K&N Concerns
 

So with the lean code coming from the K&N, the computer must be supplying more fuel to compensate. Is this correct and what other events are happening due to this CEL? Or basically how much is this messing up my car?

Also wanted to ask those with a K&N & a CEL for the poll, are you going to keep the K&N CAI on or take it off?

If the majority are removing them I might remove mine before the weather turns colder.

It's nuts alright. I don't no what to do with mine. I love the sound to much to take it off. David at M/P said it took a month for the light to go off in there project car. They also said that they helped K&N develop this cai. So they should be able to help. I told them I want to return mine and they talked me out of it. First guy I talked to said somthing must be wrong with my car. NOT!!!. I already took it out for about two weeks and no cel then I put it back in saturday and the cel came back right away. So it's not the oil as some said.
Joe

It sucks that you get a CEL, but does it really effect anything? Yea sure the MAF is detecting more air then the norm, and sure the tolerances built in for that ECU are going to throw a CEL because of that.

The truth be told Code may say lean, but it could very well be throwing that code because its detecting more air and thowing more gas into the engine then it was specified to do stock. Is this going to hurt your car? I dont think so. This is normal, the cars ECU picks something up different then stock, and thows a code "TO MAKE YOU AWARE" of the fact that something isnt meeting factory specifications.

Yes your not meeting factory specificaion sbecuase your sucking in more air and using more gas and gaining mor HP TQ. Is that hurting anything, I dont think so. IM no engine technician but that is my view on the situation. I think the CEL is more of an eye sore then anything. YOu still get a power gain and you still get wine just like someone with no cel. I wouldnt give it a second thought unless you start to have problems.

so your CEL comes on because you didnt tighten your gas cap all the way (3 clicks) , your car detected something out of the norm, does that mean its going to blow up, or break down, or take a huge bog in performance? No....

If your CEL was flashing you have a major problem, a solid CEL is a warning light letting you know there MIGHT be a problem or theres a problem but not super serious.

Thats my understanding.

I've got maybe 200 miles on mine, didnt unplug battery, havent had a cel. fyi.

Or could our fuel injector's be at the limit, and with the extra air the fuel injectors cant provide enough gas to the car to compensate for teh air, and that is why we are pulling a lean code? Is that why stage 1 is bigger fuel injectors? Anyone with bigger fuel injectors have an intake and have you thrown a cel?

Everybody will get the CELs. It doesn't effect the way your car runs, it is just a light saying... "hey you have an intake!"

Thanks Xenozx, that was a good post, exactly what I was looking for. It does make sense with a free flowing filter, it gets more air and that right there would go against the supposive 'correct' tolerances programmed into our computers.

We can only hope GM gets a clue and makes revisions to the stage kits for the K&N CAI.

I've seen this on other cars too...and whereas unplugging the battery will force the computer to relearn what sensors are telling it sometimes works. Another technique that I have used in the past is to disconnect the positive terminal, and turn the key to the on position and then hold down the brake pedal for 30 seconds. What that does is drain the residual power that helps the computer remember settings, and then the computer relearns. Usually after reconnecting everything let the car run for at least 10 minutes so it can relearn.

I don't have a K&N yet, but I'm planning on it!! And on another Cobalt board people there are having the same problem too.

It's a new toy for the cars and we just have to figure it out.
I can't wait to get my K&N!

The main thing is the oil from the filter. K&N does there test under the best conditions(oiled filter completely dry). The main reason for the error code is the "map sensor", the best way to avoid the problem is to make sure those filters are completly dry. A little hint is to buy a second filter so it can dry for awhile then place it in a zip lock bag until your ready to change. And if its wet to touch let it sit longer( they should be dry to touch)

Good luck

i also did not remove the battery, i have a 3" pulley and the intake. i have never had a light, and i ran it on my dyno to insure that it was running ok. sure enough, it was running about 12:1, but more on the rich side. never crosses below that, so i recomend to anyone that can find a dyno to run it and check the a/f. if it were ok, i would def leave the filter. also, if you remove the black hose from the BCS solinoid, your light just might go away.

