Gentlemen, need some assistance. Today after about half hour drive in 25 degree weather (celsius not fahrenheit) my water temperature light began to flicker on and off for about 15 seconds, then stayed off for about a minute, then continued to flicker on and off for about 45 seconds then remained on. The engine temperature was normal, and I could hear the driver side fan on but not sure about the passenger fan because I arrived home and parked it at that point. The coolant is 1 year old, but I haven't had a chance to check the level yet because the engine hasn't cooled off yet, but I did check it about 2 weeks ago and it was full. No leaks or puddles anywhere either. One last thing, I added a bottle of Redline water wetter about a month ago, but I doubt that has anything to do with it. I am wondering if this is just an electrical fault, or is something actually wrong? As mentioned, all gauges were showing normal temperatures.
Only way to confirm is with another gauge...but if the fans work and gauge reads normally, I would suspect the sender for the light. At minimum check and clean connections at each end.
Mike: First, please remember I know nothing about the 348. The part(s) you want to check are located in this diagram. No. 43 is the Temperature Sender and No. 47 is the Temperature Thermistor. Part No. 43 (Temperature Sender) is usually the problem/cause of gauge trouble, but (I believe) the Thermistor (No. 47) controls the light function. Carefully remove the plug terminal and clean it with CRC electrical contact cleaner and a small (soft) bronze bristle brush. Dave Helms is warning everyone to stay away from Stabilant contact enhancer - so don't use any of this. Personally, I would clean the terminals of No. 43 and No. 47. Once cleaned, check the gauge. If still a problem, I would pull the engine gauge pod and check the connections to the water temperature gauge to make sure their clean and tight. If those look good and you still have the problem, you probably need an new Thermistor and/or Temperature Sender Unit(s). Here's the link with No. 43 from Ricambi. LINK; http://www.ricambiamerica.com/product_info.php?products_id=214029 Image Unavailable, Please Login
This is excellent Scott, thanks for this - I will check this right away. Thanks again Hugh, Scott's post was more what I was looking for - I need this stuff "spoon-fed" to me
I am beginning to think this is a loose connection, or an electrical fault, because today I went for a long drive and every time I hit a bump, no matter big or small, the Water Temp Light would flicker on and off...and at one point even stayed off for about 15 seconds. The gauges were showing all the normal temps, and I double checked that both fans were working....I was worried about causing any harm to the engine by driving it while the WTL remained lit, but since the fans are working and the gauges are displaying typical readings I think I am okay to continue driving. I now am in the process of getting myself familiar with the parts in the diagram that Scott was kind enought to post here, once I am comfortable to do so and if these parts are accessible I am going to give it a shot at what Scott suggested I do. I await further advice here from the Stooges
What could be happening is the wire is grounding to something. I would check the connection to the sender and also to the gauge. Make sure they are clean and tight, and no missing insulation touching anything. Ultimately it could still be a bad sender. Please report back on your findings.
I would check the condition of the wire for the sender. After all Ferrari's are not know for their "fantastic" wiring. Then just to be safe rebleed the system. But I would suspect a bad/loose connection first, especially after you said the thing comes on when you were going over bumps.
Okay, I think I am in deep **** here. While I was poking around looking at the wiring as per David Helms' instructions (and Ernie's), I noticed something that I don't think is supposed to be hanging loose. Have a look at the first picture, that is the cavity between the oil filter and the firewall, underneath the intake manifold...that loose wire with a red elbow/insulation around it, isn't that supposed to be plugged into something? I took the airbox out to have a look at it. It is friggin tight in there, so I couldn't get a picture of the connection but it is a female. Looks very similar to the connectors in pic # 2 (which are random pics I found on the web to give a good idea of what the connector looks like) except it is actually square and not flat...in pic # 1 you are looking at the side of it. . I had a look with a mirror inside, and even tried to feel around, but I could not find where this thing goes. Could this be the reason the Water Temp Light is on? I gently pulled on this wire, and it wouldn't move much therefore that should be a good indication that it belongs not far from the area that it is resting in. In any case, how in the hell am I going to get this thing back into its mating connection - and that's even if I find where it belongs??? I think I am fu*ked here... As for pic # 3 and 4, would the sensors with the blue plugs be # 43 and # 47 from the diagram in post # 4? Also in the last pic you can get a better idea of the location of that loose wire as you can see the oil filter in the foreground. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I SURE would suspect that is the wire that turns on the high water temp. lamp. As it bounces around it grounds out on the engine block and makes the light go on. I would think you could re-attach it with some long pliers.
Looks like you found your problem. #45 It appears to only have a male spade connector. And yes, those appear to be 43 and 47 pictured....but I don't own a 348 and am just judging from the diagrams. Looks like the switch is on the other side of the "water outlet manifold" from where the two blue connectors you have pictured.
Ok, but where does it go? I looked everywhere? Does it plug into one of the sensors (#47 or #43 in post #4 above)?
I would think it must go on the water outlet manifold (part 39 that connects to the water pump via the large straight coolant hose) in position 43 or 45.
