'91 Mondial t arrived! Problems from the start!

Sorry for your troubles... Its a beautiful car, I hope she straightens out for you. Good luck with her, and enjoy her well after the issues are worked out.

James in Denver

 

Hey Rubin,

Don't fret too much. When the codes are read, you'll get readouts as to what may be failing. I hate to ask this - but - did you get a comprehensive PPI prior to purchase? If not, OK, we move on and deal with these mini gremlins. Don't let it ruin the excitement------no-I'll put it this way. When you get her sorted properly, you'll then truly understand the meaning of "OH MY GOD, I LOVE THIS CAR!!!!!!". It's a very nice prospect, don't you think?

Congrats & cheers,
Hank

 

Hey Bruce,

Trust me on this one (don't know why you should, but do anyway), your issues are all minor. And do you think that the smile on your face is as big as it's going to get? Naaah------- Now let's talk about Hyperflow cats and an Xost silencer. Oh man, another level of apppreciation!!!! You just entered the ROOM............

Cheers, Hank

 

beautiful t. When our 92 showed up we had check engine and slow down light problems also. Turned out to be an o2 sensor. runs perfect now and passed emissions without problems. You can get the diag. codes yourself by opening the trunk, removing the two quarter turn screws covering the computers and following the instructions here on ferrari chat for the 348. It is fun to do, although a ferrari tech with the right equip (in our case competizione in MD) can get a whole lot more info in real time with a computer. I don't notice a lot of difference between suspension settings except when you hit a bump, you really feel it in hard. also there is an inertial sensor that automaticaly sends the suspension to hard durring hard turns and stops. By the way, someone on fchat warned me and it is in the owners manual...do not turn the ignition on and off more that 3 times or leave the key on for more that 30 seconds without starting the engine. It could damage the $1200 suspension computer. How are you at putting the top up/down? I found some good advise on ferrari chat for that also.
enjoy, dave

 

Bruce,

Congrats on the car. She is beautiful.

Don't let the little gremlins get you down. I have had the off/on 1-4 & 5-8 ghost lights happen and just go away????? Probably corrosion on or loose O2 sensor wires/connectors is my guess.

My latest gremlin is the loss of my dashlights, fog lights and lic plate light which are all on the same circuit #16 but I cannot locate a reason why. So just dont drive her at night or If I do I just dont worry about her speed..I drive by the sound of the engine anyway..who needs a tachometer? right? I love every minute of her.

check the archives on the starter issue.. I remember several fixes for that problem...including just cleaning contacts at the fuse panel and relays. I have the corrosion on some of my contacts..can't explain how it gets there and why on some and not the others...I don't ponder it too long just clean em up and move on.

Have fun,

Dave

 

something to keep in mind O2 sensors don't fail short of having the wiring damaged. they are very robust and it takes chemicals not found in exhaust gas to ruin the 'sensor' material. that said, I'd check to see why the sensor is giving the values it is. the slow down is a result of the temps getting to high in the exhaust from a lack of proper combustion or too lean where the excess oxygen over excites the catalytic process.

 

Congrats on your new car and I hope you have many, many years and miles of enjoyment. And you're right...I believe these cars do have their own personalities.

Paul

 

Congrats on the new purchase. You definetly have the right attitude to own an older Ferrari!

Jeff

 

Who needs a tach? I do. With out the red line i would spool it to 10,000 rpm every time. I just can't get enough of that building song. Wow, I think i'll go for a drive.

 

#3 happens to me all the time in warm weather. I do not see it in fall and winter here in NYC.

On #4: I don't feel the difference either.

 

On #4: There's a particularly bad washboard section of the 405 here in CA, where they have yet to grind it flat. By switching to soft setting, the bumps go bye-bye. I exercise the feature regularly, so as not to cause "garage queen" syndrome

 

Not just the 405, but any freeway with the rain grooves. I definitely feel the difference between the soft-normal-hard suspension settings. Everything comes through in the "hard" mode, while soft feels a little disconnected. Normal is perfect for me, unless I'm driving the newly-surfaced Angeles Crest Hwy (then it's 'hard' all the way!)

