P0244 - Turbocharger Wastegate Solenoid A Range/Performance

#2

 

They will tell you to do #1 and may be give you a file/case number.

 

May be a hose popped off ?

#2

 

They will tell you to do #1 and may be give you a file/case number.

 

May be a hose popped off ?

 

+1 here. Check the hose that runs from the wastegate actuator to the solenoid. There is a small blue T in that line and I bet that one of the hoses popped off. Same exact thing happene to me when I bought my car in july.

I called SOA and did get a case number. I have an appt next Wed to take the car back to the dealership.

 

Is it possible that for either "Max Capacity" or "Haight 05LGT" could post a picture to this thread of the spot where you think that hose may have popped off? I admit, I'm not sure what I'm looking for.

I called SOA and did get a case number. I have an appt next Wed to take the car back to the dealership.

 

Is it possible that for either "Max Capacity" or "Haight 05LGT" could post a picture to this thread of the spot where you think that hose may have popped off? I admit, I'm not sure what I'm looking for.

 

I'll try my best if I remember when I go out today. It is a hard spot to photograph properly. Just try and follow the line that is coming off of the turbo wastegate actuator.

 

This is a picture that shows you what the actuator looks like. It faces the front end of the car on the turbo.

Haight 05LGT.....I was able to see what you were talking about and the three hoses coming off the "T" are all connected. However, only 2 of the three hoses have clamps on them. The "down" hose is not clamped. Should it be? It is connected though. Also, my "T" is white but perhaps that is because the dealership has replaced the turbo and wastegate in the last month.

Haight 05LGT.....I was able to see what you were talking about and the three hoses coming off the "T" are all connected. However, only 2 of the three hoses have clamps on them. The "down" hose is not clamped. Should it be? It is connected though. Also, my "T" is white but perhaps that is because the dealership has replaced the turbo and wastegate in the last month.

 

They dont "need" to be clamped. Follow the down hose to the solenoid and verify that it is connected. Also check if any of those lines have tears in them.

Fahr_side you we're right. I had a crappy tune and didn't know it as I bought the car used. SOA got involved and the local dealership sent SOA a bunch of diagnostics. They found that my car was tuned to produce 18 lbs of boost over the stock which they said is 14 lbs. So, basically, the wastegate was doing it's job and shutting things down, throwing CEL codes, and other dashboard lights as it was detecting more boost than expected. I saw a couple other threads for this same P0244 CEL issue and buying used LGT's.

 

The dealership said they could replace my ECU and reprogram it back to stock for $900. I'm going to check with some tuning shops around Atlanta and get a 2nd opinion versus going back to stock. I have 54k miles on my SpecB so this might be the "excuse" I finally need to go ahead with some mods from a reputable shop.

 

Anyone see anything wrong with my optional approach to 'fix' the car?

 

 

 

Have the dealer check the turbo wastegate actually operates. They can move out of position and get stuck.

 

If the wastegate operates properly It's probably a tuning issue. As mentioned, it's an overboost condition, the ECU protects the engine by cutting fuel as boost passes a preset threshold.

We often see this when a modified car is run on a stock map, for example where a high-flow downpipe is installed, or aftermarket wastegate actuator or boost control solenoid.

Another possibility is that you have a poor or incomplete stage 1 tune on the car and don't know it.

 

I'd ask the dealer to check the wastegate opens properly and look for non-stock hardware. If that's all okay I'd think about either getting a proper stage 1 tune or having the dealer reflash the latest ROM for your car to be sure you have a stock map on it.

I hate to say "I told you so", but...

 

Why does the dealer need to replace the ECU? They should be able to simply flash a stock map on there and send you on your way. Three possibilities I can think of:

 

1. Your car was tuned by an EcuTek dealer, who lock the ECUs of their customers to keep them captive. You can pay them again to improve the tune, but they will not unlock your ECU even if you offer them your first-born child.

2. Your car was tuned via a Cobb Accessport, and is still married to that device. A Cobb dealer might be able to un-marry your car and set you free, or they may insist you buy a new AP to either tune the car again or flash a stock map in.

 

Both these options are cheaper than a new ECU and you don't have to mess with the immobilizer. Also, if you were locked by EcuTek, marrying your car to a Cobb AP will allow you to unlock it when it's again un-married from the AP.

 

3. Your ECU is working but cannot communicate via normal protocols for some other reason.

I think the accessport route is your best bet. I bought my car from the dealer as did you and didnt realize it had a opensource tune on it until i plugged in my accessport flashed it to stage 1 and it wrote over the opensource map. Idk if your situation is different from mine but that was my experience with that. Unless you go stage 2 or above a protune is not necessary and you dont net that much of a difference over stock at stage 1 its just more dialed in if you get a protune.

The Opensource tools in common use do not change communication protocols and are not capable of locking / password-protecting an ECU. Unless some failure occurs any other tool will be able to read and / or write the ECU.

