Hello fellow Evo members. I am running across a very mysterious and annoying problem with my Evo VIII. I'll first go over the history of the car, and attempts to troubleshoot and hopefully you guys can point me in the right direction.
Starting with the history:
I purchased the car this previous winter from a local owner and got the car inspected and everything by a mechanic and bought the car.. it was running fine, took it to multiple snowboarding trips (4-5 hours away). I got a double din installed (Pioneer Avic-Z140BH) and a Viper Remote Start alarm (5904) by a reputable 5 star audio shop. The problem started to occur during one of my trips to the mountain for snowboarding. After about 3-4 hours of driving, the clock on the car started to dim out and the double din shut off, heater/A/C also didn't work and I couldn't rev the car over 2k RPM or the car would choke and not go any faster. Occasionally the car would rev up and down by itself trying to come back to life it seems.
The thing about this problem is that it ONLY happens when the weather is hot.. I can replicate the problem whenever I want by parking it out in the sun for a few minutes or hours. It NEVER happens if I park in the garage or if it's night time.

A sure indicator of whether the problem will happen or not is when the clock starts dimming. I can drive the car a few minutes even after all electrical components are out, by keeping the car under 2k RPM but I usually just pull into a shaded area and turn the car off because I do not want to further damage anything. Replaced battery and the problem is still occurring.. added another ground wire from battery to chassis.. problem still occurring.. alternator checked out fine so I feel that it's a problem with the wiring or one of the modules.

If anyone has ever had a problem similar to this please let me know what you did to solve it and if anyone has any clue as to where I should check next, please let me know.

TLDR;
In hot weather, electrical components shut off, starting with the clock dimming (clock, radio, A/C, etc.) and car has trouble driving over 2000 RPM. NEVER happens in cold weather or night time.
Parts:
Greddy R Spec Intercooler
Cams
Intake
Exhaust Manifold
Cat-Back Exhaust
GFB BOV
LICP

 

This is almost certainly a grounding issue.

Things I would check/etc.

1. Have you taken this BACK to the shop that installed the electrical components that you're implying may have caused the issue?

2. What does the grounding for the motor look like? Intake manifold to firewall ground wire, the grounding wires on the transmission (top) etc.

3. The heat is an interesting variable. I have nothing for you there with the exception of humidity having some affect. Obviously, the warmer the air is, the more moisture it can hold, so even 40% humidity at 100* is more moisture than 100% humidity at 40*.

 

Yeah I've taken it back a few times for them to check it out and they are having trouble pin pointing the problem, I take it back tomorrow after I replicate the problem so they can hook up and obd2 scanner while the problem is occurring but there is no CEL when it happens, so not sure if it will pick anything up.. This certainly only occurs in hot weather so that is a for sure variable.. I can replicate the problem as long as I leave it parked outside for a couple hours, I was suspecting the audio shops installation, but I bought the car in winter time.. So it's possible that the problem didn't show up until after the alarm/radio install because the weather was still fairly cold when I got the car, only other electrical component the previous owner has installed is a turbo timer

 

Another question is, would a bad fuel pump cause the electrical components to shut down? I feel it's an electrical issue because the clock, radio, and AC and heater go out first before the car starts to limp..

 

Battery relocated in the trunk or stock location?

 

Sounds like a bad connection problem. It's loosing power and ground at those components. I'd check power and ground at the components.

 

Battery is in the stock location, and about losing power and ground at the components, is there any reason the car would enter limp mode? It's not just the radio and clock and A/C and Heater that are going out, the car just goes limp and can't rev past 2k

 

That dont make any sense that it would go into protection mode\limp mode and still no cel.I would say get evoscan and flash cable and do some data logging on your own and keep an eye on the battery volts,event log etc. and see if any thing comes up and also log the data when the car is functional and when you have issues and compare both and look for any thing unusual.
I still say ground issue and given all the issues you are having just keep in mind that the
radio,clock, A/C,Heater could be sharing the same ground and some how that ground is not properly secured.So it could also safe to say then that you dont have this issue at nights?

 

Yeah indeed it's weird.. Just happened again, never happens at night or in cold weather.. Usually happens at 85+ degree weather, I'm taking it to the audio shop today but I'm wondering if its even a problem with their alarm/radio wiring.. I was suspecting that excuse my electrical components go out, but doesn't explain why the car goes into limp mode

 

whats even scarier is that it might not even be a limp mode. There may be something so out of tune that the engine is just unable to run, which could potentially break just about everything.

 

P0622
Generator FR Terminal

Code 12 Val Power Supply

65 ABS Open

Found these codes, battery tested at 9.x volts, and it's a brand new battery so the alternator hasn't been able to keep it charged

 

Ok.. so we're down to a few more possible situations.
The alternator charges the battery fine in cold weather and night time, so something is getting hot in the daytime and hot weather which is causing the alternator to fail to charge the battery, is there a sensor that is related to this issue that may be faulty? I figure if it's a wiring issue or a bad alternator/battery, it would happen in all temperatures and at all times

 

Based on your codes its kinda pointing to your alternator and what I am thinking is that the car goes into limp mode due to the decrease in voltage because of the faulty alternator?.The cheapest and easiest way to test the charging system is to get a multi meter from like radio shack or auto zone and connect it to your cigaret lighter port and monitor the voltage during the night and due when you have the issues.The voltage regulator apply voltage charge depending on outside temps too.
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...ease-read.html

 

Yeah.. Seems like a faulty voltage regulator, I heard ours are built into the alternator so I'm going to have my friend who manages a local shop take a look at it on Monday perhaps, thanks for the insight guys, if you have any other possible theories please let me know so we can continue to troubleshoot and get rid of this ugly problem

 

Got brand new alternator and problem still occurs.. any other ideas where I should look into? Here's a log of my situation that I have been recording..
2005 Evo VIII Electrical Problem
Parts installed
Greddy R-Spec Intercooler
Lower intercooler piping
GFB Blow-Off Valve
ARC Intake Box
Python 5904 Remote Start Alarm (Glass Breakage Sensor, Tilt Sensor)
Pioneer AVIC Z140BH Double Din with HVAC Relocation
Greddy Evo II Catback
Megan Exhaust Manifold
Unknown Cams

Only happens in hot weather, aside from one situation where I had driven 4 hours heading to Kirkwood around 7 A.M. and same issue arose.

Replaced battery one month ago.
How to replicate problem: Park car outside in heat (75 Degrees F +) for about one-two hours+ and start car.. if clock is not fully illuminated, problem is bound to occur after few minutes of driving.

Problem: Clock is not fully illuminated followed by radio turning on and off, and A/C and Heater not working, all 3 ACD lights, anti-lock light, and service engine soon light illuminated. Codes (P0622 "Generator FR Terminal), Code 12 Val Power Supply, Code 65 ABS Open. Car will not rev past 2k RPM during this time and will drive for a short period of time before fully losing power. Car will not start afterwards until car is cooled down, once car is cooled down or it is night time, it runs perfectly fine.