The hot start issue is not necessarily a problem with the solenoid...it's a problem with the car generating enough charge to engage the solenoid after driving for a while. Bypassing the current wiring set-up seems to be the most effective cure. Basically, the car loses a minute amount of charge during driving and there's no longer enough to re-start without cooling down first. There are posts and detailed diagrams on how to go about creating the bypass.

 

First off congratulations you're going to really love it.

About the sometimes clicking while trying to start her, besides checking and cleaning all relays and contacts be sure to check the battery cables and/or the battery itself. With mine one cable worked a bit loose and caused the exact same problem. When we found and fixed that, the battery would no longer hold a charge so had to replace it.

 

Prime suspects for the lights would be the O2 sensors and/or the ECU's. Easy (if somewhat pricy) fixes.

Congratulations. Beautiful car. And, you are right - they do have personalities.

Enjoy.

John

 

There is a Service Bulletin detailing the repair which involves a small wiring harness with a relay. Ferrari supplies the "kit" under a 70000xxx p/n I believe. The p/n is noted in the bulletin.
Check with your local dealer for any open recalls. Give them the last 5-6 digits of the VIN. I would be happy to do that for you and answer any other questions. You can reach me at 800-631-5589 ext.13 between 9-6 EST.
Brian

 

Bruce,

Congrats on the car! Like most other Mondial t owners I have come to realize that electrical gremlins are just part of the charm. The best advice I can give you is to spend a bit of time here searching and reading about the t and the 348, as many of the issues are the same. Learn as much as you can and apply that to what you find on your car. Of course, if you can't sort something out or find the info you need, do as we all do and just post it here. It's a fair bet that someone has already "been there and done that".

Personally I enjoy working on the car, and while I am NOT a mechanic, and have no formal mechanical training, I am pretty comfortable doing just about anything that needs to be done, including the major service... http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157854

Here's a picture of my car taken about 5 minutes ago. As I said, I'm happy to do almost anything.....
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Had a similar problem and could be several things to consider,
- seems like low voltage/power to the starter, which is sometimes caused after a nice HOT run, or even just mediocre run....very frustrating. you let it sit and sometimes it starts right away: caught in parking lot? pretend to be talking on cell phone until you can start it.
- 1 solution, for me was $80, installed, booster from the ignition/key area to starter, giving more power. Solenoid seemed to get hot and wouldn't cool down: BTW, this is an 'OFFICIAL' Dealer, Ferrair of SF solution.
- or check battery, make sure it always has a full charge: I keep a battery charger on it [overkill IMO] but not had a problem since this and booster installed after two years.

- check connections and clean them.

- 1. how long are you driving the car?
- think you'll see this until it get run on fresh gas, and at least once a week for a good 1/2-1hr each time. Remember to gradually bring it up to temp, then keep it, say on a freeway for awhile to 'blow it out' then cool it down properly.
- just my 2cents

- sounds like a sensor, which can be either replaced or wait for #2 to clear up.

- I'd keep it on auto/middle-selector unless really doing some curves with pressure or if you don't want go-cart ride on freeway...leave in middle

well, good luck, I'm prob. not in agreement with a lot of people, but this has worked for me.
BTW< I always like to replace all the fluids from scratch, then I have a benchmark for next, yearly, fluid changes.

 

Ahh Jeez! your car puked it's guts up...see what happens when you put in low octane gas everybody

great work, it's not so intimidating once it's in pieces the fun part is the line up when it goes back in.

I'm also in the middle of doing a major on a F355 spyder, you spend more time doing the in/out than it takes to do the belts and timing.

also noid lights are a great inexpensive tool that will tell if the injector is getting a signal.

 

This is an AWESOME photo! Looks like the car hacked up its subframe the way a cat hacks up a furball.