Recurrent stalls when setting proper ignition timing
 

Hi all,
I'm running a MSPro3 PNP on my NB Miata (2004). Apart from a wideband O2 sensor and the ECU, it is stock.

I'm having an issue with recurrent stalls. Initially, I set up appropriate ignition timing and the car would stall repeatedly while driving. I then installed a wideband O2 sensor. After installing the wideband I accidentally loaded the base map (WITHOUT proper ignition timing set with a timing light) and it ran great. As soon as I went to properly set up the ignition timing, the car started behaving terribly again. I followed the steps outlined in the MS documentation for setting up my ignition timing. I ended up getting somewhere between 3.5 to 4.0 degrees trigger angle offset.

Should I just go back to the 2.0 offset that the tune started with? It seems to run better there even though the timing is off.

The first log (17.19.19) is WITHOUT adjusting timing with the timing light.
The second log (21.58.17) is a quick one where the engine dies on startup and then catches the second time with some throttle.
The third log (22.25.29) is an extended one where I drive around for a bit (Autotune was on). It dies several times while cruising to idle.

I'd greatly appreciate any help you can provide.

A 1.5 to 2 degree change in ignition timing is not going to make that significant of a difference. There has to be something else different between the tunes. So no, you shouldn't drive it with incorrect timing because it's not your primary issue.

I didn't open your logs or your tune because without knowing your exact tune used for each log it's only going to cause guessing and potentially incorrect info.

If you want reliable tuning advise I would suggest that you set timing as it should be then take a log and post it here with the exact tune you used. Turn autotune off for the time being.

Revert your VE table to whatever it was pre-autotuning and lock out any cells under 1500RPM/35kPA, it sounds like autotune took fuel out of the idle region and caused the car to stall. Autotuning super low loads/idle will cause the car to stall as it will keep removing fuel.

Hi guys, thanks for the advice.

I swear I literally only changed the timing. I wonder if I needed to power cycle the "fixed timing" setting - I wonder if it stayed with that instead of using the "use table" that I had set.

It triple checked everything and the car seems to be working for now. I'll log / post if I run into that issue again. Thanks

I actually did lock out my idle cells (well, <1000 rpm, not up to 1500). Thanks for the tip though - will do that next time.

Yes, you should power cycle after changing the option from fixed to use table to ensure the change takes place. Running the car at 10 degrees would make the car run awful and potentially stall. That sounds like that may have been the case when you had the timing offset correct

Yea, it seems to be running a lot better now. Thanks

In case someone else has the same issue, this was a coincidence. The issue was a kinked MAP vacuum line.