My 166 was built by the devil...

[liverpool_babe]

Hello All...

Thank you for this forum, it may help!!!

I have a 1999 - 166, its currently got 166k on the clock... I bought it 3 years ago, and have had nothing but issues.

It initially kept going into limp mode, and after starting the car a few times would reset itself. This issue has never gone away, it got to the point where it would just stay in limp mode, and Then someone recommended getting the transmission rebuilt which I did, a few pretty pennies later, my car now starts and changes gears according to the dash however doesn't actually go, so you press the accelerator and it revs but doesn't go into gear..

and it's still in limp mode.

I've been told it could be my shift solenoid, but I can't find one??

Any suggestions about what it could be, or what to try? The man who built my transmission refuses to look at it again, and I may just shoot myself...

I'm having issues finding mechanics who can help, Alfa Romeo in Doncaster said they'd try to fix it , but it would be about 5-6 hours of just investigative work @ $125 per hour, to which I was flabbergasted! And then whatever the repairs on top of that!!!

Other mechanics either find this car too hard, or know nothing about it...

Please help

xo Alisa xo

[AGM155]

Take off the leather/fake leather trim panel that runs along the centre console below the gear lever, on the passenger side. See if there is any moisture around there because this is where the gearbox ECU is located.

If there is moisure there, its likely that it has dripped from the heater matrix and fried your gearbox ECU, which is why it is behaving erratically.

Its a common problem with 166s and kills a lot of them.

[liverpool_babe]

Thanks for replying so quick... so what would be next step of attack, apparently there had been a leak, which Alfa Romeo stated they'd repaired but I assume this could have changed, do I change the heater core or get a new ECU?

[AGM155]

If the gearbox ECU has been fried by the leak, it will probably be time for a new ECU.

Its can be a wise precaution with a 166 to cover the ECU to prevent it getting soaked because it is very common for the leaky heaters.

It might be worth finding an ECU that is known to be good and swapping it over to confirm that it is the culprit...just to make sure as they can be quite expensive.

[John Hanslow]

Hi there Liverpool_babe.  The 166 are great cars but there are a few well documented problems.  Leaking heater core on the CPU and something to do with the remote/door locks malfunctioning.  A few of the Alfa Specialists are very well versed in these cars and can assist in advising what is the correct action to take and cost to rectify.

The the Italian Job (Clayton), Monza Motors (Bayswater)or Maranello Pur-Sang (Brunswick) to name a few are the essentail ones to chose from.  While they are not dealers, they are specialists in the marque and are most approachable.   Refer home page, sponsor list on top right hand side for more info.   Most have the diagnostic programmes like the dealer network which are what the cars need for diagnosing of faults and the odd factory upgrade.

At Maranello's, they have produced a cover for the 166 ECU to prevent future leaks damaging it, post replacement of course as it has to be replaced cause its had radiator coolant leaking on it.   Let us know how you go.  

Hope it is all solved quickly and you join up in the club and you can get out and enjoy your car on a run or just turn up to a Club Night and get some info.

Cheers.

[jayarr]

Hi,

+1 to what JH said, particularly on finding garages with diagnostic tools which can be used to access the error codes triggering limp mode. I'm a bit suspect of just swapping out parts and hoping for the best, it smacks of not really doing proper root cause analysis.

Have heard a couple of horror stories where non Alfa garages have worked on cars, screwed them up, then have to go to garages who know Alfa's to get things fixed up.

Best of luck.