I've been out at my S1 today trying to get to the bottom of the boost problem(only making 4 psi) any way i've notived the amal isn't working(no click) but when i connect up to a battery it works,well i have tested the wires with a multi meter and i'm getting a 12v supply when the car is running but there doesn't appear to be anything happening with the other wire,i assume this is just an earth and if so can i just make up an other wire and earth at some other point i.e the battery
Cheers Guys

 

i had the a similer problem on my series one mate what i did was take the amal valve off spray some wd40 in thier and kept on clicking it with (with a probe tester) to free it off
the other wire goes back to the ecu which in fact pulses thats why it looks like their is no earth or live on my probe tester it would show a live but it wasnt if you understand what i mean
if anymore probs pm me and ill pass my number over to you cheers

 

common problem. it earths through the ecu, and that connection is probably down. Take that side of the amal direct to bodywork or battery and that should sort it.

 

So if i just run a new earth to the amal valve it will work as it should ???
Cheers Guys

 

if u are getting 12 v from the ecu, then yes.

Thinking about it, im not sure if the amal is +ve or -ve switch. You could test with a meter. To be honest, i wouldnt be worried about putting 12V across it straight from the battery.

 

Hang on Rick, i'm the sure amal valve switches on and off while driving doesn't it?

Not just a case of holding it open?

And its switched on the earth, it has an unfused 12v supply off the ignition feed.

 

When i start my car am i right in saying the amal valve should click,i have been talking to a few people today and i have been told all sorts of things from,remove amal and fit a bleed valve,take the pipe from the turbo and connect direct to the actuator and blank the hose at the airbox off,anyone got any suggestions,safechav,i take it from what you are saying i cannot just put an earth to the amal valve then ???

 

When you turn on the amal valve should click a couple of times. I'm certain the amal valve wastes to the air box until about 3-3.5k to help reduce lag and then it periodically opens and closes while boosting.

You can trying having it on all the time, the boosting characteristics might not be very good though.

If you could rig up a test light u could drive down the road and see what the light does, to identify if theres a fault or not?

 

Cheers mate,i do have a test light so i will give this ago,whats your opinion on the other suggestions that were put to me i.e the bleed valve and connecting hose from turbo direct to actuator,i used to have a bleed valve years ago when i had an impreza and never had a problem,infact it was a dawes device i had fitted !!

 

SafeChav

No, it's open all the time, ur thinking of a metro turbo and it's modulated boost

I remember now + 12V feed comes from fuel pump relay to it.... Just earth the other side and it will be in the open position all the time.

U can by all means fit a bleed valve, but make sure it is a 3 port type. Taking a hose direct from compressor to actuator is ok, but unless you have a -34 it won't boost very much....

 

Cheers rick,your advice is much appreciated, i think i will earth the orginal amal valve and see how i get on from there,i wasn't really wanting to fit a bleed valve,i have read other topics regarding these and from what i can make out i am better with the orginal amal valve !!

 

what u can do, is disconnect the amal valve - just unplug it. If the boost drops - it's working, if it doesn't it's not...

 

According to my gauge i'm only making 4 psi just now,i've tried adjusting the actuator but that makes no difference,if i try with amal unplugged can it possibly drop any more than 4 psi !!

 

Rick the amal valve definately doesnt operate until higher up the rev range.....i wasn't sure about turning on and off but its not open at idle and im 100% on that

 

It does! It should only close if inlet temps start to rise v high. The idea of it is a safety thing, it's just like an electronic bleed valve. When you have 2 stage boost, all u are doing is having it open through a switch, and removing ecu connection.

craig_007

It does sound like the amal isn't working. It could be the solenoid is stuck, not just connection. With the engine off, if you put 12V across it, it should click. If it doesn't, either get another, or it's bleed valve time.

 

Rick, when you say it does, what were you referring to?

 

amal valve should be open with engine running.

 

Ah ok, i see what you mean. Well what i mean then is its open at idle, wasting into the air box, then closes while driving (controlled by the ECU)

Trying to remember which literature i read about it in

 

it only closes if there is a problem condition, and a lot of modded chips don't control it anyway.

 

Hmmmmmmm, interesting.

I'm guna have a hunt around and see if i can find whatever i read it on and refresh my memory..........

 

Yep,If i put 12v across it the amal clicks no problem !!

 

well keep the 12v across it, and go for a drive....

 

Just been out for a drive with the new earth connected to the amal valve,what a difference,the car nows peaks at 15 psi and falls back to 10psi.I was told this was standard,is that possible if it's peaking at 15psi

 

Ok,i've just removed ecu to have a look inside and it turns out the car has a turbo systems chip in it,as i said about the boost,it's peaking at 15 and holding 10,how come there is a 5 psi pressure drop !!

