AEM WMI .....Check valve fault...again..

[s3dave]

Mocked the WMI kit up this morning due to Westys woes with a leaking check valve, surprise surprise mines leaking....

Ive left it a couple of hours to see if it was just excess in the nozzle, but no...
For the price of these kits they should be better, if not realized you could potentially blow the engine on first start if left overnight with the inter cooler full of fkn liquid...no doubt i will get a replacement but like Westy we are always going to be checking it....and worrying..Its got disclaimers on nearly every page of the manual so would they pay for damage...No , and its hardly a one off! thats 3 we know about now..
Not good enough AEM....is it really worth the hassle??

Vid below:
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/9500/vtvt.mp4

 

[StaceyS3]

It really is a joke ive gotta ge my **** in gear and chase it up with the aem boys but i know what you mean after its done it to me as many times as it has can it really be trusted??

Think i will be shopping around for a 12 v soleniod to go inline as well as the check valve

 

[sportstractor]

Nice bit of Florence in the background dave.

Would it still syphon, if the outlet of the tank was lower than the nozzle, so if you had the injector higher up near the map sensor?

 

[StaceyS3]

In theory no it wouldn't but have seen some strange things in my life lol

 

[<tuffty/>]

Nice bit of Florence in the background dave.

Would it still syphon, if the outlet of the tank was lower than the nozzle, so if you had the injector higher up near the map sensor?

Tank needs to be higher than pump as syphoning is how it primes... check valves are 'supposed' to open at around 15psi so should never leak...

<tuffty/>

 

[s3dave]

Nice bit of Florence in the background dave.

Would it still syphon, if the outlet of the tank was lower than the nozzle, so if you had the injector higher up near the map sensor?

Ah ah didnt notice that, you cant beat a bit of florence.....

Like tuffty says the pump is gravity fed so needs to be higher than the pump, but thats not the issue, the valve has failed so may need to look for an inline check valve.

 

[StaceyS3]

Yeah know the pumps gravity fed but what I think he ment was to place the tank and pump lower than the nozzle/jet

But it's besides the point as when you buy a kit you expect it to work, I will be making a video of mine leaking tomorrow and eventually sorting out my leaky one if they will replace it like westicles

 

[badger5]

if you bought these from Xenonlv off ebay, email them at ebay@xenonlv.com so they get the jist of this is not an isolated case at all.
A batch problem perhaps

 

[s3dave]

Yeah bill, i got mine with westys, so prob same batch...

 

[StaceyS3]

Yeah also got mine from him but in august, maybe still could be the same batch though??

 

[Westy]

I'm expecting a built and tested valve from AEM in the US this week. I started a thread on the US forum and a guy called Henry emailed me back and sorted one out for me.

I also emailed the Latvian seller on eBay and he too is sending me another valve. If they still leak I will be asking for a full refund because it's too much of a risk having that leaking into your boost pipes.

 

[badger5]

Good day,

Thank you for your message. We want to inform you that indeed check valves are faulty and it was also confirmed by AEM. We will send you new check valves.

Best regards,

Ross

Received from Xenonlv this morning to me

 

[StaceyS3]

Have now emailed xenonlv and aem direct, xenon has got back to me and asked that isend it off, and am waiting till the yankees get up to hear back from aem

Heres the final vid out of the 3

AEM faulty check valve leaking - YouTube

 

[aragorn]

Why dont you use a solenoid to completely close off the water line?

 

[Westy]

Why dont you use a solenoid to completely close off the water line?

Only because we shouldn't have to after spending almost £300 on the kit.

If the new valves still leak I'll be looking at an alternative solution as the AEM check valves just can't be trusted.

 

[sportstractor]

Westy have you tried disassembling the check valve and fitting a stronger spring if it's possible? Just because it may be a crap check valve, and presumably a kit with a solenoid will cost more? Maybe worth trying if you getting sent a spare nozzle

 

[Westy]

Westy have you tried disassembling the check valve and fitting a stronger spring if it's possible? Just because it may be a crap check valve, and presumably a kit with a solenoid will cost more? Maybe worth trying if you getting sent a spare nozzle

The check valve itself is a sealed part but there is a spring in the filter to the jet nozzle. When I spoke to AEM they seemed to know what the issue was and said that it would be the check valve.

If I suck and blow the valve I can hear the part inside moving about but I guess it's just not sealing properly. We'll see if the new valve looks any better.

I don't mind buying a separate solenoid. I'd rather spend a bit more then risk hydro locking the engine I'm about to spend £1200 on!

 

[Speedy Steve]

Best get mine out and test it as well then. Cant believe i still haven't fitted mine

 

[StaceyS3]

I emailed aem and they are going to send me a new nozzle straight over no questions asked so I presume they have recognised they had a faulty batch or component in these check valves

 

[Westy]

I got home to find a new check valve sitting on the door mat. This is the one from AEM USA.

It is exactly the same valve as before, no difference to the eye as I thought they might have revised the design. I tried to suck and blow through it, which when done on the faulty valve I could hear the bit inside moving. This one is solid as a rock.

