Tech gurus, help requested - 2003 360 F1 CEL flashing, mis-fire codes | FerrariChat

Tech gurus, help requested - 2003 360 F1 CEL flashing, mis-fire codes

Discussion in '360/430' started by eldubya, May 5, 2013.

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  1. eldubya

    eldubya Rookie

    Feb 23, 2013
    22
    Bay Area, CA
    Full Name:
    Lawrence
    F-chat Tech Gurus, need your help! Any thoughts, suggestions and problem solving ideas appreciated! See below:

    1. Initially, the CEL on my 2003 360 F1 was triggered and the OBD2 scanner showed a P0300 (random misfire) code; I cleared the code and set my scanner in data log mode to see if I can replicate the problem (to isolate whether it is a one time or systemic fault);

    2. After clearning the initial code - I went for a 2 hour drive and observed the CEL flashing intermittantly under light throttle load on the highway (usually at approximately 3500-4500 RPM);

    3. When the CEL starts to flash, it will stop when I increase the throttle load (e.g., by flooring it or going 3/4 throttle) but reappear again once under light throttle conditions; this occurs both when the car is cold and when up at normal operating temperature;

    4. Readout from the scanner (it was logging in real-time mode) shows "PENDING" codes for P0300 [random misfire], P0306, P0307, P0303 and P0302 [cylinder misfires for 6, 7, 3 and 2] in that order resident in the ECU, but CEL is currently not illuminated....just flashing iunder light acceleration/disappearing as described above;

    5. During the drive (and once a flashing CEL incident occured), I pulled over and took some measurements of the engine manifold temperatures using my IR temperature probe - each cylinder was running within +/- 20 degrees Fareinheit (i.e., doesn't appear to be any particular cylinder running hotter/colder than the other). Cat temperatures were both around 400F (were +/-20 degrees of each other);

    6. Spark plugs (NGKs) are about 5 months old and have about 7k miles on them - they have been removed and examined with no real obvious/unusual wetness, white marks, carbon deposits, etc.

    7. No real obvious/unusual mechanical noises emanating from the engine compartment. Given it seems to be sporadic CEL flashing, leaning towards ruling out a mechanical failure of some kind (e.g., valve spring broken, etc.) but that's early thinking;

    8. Other notes - car has 17k miles, annual service (fluids, plugs, filters) this past 12/2012 and recent clutch change

    Any thoughts/ideas on what might be triggering this and what to check for?

    Many thanks in advance for your help and comments!
     
  2. alvav

    alvav Karting

    Apr 27, 2012
    123
    Montreal, Canada
    Full Name:
    Leonidas Vavougios
    Is it running rough? How's the idle?
     
  3. eldubya

    eldubya Rookie

    Feb 23, 2013
    22
    Bay Area, CA
    Full Name:
    Lawrence
    Runs fine, no discernable power loss. Idle is normal.
     
  4. Michael B

    Michael B F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Apr 28, 2004
    3,758
    US of A
    Full Name:
    Michael
    Okay,

    Intake gasket leak or perhaps coil packs.

    You can swap the coil packs around & see if the misfire codes follows the packs, or test for an intake leak in a multitude of ways.

    More than anything - report back once you find the issue so that others can benefit from the diagnosis.
     
  5. MaseEngineering

    MaseEngineering Karting
    Sponsor

    Oct 15, 2008
    87
    Florida
    Full Name:
    Mase
    Can you monitor your short term and long term fuel trims? if so, what are they around the same RPM and engine load when the misfire codes are occurring?
     
  6. Supreme360Swag

    Supreme360Swag Formula Junior

    Dec 26, 2011
    323
    Peninsula bay area
    Full Name:
    Allan
    If u feel a flat spot during full throttle acceleration it could be your mafs. Also do u get the big boom during cold starts? My car started with a low idle before, as if it was going to stall. Changed both mafs and its been running perfect and problem free for a year now. Check coil packs and since you're there I suggest replacing the spark plugs. U can do it yourself it's pretty easy if you haven't replaced in awhile.
     
  7. vrsurgeon

    vrsurgeon F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 13, 2009
    15,864
    Charleston, SC
    Full Name:
    Curt
    If you're asking if there is commonality why there are so many misfires versis just one.. That's an interesting question. Possibly air leak as suggested above, possibly coil packs will be most common causes.

    I'll add bad fuel or *cough* not being driven enough and you've had some condensation that got sucked into the system that is creating the misfires... starting simple..
     
  8. eldubya

    eldubya Rookie

    Feb 23, 2013
    22
    Bay Area, CA
    Full Name:
    Lawrence
    Just wanted to close to loop on this thread - thanks to everyone for their help! So, in the end, it was the intake gaskets on the drivers side (LHD) that went bad and were leaky coupled with a stubborn ECU that wouldn't clear the codes even after the fault was cured. The last bit required a reset/reflash that finally cleared the codes from memory after replacing the gaskets. Car now drives like a champ!
     

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