Is it possible to bench test the marelli digiplex ?

They're pretty tough. I had an ign problem that turmed out to be some water that collected in the bell hsg wells with the sensors. Another GTSi ign prob I came across was one of the female spade connectors to a coil broke inside the heavy boot. It got flexed / bumped during an oil filter R&R.

Bench testing?? Doesn't sound straight forward on the Digiplex. I've done a Dinoplex on the bench. I had to make a wiring harness and get a bunch of components to set it up.

 

Well, not exactly...If your car is running poorly, you'll need to determine if the problem is:

-Ignition
-Fuel related
-Mechanical

Starting with numerous diagnostic/visual tests/inspections...

Yes...an Engineer friend of mine and I have co-developed a bench for testing the Digiplex units. We can test and plot spark out, advance versus RPM/barometric pressure.

For perspective, nearly 99% of the boxes that we have received that were "deemed defective" were actually fine...


Best,
David

 

Contact the Jose at the ECU Doctors in Florida. They post their repair services on eBay. They fixed both my Model 803As. Their Test Set-Up is rather elabaorate, expensive and manufactured by Bosch and is capable of testing various ECUs. I doubt if it would be practical or cost effective to set-up your own tester.

 

Shop before you buy...as they always say. I've used David's service for a pair of 803As I had sitting on a shelf and collecting dust awhile back. Their condition was 'unknown' (removed from a running car), but another poster had a known-dead unit in his car and wanted to buy mine if they checked out. Having seen a privately-shared pic of the setup used to test my units, it exactly mirrors what's 'going on' in the 308 engine complete with flywheel sensors, variable RPM adjustment, OEM connections, and other features that accurately determined that my units were working correctly with minor internal adjustment. As a result, I was able to sell the units and put another 308 back-on-the-road. It cost me less than what the ebay-ad service is charging, but I understand that ebay advertising/overhead isn't cheap.

Now, I also have a JETRONIC lambda ECU box of 'unknown' condition I would like to sell (came from the same car as the Marelli 803As, so it should be good as well)....would anyone recommend the ebay-advertised service to have it checked out?

 

I am a dummy.

Wouldn't you make sure the car had the correct air and correct fuel flow BEFORE you worry about a spark?

Poor fuel flow and all the ignition work in the world won't matter, will it?


I really Don't know ...... honest question.

 

First rule would be to check all mechanical, comp/leakdown/cam timing. Then ignition, then fuel. Although a fuel quality check could be carried out first. IMO.

 

IF the car runs at all even sputtering.
A quick ignition check is to take a timing light and clamp on each plug wire in turn and see if a regular strobe pattern results and aim #1 and IF get good strobe pattern could still be bad plugs so pull and examine one or two. If plugs ok then look for other causes with fuel or timing. IF plugs are questionable then replace them. Plugs are cheap and easy and often can get engine started even if bad plugs are not the cause, they quickly get fouled and can be a secondary problem--especially with flooded outboard motors.

If fuel is over a few months old bad fuel is a good possiblity--I have solved some seemingly intractable problems on other makes by changing out old fuel. The Mondial has yet to sit long enough for stale fuel to be an issue.

Rule should be check the easy stuff and the most common stuff first.