Hi Guys, Last weekend took the car out after being away for a while, the car ran great, but went to put it away, the car would turn over but would not fire up seems to be fuel related, does not seem to be getting through, had the same problem last year, sent away to the specialist would not fire up, but he removed the fuse board replaced without changing anything and the car started, obiviously i have tried the same myself by still will not start. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Ash12
See this thread: http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=164315 If your fuel pump won't run: 1. with the key "on" and the safety switch unplugged, nor 2. with the fuel pump relay socket "jumpered" check the connection in the connector that Kevin (KKRace) identified.
I had the same situation happen today. Started up and went for a nice sunny drive and stopped for a few minutes and she did not fire up. This is a 82 308si but similar . Gremlins. All fuses ok,fuel pump runs when disconnected green wire. Tries to fire at first cranking then relays just click and chatter. Anyone have an idea. Does yours do similar or ? Let me know. It is time to start checking circuits or get a call a priest!
Used to have starting problems with my 84 GTB, installed a set of "birdmans fuse blocks" and never had the problem again.
For the 328, check the main calble connector behind the passangers foot well.. you have to un screw the 4 bolts and pull the plate out, check the connector. If you see any dark spots where the wires have been arcing.... that is your culprit. how I tested, is I put the key in, and pull the blue electrical socket on the fuel distributor, and when you find the wire that is guilty, you will hear the fuel pump buzzing loudly... only let it run for a couple of seconds or you could cause a Hydrostatic lock, by pumping raw fuel into the cylinders. I would look there if you have a new fuse pannel. if that does not work, then you need to look at the pannel under the trunk, on the right side, check the relays and the fuses there. Best of luck.
On the 328, go to the link Steve posted. It includes Pics and step by step plus wiring diagrams if you follow the links.
Thanks for all the advice Guys, will be doing more investigations this coming week, I will let you know how it goes, If no luck I have pre-booked the car in with specialist for the 21/4/2009. Regards Ash13
Warm start problems are like prostrate problems...eventually both you and your car will have the issue. And there are a host of reasons which will cause this engine flooding problem. In my case it was the time/temperature switch. Bad WUR, leaky injectors, accumulator backflow valve leaky...there are about as many threads and reasons for 'car won't start when warm' as there is on 'slow windows'. If you are caught on the road with inability to start a warm engine, unplug the cold start injector and the engine will start immediately and run fine. In weather above freezing, the cold start system has little merit.
If your injectors are squirting with the fuel pump running and the engine off you have a problem. Fuel pump running does not equal fuel squirting into the cylinders unless you have an injector that needs replacing. You should be able to run the pump all day and not have a drop of fuel added to the cylinders.
Have had the problem you describe a few times. The fuel pump relay has been the culprit more than once.
Ash, dug into mine today and found the injection cold/ enrichment on the manifold was not dumping that little bit of fuel it takes to get things popping.you can test a cold start by taking off the air filter box cover and slightly depressing the disc. That should start the fuel pump and give the engine extra fuel to get going. I did not have time today to find out if it is just plugged up or a bad valve/electrical problem with it. I'll let you know tomorrow. It sure isn't fun to get towed back.
I believe that this is incorrect about the cold start injector. Confirm this on your wiring diagram - the cold start injector comes on when the starter is cranking and the thermoswitch (located on the bottom of the expansion tank or on the T under the plenum?) is still cold and closed. If you depress the disc alone, this injector should not spray. If your system is healthy there should be enough system fuel pressure with the fuel pump off to spray fuel from the cold start injector. The CIS system "rests" with a bunch of fuel pressure - I'd have to look it up, 30 psi? - and the cold start should squirt a whole bunch of fuel with just the resting fuel pressure, no fuel pump running. This will not work if you have a faulty injector or fuel pump check valve that allow fuel to leak into a cylinder or back to the fuel tank respectively. OTOH, pressing the disc down should get the other eight injectors to squirt fuel. If it still gave no signs of life when cranking and you were pressing the plate down that seems like it either isn't a fuel issue, or you have a much larger CIS problem. Did you hear the injectors give a little buzz-hum when you pressed the plate down? You could pull a plug and smell for fuel or pull an injector and give the plate a press and see what comes out. Squirt it into a bottle or something.
You are correct Brian about the cold start injector. I did not mean for it to sound like that. I just meant that the fuel pump would start and begin spraying fuel into the runners and get the dead engine home.I 'm trying to locate my failure to energize the cold start injector be it the thermo switch, injector itself or fuel check valve.Thanks for the better description.
I am now checking the accumulator and fuel pump check valve as it makes sense that the cis system needs a storage of pressure to restart the car. I found the accumulator leaking and now will drain the fuel tanks and pull the pump check valve and test.I'll will let you know,Gilligan
