Good Morning Guys.. I'm hoping some of you knowledgable FChatters could help me out. I have a '95 355 Spider with 14,800 on it. I just picked her up from the shop last night after having a new TransDucer put in to correct my nutty speedometer... and on the way home, the car seemed to stutter when I accelerated from a standstill... but then seemed to be fine as soon as the RPMs were above 2k or so.. it ran like that for about 5 minutes, but after a brief highway run on the way home, the hesitation was gone. Went out to dinner, same thing.. car hesitated from standstill.. then seemed to be fine when I drove her home afterward. Aside from this odd issue that just arose.. the car is running like an absolute champ... Could it possibly be a misfire caused by a fouled plug that needs to be changed or cleaned? And if so.. would that type of problem correct itself as I drove the car?? Or could it be something more serious that I should have looked at?? Please help me settle my nerves. Thanks in advance for all your help -Petey
Sometimes when working on electrics shop may disconnect battery but not go through complete relearn cycle on the learned block memory. This causes the car to run on its presets in the ecus. As the car ages the ecu actually learns the quirks unique to your car and stores them. Try disconnecting the battery for 30 seconds and the reconnecting it. Have a totally cold engine. turn off all a/c radio etc. restart the car and let it sit for at idle for 10 minutes and let the car learn. Tell us what that does. If that does not do it then we need to start doing real diagnostics.
The Battery was not disconnected as far as I can tell.. Even so, why would the car hesitate to accelerate even at the preset ECU settings?? I'm probably gonna get ripped up for this...but, Could someone tell me where the battery dissconnect switch is?? Thanks again guys?
355's should have a black disconnect knob on the right side in the front trunk under a small black panel cover. 348's should have it on the left side in the front trunk under a similar panel (or in the rear engine compartment).
It is a quick try and cost you nothing. I do not know the answer to your questions. I have had 348's disconected and not properly retrained and they have worked fine. Then I could have the same car disconected and then not only studder but stall if not properly retrained. Ferraris do not run as nice as a BMW or porsche with similar motronic ecus. I got chewed out by a bosch rep once for asking if bosch sold their "seconds" to ferrari and used the good stuff on the german cars.
I think that it's a good idea to do the battery-off ECU reset simply to give a good baseline point for later diagnostics. And like FBB says, it's cheap/free and easy/quick to do.
Agreed... I'll give it a try as soon as I get home today. One more dumb question... Could it be possible that a low battery would cause a misfire?? The battery light did flicker a few days ago, but turned off within 1 min of it coming on and hasnt appeared since... Thanks again... I can't tell you how much I've learned just from browsing around the forums.. You guys rock! Petey
ive got that EXACT problem at the moment. Mine does it when it gets hot tho around the point where the fans are likely to come on (cold or medium speed/temp on the "freeway" is fine) Consensus is one or all of the following. 1. Spark Plugs 2. Ignition Leads 3. O2 sensor/s Im going to be tackling this probably next week, I'll let you know how it goes if your still having problems. Btw...Ive driven it like this for about 1000miles (it gets used a LOT and theres been more pressing items to attend such as clutch and wheel bearings) and its only just got to the point where its annoying/concerning...Ive had no problems with running tho as long as the rpms are above 2k.
Sweet Deal I'm heading to the shop either tonight or tomorrow to working on this issue... im hoping I just need new plugs. I'll keep you posted Petey
There's quite a bit that can be learned by simply reading your spark plugs; if you'll pull them, label them, and photo them with a closeup from a couple of different angles. See my thread in my signature below.
Many 95's run rich and if you start them and shut them off after a few seconds from cold, it is easy to foul a plug. They may have run the car cold for a few seconds and then shut if off when it was being repaired and fouled a plug.
I've posted some generic advice that could be used on this thread as well: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=219964
Alright... First and foremost.. Let me thank each and every one of you for helping me out and tossing great advice my way. you guys are all money as far as I'm concerned... THANK YOU! NoDoubt... I did as you said.. checked the MAF, it was clean. Hooked the battery up to the trickle charger and charged it full. Then I disconnected the battery for about 15-20 min and turned it back on. Waited until the next day, started the car, and let her run for about 12 minutes without touching her. Then I took her for a ride, and she now runs smoother then ever before, the slight hesitation is gone, and it almost seemed as if she had more power. I took it to my friends shop just to be safe, he checked the plugs and plug wires and said they were brand new. They had been changed when the car had its last major about 5 months ago @ 14,600 miles. However, if it does happen again, he will change the plugs just to be sure. He agreed with the FChatters... the 95s run rich when cold and if they are not allowed to warm up, they tend to foul the plugs very easily. Either way.. Shes running like a champ for now (fingers crossed) and I couldnt be happier. Again, thanks so much for all the help. I'll keep you posted if anything more develops. Petey
LOL I knew they had been changed, but then again, I'm still getting used to her tendencies.... and until I really have a feel for her inside and out, I won't put anything past her. Thanks again guys Petey
