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360 Starting problem.

Doktor Evil

Doktor Evil

New member
Hi Guys,

Looking for ideas about a fault I have....

I have a 1999 360 Modena. When i start it from cold i have a problem.... When i turn the key for the first time the engine fires very briefly then gurgles, coughs and dies like it's starved of fuel.
When i turn the key the key again it starts perfectly and runs like a dream. This only happens when I start from cold, if it's warm it starts fine.

incidentally if i go on a really long motorway run - 200-300 miles the car starts first time for about a month then goes back to the above. (I normally drive it 10-20 miles at a time on average)

Any Ideas?

Cheers!
 
....I should also add, if it does happen to gurgle into life on the first attempt it runs rough... no power, noisy. The only thing to do is turn the engine off and restart it, then it's perfectly fine again.
 
You are waiting long enough between turning the key to ON and starting the engine to let the electronics complete their self check, aren't you? When I first got my 360 I started the car too quickly a few times and it ran, but very poorly.
 
A few possible causes:

1. Low battery voltage. Just because the engine still starts it doesn't mean there is sufficient voltage for all the electronics, they are very voltage sensitive. Most common cause of this complaint.

2. There are two brown micro-relays that power the engine control units. Sometimes they can become lazy and if one engages before the other it causes the communication line between the two units to become scrambled. One side of the engine effectively fires before the other and it will run like crap. Once the relays have operated once they are normally o.k, which is why it always runs fine on restart.

3. Air leak on the Vacuum accumulator mounted on the nearside inner wing.
 
When not in use, do you have attached to a battery conditioner? From my experience £25 spent at Halfords for something that can be connected easily after each ride, seems to have done the trick. I didn't have the gurgling noises just a flat battery after a few weeks.
 
Hi, Yes, it's always had a battery conditioner (at least since i've had it)... but the battery is 14 years old... it's never had a replacement according to the history file so it's one thing i'll be checking out.
 
Doktor Evil said:
Hi, Yes, it's always had a battery conditioner (at least since i've had it)... but the battery is 14 years old... it's never had a replacement according to the history file so it's one thing i'll be checking out.
Click to expand...

That's it then. The battery is knackered. It can give you volts put has no amps. If you want proof, take it off the conditioner. A couple of days later I bet that the battery will be unable to turn the engine over!
 
Thanks!

Definitely no record in the history of it ever being changed.... Should I go for the Eurospares £200+ "Ferrari" battery or is a halfords battery a viable option? ... and is it a DIY job to change it over or do I need a computer reset afterwards?
 
Battery

I just went for a Halfords one - I think it was well less than £100. Easy to change just be careful not to touch the contacts against the metal in the area around the battery as it is quite a snug fit.

Take the old one out and measure it then down to Halfords - from memory they had a bewildering range with different guarantees and ampages but you'll defo get one to fit.

I just put it on (switch off the cut out first) and then did a reset.
 
I bought a new battery for my 360 last week from my local auto spares shop.

Made by Exide. The Ferrari branded battery I removed was only 3 years old:thumbsdow

I noticed the battery conditioner never glowed green saying the battery was tip top and when I came back off 2 week holiday the battery was flat as I had forgotten to connect the conditioner before going away. 2 days later the battery was still taking a full charge. So decided to replace it.

Accumate is always showing green now with new battery:thumbsup:
 
So, A New Bosch S5 battery didn't solve the problem. I thought it had...It was perfect for two weeks! ...came to start the car this morning and same thing all over again.
…back to the drawing board.
 
Was the car left on the battery charger over the last two weeks?

If yes, then it is likely to not be a battery/power issue.

If no, then it could be the alternator is not putting out enough juice to charge the battery.

Neil
 
You should check to see if the car ever had a tracker fitted. If it did even though not being used it might still be drawing from the battery.
 
A couple of points spring to mind.

My 360 had a old Motorola tracker fitted in the area behind the passenger seat. This included a small lead acid battery. Once I removed this my battery life went from two days to two weeks...

As for the rough start, I also experienced this and solved it by changing a couple of coil packs. I saw the rough idle as a miss fire on a couple of cylinders.

Hope this helps

S
 
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