Exhaust valve stuck closed with Alias23 intake

[remy_david]

Hi all,

I just bought a 2013 Exige V6. The previous owner had fitted an Alias23 intake. Since I first drove the car my impression was that it didn't make a lot of noise (appart from the induction), much less that I would expect from a V6 and all the fuss I read about the Exige. Also, I didn't hear any sound difference between the different DPM mode. So today I decided to investigate. After some reading, I disconnected the hose going to the Exhaust valve and, bingo, I could clearly hear the difference! I could also see that the position of the valve was not the same as before (same as when the car is turned off actually). 

So the valve is working, but for some reason it stays closed when the hose is connected to the solenoid. I currently left it disconnected with a screw on the hose going to the SC for now. The way it was wired by the previous owner was: valve > solenoid > nipple on the SC, which is correct to my understanding.

I now have 2 questions:

- the previous owner likely drove the car like this (exhaust always closed) during about 2 years (and didn't give a f***!!). What are the possible consequence for the engine and how can I assess it?

- how to make the valve work as intended? I was going to try to replace the solenoid, but if it was faulty, I don't get how the valve whouldn't default to open instead of closed, so I am a bit lost.

Thanks for your help!

 

 

 

[Mark.A]

Hi @remy_david, I can only give you some guidance to your questions;

1. As long as there are no engine warning lights on the dashboard then I guess there has been no damage to the engine from having the exhaust valve permanently closed.

2. I have attached Imran’s installation guide for his induction kit. It shows which vacuum pipes should be connected to the supercharger and solenoid. You should also have two pipes that are blocked off with screws. If it doesn’t work after checking the pipework then I guess the solenoid is faulty from being forced closed for so long. As you have mentioned the exhaust valve is working when you manually disconnected the vacuum pipe so this is not the problem.

Hope this helps.

Mark

alias23 air intake install guidelines-1.pdf

[Mark.A]

Also check the solenoid is getting power before buying a new one.

👍

[DH2]

Sounds like the solenoid isn't working correctly.

Having said that, I've not seen a single car where the A23 intake operates the exhaust valve as per OEM.  And there's a good reason for it, if you look at the stock airbox, you will find out why.

Dave

[remy_david]

Thanks you all. I tried to remove the solenoid to test it but one of the bolt is so close to the plastic housing that my socket cannot engage the bolt. Must buy new tools...   

DH2 what do you mean exactly?

[r3nault]

3 hours ago, DH2 said:

Sounds like the solenoid isn't working correctly.

Having said that, I've not seen a single car where the A23 intake operates the exhaust valve as per OEM.  And there's a good reason for it, if you look at the stock airbox, you will find out why.

Dave

I'm guessing that Remy may not have the original if the previous owner installed the upgrade?

[remy_david]

Previous owner gave it to me so I have it. I am guessing DH2 meant that there is no more vacuum reservoir in the alias23 install, which could cause issues. I just ordered a vacuum reservoir + non return valve for <20€ from Aliexpress and will mount it with a Y before the SC for peace of mind. 

I finally bought some new tools and was able to unmount the solenoid. After some inspection it looks a bit corroded and testing with a DC 12V power supply I can confirm it is stuck in "open" position (air is always flowing between the 2 nipples), which I guess explains why the exhaust valve was always closed. As the solenoid doesn't seems servicable I will order a new one. 

The conclusion is that it wasn't the Alias23 intake install that caused the issue, maybe the car has been driven with always closed exhaust since several years. Hope it didn't increase engine wear too much, not very happy right now... Had the previous owner on the phone and he had no idea. A bit surprised that the Lotus dealership were he did the services didn't detect this since it's quite obvious from hearing the engine noise and seems to be a pretty comon issue on the first Exiges V6.

 

 

[Exx]

Who was this Lotus dealership ?

[El-RGB]

It is likely when the engine at high reving, the exhaust valve will naturally be opened which caused by the high volume of air; thus, I'm not too worry about the permanently closed valve causing wear on the engine.

Frank 

[remy_david]

It was Bauden near Chambery in France.

[Paul_D]

5 hours ago, El-RGB said:

It is likely when the engine at high reving, the exhaust valve will naturally be opened which caused by the high volume of air; thus, I'm not too worry about the permanently closed valve causing wear on the engine.

Frank 

Sorry, but this won't be the case. The valve would not be opening due to exhaust flow.

The fact it's a not a 380/410/430 does however mean the chance of engine damage is much smaller. The 'valve closed' flow path on a S/350 exhaust is similar in size to the open flow path (identical on the outer pipe in fact, but apparently slightly reduced internally). On the 380/410/430 cars it is MUCH more restrictive. 

[DH2]

If the solenoid is stuck open, then the valve should open when the vacuum goes in the intake, and should close when there is vacuum.

[El-RGB]

On 28/02/2023 at 17:03, Paul_D said:

Sorry, but this won't be the case. The valve would not be opening due to exhaust flow.

The fact it's a not a 380/410/430 does however mean the chance of engine damage is much smaller. The 'valve closed' flow path on a S/350 exhaust is similar in size to the open flow path (identical on the outer pipe in fact, but apparently slightly reduced internally). On the 380/410/430 cars it is MUCH more restrictive. 

My Exige S, like OP's 2013 V6, opens the valve on high revs, even when it is on touring mode.

The exhaust note is obvious evident when the valve opens up. Let me know if it is otherwise. Hope it helps OP's situation.

Frank

[remy_david]

Ok, so some news on my issue. Thanks to everyone who relplied 😊

I ordered a new solenoid and now have a working exhaust valve which I set to open most of the time 😁.

BUT after 3 days, engine light went on after 3 warming laps on my first trackday 😭. I have a P0171 fault code (too lean on bank 1), and the car won't rev more than 5k rpm.

After some research I have several hypothesis. First, sheer bad luck: one of the injector, spark plug, MAF or O2 sensor is faulty. But I don't belive in coincidence so it's more likely related to the changes on the intake/exhaust. So if I narrow it to this side it can be a vacuum leak, or the fact that the exhaust is now open allows more air to flow and the stock ECU cannot cope anymore with the increased air flow of the Alias23 intake. Some Exige S owner reported running into P0171 codes after installing the Alias23 intake. That would be my first guess. Solution seems to be installing a more restrictive filter, but I am considering a remap instead. I would be happy to hear your thoughts on that.

 

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by remy_david

[r3nault]

If the intake allows the MAF to get a correct reading (eg. like the BOE unit, and unlike the Radium one), the ECU should be able to relearn a suitable map. Have you completed five starts since the light came on? When I changed from stock exhaust to Lotus Stage 1 (on NA Evora), I got some error codes, and after five starts (over the next few days) the light went away and upon checking all was fine.

[remy_david]

Apparently the Alias23 intake can cause the A/F ratio to go out of the ECU adjustment capabilities with the stock map. I already erased the code once and it went back straight away. I will try a few more start but I am not optimistic.   

[r3nault]

Ah damn. If it’s not allowing correct MAF readings then you may indeed need to replace it