HELP! Testarossa running strange | FerrariChat
Buy

HELP! Testarossa running strange

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by Daniel789cars, May 30, 2006.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. Daniel789cars

    Daniel789cars Rookie

    Sep 13, 2005
    11
    Las Vegas
    Full Name:
    Dan
    #1 Daniel789cars, May 30, 2006
    I have a 1988 Testarossa and it is running a bit strange. The car has been running great, but twice now I have started it after driving for a short time, and the car does not seem to have full power. No lights on dash are on. Car idles at 900-1000, instead of 1100-1200. If I hit the gas, while parked, it revs up fine and does not stall, but is still not feeling like it is running at full power. Once I get on the road, it seems to clear itself out. Idles again at 1100-1200 and runs great with full power. The only thing that was done to the car was the mixture adjustment. The idle was low and my mechanic said it was running to lean. He adjusted the big bolts which is the mixture?? It idled great and was running strong, until this started happening. Its not all the time. Only has happened twice. I drive the car every weekend. Its got 17000 miles and it had a major service 5 month's ago. Can anyone help with this?
     
  2. Steve Magnusson

    Steve Magnusson Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jan 11, 2001
    26,932
    30°30'40" N 97°35'41" W (Texas)
    Full Name:
    Steve Magnusson
    #2 Steve Magnusson, May 31, 2006
    Dan -- Maybe it's a good thing that a TR isn't smart enough to tell you that it's not well ;) (the only "engine" related lights in a TR dash are for cat overheating and the alt. -- no CEL, so "no lights" really isn't conclusive one way or the other).

    Can you first confirm that it's a US TR with cats present?

    If you want to dig deeper, you really need to first determine if it's a bank of ignition or a bank of fuel dropping out. The usual strategy is to use a timing light to confirm/deny ignition on both banks (if you can get the problem to occur at stationary idle). If not ignition, then you'd confirm/deny if both fuel pumps are running or not -- e.g., wiggle the white connectors; check the white connectors for a bad connection, run the fuel pumps manually, etc. (the vibration of driving can sometimes "heal" an electrical gremlin).

    Having the bank of ignition drop out is the more dangerous situation on a US TR because the fuel will ignite inside the cat (so if the problem occurs on the road, stop and do a quick visual on the cats occasionally to make sure that one is not overheating if you decide to continue on).

    Having no fuel supply has no fire risk, but it's not the greatest to run with "dead holes" for a long time.

    Give a shout if you can get more information about your problem.
     
  3. Daniel789cars

    Daniel789cars Rookie

    Sep 13, 2005
    11
    Las Vegas
    Full Name:
    Dan
    #3 Daniel789cars, May 31, 2006
    Steve,

    Now that you mention the fuel pump, I did notice a couple weeks ago, after a long drive, I turned the car off and parked in garage. I smelled a bit of a gas smell. I also heard a fuel pump running. It was running on and off. Once car cooled, the pump did not come back on. The noise, or pump, was located on the passenger side, back wheel well area. The car is a US model. I've not smelled the gas smell again, but I also have not taken her on a long ride recently. Should the pumps be running after the car is off? Is there a vapor release function if the engine is hot from a long or hard drive? I'll check the connections tonight on that fuel pump.

    FYI: Remember my battery issue. Well, turns out a wire was real loose on the starter solanoid. It was a bad connection. tightened it up and have not had an issue with starting or battery. (Thanks for your help with that).

    Dan
     
  4. Daniel789cars

    Daniel789cars Rookie

    Sep 13, 2005
    11
    Las Vegas
    Full Name:
    Dan
    #4 Daniel789cars, May 31, 2006
    Steve,

    I forgot to let you know that yes, it does have both CATS. Everything is Stock. No modifications at all.
     
  5. Steve Magnusson

    Steve Magnusson Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jan 11, 2001
    26,932
    30°30'40" N 97°35'41" W (Texas)
    Full Name:
    Steve Magnusson
    #5 Steve Magnusson, May 31, 2006
    The fuel pump(s) should definitely not run after engine shutoff, but the noise that you heard might just be the fuel evaporation control system "whining/groaning" some (it has components in the US passenger rear wheel well area), so, if you hear it again, try removing the fuel filler cap to release the pressure inside the fuel tanks and see if the noise stops (and IME the pressure inside the fuel tanks does build up on long hot runs).

    Glad to hear you got the other problem sorted out (and an easy fix ;)).
     
  6. Daniel789cars

    Daniel789cars Rookie

    Sep 13, 2005
    11
    Las Vegas
    Full Name:
    Dan
    #6 Daniel789cars, May 31, 2006
    The only reason why I thought it was the fuel pumps is if I touch the hose going down the right hand side of car, in the back, I can feel them vibrate when I hear the noise, after car is shut off. Would the evaporation system vibrate the hose, as if a pump was running? If my pump is going bad, would that cause a symptom of what I am dealing with? Thanks for feedback.
     
  7. Steve Magnusson

    Steve Magnusson Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jan 11, 2001
    26,932
    30°30'40" N 97°35'41" W (Texas)
    Full Name:
    Steve Magnusson
    #7 Steve Magnusson, May 31, 2006
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Any noise is a vibration so being able to "feel" it doesn't surprise me, but it was just a suggestion (for a noise emanating from the RH rear of a TR). It's not impossible to have a fuel pump stay "on" wrongly, but I have to rate it as "unlikely".

    If you remove the fuel pump relays, this would (almost always) stop a fuel pump that was (wrongly) running. Additionally, if you touch a jumper wire from the 30 terminal in the socket to the 87 terminal in the socket (as shown in the jpeg), the corresponding fuel pump should run (even with the key "off") -- this will give you an opportunity to hear each fuel pump run (without the engine noise) for comparison to your unknown noise. If one of the pumps sounds "bad" or significantly "different" than the other that would be a bad sign for that pump. However, if you have a fuel pump that is usually working well (and quietly), but not working occasionally, I'd put the higher probability on a fusepanel/connector/electrical problem rather than the pump itself, but you're getting the cart in front of the horse ;) -- is it spark or fuel?
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     

Share This Page