Did i ruin my 5.0?

[Keith88]

Good morning all! I hate to make a post like this my first post on the forum but I'm concerned about my 5.0. First off the car is a 2014 5.0 that has been tuned by bama since about 3k miles (currently at 61k). The only mods I have are a JLT cold air and axle back exhaust. The car ran very smoothly and I was an idiot for messing with it but i decided to try a new tune from a different tuner. Once I updated my sct x3 and attempted to load the new tune onto the car, the download failed midway leaving my car uncrankable. I had no choice but to return the car to stock and reached out to my new tuner and he sent me a new file within the hour. This one failed as well. I didn't want to brick my ecu as this car is my daily driver so I returned it to stock and left it as is for the night. The next morning I had to make a quick run to the store but when I cranked the car up, it idled very aggressively. The engine began to knock/pop very loudly to the point of I thought it might blow up in my driveway. I read the car had to relearn how to idle but after looking on YouTube I haven't been able to find another car idle like this. I've heard ghost cam tune but this was much more aggressive, to the point of I really thought this was it. The car drive poorly with the stock tune, idling at around 400-500 rpm and shifting very lazy (A6). When I got home I put the bama tune back on my car and thought all was well but after about 200 or so miles, the cel popped on. I read the code with my sct x3 and it read as a p0420. I researched online this could be as simple as a o2 sensor or as complex as a cat. My question is what are the chances that I did any long term damage to my engine. With the bama tune it runs and idles just as I remember. And as far as the code, is it safe to drive with the cel on? I cant tell any difference. And lastly, is there a way to pinpoint if it's the cats, o2 sensor, or another issue? I

 

[tjm73]

If it was idling funny it probably put some unburnt fuel into the cat and that could have damaged it or it may just need to burn it off, though that should have probably happened by now. It also could have carboned up the O2 sensor and it can't read right.

Either way I would take it to a reputable mechanic for diagnosis. It is doubtful you hurt it. The CEL is just saying it's not getting a result in the range it thinks is ok.

 

[Sky Render]

Your car was running poorly on the stock tune because the transfer function for the MAF was incorrect for the larger-diameter JLT intake.

 

[Pentalab]

Install the Bama tune... then clear the cel. See if the cel comes back.

 

[07gts197]

Your car was running poorly on the stock tune because the transfer function for the MAF was incorrect for the larger-diameter JLT intake.

Good point. Op was the car itself de modded too or did you just reload the stock tune with your current mods?

 

[mrgtx]

I’m curious about how/why the upload “failed.”

What happened? Did it just spontaneously stop?

Is your battery weak by any chance?

 

[Iceman62]

OP; If this tune-swap did anything major to your motor, I'd be surprised. My son's '16 GT had an occasional CEL and he called BAMA who provided a relearn process. These new motors are complex/computer-controlled systems and all it takes is one error to throw a code. Call BAMA...see what they say.

 

[eighty6gt]

Looks like it's BAMA all the time with the new forum software.

 

[fdjizm]

It was never going to run right on the stock tune with a different CAI (different MAF size)
Doubt you did any real damage though.