EricL

IMRC ACTUATOR and MODULE DIAGNOSTICS AND SERVICE MANUAL INFO (basic info, helms info and diagrams, and pictures) :

ON pages 11-42/11-43 of the 3.2 CL Service Manual 2001 (covers 2001 CL and CL Type-S models), there is a schematic diagram.

The schematic shows one of the outputs of the PGM-F1/PCM (the “electronic brain” of the car that sits behind the center console in the CLS) going to:

1. The INTAKE MANIFOLD RUNNER CONTROL MODULE (its show as a single block on the schematic – ok) The module is controlled by pin A13 of the PGM-F1.

2. There is a two-wire connection that goes to the: INTAKE MANIFOLD RUNNER CONTROL ACTUATOR from the IMRC MODULE described above.


The item in #1 (the control module) is detailed on page 11-139 (Intake Manifold Control (IMRC) Module Removal/Installation. The picture could be better, but it looks to be located in the driver’s foot well (left side).

The Actuator’s removal and replacement is described on page 11-138 (adjacent page). This is the “Actuator” as shown in the “jpeg/gif” (in this thread). The pictures you see are of the actual ACTUATOR. (NOT THE MODULE).

I “think” that most people have had the ACTUATOR replaced. However, the MODULE could go bad. (In rare cases someone could have a bad connector or wire and/or a bad driver/output transistor in the PGM-F1/PCM (IMO, I wouldn’t be looking there first and it would be the last place I’d look – [but that’s just me])


They should be able to swap item #1 and/or #2 and get you going…

There is a two-pin connector going to the actuator on the firewall, and it is either getting DC (direct current) or AC (alternating current); either way, a small DVM (Digital Volt Meter/Multimeter) should be able to “detect” if a signal is coming from the IRMC MODULE.)


So, here are the main parts:

1. IMRC Actuator (that motor/actuator on the engine firewall).
2. IMRC Module (inside the car).

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Perhaps this should be FAQ’d for other “actuator sufferers”…

OK – here is the link to the parts:

http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.net/...VALVE+ACTUATOR





http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.net/...IT+%28CABIN%29

And I’m pretty sure the actuator module is shown in this diagram (if I rely on the Helms pics to “clue me in”:





Item #5 – this is the item shown on page 11-139 of the Helms. It is the “Intake Manifold Runner Control (IMRC) Module. Page 11-139 details the Removal and Installation.




Here is the complete IMRC System Troubleshooting guide from pages 11-135 to 11-137


1. Disconnect the IMRC module 14P connector.
2. Check for continuity between the IMRC module 14P connector terminal No. 10 and body ground (IF there is continuity – go to #3, ELSE repair open wire between the IMRC module 14P connector and G302.)
3. Turn the ignition switch ON (II).
4. Measure voltage between the IMRC module 14P connector terminal No. 4 and body ground. (IF there is battery voltage, go to step 6, ELSE go to step 5)
5. Check the No. 6 PCM (15A) fuse in the driver’s under-dash fuse/relay box. (IF the fuse in blown, replace the 15A fuse; if the fuse blows again, repair short in the wire between the IMRC module and the No. 6 PCM (15A) fuse in the drivers under-dash fuse/relay box. ELSE, repair open in the wire between the IMRC module and the No. 6 PCM (15A) fuse in the driver’s under-dash fuse/relay box.)
6. Turn the ignition switch OFF.
7. Disconnect the IMRC actuator 2P connector.
8. Measure resistance between the IMRC actuator 2P connector terminals No. 1 and No. 2 (You are measuring the resistance of the actual actuator – OK?) (If a ohm-meter reads between 2-5 ohms, go to step 9. ELSE, REPLACE the IMRC actuator.)
9. Reconnect the IMRC actuator 2P connector.
10. Measure resistance between IMRC MODULE 14P connector terminals No. 3 and No. 11. (IF there is 2 to 5 ohms, go to step 13, ELSE, go to step 11.)
11. Disconnect the IMRC actuator 2P connector.
12. Check for continuity between the IMRC module 14P connector terminal No. 3 and No. 11 and body ground individually. (Note – IMO, the Helms instructions suck here!) (IF there is “continuity” between either pin and ground, repair one or both of the shorts to ground. IF no reading is obtained (OPEN), then one of the two wires going between the 2P (2-pin) connector on the firewall and the 14P (14-pin) connector going to the “MODULE’s” connector are “OPEN” and need to be fixed. NOTE: I don’t think anyone has had a bad wire to date!)
13. Start the engine.
14. Measure the voltage between the IMRC module 14P connector terminal No 6 and body ground. (IF there is 5 Volts with engine speed below 3,500 rpm AND there is 0 Volts with engine speed above 4,000 rpm, then REPLACE IMRC MODULE, ELSE go to step 15.) (THE MODULE IS GETTING A “PROPER” SIGNAL FROM THE PCM)
15. Turn the ignition switch OFF.
16. Disconnect PCM connector A (32P)
17. Check for continuity between the IMRC module 14P connector No. 6 terminal and body ground. (IF there is continuity, repair short in wire between the IMRC MODULE and the PCM, ELSE go to step 18)
18. Connect PCM connector terminal A13 and body ground with a jumper wire.
19. Check for continuity between the IMRC module 14P connector terminal No. 6 and body ground. (IF there is continuity, substitute a known-good PCM and recheck. IF the symptom/indication goes away, replace the original PCM. ELSE, repair open in the wire between the IMRC module and the PCM.)


