Revving issues, knock sensor errors and ignition coil errors

McAnix

New Member
Messages
14
Hi all!

My 3200GT is acting up a bit so I'm trying to work out what is wrong, and hope you guys are willing to have a quick look at my errors =)

My woes started with intermittently going into Limp Mode; I wouldn't be able to get it over 120kph even if the wind were right. This problem went away for a while after I had flushed the oil (it was a few months after I had bought it, and figured that even though the previous owner was knowledgeable, I figured it couldn't hurt.)

Now however it's back with a vengeance, and it comes combined with rev issues. I had that before once, but was able to fix that with the throttle reset trick. Now, I've tried that several times but no cigar. The car sometimes goes into limp mode, but on the other hand sometimes it keeps trying to rev up to 3-4k (it varies, sometimes it wants to rev far higher than other times, which lead me to suspect electronics.)

I have bought and hooked up an ODB reader and read out the error codes. Here's what showed up:

P0150, 02 Sensor Circuit Malfunction (Bank 2 sensor 1)
P0110, Intake air temperature circuit malfunction
P0325, Knock Sensor 1 Circuit Malfunction (Bank 1 or single sensor)
P0330, Knock Sensor 2 Circuit Malfunction (Bank 2)
P0352, Ignition Coil B Primary/Secondary Circuit Malfunction
P0354, Ignition Coil D Primary/Secondary Circuit Malfunction
P0355, Ignition Coil E Primary/Secondary Circuit Malfunction
P0356, Ignition Coil F Primary/Secondary Circuit Malfunction
0x1172 Unknown code (googled it and found it is related to the Lambda Sensor?)
P0225, Throttle/Petal Position Sensor/Switch C Circuit Malfunction

Note that the engine idles and runs fine when it's not in limp mode or in one of its "bad rev" phases - no misfires, fine idling (though it does seem to "breathe", i.e. slight ups/downs idling, but as I understand it that's normal).
Also, the previous owner replaced the throttle with a wireless version so that "shouldn't" (famous last words, but I have the invoice :p) be the issue.

Finally, I must shamefully admit to having hitherto used standard supermarket fuel. I thought I had read up sufficiently, but apparently not. After leafing through the forums I'm already convinced. I'll swap to V-Power or similar.

Now my amateur sleuthing skills have me seeing primarily electrical problems here. Am I guessing correctly that the primary suspects are the lambda sensors, and secondary are wiring or something? Or should I look at the sparkies / coils first?

Thank you for your time =)

regards, McAnix
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,547
Looks pretty straightforward. Although that's quite a list they are all things that are likely to be failing on an aging car, but I'm slightly surprised that they've all failed at once.

Unless one of the 3200 experts suggests otherwise, crack on and change the coil packs, lambdas and anit-knock

I seem to recall that some of them might be caused by coolant in the v?

C
 

Lozzer

Member
Messages
2,280
I would bet on the last error code, the pedal sensor one, get a new one one off Davey, if you haven't had the car long , is this the first time you've had cause to connect an obd reader? If so the rest are probably historic codes, I had the same , a whole host of errors, coil pack etc when the battery was fubar.
 

RSM Masser

Member
Messages
2,437
Contactless pedal pot and throttle body , not cheap but easy fixes. Part available on this forum
We all swear by them.
Also knock sensors - change the starter motor and the 4 short hoses on the water manifold under the air intake plenum at the same time - both of these are cheap at the time, only exasperated by labour charges if left.
 

Lozzer

Member
Messages
2,280
Contactless pedal pot and throttle body , not cheap but easy fixes. Part available on this forum
We all swear by them.
Also knock sensors - change the starter motor and the 4 short hoses on the water manifold under the air intake plenum at the same time - both of these are cheap at the time, only exasperated by labour charges if left.

Have to agree, pedal pot and tb, along with roose hoses has seen me 100% reliable.
 

