| Author | Message | ||
| Rob Schermerhorn (Rexrcr)
Member Username: Rexrcr Post Number: 794 Registered: 11-2002 |
I agree with Steve: you need more specific data like the actual CO and HC to begin to get a picture of what's going on inside the combustion chamber. I've seen this with 348 Challenge ten years ago. Run hard over a couple seasons, began to wear valves/seats, incomplete combustion, overheated cats, poor idle, etc. Get the sniffer test again, maybe add a leak down and/or compression test too. 348's are rich while warming up (so they'll run while cold and light off the catalysts), and will make your eyes water especially if the fuel contains lots of oxygenates / MBTE. So going by smell is not enough. | ||
| Steve Magnusson (91tr)
Intermediate Member Username: 91tr Post Number: 2093 Registered: 1-2001 |
Mark -- There should be 3 wires from the O2 sensor -- 2 are for the internal heater (one will always be +12V and the other always ground) and usually share a common connector body; the third wire is the output signal. Usually the third wire is a separate male/female spade connector so if you wiggle the rubber protective end boot off/up/etc. you should be able to hook your voltmeter lead to the coupled male/female spade terminals of the third wire without any mods.  That other sensor is a thermocouple to turn on the "slowdown" lights. With test pipes it doesn't matter if you have this sensor mounted or not (as unburned fuel, if any, will not ignite in the exhaust system without a cat present) | ||
| Mark McKenzie (Redcar)
Junior Member Username: Redcar Post Number: 172 Registered: 4-2001 |
Steve, He did not give me any readings, just the proverbial "its OK". Can I just punch a volt meter into the two wires coming off one of the O2 sensors? That would be worth trying. I think some 348's were sold new without Cats, and I've tried to rationalize that maybe cars used to smell this way, but I really don't think it was this bad, especially at idle. One more thing, the O2 sensors are installed, but there is another sensor downstream that my testpipes eliminated. I was told it was just the temp. sensor for the slow down light if the cat overheated?? Thanks for all the ideas. Mark | ||
| Robert Ziino (F355bob)
Junior Member Username: F355bob Post Number: 73 Registered: 8-2002 |
I have a 95 F355 with test pipes and my car smells at idle. I know 95 F355 tend to run rich but it did not smell like this with the cats. I am thinking of reinstalling the cats or getting metal core cats. I changed both O2 sensors and it did not change. Could their be some other sensor that is bad like a air temp sensor, map sensor that would case a rich idle. The car runs fantastic without a miss to 8500rpm, it just has a smelly idle. | ||
| john beaucher (Spider348)
Junior Member Username: Spider348 Post Number: 101 Registered: 11-2002 |
Mark, this does not sound correct. My 348 spider has both stock cats and tubi test pipes with O2 sensor connection. No smell with either the cats or test pipes. Prior owner had the Ferrari emission tested with the test pipes and the car passed once and barely failed the 2nd time. Re-installed cats and passed fine. Point being, a correctly tuned 348 is almost as clean with test pipes as a cat equiped car. No smell. | ||
| Craig Dewey (Craigfl)
Member Username: Craigfl Post Number: 670 Registered: 1-2001 |
I think maybe a lot of us have forgotton what a car with no cats smells like.... My 328 Euro has no cats and smells like you described. My wife's Toyota can be run in the closed garage for 5 minutes with almost no smell. I think I would be passed out and calling for the rescue squad if I ran the 328 with the door closed! | ||
| Steve Magnusson (91tr)
Intermediate Member Username: 91tr Post Number: 2092 Registered: 1-2001 |
1. Did the tech give you measured %CO and HC ppm values or just an "it's OK"? 2. When idling warm, you could try looking at the (most-upstream) O2 sensor outputs (while still plugged in) {assuming these are still properly mounted in the test pipe} and confirm it's/they're behaving in a quasi-reasonable manner (i.e., banging around between 0.1V and 0.9V like it's actually thinking it's running closed-loop). If the O2 sensor output(s) are non-changing and/or always at a high or low voltage value you definitely got a problem somewhere. Just a thought as something not too difficult to check... | ||
| Mark McKenzie (Redcar)
Junior Member Username: Redcar Post Number: 171 Registered: 4-2001 |
The factory cats on my 348 started to rattle, so I installed test pipes, since then the car smells VERY rich, especially at idle. Running in the garage, the smell will permeate your clothes. If there's no wind, it smells just sitting at a stoplight. It smells more like unburned fuel than like exhaust. I have talked to Random Technology about making aftermarket Cats, but he reinforced something else I'd been told, which is that the car should NOT stink this bad without the cats, and the overrich condition likely contributed to the factory cats failing and his would eventually be damaged also. I've had a tech put it on an exhaust analyzer and he says that the solution is just to reinstall cats? I don't mind doing that, but I still can't help but feel something else is wrong. Didn't some markets have "test pipes" from the factory? There is no way you could deliver a new car that smells like this. Any of you other 348's with test pipes, is the smell overpowering?? BTW, the car runs great and sounds heavenly, no sign of vacuum leaks, or ignition problems... Thanks for any advice. Mark McKenzie |