130,000 mi on my 05 manual LGT. Mine started doing this last week. I'll check the things reported in this thread and find out if it fixes anything. I also have stage 1 Cobb (only mod besides the k&n box filter). My reputable import mechanic (not dealer) drove it and thinks my clutch may be wearing out and the wastegate opens to protect the clutch under heavy torque. However after driving it tonight I'm able to produce pretty good torque in first gear but if i'm at 55mph and stomp on the gas (hardly any torque in 5th gear at 55mph), the wastegate opens and the rpms fly up quickly without producing much torque. maybe i have both problems?

also no codes are produced so there is nothing to scan.

there's no such thing as the wastegate opening up to protect the clutch. if your clutch is slipping, it's very apparent. if you're in 3rd/4th/5th and you floor it and the RPMs shoot up rapidly, your clutch is gone. get a new one.

My reputable import mechanic (not dealer) drove it and thinks my clutch may be wearing out and the wastegate opens to protect the clutch under heavy torque.

Your mechanic is an idiot. Find someone else.

As it turns out, my hoses are in good shape and my boost seems to be fine. the rev'ing is the clutch. Someone please explain why the clutch slips so badly in gears 3 - 5 but i can engage the clutch with no problem in 1st gear and go full throttle through first and 2nd through the power band. i consider myself easy on clutches - drove a VR6 to 160,000 miles no problems and a wrx to 130,000 w/o problems, yet my GT has 130k and seems to be shot (albiet a fair amount more Hp).

The high the gear, the more power to move the car & the more load you put on the clutch. Which is why it take more clamping force on the clutch at higher loads. As the clutch wears (gets thinner) the pressure plate can't put enough force on the clutch & fly wheel to hold high loads in 3-5 gear. 1-2 are geared are low enough, so you have a lot less load being put on the clutch. But if you keep driving it, it will slip in 1-2 too.

 

Mike

Cobb AP installed and flashed to Stage 0. Haven't been able to "break" the car yet to produce any CEL's. I'll be flashing to Stage 1 this weekend and see if my luck holds up.

 

I have, however, felt some "slippage" or "hesitation" in the higher gears, but to be honest I'm not sure if its mechanical or because my car has never "been right" since I've bought it due to the overboost issues. Could this be turbo lag? Pls excuse my lack of knowledge.

 

Any/all feedback is welcome. Tks.

Cobb AP installed and flashed to Stage 0. Haven't been able to "break" the car yet to produce any CEL's. I'll be flashing to Stage 1 this weekend and see if my luck holds up./QUOTE]Yes, because if you think your clutch may be going bad, throwing more torque at it is a good solution.

 

Any competent mechanic that drives your car for 5 minutes can tell you immediately if your clutch is slipping.

 

If you think it's your clutch slipping, buy a new one and replace it. If it's something to do with the tune, then you've already found the solution (putting a proper tune on it.)

Shop said no mechanical issues. Went to Stage 1 for 93 octane...all stock equipment. Driving about 80 - 85 down the highway and now have a new CEL code:

 

P0420 - Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)

 

Cleared CEL and went back to Stage 0...driving about 45 mph and the same CEL - P0420 came back and has been on for about 10 engine restarts.

 

Any ideas? I'm calling the shop and Cobb support tomorrow.

Cats have been gutted and you don't know about it? Maybe the rear O2 sensor is defective... they fail in some strange way.

05 Legacy GT automatic transmission (completely stock as far as I know)... it has been cold in Colorado, but as I was trying to accelerate on highway the car jerked and threw up the CEL. Getting it checked out tomorrow, but i want to contribute my experience to the forum, for future worriers like myself.

Well I threw a p0244 for the first time yesterday, scared the crap out of me!

It's been pretty cool lately (35-40°f) so that's gotta be why, correct?

I couldn't get it to do it again so I'm not nearly as worried as I was :-)

I've got TBE with the factory catted UP running Cobb's OTS v3.00 Stg2 91 octane map and whenever I've logged/monitored, the boost has always peaked a little below 17.5psi anyways.

What psi does that map trigger fuel cut, anyone?

Edited April 14, 2013 by TheBlackPearl

I threw this code after going stage 2. Caught me off guard for sure, checking all the things that you guys said to check. The target boost was 16psi, I was boosting at 19.2 at WOT though.

I threw this code after going stage 2. Caught me off guard for sure, checking all the things that you guys said to check. The target boost was 16psi, I was boosting at 19.2 at WOT though.

 

I had this code stock. I'm pretty sure it was mentioned in this thread (I read through this when I got my code), but my issue was just a broken hose from the wastegate actuator to the T. The hose has a bend in it, and was old and brittle.

 

Here's the thread I started on it.

I have also been experiencing the same P0244 engine code. TURBOCHARGER WASTEGATE SOLENOID 'A' RANGE/PERFORMANCE Its come up 7 or 8 times now and have read the threads of other people's issues with this but I still have some questions about my possible solutions. I have an aftermarket 3" downpipe that goes to a bypass valve and is essentially wide open. I am also running a 2006 LEGACY GT / OUTBACK XT MT SCCA STU LEGAL MAP which is a cobb OTS stage 1 map. This CEL continually pops up when I am running on the flat or uphill in 3rd and 4th gear. The map should be running 15 psi +/- 1psi and in 40 degree weather tends to run at about 17.5. Is this my problem? Where can I get a LWG map? Have I damaged my boost control solenoid valve and need to get an aftermarket one that can handle more boost? Do I need to get an external wastegate? (mine does not have adjustable spring pre-load) Thanks in advance! Edited March 8, 2016 by done_with_honda