Spectre Cold Air Intake And Check Engine Light Woes

EKorbel66

New Member
Mar 2, 2016
8
0
1
Lakeville CT
Hi Guys, this might get tedious and for that I apologize, will try to keep it brief. I bought a 2006 Mustang GT with 27000 miles on it back in January, decided to add a CAI as I do with most of my vehicles, pulled the trigger on a Spectre 9924 with cone filter and chrome tube for 68.00 off of fleabay. Great deal, or so I thought. I put it on, drove the car, check engine light...a cursory search of the forums revealed the solution, battery disconnect, reconnect, let car idle for 5 minutes so that it can relearn how to 'breathe' seems so reasonable, worked for about 10 minutes-pow, CEL on again. Call my local garage, bring car in, nope, we can't do it, need to reset MAF for more air at both higher and lower ranges. Perhaps the dealer can help. okay, off to the dealer for a week...yes a week. He reset things, said it was not installed right, charged 80 bucks, car made it about one mile, CEL on again, back to dealer. Got the two parties talking, Spectre Tech support and dealer. Advised to remove CAI and return factory airbox to engine compartment. Okay, not gonna do this. So,the handheld programmer tune code route, can this work? it seems so simple. And is there anyone here in CT with one of these programmers? I will pay someone cash money to help, not looking for anything for free. Thank you all for any advice.
Eric
 
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Did either your mechanic or the dealer tell you what the trouble code is? You need to know what the code is in order to diagnose the problem,and more importantly because if my guess is right, you risk internal engine damage . Most aftermarket CAIs flow more air then the factory calibration can handle so they require a tune. Installing one without having your car tuned will cause the car to run lean.If a lean condition is the cause of the check engine light, which is my guess then you need to immediately remove the CAI and reinstall the factory unit, or stopping driving the car until you get it tuned, Driving with a lean condition will cause internal engine damage, There are aftermarket CAIs available that do not require a tune such as the Airaid one I have on my car. Typically these CAIs has a removable insert that goes in the intake tube to reduce the airflow to a level that the stock tune can handle. I have never heard if this brand so I googled it and pulled up the installation instructions and sure enough there is what they call a "MAF calibration tube" that has to be inserted the intake pipe. Since you bought it used I suggest that you check to see if it is missing. If it is, there is a good chance that is the cause of your problem and again you need to reinstall the factory unit asap or stop driving the car until you can get the part or have your car tuned. Also since this is not a well know brand you may not be able to find a canned tune that works, you may need to have it dyno tuned. Of course I could be totally wrong, I just taking an educated guess but definitely find out what the trouble code is start from there and try not to drive to much until you do. Hope this helps and I know its not what you want to hear.
 
Hi SVT Pilot, yes, its a code for too much air, mass air leak. I know the car should not be driven like this, I ordered the programmer today, From Franchi Motorsports, the SCT sf3 3015 handheld, it has the codes and there is one on there where I can select CAI and the octane rating as well. I do have that plastic baffle in mine, its weird really how such a small change can affect the car so much. I will update this post when the programmer arrives and hopefully, solves this problem. Thanks for taking the time to help me, I really appreciate it.
Eric
 
Okay, so here we go, got the programmer today, hooked it up and loaded the tuner code for the 93 octane with a K & N filter (there is no option for the Spectre) drove it for 6 miles, check engine light is back on. Just reprogrammed again choosing a tune for a different CAI. What I am suspecting here is that its this specific brand of CAI that is the problem, there is an older thread from a few years back where someone had this same issue and was basically told to toss that junk away and run a different CAI. I have to say though, the tuner really makes the car FAST! quick take off and a very sensitive gas pedal now.
 
Yea I mentioned that you may not be able to find a canned tune for that CAI, since it is an unknown or little known brand. Before you start throwing stuff away, I would put the stock airbox on and tune it for that see if the light comes back on. Maybe that CAI you bought is just no good. Even with the stock intake the tuner is going to make a huge difference.
 
Yes you did mention that, what is weird is that the little reducer/ baffle that comes with the Spectre was removed by either the dealer or the local mechanic at some point, I know that I had put it in there. Its a tube with a filter on one end, why all the finickiness with the amount of air getting to the engine? and one of these tunes should work, I reset things with another one of the canned tunes on the Bama and drove the car for 10 miles and no CEL yet. One other thing that I notice is that most of these CAI's are sold without a disclaimer regarding the pitfalls of installing such on your car, Spectre especially, should stop selling these units for this car. A lot of aggravation for a small gain in power. The tune code however yields quite a bit. Honestly, its like a whole different car. And one that I am enjoying despite all the BS with this CAI issue.