I put a K&N on there about 4 weeks ago. Got a CEL the very first night I went out. I love the sound. Everyone says it sounds totally bad ass!! But the CEL, even though it was just a light, was saying that something was wrong. Here is what the performance shop told me, as well as my dealership...

The CEL came on because of the MAS, Mass Air Sensor, detected more air being forced into the engine. The injectors were being told to push for fuel through, which caused the air/fuel ratio to go crazy. With that problem though, after driving with the CEL still on, can cause problems. The engines RPMs will dip to about 200RPM then rev up to 1000RPM+ then dip down again, and rev right back up, several times over. Basically, the computer is sending signals to the injectors to push more fuel, then to back off on fuel, then to push more, then back off more. Over time, of the same thing, the engine will undergo so much stress from all the miss communication, the RPMs dipping and rising, the injectors pushing more fuel... will cause the engine to just die at random.

The supercharger could also be damaged by this. With all the RPM issues, injectors pushing more fuel, more air being forced, it can cause the supercharger to become stressed and eventually, die. With the stress, even the smallest peice of dust or dirt that somehow gets into the supercharger could cause damage, and not be covered under warranty.

With all that said, I kicked the K&N out and ordered the JBP Vortex Intake Kit. I heard about it from my performance shop and even from the performance guy at the dealership. It is not covered under warranty, but they said they have heard great things about it. I ordered it, paid about 60$ more for overnight shipping, got it installed and everything worked. The CEL went off after 20 minutes of driving it around at normal driving conditions. No mashing the gas, speeding off, or anthing... basically "granny driving." It was worked very well. NO CEL whatsoever!! What they state is very true. They worked very hard to get everything right! I recommend this one over anything else... K&N, Injen, Weapon R, whatever else there is.

^^^Mine revs up and down stock, many cars here do that, it's not a function of the intake

Well, when the dealership and a high performance shop tell me that, I have nothing else to go on. Id rather take a professionals word on the matter than someone like me.

For those of u throwing a lean code that are worried about it .....dont be . The PCM is tuned purposely quite rich from the factory , so running a little lean is helping you more than hurting you . All the CAI's are doing are causing the PCM's to occasionally go outside the acceptable parameters in the fuel trims . Its not a constantly running lean . You may only breifly go outside the correction factor for a second , but do it over a few times in a given time frame and the PCM will recognize the history and flag the code for a lean condition . The reason the light stays on , is because it 1 ) has to cleared from the pcm via a datalogger with that capability , disconnecting the battery and pull the pcm battery fuse ( if you simply dissconnect the battery , the PCM still has power ) ~or have 20 or in some cars more start cycles without the condition being present the code will clear itself from visibility ( i.e. the CEL goes off ) but will remain in the code history viewable only on a scan tool . For those that dont know , I'll give a breif explaination of fuel correction so u can understand why the CEL sets . Fuel correction is based of long and short term fuel trims . Short terms called integrators are real time correction , long terms called BLM's are an average of the short terms . A BLM ~or integraters are numeric values . 128 is the value thats there when no fuel correction is being made . Any value higher , the pcm is adding fuel for a lean condition to meet the pcms programmed paramaters , any value less and the PCM is taking away fuel away to correct a rich cond. . 160 are your max correction values . I dont know how strict the boundries for setting a rich or lean code in the SS pcm so I cant tell ya how high the value has to go before a lean condition is recognized . At WOT throttle the pcm looks at O2 values , 880mV being optimal , lower on the lean side and higher on the rich side . Again Im not familiar of the cobalts boundries thier either . That is the basic scope of why a code is being set . Your just traveling occsionally outside your PCM's already too rich parameters . The annoyance of the light is the worst thing thats goin on Again for those that dont know , its more prone to do it in the cold because the air is ALOT more dense and oxegen rich at 20* than 60* , pcm see more air and has to correct to meet the fuel demand .

So , relax and find a way to deal with the annoying CEL until pcm tuning is available . Your not hurting anyting at all ;)

^^^^I like his explanation^^^^

Hehe, makes me feel so much better!!