McAnix

New Member
Messages
14
Heya, thank you all for the replies =)
Sorry, I probably didn't say it clearly, the pedal is already contactless. So unless I was explicitly lied to (including invoice) that shouldn't be the issue, especially since it's less than three years old. Knock sensors are another matter entirely, I'll look in to that. Any other likely culprits?
 

McAnix

New Member
Messages
14
PS would the temperature sensor issues be a possible cause for the revving issues?
 

Oneball

Member
Messages
11,075
First thing I’d do is reset the error codes and see which come back. Most of those could be issues that are no longer present.

As others have said your symptoms seem throttle related. If you think the pot is good check the wiring. The original routing had an extra long piece in it with a joint. There was a service bulletin to bypass this as it was found the joint was failing.

Dount the temp sensor could cause reving but could cause other issues.
 

Oneball

Member
Messages
11,075
Also check the throttle pot is set up correctly. If it’s one of Davy’s he’ll be able to help you with instructions.
 

SteveM

Member
Messages
540
My failing temp sensor resulted in poor start and flooding issue which I don’t think is the issue here.
 

McAnix

New Member
Messages
14
Allright all, thank you for the tips thus far. I'll give the following a try:
  • reset errors
  • check the throttle / wiring
  • switch to other fuel
  • check the condition of the coils

Once I've done all that I'll report my findings.
 

MRichards

Member
Messages
278
My 3200GT has the intermittent limp home problem. If I restart the car it doesn't go into limp mode. So if you find the reason for this,please share.
The lambda sensors are a problem. I currently have a CEL which indicates that the preheaters in the lambda sensors are faulty.
Fuel is never a problem. The ancient lump is not sensitive to fuel quality.
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,547
Seconded, it won't be the fuel. Resetting and seeing if the errors return us definitely a plan.

C
 

Mike Maz

Junior Member
Messages
32
Hi all!

My 3200GT is acting up a bit so I'm trying to work out what is wrong, and hope you guys are willing to have a quick look at my errors =)

My woes started with intermittently going into Limp Mode; I wouldn't be able to get it over 120kph even if the wind were right. This problem went away for a while after I had flushed the oil (it was a few months after I had bought it, and figured that even though the previous owner was knowledgeable, I figured it couldn't hurt.)

Now however it's back with a vengeance, and it comes combined with rev issues. I had that before once, but was able to fix that with the throttle reset trick. Now, I've tried that several times but no cigar. The car sometimes goes into limp mode, but on the other hand sometimes it keeps trying to rev up to 3-4k (it varies, sometimes it wants to rev far higher than other times, which lead me to suspect electronics.)

I have bought and hooked up an ODB reader and read out the error codes. Here's what showed up:

P0150, 02 Sensor Circuit Malfunction (Bank 2 sensor 1)
P0110, Intake air temperature circuit malfunction
P0325, Knock Sensor 1 Circuit Malfunction (Bank 1 or single sensor)
P0330, Knock Sensor 2 Circuit Malfunction (Bank 2)
P0352, Ignition Coil B Primary/Secondary Circuit Malfunction
P0354, Ignition Coil D Primary/Secondary Circuit Malfunction
P0355, Ignition Coil E Primary/Secondary Circuit Malfunction
P0356, Ignition Coil F Primary/Secondary Circuit Malfunction
0x1172 Unknown code (googled it and found it is related to the Lambda Sensor?)
P0225, Throttle/Petal Position Sensor/Switch C Circuit Malfunction

Note that the engine idles and runs fine when it's not in limp mode or in one of its "bad rev" phases - no misfires, fine idling (though it does seem to "breathe", i.e. slight ups/downs idling, but as I understand it that's normal).
Also, the previous owner replaced the throttle with a wireless version so that "shouldn't" (famous last words, but I have the invoice :p) be the issue.

Finally, I must shamefully admit to having hitherto used standard supermarket fuel. I thought I had read up sufficiently, but apparently not. After leafing through the forums I'm already convinced. I'll swap to V-Power or similar.

