3200 GT Temperature Gauge Issues

[sdlangford]

Just had the 4th year cam belt service on my 3200GT.

Had the car 5 years and apart from last year it had regular runs (covid stopped that last year).

But i have noticed that the temperature gauge in the car keeps dropping down to nil (engine been running for 45 mins) and then i lose power, car sounds like its running rich and has no power at all, like its firing on less cylinders than it should.

Did a search on forums not found any other posts on similar issues.

Oh and the EML is on, has been on in the past and cleared after a good run(s) so maybe after long hibernation this may clear. But the temperature and power issue are new.

Anybody able to help ?

Simon

 

[davy83]

I would try to read the error code as this will remove any guesswork from this. However the engine temperature sensor is a well know problem and there are many threads on here about it. Its a very cheap and nasty piece of kit and fails regularly. There is a rubbish mechanical contact inside it and this goes giving sudden open circuit conditions as far as i know There is a thread with photos of the insides of it on here somewhere. I also seem to remember you cant buy the new ones any more. They are also a pest to get at and remove. So perhaps a little more vigorous searching might result in more info, but its a common problem and there are one or two alternative sensor options around, as well as second hand options so you should be able to get it fixed.
I think the ECU uses this sensor output to decide if the engine is cold or not and alter the fuel and ignition map to suit, so its not surprising that the engine is unhappy when this fails. Might be worth working out where it is so you can give it a gentle tap see if this brings is back to life? Might confirm the nature of the problem if nothing else.

 

[allandwf]

I would agree, if the gauge drops to zero, and back, and the engine ecu is unhappy at the same time it certainly points to the sensor. What year car? Post 2001 are a lot easier to read the codes on.

 

[Chris Eggleton]

Just had the 4th year cam belt service on my 3200GT.

Had the car 5 years and apart from last year it had regular runs (covid stopped that last year).

But i have noticed that the temperature gauge in the car keeps dropping down to nil (engine been running for 45 mins) and then i lose power, car sounds like its running rich and has no power at all, like its firing on less cylinders than it should.

Did a search on forums not found any other posts on similar issues.

Oh and the EML is on, has been on in the past and cleared after a good run(s) so maybe after long hibernation this may clear. But the temperature and power issue are new.

Anybody able to help ?

Simon

Good morning Simon,
Have had exactly the same symptoms on a long drive from Canberra to Newcastle. They went away during shorter drives but it is as you have diagnosed: the temperature sensor being faulty sends spurious information to the ECU which thinks the engine is cold and adds more fuel/less air, completely ruining the cars performance.
Solution replace temperature sensor, which sounds easy if you say it quickly. I am about to give it a go but Liz Bradley on the Maserati 3200 Facebook site has done it and provides a method of fixing the sensor, which of course is very hard to find. There may be Fiat parts which are similar and can be substituted.
Regards Chris.