Hello you fine people, as many others before me, I am very grateful that this forum exists. It was a huge source of information for my quest of buying my 1st Ferrari (and last, I'm not a rich guy, but always saved up some money for my dream). I read so many post here and it was a blast to see, how helpful and knowledgable this community is. Before I go into my "maybe a problem", I guess a small introduction is needed. If you want to go immediately to the problem, it will start below the picture of the concerned spot. Hope my English is still good enough for you to understand. So I'm in my early 40s, living in Luxembourg, no wife nor children, hence the Ferrari. Sadly, I'm not really well versed in the world of mechanics/electronics. So not really a DIY-guy, but maybe with the car, it will finally start, I kind of have the itch to get some problems solved of my own. About the car, it's a red 328 GTS (EU) from 12/1985, 3 previous owners, with 97.000km/60273miles (now 98.000 km after 3 days). The paint is still original (chipped from rocks on many places, some small dents from other car doors), you really see the age of the car on the seats, the door covers are bit looses, small stuff like that. I got it from a well known garage, which restores old classics. It was the only one with a warranty on all mechanical parts, which was a huge + for me, since I'm not the one working on cars. So the car looks like a 35 should look like with this kind of mileage, but the motor itself should be in good condition. Before I got it, the car underwent a major service and was presented to an official control authority before it was sold to me. So much about the introduction. Image Unavailable, Please Login Red arrow: melted plastic of cable Green arrow: cable/hose in contact with melted cable Image Unavailable, Please Login Here are two pictures (melted plastic) of my "maybe problem". Why maybe? Well firstly, as stated, my knowledge about electronics/mechanics is awful. Secondly, the problem I had might not have to do with the problem on the pictures. I hope you know where this part is located, it's between the air filter box and engine. I was driving for around 30-40 mins on the motorway with 120km/h / 75miles/h, stopped for a refill (full gas tank) and it was around 32-35°C/90-95°F. So my motor was warmed up, temperatures of water and motor oil perfectly fine, oil pressure a bit over 6. I didn't push the car, only went up to maybe 6000 rev/min before changing gears. When I took the exit and was going into a smaller gear (while trying to rev-match, which is still new to me, so not done perfectly), the motor began to behave a bit rough (a bit means, nothing was really shaking, but from the exhaust sound I could hear the change) and it seemed as I lost a bit of power. I took the first parking spot close to the exit and turned down the engine. If I recall it correctly and this is the only thing I'm not sure any-more, the oil pressure might have been close or below 4, which should not be the case for this car, only while idling (if I remember this correctly). I opened the engine bay to have a look (don't ask, what I wanted to achieve) but found nothing unusual (like any leaks, unfixed cables...). At that time, I didn't see the melting cable. So I hoped for the best and restarted the engine. It had no problem starting, behaved like it should and it seemed as the problem was gone. I only had around 10 more minutes to drive. The melting of the cable was only found 30 minutes later, as I parked my car in a shopping mall and had a second look. For the rest of the day, till I was home (a 1 hour drive), the car behaved normally. So, hope this is not too much of text. My questions might be: 1) Why was the engine running rough till I restarted. 2) What is this melted cable (is under the plastic cover a metal wire?) and will this become a problem? 3) Can I fix the cable with for example heat resistant tape or might the melting come from another cable, which was in contact with that cable? 4) Should I fix the cable away from other cables? 5) Should I drive the car? Thanks for reading and helping. I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and I'm happy to be part of this community. Cheers! Gilles (french name)
It's not melting, its a sort of solution or how do you call that? Like sticky plastics.. Its no problem.. You can buy a new sleeve at Alixpress or local garage. Fitting it takes a special tool to remove the two connectors out of the housing. Not really hard.
The correct term for that plastic thing is "boot" as in Junior Power Timer Connector Boot. The device it is connected to is the Warm Up Regulator and is a major component of the Injection system. If it just melted on the drive then it is a problem worth looking into. If it had been that way for a while and you just now noticed it, then it is not a problem. The WUR has a bi-metallic heating element that is heated up by the 12V connection (that connector) and there should be no current through that connector when the engine is hot. You should take it to a mechanic to have the fuel pressure checked out for Cold Control Pressure, Warm Control Pressure, Residual Control Pressure to see if the WUR is in spec. While they are at it, ask them to change the connector boot (if you are not wanting to do it yourself). It has been my experience that 1 of 3 pins will refuse to come out of the housing which requires me to cut the wire, forcibly remove the pin, insert wires into new boot, recrimp the wires, and then insert the crimps into the old housing. Not hard, but you need good tools and new crimps. Unless you do this for a living, it is unlikely you would have the tools or the crimps, or the boot for that matter. They are all easy to get, just not all in one place.
the hose touching that rubber cable hood (boot) is a vacuum line with a stainless steel jacket and will not generate any heat, that boot is probably deteriorated because of vibration of the steel jacket rubbing on the rubber boot. Replace the boot and see how it holds up, you car has a lot of miles on it so I am not surprised that boot looks ragged, the hose should not be that close to the electrical connector. see if you can slide it over a bit and secure with a zip tie.
Is it? I'd expect that to be cloth-covered rubber hose, not stainless. Grendizer - I think you get the idea from these posts that the "melted" connector isn't likely related to the issues you describe. Really that connection isn't critical. It helps the system when cold, but doesn't do anything when the car is warm. It wouldn't surprise me that if you unplugged it during the summer if you'd ever even notice.
