Ferrari 360 misfire issue...

Update: So, I thought about this some more, and I really began to think that the pump would have at least put out more than zero fuel pressure. So, then I started to doubt the tester and/or it's interaction through the pressure schrader valve on the left side of the engine. So, I disconnected the pump, and got some fuel hose and hooked the pressure gauge up directly to the pump. It worked and held pressure for days at 3.6 bar (which is correct). So, the pump is working fine. The hose to the fuel rail is fine, the fuel rail is fine. The problem was with the schrader valve and/or the tester - it wasn't pushing the release valve down all the way. I put a shim in there, and then tried the pump and it shows the proper 3.6 bar on the fuel rail. So, the pump and internal check valves are working well.

Started the car again, and ran it, and it still ran like crap on the left side (this is after swapping the MAF from left-to-right). So, the problem is either a failed coil or two, or some clogged injectors. The CAT burned red hot on the left side when I ran the car, and I know from my 308 ownership days, that this typically means fuel is getting into the intake, but not igniting in the car. I have a thermal camera, but unfortunately, the exhaust is very covered up by the cover on the bottom of the car (might have to remove that to take a look). The thermal camera (FLIR - about $500 on Amazon) is a great tool for seeing which cylinder may be dead - it's much colder than the rest of the cylinders. A laser thermometer also works, but is much less cool than a FLIR.

So, not really wanting to remove the lower panel just yet, and also needing to buy more tools, I bought one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Waekon-76562-Quick-Variable-Sensitivity/dp/B0021UPE58/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521426726&sr=8-1&keywords=Waekon+76562+-+Coil+on+Plug+Tester

It's a Coil-On-Plug tester. Frankly, I'm surprised I haven't needed one of these yet. It's still in the packaging, I haven't been over to the garage where the 360 is at to go and test it quite yet.

I did order new coils, so it may be a moot point, but I do prefer to find out what is not working first, prior to replacing parts, so I know if we've nailed it or not.

Hope this write-ups help someone in the future...

-Wayne

 

I'm glad that everyone is enjoying the thread. I will keep updating it.

Today's progress: So I got my Coil-On-Plug tester and tested each of the coils with it. It said they were running perfectly. Of course, it's difficult to diagnose an intermittent problem, and I'm also not sure - if the coil is running properly, it may then be the spark plug that is not firing correctly? So, I removed all four plugs on the left side, and found some interesting things. The first plug (plug number five) was wet. All of the others were dry, but they didn't look too good either - it looked like they haven't been changed in a long time. They were the older plug style NGK PMR8A with the single plated tip, not the PMR8B with both the anode and cathode platinum plated. This supposedly is an upgrade from Ferrari, so I suspect they haven't been changed in a while. I did not see them being changed on the Ferrari dealer paperwork that came with the car, and surprisingly, they did not get changed at the last service.

By the way, on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is the most difficult - removing the spark plugs comes in at about a 2. There's nothing remotely difficult about pulling the plugs. My car had the left side cam cover resealed, so there was a whole bunch of excess sealant that came off when the coils were pulled - I simply vacuumed that out of the spark plug area so it wouldn't fall into the combustion chamber. I also used my optical borescope to take a peak in there - I couldn't really see anything amiss (it's tough to see much through the spark plug hole).

Photos are attached - the first plug is wet, which means an ignition problem. The other plugs all look the same. I did not pull the right side yet (tomorrow). At this point, my maintenance will include new coils, new plugs, and also new MAF sensors (I was getting some weird readings on one when it first started up - it settled down after a few seconds, but they are now 20 years old, very easy to replace, and only about $115 each).

I'm still thinking that my poorly running car may have more issues than one dead cylinder. I'm not 100% sure. But since the xdiag tool doesn't seem to give out any other errors, I will hope for the best. I have the new CS transmission computer installed in the car and I can't wait to get the coils from Europe so that I can try it out!

-Wayne
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Agree with your thoughts / assessment at this point, and I think this is my point of attack. Interesting though that when I emptied the tank of fuel, it smelled really bad. Bad like the fuel smell you get when you buy a barn-find car that has been sitting for 15-20 years. But with the fact that the spark plug is wet, that leads me to believe it's an ignition problem like you suggested...

-Wayne

 

Update on this thread (since people don't often followup when the problems are solved):

- While I had the plugs out, I ran a compression check on the engine. All cylinders were 175-210 - a little more variation than I would normally like to see, but still what I would have expected for any engine with only 26K miles on it. So, no major worries there. Make sure that when you are running a compression check, you prop open the big throttle butterfly valves on the rear of the engine - otherwise you will get some unpredictable results.

- I replaced all eight coils with new ones from the UK. They were about $45 each, plus shipping. At this cost, I think they are inexpensive enough (about $400 for the set), that I would probably recommend having a set on hand to replace as a standard maintenance item after 20+ years. On a scale of 1 to 10 (easy-to-hard) in terms of difficulty, the replacement is a 2. My 10-year old could do it.

- I also replaced the plugs at the same time with the newer updated NGK PMR8B plugs (plated on both sides) instead of the "A" plugs.

- I also replaced the airflow meters on both sides. My wholesale cost on those was about $110 each, I figured while you were in there. Took about 2 min and on a scale of 1-10, it's a 1. Almost easier than opening the front trunk.

- I also ran a smoke test on the car. Here was something curious - no leaks at the intake manifold gaskets (I was surprised), but there was a small leak at the cross-over valve under the intake manifold on the left side of the car. There's no way of knowing exactly where that was coming from without taking the whole intake apart. I left it in place and made a note of it - it might be leaking out of a small bolt hole or something like that. If/when I replace the intake gaskets I will address it.

- I put the car back together and made sure that I turned the power on and off to clear any memory. Then I performed the startup procedure like detailed here: https://aldousvoice.com/2013/01/16/ferrari-360-ecu-reset/ - the car stalled and didn't run very well. Then I sat back and I remembered that my large sharpie marker was still stuffed into the throttle-valve to prop it open for the smoke test. Pulled that out and everything ran well!

- I cleared the codes and drove home. I have a new updated Stradale F1 ECU upgrade I put in the car at the same time, so I'm working through that new update as well. But so far, it would appear that plugs, coils, and the new airflow meters fixed the problem!

I've owned a lot of cars, and I mus say, with the engine in the rear and the big rear decklid, the 360 is definitely one of the easier ones to work on. Just be careful not to drop any air filter box screws down into the engine - you'll be looking for them for a while and you'll have to do some "Ferrari yoga" moves to position yourself to get them back! (or just use a magnetic pickup tool).

-Wayne