Auto Anamnesis

"BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion" (pbs) 04/07/2014 at 15:37 • Filed to: Tipo, Halp, Maintenance

0

11

It's not easy for me to say this, but I think I have engine problems in the Tipo. I'm hoping it's nothing serious, given how difficult it is to find parts for and do the work on a Twin Cam engine in Brazil, but I can't seem to shake that nagging feeling that the near future is grim for my car. There's nothing I can do it about it right now though, so bear with me as I go over the situation and write an Automotive Anamnesis while playing car medic.

Ok, so the problem is that, every now and then, at seemingly random times, the fuel injection warning light comes on, stays on for a while, then goes off again. Nothing else happens, the car doesn't buck, lose power, sound or smell weird, nor does anything else of notice, it's just that little annoying light telling me something's wrong, even though nothing actually seems to be. At first I wasn't too worried about it, as it only ever happened once in a blue moon, but it's become far more frequent lately, lighting up pretty much every morning for a few minutes while the engine is still cold, then turning off again as water and oil temperature reach working conditions. Oil level and aspect are normal and pressure and temperature gauges stay within parameters while driving.

Also, there are another two occasions in which the warning light will come on: Revving the engine close to the redline, it's not uncommon for it to light up for a second, followed by a quick "cough", then continuing as if nothing had happened, and going too fast over a bump; the light will come on, but the car won't buck. Finally, another symptom that may or may not be related is the fuel gauge bouncing. This doesn't happen too often, and almost never at the same time as the warning light, but I can't help but think they're related.

Now, the weird thing here is that I recently replaced the fuel pump and gauge sensor after bad gas ruined my last ones in hopes that the problem would go away, which didn't happen. I do have a bad spark plug lead that still needs to replacing though, and I probably shouldn't be driving around like that, but it's not easy to find the right part in Brazil...

It's possible the problem is being caused by some sort of electrical problem. Not to play on stereotypes or anything, but it's an Italian car, and it already has a well documented gremlin on the AC fan, which won't turn off sometimes. It could be just that, bad wiring, causing the light to come on and the gauge to bounce.

Assuming the bouncing gauge and warning light are two separate problems, there's a chance the problem isn't in the fuel lines at all, but in the bad spark plug lead I have yet to replace, while the bouncing gauge is caused by poor wiring, which is something not totally unheard of. In fact it's pretty common.

Also, it could be caused by some sort of assembly problem in the fuel lines. I'm pretty sure I didn't leave anything unfastened the last time I was there, but I wouldn't be surprised if something escaped me and the system is losing pressure... when cold... or something.

Another possibility is grime and filth in the system. I don't think the fuel lines have ever been flushed in the 18 years since the car was built, who knows what's hiding in there. That could explain the warning light, the bucking at high RPM and the bouncing gauge.

Finally, it could be caused by timing belt problems. I think. Ok, I read something to that order on the Internet, but couldn't make sense of it. I mean, timing problems causing the injector warning to light up? Weird.

I think I'll go with electrical problems for now, as the gauge bouncing is compatible with bad wiring, and a damaged lead is kind of expected to cause trouble anyways. What says you Oppo?

jkm7680 > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/07/2014 at 16:01

1

I don't know what that word means, but it sounds like it has something to do with a Colonoscopy.

On a serious note, It sounds like it might be expensive to fix. Possibly find a specialized Italian car shop?

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > jkm7680 04/07/2014 at 16:12

2

Not at all, anamnesis is just a fancy name for a basic medical consult. Symptoms, onset, evolution, worsening/relieving methods if any, pharmacological measures in use, systematic revision, physical examination, medical history, family history, lifestyle, diagnostic hipothesis, therapeutic plan. :p

I don't think relying on shops is an option here, regular, run of the mill shops are already bad enough, and I'm not even sure there is one specialized in Italian cars in my area... Most I'd get from a shop would be an injector cleanup, which I already tried. :/

jkm7680 > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/07/2014 at 16:17

1

Hmmm, Fiat dealer? Or too expensive...

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/07/2014 at 16:18

1

Neat :) must remember to use that word in future.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/07/2014 at 16:25

1

I do worry about the increasing difficulty of finding parts for some cars. Slightly unpopular ones like the Biturbo I can see getting to a point where no-one stocks even basic things like head gaskets any more.

Injection system-wise, does your car have a factory diagnostic system? It's too early to have anything OBD-related, but Alfas of that age certainly have a rudimentary fault-finding system. You can buy a program called Alfa-diag and a lead to connect the car to the computer. I'd check to see if there's an equivalent for Fiats.

Also, I wouldn't be too concerned about parts for the twincam. It's a phenomenally popular engine, so there will be parts availability for it for a long time yet, even if you have to order them from abroad.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > jkm7680 04/07/2014 at 16:26

0

Tried... Their uniform reaction after seeing a Sedicivalvole for the first time:

Not that the Sedicivalvole is an exotic car or anything, I'm sure their older employees could probably do a half decent job fixing up most problems like bodywork and... well, bodywork, but the engine, injection and transmission, which came from Lancia, are very different from the ones found in regular Tipos.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/07/2014 at 16:27

1

You're welcome :D

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/07/2014 at 16:30

1

Yeah, that's what I'm counting on, basically, though I'd rather exhaust every possibility available in Brazil before ordering abroad, as it can get pretty expensive. If I remember correctly, the Tipo actually is compatible to OBD systems, or at least to the scanner we have back in my dad's garage, dunno if that is OBD or not. A friend just brought to my attention the possibility that the system is accusing flaws where there are none because its memory hasn't been flashed in a while. I'll try resetting it tonight, maybe that'll eliminate the warning lights coming up.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/07/2014 at 16:40

1

That's happened before on my mate's 106 GTi. It was storing an old fault code from something that was fixed a while ago, and kept flashing it up again until he wiped it. Now, it's perfectly fine :)

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/07/2014 at 16:48

1

There you go, might be the same issue! Maybe the ECU is storing up fault codes from the bad lead and bogging everything down. I think I'll try wiping it tomorrow, see if it works, then fabricate new leads and wipe the ECU again.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/07/2014 at 17:02

1

Not a bad plan of action :) it's always best to do the free bits first.