Mega Maniac goes out to play...

A fellow Drag Pak owner needed some help. He thought that the electronics in his car were faulty and asked to borrow the ECU from the Mega Maniac.

I was trying to figure out the most efficient way to get the ECU to him at the Nationals in Indianapolis. I called Keith since he lives about half way there, and thought that if I drove down, and gave him he box, it would be in good/safe hands, and Dennis would get it right away.

Keith was already in Indianapolis. Oh well, I hate to trust Fed Ex with something that cant be replaced, but was preparing to do just that, when Keith called me back and told me the day in Indy was lost since it was raining. He and I had talked about getting the Mega maniac out for a race later in September. But he suggested that since the day was lost, he might as well come up and get the car and race it at Indy, That way Dennis could check out his electronics, and the car could get some exercise.

So, on Monday afternoon, Keith picked up the car and went back to Indy. I got up early on Tuesday and drove to Indy.

We checked out the electronics on Dennis' car, and they were OK. After replacing his with mine, there was no difference. So trouble shooting was the order of the the day. After a lot of possibilities, Keith suggested examining the fuel filters to see if there is some issue with the fuel.

The symptom was that the car start out running fairly well when fuel injectors were changed, but get progressively worse running very rich.

When the filters were examined, they were packed with crap, apparently from the foam that comes in the fuel cell to prevent the fuel from sloshing around. We had removed outs a long time ago, because Keith said that they tend to break down. Well, it appears that is what happened to Dennis' car.

The fuel was drained, the foam removed, and the plugs and injectors pulled. The plugs were crusted black with unburned fuel. Too much fuel was being dumped into the cylinders because the injectors were being jammed open with junk form the foam in the fuel cell.

The filters were replaced, and another filter was inserted into the line. The lines were flushed again, new fuel in, and the car started fine.

So, for you Challenger  Drag Pak owners who still have foam in your fuel cells, you are playing with fire. It might be a good idea to take it out.

And while I see no disadvantage to taking it out, I do see an advantage. When you wish to see how much fuel you have in the tank, you just need to look. You don't have have to guess what is hiding in the foam.

More tomorrow on our runs at Indy.

God Bless, and Race Safely
David