355 Ignition Issue - Intermittent Bank | FerrariChat
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355 Ignition Issue - Intermittent Bank

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by cgperry, Mar 27, 2006.

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  1. cgperry

    cgperry Formula Junior

    Nov 2, 2003
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    Charles Perry
    #1 cgperry, Mar 27, 2006
    I think I have two separate problems, but any advice you guys have is appreciated.

    First, I have one cylinder which is missing when the motor is cold. It will miss for as long as I let it idle. If I just start driving, after a few minutes it comes back and stays back. This is more an irritation than anything, but I would like to fix it. Any suggestions for diagnosis appreciated - I'm technically apt but not a mechanic and inexperienced in troubleshooting ignitions.

    The more important problem is that recently, when starting the car cold, only one bank has been running. The car sounds like crap and is idling around 500 rpm. It seems to want to stay that way regardless of warm up, temperatures, feathering the throttle, etc. The interesting thing is that if I turn off the battery cut off, leave it off for about 30 seconds and then turn it back on, the car will start and run normally (except for the one cylinder above). If I let the car get completely cold again, it seems to want to start on one bank again.

    I am making the assumption that it is electrical because of the relation to the cutoff, but I'm sure there could be fuel or other related problems. I'm willing to check anything you guys suspect. The car is normally on a maintenance-type battery charger when parked.

    This strikes me as a classic Ferrari loose ground or something, but I'm not sure how best to troubleshoot it. I guess the two problems could also be related, but I'm not sure.

    All theories and information appreciated!
     
  2. Llenroc

    Llenroc F1 Veteran
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    #2 Llenroc, Mar 27, 2006
    It is fairly hard to tell you much without being there and to see first hand but, I'll try. The problem that you have with the one bank shutting down is probably the cat temp sensor ECU manfuctioning. To test that just unplug that bank's temp ECU. What's happening is the engine management ECU thinks the cat is too hot and is shutting off the injectors. The misfire could be a bad plug or plug wire. I would check the resistance of your wires and check the condition of the plugs. When was the last time the those two were replaced? Are the CELs coming on? if so check the codes for clues also. Maybe someone else has other ideas? Regards, Vern
     
  3. ernie

    ernie Two Time F1 World Champ
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    #3 ernie, Mar 27, 2006
    In addition to what Vern said, when you disconnect the battery you must let the ecu's relearn the warm up process. When the engine is cold, after you have disconnected and reconnected the battery, you will need to let the it sit and idle for around 15 minutes. Do not touch anything while it is idling.

    When you disconnect the battery is will clear out any code/s stored in the ecu/s. If you try to pull the codes after you have disconnected the battery you won't find any. The ecu's don't have secondary power source. So if the car is running rough, let it, that way the ecu's can record what the problem is and store it. This should help you locate the problem easier.
     
  4. cgperry

    cgperry Formula Junior

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    Charles Perry
    #4 cgperry, Mar 27, 2006
    Vern - I am not getting any CELs or a Slow Down light that would indicate problems. My car is a Euro version, so I'm not sure how much of the CEL/OBDII stuff would apply. I'm sure the Slow Down light should work either way. Where are the cat temp ECUs located? I'll try unplugging them.

    Ernie - I did know about the learned memory block, so I have been letting the car sit undisturbed for about 10 minutes after using the cutoff switch. I'm not sure if a normal code reader would work on my Euro car and I'm about 5 hours from the nearest dealer with an SD2 box. Any other suggestions?

    I should have mentioned earlier - it's a 98 Euro 355 spider.

    Thanks guys!
     
  5. ernie

    ernie Two Time F1 World Champ
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    #5 ernie, Mar 27, 2006
  6. Llenroc

    Llenroc F1 Veteran
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    #6 Llenroc, Mar 27, 2006
    Since your car is a Euro model you can't read your codes yourself. OBD1 and 2, which means onboard diagnostics, was North American cars only/EPA rule. The check engine lights can set to blink codes for you to read and they tell what sensors are acting up and other engine management related problems.
    I owned a 348 that had the malfuctioning exhaust temp ECU problem and I never had any lights come on, my left bank would just shut down and then come on again. I removed the ECU after finding out that was my problem and never had another problem in 20,000 miles. Clearing the engine ECUs without any CELs coming on seems redundent at this point. If the engine is missing and it was caused by the ECUs/sensors related to it then you would more than likely have CELs on. I still think I would look at your spark plugs and wires for that missing problem and unplug the exhaust temp ECUs for the other problem first. On a 355 the dash lights will come on (slow down lights) but will not effect the car running. If they are ok than maybe you should get it to a dealer so they can tie into it with SD-2/3. Regards, Vern
     
  7. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

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    #7 Rifledriver, Mar 27, 2006
    If the loss of a bank happens often or is repeatable I would have a timing light and a test light and if poss a stethescope handy and get the car to do it. At that point with those tools ready, determine if your loss is ignition , fuel or both. And when I say fuel I mean fuel pressure and injector firing. Then with the test light see where the power is going and not going. Have several tests researched and familiarize yourself how to do them in advance. You need to find out which system is causing trouble first or you can grope around in the dark forever.

    Remember it only takes 3 things for an engine to run
    Fire
    Fuel
    Compression

    The first order of business is to determine which one is the problem.
     

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