Bumper off and fixed the nozzle to the valve and pumped water into a bowl. All good. No syphoning and the ammount of spray coming out the nozzle was a lot less then it was before. This may be why the medium nozzle was flooding my car on the rollers at Bills

Anyway the car is loaded up with water and I'm going for a drive after dinner to test it and log some AITs. Should see sub 10 degrees with the temps outside!

I've made a note of where the water level is in the tank and i'll check again before I set off later. I'll have to empty out any remaining water later or it'll freeze over night.

 

[StaceyS3]

Thats good mate aem didn't even ask me for a serial number, did you get new jets with yours as they said I won't be getting these with mine

They also said that it would cost to much to send mine to them for inspection so they want me to send them pictures of the old one destroyed..... So looks like I might not be able to get 2 like you??

 

[Westy]

Thats good mate aem didn't even ask me for a serial number, did you get new jets with yours as they said I won't be getting these with mine

They also said that it would cost to much to send mine to them for inspection so they want me to send them pictures of the old one destroyed..... So looks like I might not be able to get 2 like you??

Bit weird! I showed the guy a video and he sent me a new one, no questions asked.

 

[sportstractor]

Thats good mate aem didn't even ask me for a serial number, did you get new jets with yours as they said I won't be getting these with mine

They also said that it would cost to much to send mine to them for inspection so they want me to send them pictures of the old one destroyed..... So looks like I might not be able to get 2 like you??

Sounds like they have complete pleb working for them. Why would anyone bother making a request like that?!?

 

[StaceyS3]

Copy of the email think they've definately recognised that there was a dodgy batch and just don't want it getting sold on or refitted to someone elses car but I was hoping to send it on to xenonlv to hopefully get another as a spare lol

If you can get away with then why not hay lol

Hi Stacey,

I can send you a replacement injector nozzle assembly. We are asking for the old one back, but because you are in the UK, it is too costly to get it back. Once you receive the new one, can you destroy your old one and send a photo to me as proof? I know that seems kind of odd, but we really need to make sure these are being destroyed. I will send the replacement to you via UPS. As soon as I have a tracking number I will let you know.

I have attached a picture of what we are going to send you. We are sending the injector body only. You will need to use your existing jet and screw it into the new one. I apologize for any inconvenience. Please let me know if you have any questions.


Sherry Lindeman
AEM Performance Electronics
slindeman@aempower.com
Ph: 310-484-2322 x. 262
Fax: 310-484-0152

 

[s3dave]

Thats good mate aem didn't even ask me for a serial number, did you get new jets with yours as they said I won't be getting these with mine

They also said that it would cost to much to send mine to them for inspection so they want me to send them pictures of the old one destroyed..... So looks like I might not be able to get 2 like you??

Cheeky fkn nobs they are lucky you are not suing them for a new engine....

 

[Westy]

Good news. The check valve is working great.

Bad news. When it starts pumping, I can physically feel the car hold back on power!

After a few boosts I was back to my initial problem of the pump drawing too much power and entering safe mode ***!

I'm starting to think about ripping this kit out and asking for a full refund. I'm not impressed at all.

 

[sportstractor]

Not cool mate. so the controller has some kind of surge protection? does the pump run through an external relay or straight throught the controller. if it doesnt have a relay, you could wire one in, but then you would lose your pump protection. Not that you should have to do anything like it

 

[<tuffty/>]

Not cool mate. so the controller has some kind of surge protection? does the pump run through an external relay or straight throught the controller. if it doesnt have a relay, you could wire one in, but then you would lose your pump protection. Not that you should have to do anything like it

The controller controls the flow rate of the pump electronically so no relay can be used... its what makes it progressive rather than all or nothing...

<tuffty/>

 

[Westy]

I think the issue is when the full blast setting kicks in because I drove 2 and a half hours to Bills only running on the 1st boost setting on the controller with the full blast setting out of the range of boost I could produce and it was working fine.

 

[sportstractor]

The controller controls the flow rate of the pump electronically so no relay can be used... its what makes it progressive rather than all or nothing...

<tuffty/>

ah i see, i just had a little read up on the aem site. intrestingly its only 2 stage though. I would be inclined to measure the draw of the pump on full chat and see if its under the 15 amps it should be, if its over the safe limit you know its the pump, if its under it has to be the controller.

 

[Westy]

ah i see, i just had a little read up on the aem site. intrestingly its only 2 stage though. I would be inclined to measure the draw of the pump on full chat and see if its under the 15 amps it should be, if its over the safe limit you know its the pump, if its under it has to be the controller.

Ideally I need to get the kit out the car and test it on a bench. The "TEST" buton on the controller makes the pump go through the motions so you'd expect the error to occur then but it doesn't. Stupid ****** thing

 

[<tuffty/>]

Could be the wiring of course... check for volts drop at the pump... crap earth or any connection where the cables have been joined could also cause excessive current draw...

<tuffty/>

 

[Westy]

Could be the wiring of course... check for volts drop at the pump... crap earth or any connection where the cables have been joined could also cause excessive current draw...

<tuffty/>

My wiring isn't the best I must admit but i've not done a bad job on this. It's earthed on the terminal with all the connectors near the steering column.

 

[badger5]

apply pressure via pump to it, use just water and spray it on full, with nozzle fitted but not in car... see what amps are being drawn after its on prolonged time.