Rusty Moskvitch
Junior Member
- Messages
- 46
Hi again. I wonder if anyone had this problem and found the cure? It all began early last year when suddenly the engine went very rough. The problem turned out to be no ignition on number 8 cylinder (I think its #8 - the front one on the drivers side). Both the spark plug and the coil pack were duff. These were replaced and all seemed well except since then there has been a frequent occurrence of the engine warning light coming on even though the engine seemed to run well. My local mechanic has the test equipment to check it and the result has always been non-specific. I half suspected the cause might be a loose or dodgy connection somewhere because the light seemed to come on randomly and I once saw it come on as I hit a pot hole. Whether the light was on or off, the engine seemed to perform OK.
Late last year the car went in to the Swindon main dealer for some electrical maladies to be sorted (the engine light was off at the time) and no sooner had left there and got onto the M4 than blow me down, the engine warning light came on again. I returned to the dealer and the technician plugged in his box of tricks but could not find a reason. He cleared the light. I asked him what might be causing it? He didn't really know but did ask if the carbon filter had been changed - I said I didn't know but assumed it had been at the service before I bought it (from an independent dealer). The light came back on a while later and was cleared again by my local man.
More recently the light came on again and the engine began feeling lumpy at lower revs and was unpleasant to drive below 2500 rpm, particularly in the higher gears. OK, its a sporty car and loves to rev but if I am in one of those damned 50 mph motorway sections I feel it should smoothly cruise along at 2000-2500 rpm in 6th gear on a flat road - not going up a hill, (it always used to and obviously for acceleration or hill climbing I would use a lower gear). Now, even changing to a lower gear and accelerating the lumpy feeling will persist above 3000 rpm but once cleared the engine is smooth until the next low speed section is reached. I was wondering if the spark plugs had not been changed at the previous service so I booked it in to be done. Until then the engine had switched itself back to 'sweet' mode and was behaving as well as expected. Driving home from the plug change I sensed immediately the engine was not as smooth as previously but the warning light was off. I did about 60 miles and put the car away in the garage. The next time I fired the engine up, few days later, the engine warning light came on again, which was annoying as I was about to start a 400 mile around trip, during which I suffered several 50mph motorway stretches with the same unpleasant response from the engine.
I was interested to read the article on the Gran Sport in the June Auto Italia but was a bit puzzled by some of the servicing requirements - honestly, surely you really do not need to change coolant and brake fluids every year! and ditto transmission oil and PAS fluid every second year, unless you are doing megga mileages of course (which I most certainly am not - I manage about 3k - 4k miles per year, all long or medium distance journeys. At the 4th year service the recommendation is the carbon filter should be changed. My mechanic (who deals with all types of cars including Ferraris, Maseratis and Porches, Mercs etc.) says he has never known of a genuine need to replace a carbon filter - no matter what the car. So I am now wondering - is there something different about Maserati carbon filters that does not apply to other, more ordinary cars or is the recommended change more a matter of selling new parts than a real necessity? And, would replacing the filter be a cure to my problem? I did ask for a new air filter at the same time as the spark plugs were changed but apparently they are currently out of stock.
Current mileage is 50k and this problem first started at about 45k miles. I really cannot afford to throw money at it in the hope of finding a cure by replacing parts willy-nilly. So please, do any well informed forum contributors know the likely causes of my problem?
Late last year the car went in to the Swindon main dealer for some electrical maladies to be sorted (the engine light was off at the time) and no sooner had left there and got onto the M4 than blow me down, the engine warning light came on again. I returned to the dealer and the technician plugged in his box of tricks but could not find a reason. He cleared the light. I asked him what might be causing it? He didn't really know but did ask if the carbon filter had been changed - I said I didn't know but assumed it had been at the service before I bought it (from an independent dealer). The light came back on a while later and was cleared again by my local man.
More recently the light came on again and the engine began feeling lumpy at lower revs and was unpleasant to drive below 2500 rpm, particularly in the higher gears. OK, its a sporty car and loves to rev but if I am in one of those damned 50 mph motorway sections I feel it should smoothly cruise along at 2000-2500 rpm in 6th gear on a flat road - not going up a hill, (it always used to and obviously for acceleration or hill climbing I would use a lower gear). Now, even changing to a lower gear and accelerating the lumpy feeling will persist above 3000 rpm but once cleared the engine is smooth until the next low speed section is reached. I was wondering if the spark plugs had not been changed at the previous service so I booked it in to be done. Until then the engine had switched itself back to 'sweet' mode and was behaving as well as expected. Driving home from the plug change I sensed immediately the engine was not as smooth as previously but the warning light was off. I did about 60 miles and put the car away in the garage. The next time I fired the engine up, few days later, the engine warning light came on again, which was annoying as I was about to start a 400 mile around trip, during which I suffered several 50mph motorway stretches with the same unpleasant response from the engine.
I was interested to read the article on the Gran Sport in the June Auto Italia but was a bit puzzled by some of the servicing requirements - honestly, surely you really do not need to change coolant and brake fluids every year! and ditto transmission oil and PAS fluid every second year, unless you are doing megga mileages of course (which I most certainly am not - I manage about 3k - 4k miles per year, all long or medium distance journeys. At the 4th year service the recommendation is the carbon filter should be changed. My mechanic (who deals with all types of cars including Ferraris, Maseratis and Porches, Mercs etc.) says he has never known of a genuine need to replace a carbon filter - no matter what the car. So I am now wondering - is there something different about Maserati carbon filters that does not apply to other, more ordinary cars or is the recommended change more a matter of selling new parts than a real necessity? And, would replacing the filter be a cure to my problem? I did ask for a new air filter at the same time as the spark plugs were changed but apparently they are currently out of stock.
Current mileage is 50k and this problem first started at about 45k miles. I really cannot afford to throw money at it in the hope of finding a cure by replacing parts willy-nilly. So please, do any well informed forum contributors know the likely causes of my problem?
