minor issue

[grpa9x]

hi all,
I was driving the gtv6 today and everything was going great until it started missing. The problem felt similiar to a blocked filter, it was breaking down during acceleration, although it would also clear and rev cleanly, it was extremely bad on roads that were a bit rough, where the car would stutter than clear.I am going to start with the filter and see what happens,  could this also be an electrical issue,
thanks in advance.
michael

[shane wescott]

Hi MAte

Cleaning the sparkies is a good start as well. As much as I have tried to rationalise my missing issues as bad fuel/fuel pump/filter/injectors, everytime I clean the sparkies the problem is solved :-)

catch ya

Shane

[Al Campbell]

Hmmm. I get the same thing when I've been working on the beast for a bit. Starting it up a few times in the drive, without driving it to warming it up properly. It can them take a long, hard drive to clean the pugs - if that's what it is. Same symptoms though. Accelerate and it misses most embarrassingly. Eventually clears up. Problem that comes and goes.

Interesting that you mention it happens on rough roads. Could be an intermittent electrical problem.

- but I occasionally, like last night. My car will not start, crank as much as you like, nothing. Then this morning, fires up first go. Fault that comes and goes? could very well be electrical.

I've noticed that quite a few people report problems with the wire that plugs into the side of the distributor from the ignition module. Green I think, goes to the "ignition control unit" next to the coil. It has a braided shield that breaks. Provides the low voltage signal to create the spark. Mine has been repaired with araldite!

I'm going to try getting a replacement control unit. I also haven't cleaned the connector and ground on the ECU.

I've been chasing this down for months, with no luck yet.

Let us know if you find out.

AL.

[grpa9x]

Thanks for the replies, i phoned the mechanic this morning and he to thinks it is electrical, especially when i told him i noticed the tacho gets very erratic when the engine starts to miss. So as soon as i get a chance he told me to look around the coil for something which may be loose, i did notice yesterday a fairly dodgy looking coil lead .
cheers michael 

[alfagtv152]

Hi there,
This one is for AL.I had a 75 that would always start brilliant cold but after that it took a special technique which meant if you kept cranking it would not start but if you turned it off then over with a short quick spin and let the key go it would fire up every time.It went like a bute and had no electrical issues it just had to be started the right way!,quirkey! but Alfa Romeo is never boring.
Cheers
Andrew

[Al Campbell]

Michael,

I had a loose low voltage contact on the coil once. The stud that the connector tabs is bolted to on the coil was stripped.

Check (clean) the connectors on the ingnition module and maybe the ballast resistors as they all seem to get pretty greasy down there.

Andrew,

Think I found my problem this morning. Classic case. Stall it while cold (trying to back out quitely in the early morning), won't start, cranks but won't fire. Checked Fuel pump was working, but then noticed fuel on the middle spark-plug boot under the air intake tube. Flooded? Tried a good long crank with the peddle hard on the floor. Started beautifully after a few seconds! I also think it's running a little rich, as if I floor it under medium revs, it splutters. My AFM has been opened (sealed with white silicon) and may have had Greg Gordon's "make it richer for more power adjustment" . Sorry for the hi-jack Michael.

AL.

[Sheldon McIntosh]

Tried a good long crank with the peddle hard on the floor.

Wooah, never do that on the V6, the plenum's can pop off, leaving a lovely dent in your bonnet.

[Al Campbell]

Didn't say I wasn't nervous. Very nervous. Didn't remember until I'd been cranking for a second. And my plastic bonnet panel is loose already!

Standard method for flooded motor, hold the pedal to the floor and crank. GTV6 lore: Don't touch the pedal while starting. I know the Plenum Pop occurs, but how common is it? I had enough fuel in the intake that it had leaked out of the corrugated tube. But then the plenum is always full of rich fuel/air mixture at cold start as that's the cold start injector's function. Thinking back now, I've often pressed the accelerator when having starting problems. I wonder what the special conditions are to cause the pop?

Maybe I should start a discussion on alfabb or other transaxle site.

Life with an ALFA is always exciting.

AL

[grpa9x]

I think my problem was the dodgy looking coil lead, i replaced it and the car ran perfectly, either that or its one of those intermittant gremlins, but at this stage all seems good.
cheers michael

[Gods Tempting Vice]

check your earthing, SMALL amount of wd40 at point of contact with body, helps analyse