So today I took the cai intake off and put it back on making sure all was correct and tight. Checked and cleared codes. (P0171/0174) Went for a ride and "Service Traction Control appeared.
Had lunch and the mailman delivered the new MAF from Jim. Installed it went for a drive and same thing. Well I guess it's time to check for air leaks. Got the trusty can of starter fluid and started spraying around the air filter, bridge and TB. No indication of a leak. Well then I started spraying around the intake manifold and lo & behold right there on the front passenger side of the intake there seems to be a leak. Tried tightening the bolts and it seemed to help when I tested it. Took the car for a ride and unfortunatly STC came up on the DIC. Checked the same area for the leak and it was back. SO it looks like I'll have to remove the intake manifold and replace the seals.
I will report back on the results.

I need a beer!
Kelly

P.S. Oh yeah I did get the P0171/0174 codes again but no CEL.

 

You do need a beer!! Good luck; I wish there was a way other than removing the manifold......

 

We have tested the Killer Bee II on three different LS3s and have seen long term fuel trims at around +10% across the board.

In order to keep the car at 14.7:1 air fuel ratio in closed loop the O2 sensors look at the the amount of oxygen left over in the burn and adjusts the fuel either increasing or decreasing the pulse width to bring the a/f ratio back to 14.7:1.

All states now run E10, which has 10% ethanol, and has a stoichiometric burn of 14.1:1, not 14.7:1. That adds around +5% to the long term fuel trim averages right from the start to compensate.

We have tested 6 LS3s and found that the long term fuel trim averages hit +10% with our Killer Bee II, close to zero stock. The KB 2 is well within the +25% threshold before the P0171 and or P0174 lean codes would pop up.

Having said that, we have seen a half dozen customers get codes and have worked with each customer to resolve the codes. Three of them had installed the MAF upside down, effectively stopping all MAF functions since the read hole must face the airflow, and the arrow on the MAF must face the throttle body. All three of these LS3s were completely fixed once the MAF was installed correctly:






Most of the problems have been from not tightening the MAF screws and not properly installing the Viton rubber washers that we provide with the package. Originally, we told folks to just use the stock screws, that did not work out. They were too small and did not tighten sufficiently to make a tight seal where the rectangular "o-ring" on the MAF meets our recess on the MAF tower. Two customers replaced the screws with 5/8' length #10 screws (provided now for 5 months) and that stopped the small leak. (Even a tiny leak at the MAF will drive the LTFs up beyond the +25% threshold)

The PCV line on the 2008 LS3 connects under the passenger side cover and can be pulled loose from the rubber sleeve during installation, which will cause the Traction Control Disable issue within 1 minute of idling. PCV Instructions

Lean codes can also trigger that DIC message.

We have solved the 5 or 6 issues, 5 were installation issues, one found out that his used LS3 had been previously tuned for another intake, which had the MAF transfer curve way off. Bridges, such as the one that was leaking, it should be replaced under warranty. Contact jim@halltechsystems.com and we'll get that bridge replaced.

As far as turbulence, the MAF position is at the exact angle we want it to be, and precisely where the Killer Bee 1st generation was, which had zero incidents of lean or rich codes in 4.5 years and 5,000 sold.

The Killer Bee II is now made a one piece with a built in MAF tower, but that is our new problem child. Since it is plastic, it is possible to turn the MAF upside down and screw the sheet metal screws into the plastic, instead of the holes intended for the screws. They only line up one way, and with our old Hornet MAF sensor having these in brass, made it impossible to reverse the install.

At our shop we have the SCT X3 tuner, LS2 Edit, EFI Live, a GM Tech II, and we always use the MSD Dashhawk instead to look at Long Term Fuel trims.

They are expensive ($249 online) but are an invaluable tool for the DIY mechanic. The C5 had the ability to read and delete trouble codes right on the dash. GM saw the opportunity to get every C6 customer into the service department by making that a thing of the past.

The SCT X3 goes beyond the MSD, and can monitor almost anything you care to look at with their Livewire software; it reads codes, deletes them and can upload your stock ECM file which can be emailed to me for a free tune if you are getting lean codes, It can hold up to 3 custom tunes, and keeps your stock tune ready for reflashing back to stock "without a trace"
If you purchased your LS3 stock, I would be able to tell immediately if the old tune is still in the ECM. MORE

email me for special forum pricing on this tool.

 

Other mods on the car will affect this greatly. I have a bimode exhaust and just having the valves open or closed changes LTFT's 4-6% on my car. If the only mod on the car is the air cleaner, then giving a blanket LTFT value like that is close to valid, but once a customer has an exhaust, headers (1 3/4, 17/8), ported intake/TB, ect, you cant make a blanket statement like that. Any mod that increases airflow thus will change LTFT's. The two biggest culprits being exhaust backpressure and freeing intake restrictions such a a FAST intake for guys that get this code.

The killer bee intake is a great unit.

 

I found the leak!! It had nothing, I repeat, nothing to do with the Killer Bee II. There is a short hose that is located behind the TB on the passenger side that was NOT connected on one end! The end not connected went directly into the intake. I have no idea when or how it became disconnected. It appears the previous owner may have polished the TB and all I can guess is that would be the most logical explenation. I think the reason I didn't get codes before was because the original tune was set to open loop. I'm just guessing here. Then when I had the new tune done and had the front O2 sensors installed and set to closed loop it all started being seen by the computer.
Any idea what that hose is for?
I would like to thank Jim from Halltech for everything he did, sending replacement parts, and the tech advise. He is a GREAT example for others when it comes to "Technical Support" and "Customer Service"!
Thanks again Jim and to all who helped with this thread! Just proves again how great this forum is.

Kelly

 

Please return the MAF sensor we sent out. That makes 6 out of 6 that have found the issue to be installation situations.