Now my amateur sleuthing skills have me seeing primarily electrical problems here. Am I guessing correctly that the primary suspects are the lambda sensors, and secondary are wiring or something? Or should I look at the sparkies / coils first?

Thank you for your time =)

regards, McAnix
Hi McAnix
Out of interest what obd reader are you using? I've tried a few but haven't found one that actually works!
Cheers Mike maz
 

gemini

Member
Messages
143
I had intermittent climbing of the idle up to 3000-4000rpm caused by air leak under the plenum. About most of your error codes, they are probably old errors stored in the memory. Delete everythng, check for leak, and see what happens.
 

McAnix

New Member
Messages
14
Hi McAnix
Out of interest what obd reader are you using? I've tried a few but haven't found one that actually works!
Cheers Mike maz
Hey Mike,

I picked up the standard see-through blue one advertised here through eBay - worked perfectly out of the box. Windows 10 didn't initially recognize the hardware but it did after searching online for updated drivers. After that, it was simple as setting the COM port, slowing connection speed to 5 baud and hitting Connect.
 

davy83

Member
Messages
2,809
Hi Mike
Quite a list there, and all the usual culprits! I would also be surprised if all of this had failed at the same time. I would be more inclined to think this lot popped up when the battery was not in good condition if its been sitting. I would tend to agree with resetting the errors and then see what come back on a regular basis. Make sure the battery is spot on however as this will cause problems. has it got damp at all? Some of these errors will happen its damp and been sitting in a damp environment for a long time? Certainly the knock sensors don't appear to really be water tight and usually fail when there is a water leak under the plenum, and they get wet. The ignition modules being high voltage also are quite sensitive to moisture and dont like being left for long periods in the damp. Try sticking the ignition modules in a warm oven for a while and see if they improve?
If you need any help checking out the pedal sensor just mail me, happy to help out. If it's one of mine then there should not be any problems with it but best to check it out anyway. The pedal sensor error P0225 i think is the only one that will drop you into limp mode although i am not sure, the knock sensors might do that too.
The engine revving up is more often caused by dirt and/or corrosion in the throttle body making the butterfly stick. The motors only open the butterfly and rely on the springs to close it, and if it gets stuck it tends to be after its gone up to high revs and then wont come down again. This usually after a few occasions will result in an error code. The throttle control is however generally a bit loony and between the pedal sensor, which despite my efforts is still overall as a system a dreadful design, and the super touchy throttle body is about the worst thing on this car. If its been sitting a while it may just need driven, which I find always makes a 3200 run better :) to my mind anyway. Running it also makes the engine really hot and dries out anything that got damp.
 

alfatwo

Member
Messages
5,517
Sounds to me it could be the throttle body motor magnets disintegrating causing the throttle butterfly itself to stick open
You have to remember the system is now over 20 years old so you can expect a few problems, but to be honest when its working, it works well!

Dave
 

davy83

Member
Messages
2,809
For the avoidance of doubt on your pedal sensor have a look under the dash and if it looks like this, then its one of mine, and its contactless.

62999
 

McAnix

New Member
Messages
14
Hey guys,

I dug up the car's admin (thankfully the previous owner was careful) and had a look at the service history. Beyond standard items like oil etc a few things stood out:
  • all 8 spark plugs and the cambelt have been replaced less than 2 years ago
  • the pedal is indeed your contactless version (David Shanks, I presume? =) pleasure to meet you!), also less than two years old. The previous owner was called Robbe if it helps, he would have definitely hooked it up himself so double-checking the install is probably not a bad idea just in case.
  • I suppose it could be battery and damp related. She's parked in a garage and avoids direct weathers, but outside air is free to circulate. I've always been careful to give her a drive at least once a week.

I haven't reset her and taken her for a scream down the motorway yet, primarily because I've got the mother of all colds and the weather plain sucks. I hope to have more data by the end of the week. Thanks again for your insights!