 

the actuator is soft.

 

Excellent Rick mate,you've been a star,I've now wired amal valve and taped into part of the loom,car is now going sweet,i assume now i will need to get myself another actuator!!
Thanks for the help Craig

 

glad it's sorted

If you put a -34 on, u can bypass the amal completely and run a pipe from compressor to actutor. Gives good boost response, stable and comes in hard - but the minimum you can run is around 14psi.

Sounds like u have a std actuator at the moment. You can try shortening the rod some more, this may help u hold the boost.

 

Can i do what you mentioned using a -31 actuator,i'm ideally wanting to run with 11/12 psi of boost,another question if you don't mind Rick
I know i have just got the amal working now but am i better taking the hose from the turbo straight to the actuator,whats the difference between doing that and running through the amal valve

 

Every actuator has a minimum lift off pressure. This is the least boost u can ever run on that actuator. Std is 4psi, -31 7/8 psi, -34 around 14psi. These figures vary slightly.

You can increase the boost by shortening the rod. When you shorten the rod, u tend to reduce lag due to preventing wastegate creep. This is because the engine can boost a little more before the wastegate starts to open. You feel this in the car as the power coming in harder. So, generally it's good to run more tension/shorter rod. You can only go so far, as if u keep shortening, the wastegate won't open enough and u get boost creep - ie boost rising with rpm in the higher gears.

The amal valve serves 2 purposes. It goes inline with the boost feed to the actuator. WHen it is open, it bleeds off pressure - fooling the acuator so that it doesn't see the full boost the turbo is developing. The wastegate then opens later.

Say u have a std actuator, which opens at 4psi, and then u have an amal valve which bleeds off 50% of this pressure. When the turbo is developing 4psi, the actuator only sees 2psi, as half the pressure is going out through the amal valve. As the lift off pressure is 4psi, the actautor doesn't move, the wastegate stays shut, and the boost continues to build.

When the turbo is producing 8psi, half this will be bled off, so the actuator sees 4psi. This is it's lift off pressure, so the wastegate opens. This is exactly what happens on a std car - hence they run around 7-8psi.

The second thing the amal does, is a safety cut. By having the ECU control the amal, it can close it off in certain conditions - namely when temperature goes too high, or it detects knock. By closing the valve, a std car will revert back to wastegate lift off pressure - ie 4psi. In honesty, this feature isn't needed - u should keep an eye on ur gauges, and if things are getting hot then you should be off the throttle...

Now, if you fit a -31 with a lift off pressure of 7psi, and run the amal, u may boost at say 11psi, with the rod in it's longest position. Now, i say may as it depends on how the amal valve is jetted. I said before, that the amal bleeds off 50% pressure. That is a rough approximation, and varies greatly. You adjust the amount of bleed by jetting the amal valve. All this means is you fit different sized restrictors in the bleed port of the valve. As you can imagine, this is trial and error and a bit tedious.

Say you fit your -31, with the amal still in place, and it boosts at 11psi. Running upto around 18 psi is easy - just shorten the rod and job done.

But, what happens if you fit the new actuator and it boosts at 15psi? And you want to run 12psi? Well first, unplug the amal and see what it boosts at. Whatever it is, this is the lowest boost you can run with that actuator.

You can now start rejetting the amal - put a bigger restirictor in the bleed port to reduce the boost. Personally i wouldn't, as it's a ballache. This is where a bleed valve comes in. A bleed valve (3 port type) goes in place of the amal valve. It serves the same purpose, but is very easily adjustable. This is a good thing for tuners. But, it has undeservedly given bleed valves a bad name. It is easy to unscrew the bleed valve, the boost goes sky high, and so does ur engine. Simple cure - don't fiddle with it once set, and ur engine will be fine.

Fit the valve, and make sure it is in its fully closed position. Do a test run, and if you want more boost, greadually open the valve. Turn it max of 1/8th of a turn and then test until you get the desired boost and lock it in place.

Job done

 

the amal valve works by a pulsed earth from the ecu!!!

if uve earthed it out u have fully opened the amal up which will give u full boost which is set at your actuator!


also by doing it this way it automatically doubles the boost from the actuator

so if u had 6 psi before this is why u now have 12psi +

 

going off topic a bit here but dose this mean u would'nt have to have a chip put in the ecu,or would i need one to stop boost cut?

 

You have to have a chip to boost above the limit of 10psi

 

cheeRS m8 i'm learning somthing new every day about the turb's hopfully when it's up and runing i'll get it to one of the ford show's