reason why i tell people not to use seafoam, and they dont listen to me!

i would try letting it idle for a bit longer until it gets to operating temp

Hmm. I've heard of people having touble with the seafoam but it always seems to be human error. I've seafoamed my firebird 4 or 5 times now in the last 40k miles and have never had a problem. (I've heard you shouldn't do it more then every 25k-50k miles but I enjoy doing it :P) I purchase 2 cans; 1 can in the gas tank, half a can in the oil and the other half a can in the brake booster line and she still runs like a champ!! She always feels stronger after doing it. Of course I change the oil after though.

[Fireball27]

Re: bwa! reduced engine power light!?

Maybe try disconnecting the battery to reset everything, i know it will clear your radio presets but just another option.

JM

this worked. codes reset, everything is awesome now. ... cept the gas guage with is still all screwy so i don't know whats up with that.

[ssms5411]

Re: bwa! reduced engine power light!?

I know seafoam works great on 95-97 cars I have never had a problems except for a random misfire but went away after I reset it, but other than that seafoam cleans out alot of build up so I would say its worth doing it twice a year and just having a $30 code scanner to be able to reset it.

[jmbrooks]

Re: bwa! reduced engine power light!?

this worked. codes reset, everything is awesome now. ... cept the gas guage with is still all screwy so i don't know whats up with that.

Could be the sending unit.

Russ

[Fireball27]

Re: bwa! reduced engine power light!?

Could be the sending unit.

Russ

how does one fix that?

[jmbrooks]

Re: bwa! reduced engine power light!?

It ain't easy. The sending unit is usually inside the gas tank. I've never done it, so this is a rough estimate.

You'll need to start with little or (preferably) no gas in the tank
Pull the fuse for the fuel pump and try to start the car to de-pressurize the fuel system
Disconnect the fuel lines from the tank and drop the tank. (maybe reverse this)
On top of the tank (of coarse where you can't reach it when it's mounted) is where the sending unit inserts.

Before all this you will want to check all the connections from the tank forward and make sure you didn't disconnect/dislodge anything while you were doing the seafoam job.

I've been an equipment tech for 16 years and I can't tell you how many times a new problem is related to the last work performed on one of my machines.

For your sanity, be sure of what the problem is and the correct steps to repair before you tackle the job. Don't let it intimidate you, just do your homework.

JM

[cam98aro]

Re: bwa! reduced engine power light!?

this worked. codes reset, everything is awesome now. ... cept the gas guage with is still all screwy so i don't know whats up with that.

thats good.

the seafoam probably gummed up the float in the tank.

i would fill it up completely with gas and see if it goes away after a while, if not, you will have to replace the float/sending unit

[Fireball27]

Re: bwa! reduced engine power light!?

thats good.

the seafoam probably gummed up the float in the tank.

i would fill it up completely with gas and see if it goes away after a while, if not, you will have to replace the float/sending unit

you're probably right. the guage seems to have settled in now; after 70 miles it's back to normal.

gotta love problems that just fix themselves :)

[akcamaro02]

Re: bwa! reduced engine power light!?

my gas guage has always been weird. it's never really accurate, don't trust it..just know how many miles you can go on a tank and trust that..