95 456 since ownership over the past 1.5 yrs have been struggling with intermittent CEL on both banks with rough idle at time with misfires randomly on one bank or another, low rpm on cold starts (800-1000rpm), stuttering at low speeds in a high gear etc. Most of the time on power she an great only to through a CEL when waiting at a traffic light and then have it go away once back on power. Finally learned how to pull codes and got 1211 on both banks which according to the 348 codes is a lamda code for 02 sensor, coolant temp sensor or MAF sensor. Since i am not mechanically inclined was not about to address the 1st two possibilities, however after watching some youtube on MAF sensors and how to clean ordered myself some CRC MAF sensor cleaner form amazon for $8. took total of 45min (including 15m of drying time) and off i went for a test drive. Immediately on cold start (its 45F ambient right now), had a very smooth 1500 rpm idle and quickly settled down to 1000 and very very smooth. On power extremely smooth acceleration, no hesitation at slow speeds in a high gear, and overall even more power. No CEL however sometimes they didnt show up for quite some time Extremely happy with the result, hope it lasts lol.
What kind of air filter do you have? MAF sensors are downstream of of your airboxes. They should be relatively clean unless your air filters are trashed or you have an oiled type and over-oiled (think K&N or BMC filters)....Otherwise you will repeat the same issue again... I personally am not a fan of oiled air filters. My 456 uses a BMC right now but will be going back to OEM. Same with my E31...I forget which oiled filter it had from the PO but now is back on OEM filters. You are not going to gain meaningful HP and the upkeep/headache with oil filters (IMHO) are not worth it.
Take the small victories where you can, but reality is its unlikely to be the sole solution to your issues.. i know you said you arent mechanically inclined, but some other quick fixes of similar problems are referenced here... I dont remember all the other work you have had done the last 2 years, but we got our cars around the same time and i recall you having a host of issues.. https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/engine-running-at-very-reduced-power.504793/#post-144307012 Electrical parts cleaner or DeoxIT spray on all the electrical connections you can reach and reseat... Checking and replacing relays on the fuseboard too. O2 sensors and crank position sensor are easy to reach from underneath as well, if you can get under the car, butnthese become more of a shotgun of parts, without necessarily finding the root cause. However, the connection for the crank position sensors are in a hot harsh environment, and will deteriorate over time
Thanks guys. And you are right. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm did not last long. The lights came on today again briefly with some stuttering. The air filters in place at the moment appear OEM to me based on pictures of OEM that I’ve seen. They are definitely not trashed I would rate them as somewhat dirty. Looking at pricing of OEM they seemed Crazy like $250 each. Not knowing the drawbacks of KN filters I ordered two of those. At the very least this will serve as a test I guess while they are fresh and new to see if the stuttering and check engine light goes away. If no different and I want to go back to OEM is there a way to clean them? The problem with the check engine light and stuttering is very intermittent. For example, today, although it did come back, it was only for a very short time of maybe a few seconds, the remainder of my drive time today, total of about 30 minutes was event free. (Split up in 3 diff trips). Thanks for the recommendation on the electrical connections cleaner. I was wondering about that and will proceed to clean everything I can. I do have a lift, so will be able to get underneath. When I exchange the filters later this week, I will take a picture of the OEM for your assessment. Before I learned how to pull the codes, my mechanic said he had found a code for idle air control valve, and feels that in older European cars this is a common problem. Indeed, one of mine appears to have been changed by a previous owner. I may have to bite the bullet and change both to see if that is in fact, the root cause, although the codes that I pull does not seem to indicate tha. however, looking through the code list, I can’t find one specific for the idle air control valve so I don’t know what he was referring to and he doesn’t remember the exact code as this was at end of season last year. I have had a full top end rebuild done, including valve guides and cleaned off the valves and the heads at a machine shop. I had hoped that that would have solved this issue. While it has not certainly gone away completely it is far less frequent in terms of the stuttering and the check engine lights by 90% or so. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
You're 2 hours up the road... get it driving well enough or trailer it down to Indy. We can get it on my lift and assess, or ill try and come up. I'm no Rifledriver, but i think have a good handle on 2.7 and the external components of our cars. At the minimum, i can learn you something!
Make sure PN 142432 x2 ok. Also double check fuel system as Aero mentioned. Ethanol fuel is bad… Edit: on the weekend I may come join with my 456!
Absolutely!!! I’m sure it will make it to Indy np. Hopefully, we’ll go in to get little odds and ends taken care of like the window gaps next week. Once that’s done, then would love to come down. Otherwise, the wind noise is kind of annoying on a long drive. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