I have an engine that is getting the heads put back on in the AM... I can photo that for you if it helps. I go along with Hugh, 47 looks like it is intact from the photo's, looks like 45. Ground that wire to the engine block and watch for the light with the ignition on. That was painless! As long as you are there inspect that hose closely at the clamp area, that one is responseable for leaving more than one car on the side of the road.
Awe geez...This thread brings back memories of my wiring disaster Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Okay boys, she is fixed. Here is how I did it - I will start from scratch. Before I get into the details, I have no idea how in the hell this thing came loose, but I am sure glad and very relieved that it was nothing major and that I was able to solve this with everyone's help. The first thing I did to confirm the loose plug is indeed for the Water Temperature Light, I turned the ignition to the on position and grounded it; the Water Temp Light came on, and then ungrounded and then the Water Temp Light turned off - easy enough. 1) removed the air box in its entireity by loosening the large clamps near the MAFs and then the little clamps for the little hoses on the bottom furthest away from you when facing the firewall/front of the car. Also need to unplug whatever those things are (sensors I believe or sending units - not really sure) that plug into the MAFs 2) I took the oil filter off 3) I took the oil filter housing unit off, three nuts (13mm) in a triangle formation, the top of the triangle closest to the firewall/front of the car and the base of the triangle closest to the back of the car/tail-lights. This part was a little difficult because those three 13mm nuts were a son-of-a-***** to access, especially the one at the top of the triangle, you will need a universal joint. BE VERY CAREFUL REMOVING THE WASHERS on the studs for the oil housing unit so as not to drop them into any of the holes that the oil filter and oil filter housing unit leave...observe the picture with the oil filter and oil filter housing unit removed, and you will notice the triangle which I outlined in red...I also highlighted the studs where the 13mm nuts go, the bottom left one is hidden from the oil housing unit so I scribbled it in red also (can you tell I got an A++++ in art class ) 4) Once you have these out of the way, there is plenty of room to get your hand in there and wiggle it around...which is what I did, I simply kept moving my fingers around until I found a hole (that doesn't sound good ) that had the male connector I was looking for...I pressed my finger against it as hard as I could for about 10 seconds to make an impression then quickly removed my finger and had a look....and voila, I found the perfect match for my loose plug (speaking of which, if anyone needs a date I think I found a new profession ), and simply reached inside and plugged it back in and then covered it up with that red elbow boot/insulation/protector/whatever-the-hell-it's-called. Its location is on the left side of the intake manifold when facing the firewall, male end faces the firewall and the loose end in question plugs in facing the back of the car/tail-lights. Total time of the job was about an hour and a half - that does not include the time I spent looking for the plug the first time, and about 15 or 20 minutes was wasted with the oil-filter housing because of those 3 nuts that are very difficult to access. Again, with the airbox, oild filter, and oil filter housing out of the way it was VERY EASY to reach my hand in there and plug this back into its position. Unfortunately, I could not take pictures of the spot because of its location, but I think Hugh is right that it is # 45 in the diagram of post # 4 where this plugs in. Thanks to all of you who posted here with advice. Guys, the 348 Brotherhood is unbelievable, a year and a half ago I didn't even know what a wrench looked like (except when my ex-girlfriend was chasing me with one and throwing it at my head ) yet I was able to solve this problem in my own garage without a Ferrari Tech or mechanic live on location. A special thanks to David Helms and Scott Whitaker (saw1998) who have been PM'ing me with instructions, and who gave me the confidence to actually try this on my own. It was with their help and encouragement and some great luck that I was able to solve this on my own (the great luck being that I noticed that loose wire, something I was not even looking for, akin to a needle in a haystack - which is ironic, because on most days when I am looking for something and it is right in front of me and could hit me in the head yet I still wouldn't be able to find it hey maybe I should play the lottery tonight! )...who knows how long I would have been troubleshooting or what would have happened if that wire was not hanging there in plain site. And of course, a special thanks to Daniel Pass as well, who spent about a half hour in a chat room with me this morning posting diagrams of that area, and putting everything into lamens terms (or in my case "dummy" terms, so they should just rename it "Mike Assaf Terms"... ) At least now I know what to do if either (or both) the Temperature Sender or Temperature Thermistor ever go bad ...and speaking of which, when looking at these sensors, facing them from the back of the car, is #43 the one on the right and #47 on the left, or vise versa (refer to the diagram in post # 4) Image Unavailable, Please Login
From this, I can only conclude that I have an indecently dirty mind. In all seriousness, Mike: that's a great write-up of the repair and will undoubtedly be very helpful for somebody one day! And top marks to the Brotherhood for their invaluable guidance - the generosity of people here with their time to make sure everyone is able to get out onto the road is just great. Now Mike... make sure you do get that fabulous 348 SS back out on the road this weekend. All the best, Andrew.
LMAO!! Andrew, you gave me a good laugh. On a serious note, you are right about the generosity and guidance....a true Brotherhood indeed You can bet the bank on that