Mitchell, I need to rebuild both engine bay wiring looms on my 81 GTSi. Where would you suggest I look for ALL the boots and connectors on those looms as obviously you have done at least some of this before? I have all the correct color-coded wire and will use Bosch Black outside tubing/shielding as the green colored stuff is long NLA. CAN YOU HELP?
No idea what he is saying, its oy to get the terminals out Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-G975F met Tapatalk
Haha now i see what you mean! Depends on whats connected, but doesn't look good indeed! (WUR does have a polarity!! The one thats ground is also grounded inside the WUR!)
Mark, Get on to the website of Digikey Electronics. They are a US based distributor but they also work in Europe. Or find something equivalent in Germany. There are plenty of those too. 2 pin housing: Connectors, Interconnects | Rectangular Connectors - Housings | DigiKey 3 pin housing: Connectors, Interconnects | Rectangular Connectors - Housings | DigiKey Tin plated pins: sockets, pick the wire size you need Connectors, Interconnects | Rectangular Connectors - Contacts | DigiKey Tin plated pins, male type: 1-963745-1 TE Connectivity AMP Connectors | Connectors, Interconnects | DigiKey Extraction tool (don't work 100% of the time) 2-1579007-3 TE Application Tooling | Tools | DigiKey You will find connector boots from Alibaba. Crimper tool. I have something very similar, non ratcheting (better) Crimpers - Crimpers - MSC Industrial Supply (mscdirect.com)
No, there should always be a small current flowing in the WUR heating element of the bi-metallic strip (cold or hot) -- the +12V is always applied whenever the fuel pump is running (as both the fuel pump and the WUR receive the same +12V signal). Might be prudent for the OP (or his Mechanic) to measure the resistance between the two terminals on the WUR (to make sure it's a reasonable value -- something like ~100ish Ohms IIRC, but that search is the OP homework ), and measure the resistance from each terminal to the metal body of the WUR (to see if something is shorted) -- both should be infinite Ohms. If the boot is "melted" from too much current, I would think that the wires insulation should also be melted.
The resistance is about 35 Ohms (what I measured) and I saw that one side was internal at ground. (sounds logical @12V thats about 0,3Amps= 4Watt... when cold the resistance is lower (because of an internal switch) so it heats up quicker). There are 3 resistors inside with one connected to internal ground. (I just send mine to the repair shop so I cant check it but I'm 90% shure there is one therminal grounded inside. Look at the ground terminal at the left. Image Unavailable, Please Login double resister: (the other one is in the other half) Image Unavailable, Please Login
You could be right -- I'm now recalling there are two type of internal heaters (one with two internal heating elements and a switch -- like the one you posted -- and a more simple one with just a single heater). I shouldn't have been so specific about what the various resistances at the terminal would/should measure, but still think some sort of internal wiring problem could cause the wires and boot to get melted. If the wires are OK, then I wouldn't worry about the boot condition so much. Also, heating elements typically have a resistance that is not constant (lower when cold and higher when hot) so not such an exact thing.
Yes agree there will be moren systems then only one! Mines has an extra resistor for releasing the barometric part in the WUR. I don't know exactly how to say this, but it doesn't look melted but like sticky button etc.. solved or aged by ozon or so..Doesn't look like heat was the cause but it looks like chewing gum.. sunlight? Ozon? whatever...? Think it wil not melt but burn.. doe you call that thermo harder and thermoplast// the plast can melt, but the "harder" not.. I hope its clear what i mean
Make sure nothing else is'nt melting inside your WUR.... https://ferrarichat.com/forum/attachments/wur-burned-jpg.3034655/ https://ferrarichat.com/forum/attachments/wur-inside-3-jpg.3034650/
Pictures can be find here also...: https://ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/wur-woes-and-repair.631806/#post-147902760
Hey all, sorry for answering only now. First thanks for all the input. Nice to see a discussion going on, after a maybe minor concern from my part. I contacted the seller on Monday, sent him a picture of the "melted wire" and as some of you already said, it's nothing of concern. The cable has some kind of "waterproof mastic" (sorry, I translated from French, hope this makes sense). So false alarm. For the "engine running rough" problem, it didn't come back so far. Since it's hard to tell, what could have been the problem, without precise input from my part, the seller was unable to identify the "problem". I'll be watching the oil pressure closely and if it occurs again, I try to remember, what manipulations I did (engine is under warranty, so my mind is at ease). Just to add, air temperature the last few days after posting, was a lot cooler, than on that day. Thanks again for your answers and participation. I'm sure I'll do another post, since I discover small quirks every time I drive it. So far, the experience has been positive, it's really something else, driving such a car. The look already is stunning, you don't see such cars much in my area (more new Ferrari's cause "Luxembourg" I guess haha), but the sound and driving characteristics are what makes this purchase worthwhile. So far I got no negative feedback from anyone and most people really seem interested in the car. Only thing that stood out, people in younger people cars (Golf GTI, new BMWs...) seem to feel attacked, when they see the 328. Had already 2 guys, who sped up, when I tried to overtake them on the highway (while accelerating from 120km/h / 75mil/h). I just slowed down and stayed behind them. No need for games on the road. Have a great day everybody.