Notes:

1. A simple check by replacing the actuator and or module should not be that difficult. Most mechanics will get the job done quicker by swapping the actuator first, then the actuator module (inside the car).
2. If there is still a problem, the connectors, wires, and/or PCM (PGM-F1/PCM) could be bad and or its connections and or wire is screwed up.


How it works.

Pin A13 in the “brain” (PCM) stays “high” (at 5-volts) until 4,000 rpm or more is reached. It signals the IRMC MODULE to “turn-on” the ACTUATOR (the actual actuator sitting on the firewall) by going “low” (0-volts). This is called an “active low” signal. When the PCM goes LOW, it’s telling the IRMC MODULE to “TURN ON” and send juice to the “actuator”.

Here is how things go:

I wipped this off, and don’t have a scanner and some of the instructions are needlessly complicated (IMO). The bulk of the information for any “competent” mechanic with a HELM’s Service Manual (2001 CL Service Manual) should be no problem.

At a minimum, I don’t see why dealers can’t stock a couple of parts that come loose with one or two bolts and cost less than $200.00!

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Ripped pictures from various FAQs:

Chrisbert

Good stuff. I wish the idiots at Acura Carland would read this. Gee, nowhere in there does it say that the car has to be moving, under loaded conditions, full moon, blah blah ~.

Friggen idjuts.

spiroh

You know what bothers me. I don't think I should be as pissed at the dealers that dont know jack about the actuators. I should be more pissed at Acura for not having a TSB for this problem. If they made the TSB available, I know I wouldnt be sitting there twirling my thumbs hoping these people will do it for me. This is why I'm getting sick of Acura. I'm keeping the CL-S for a while, but let me tell you Honda/Acura has lost me as a customer after all this BS that I've gone through with the Hondas and Acuras in my family.

spiro

EricL

What scares me is that someone at the dealer can't remove a two-pin connector from the actuator and

1. hook up a "good" actuator to the 2-pin connector to see if it moves above 4200 RPM.

2. If there is still a problem, replace a module.

3. If there is still a problem -- read the stupid Helms...

I don't know what good a TSB would be when they REFUSE to look at their own service manual.

Did you ever call the zone rep or Acura CS? If they told you to go blow with the problems you have, I'd say -- time to find a new carmaker.

I really wasn't "kidding" around when I said that anyone who had a problem with this was "dangerous"...

At least a person could inspect the work on the actuator (it’s out in the open)!

If you looked at a “THE SERVICE MANUAL” (AKA Helm’s) and checked the 3 -6 pages on the actuator vs. the 200+ pages on the transmission, you would be “concerned”.

I'm not being sarcastic -- I'm really telling you that whoever is: "making up these actuator stories" is a complete idiot and/or BS artist. The baloney they told you is completely off the map.

(When the Nissan people would break the idler pulleys on my Maxima and on my wife's Altima, you can bet that I never let those idiots near the car. They were tightening the belts so tight that they destroyed ALL the idler pulleys on both of our cars and ruined her alternator. Needless to say, these where the same people that couldn’t manage to put all the connectors back together in my door (with a bad lock) and said I must have been driving too fast around turns when I brought it back the next day. I could write a book about 20-years of this crap…

Acura DOESN’T have an "exclusive" on idiot service people. (Although, if the Acura Care people blow you off, I’d think about “other options” [as you mentioned])

If you call Acura Care and tell them your woes and they still blow you off, you should report back here with details...

spiroh

Ok Im leaving work early so I can show these morons what I'm talking about. I will ask them to try it on a new Type S, and then on mine. I will not pick up the car until its done. Im sick of this BS.

AztecRol

iTrader: (2)

YOU GO GET'EM SPIROH!!!!!!


And somewhere in there, I think there is a Thank You Eric, for posting that!!!