Hi everyone! I joined this site in Dec 2004, but have been too busy to write. I have owned Ferraris since 1971 and put many miles on the old ones. I know a lot about them and did several mechanical rebuilds on them. My current car is a 1987 TR and had it since 1990. It has been pretty good- just too many darn electrics. Every time I take it to a dealer they fix one problem and two other things don't work. So I am ready to start doing everything myself again. The car runs great. Here are my questions. The heater/ac blower runs for a while and then shuts off. When it is running, sometimes I can control the speed with the rheostat, and other times it only runs at full speed. Is it the rheostat or is it the relay. Where is the relay and how do I get to it? I did check the fuse in the rheostat itself an it's OK. A few years ago it was blown and I replaced it. How do I replace the gas struts that hold up the front hood? When I drive the car for a while and shut it off and then go to restart it shortly thereafter, I get nothing. After multiple tries at turning the key, it will catch. If the car sits a while, no problem. At one time I replaced the battery and that seemed to have cured the problem. Has anyone else had similar problems? I just had the alternator (GM type) rebuilt for the third time. Could it be the ignition switch or starter motor getting too hot or a relay acting up? When I rev the engine and let off the gas, the engine revs will drop to the point of stalling the engine, where do I check first? This is the final question- has anyone played around with the fuel injection system to get a little more performance out of it? Has anyone heard or had any experience with using the Holley adjustable fuel pressure regulators?
the cheapest place to get a gas strut is just take it down to a NAPA or some other parts store & match it up w 1 of their struts. I had similair starting problems, turns out on my 93 there is a switch behind where you put the key in that was always on, eventually draining the battery
I have the struts. How hard is it to replace them? They look tough to get to. Do the headlights have to be popped up? I am thinking the same thing about the switch. Did you get it from the Ferrari dealer (around $1K) or did you find a Bosch replacement part? Tony
The stalling problem is a classic case of an improper set up of the idle stops/air bleeds as well as the balance and mixtures. Get all that done proper and it will drop to a solid idle. I raise the headlights and turn off the batt while doing hood struts. The starting problem is a common one especially with the cars getting older. It is usually a combination of things. The quick disconnect for the ground cable down near the air injection pump is a common cause of low power getting to the starter. Also you should start at the starter and work back to the ignition switch checking every connector in line on that large white wire. The one under the coolant tank is a problem spot.
The relay controls the full-speed blower operation. The variable speed ECU and the power transistor (mounted in the main air outlet of the AC unit) controls the variable speed blower operation. If full speed is always OK, and only the variable speed flaky, I'd suspect the power transistor. If neither full speed nor variable speed sometimes don't work, check the main AC power connection (brown wires in the "k" white connector) for damage as shown in the attached jpeg. I go in thru the Battery access cover for the RH side gas spring and remove the LH side front turn signal lamp housing to do the LH side gas spring. Do a search on "TR starter solenoid" here and at the old site -- much past discussion/information available. What version TR? If you have a US version TR (i.e. KE-Jetronic with Lambda) make sure that the throttle microswitch is closing properly at idle. For the quickie test, just loosen the two small bolts holding the throttle microswitch housing and rotate the microswitch housing fully CCW at idle (as viewed when you are standing by the RH rear fender facing the throttle microswitch) to a firm stop (but don't twist so hard that you start to move the throttle plates) and retighten. You can also make a resistance measurement at the (unplugged) injection ECU connectors to check the microswitch function -- but please confirm your version. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thank you for your input! It seems like I have a lot of things to check. Ot a very big fan of Bosch. I love the old Marelli stuff. Hardly ever failed on me or it was easy to fix. The car is a US version TR #68575. I have a Borla exhaust system from the headers back. (I hate quiet Ferraris.) The red connector box I replaced 3 years ago. But it could be bad again. I will check all of this out. The blower motor works 85% of the time. With 2/3s of that time at the high speed only. The remaining 1/3 of the time it works, it behaves like it's suppose to. I had the system converted to 134a 5 years ago.
How do I get to the power transistor for the heater blower motor? If it is bad, is it easy to purchase a replacement? Thanks in advance- Tony
Tony, It seems that that particular power transistor fails so often that the usual F parts suppliers know and stock it as a common replacement item so "easy to buy" IME (ignoring the $ ). However, I think the probabilty that your problem lies there is less than 5%. The usual failure mode for the power transistor is that it permanently cooks itself to death so your report of intermittent OK/not OK operation would be a more subtle (and unlikely) gremlin IMO (if the problem lies in the PT or its wiring). If your interior is unmolested (my wasn't), opening the hinged panel shown on the jpeg should give you access to the spring clips that hold the main air vent grill in place. Remove the air vent grill, and you'll see the PT assembly riveted to the inside surface of the main air ducting. The wiring for the PT runs down to the LH side of the center console so the various center console panels by the acc. pedal would be removed for access. Does this mean that you already checked the 2nd from right position in the "k" connector (two brown wires) and all is fine? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yes- the wires at the connector seem fine. I have a tendency to agree with you (i.e., the intermittent operation does not mean a fried pw). Thanks for the jpeg. I will continue to investigate. Stay tuned and have a great weekend. Tony
Steve is correct, I have never seen an intermittant transistor. I would look to all the other connections in the system. In general the components either work or they don't. If you have a situation like yours I look for board or connectivity problems. FWIW the Mond and 328 use the same transistor on a different mounting bracket. It is a Motorola part so it could probably be had at a good electronic store. I had a TR just yesterday with running symptoms just like yours. The balance was off, the ratio of intake air between the throttles and air bleeds was off, the mixtures were helter skelter. I set all that up and now it's a great runner. The owner is gonna love it. The FI IMO is pointless to try to work with without a 4 gas exhaust analyzer. Best piece of tuning equipment ever devised.
Tony -- You said the "wires" are OK, but do you mean that the business end of the metal terminals inside the connector are perfect (and there's no discoloration to the surrounding white plastic material)? You have to unplug the connector to inspect the critical areas. If you did just misspeak in your message, at least you've ruled out that troublesome "k" connection -- let us know how it turns out.
