Richard in the UK writes:-

Re: Check light!!

"Dear Enrico & Andy,

Firstly may I congratulate you on your website; you must have poured a considerable amount of your time into it... thank you.

Now to business, I own a 1987, 2.5 Biturbo Spyder with an annoying intermittent problem. When the car is started, all the usual warning instrument lights illuminate while the normal checks are performed. After a few seconds, they all go out except the handbrake light as expected, but every now and then (and virtually always when the car has just been used) the alternator and test warning lamp remain on as well. On these occasions, the voltmeter shows about 10 / 10.5 volts and the car runs rough (what's new?).

Repeatedly pressing the TEST button (sometimes as much as 50+ times) eventually causes these two lamps to extinguish, the voltmeter immediately jumps up to display the usual 12.5 / 13.5 volts and the car runs normally again. I can't find any info on what is being done during the TEST sequence, but it all smells of ECU involvement. Any ideas would be very welcome. Many thanks in advance.

Richie."

Reply from Andrea:-

Re: Check light!

"Normally, if you have a battery light staying on and low voltage, the problem is with the voltage regulator in the alternator but as you say that repeated pressing of the test button causes the problem to go away, I would suggest that the problem lay in the test box itself. This is a plastic box (black and red in colour) mounted under the dash above your right foot on a RHD car. The wiring for all of the functions that are governed by the test box go through here. First thing to do would be to pull the multiplugs off either side of the box, clean and refit – just to be sure it isn’t a bad connection. If no change then your choices are:

1 - Bypass the test box for this function – you will need a wiring diagram to identify the alternator warning light wiring on both sides of the box and then simply join them together.

Obtain another test box to check – no idea if they are still available new but loads of used ones around.

2 - You can bypass the test box completely if you like spaghetti – all of the car’s functions will still work but without the test function. As an aside, if your car is an 87 it should be a carburettor car and therefore does not have an ECU as such.

Andrea."

Ed in the USA writes:-

Re: Hood won't fully retract!

"OK, next set of questions:

1) In this day and age, what manufactures are making shocks and struts for the Biturbo Spyders (mine is 1987). Seems like all the ones I check do not list Maserati at all (Monroe, Bilstein, Gabriel, .....). Not sure I actually need them but like to know what to go looking for.

2) The Spyder I just purchased had been sitting up for quite some time. Yesterday I noticed an intermitent whirring sound coming from the trunk (boot) area. It sounds like an electric pump starting and stopping so I'm speculating it is an electric fuel pump or booster pump. a) does this sound correct b) do you think this is an indication of pending near term failure?

3) Do you by chance know where in the engine compartment I will find the electric pump assembly and motor for the windshield (windscreen ?) washer?

4) The car seems to have a fairly constant vibration when traveling forward. I know the tires need to be replaced (they are developing cracks around the side walls). I'm thinking part of the vibration may be coming from the tires and new set will give me a better indication, but I also understand it is not uncommon to need to replace the centerline drive shaft bearing and possibly the engine and transmission mounts. Any thoughts on this subject?

Thanks again for your help. Hopefully I will soon be able to contribute some answers, not just questions.

Ed in Florida."

Reply from Andrea:-

Re: Next set of questions!

"OK , next set of questions:

1) To my knowledge, the only people doing shocks for the four bolt cars are either Maserati genuine ones or Bilsteins available only from MIE. Koni used to stock but no longer.

2) Yes, does sound like fuel pump as this is located under the boot floor. To be honest, they generally hum away quite happily and the start/stop is normal (it should only run for 10 seconds with the ignition switched on to prime system and will not run again until engine started.

3) The windshield/windscreen washer motor is attached to the windscreen washer reservoir and it is mounted inside the front driver's side wheel arch. You will need to remove the front wheel, you will then see the windscreen washer reservoir to the front of the wheel hub. Attached is an image showing the component parts of the windshield wipers and washers.

Reply from Ed:-

"Thanks again and please pass on a thanks to Andrea. The vibration issue was partially resolved with new tires, so I suspect the remainder of the steering system linkages will need to be addressed as some annoying vibration remains.

Thanks again.

Ed."

Ed in the USA writes:-

Re: Hood won't fully retract!

"Hi Enrico,

The questions just keep coming. Got my new to me 1987 BiTurbo Spyder and for the life of me, cannot get the convertible top to retract all the way.

When I try to put the top down, it folds back about 2/3 of the way but will not go down into the well.

Reply from David:-

Re: Re: Hood won't fully retract!

"Hi Enrico,

Yes, I know just the problem with the hood.

As you lift the hood, you must also lift the little bar that is about, above your head, when sat in the car. See photos.

Reply from Ed:-

Re: Re: Hood will now fully retract!

"Many thanks to you and David - Found the magical lever and the top is down.

Richard in the UK writes:-

Re: High tickover, warning light and Driver's Handbook.

"Hi,

I've just bought a 1989 model BiTurbo Spyder E Auto (RHD 1989 build according to the VIN number but declared as new when registered in 1991). It isn't the best in the world and appears to have been neglected a little in the last few years. It runs and drives but has a couple of niggling faults which I want to sort out.

The tickover seems very high (1200 - 1500 rpm), causing an almighty lurch when Drive is selected. The throttle butterfly stop hasn't been screwed right in and I can slow the tickover down by squeezing the throttle bypass hose. Past experience with another car with a similar injection system, suggests that maybe there is a fault with a cold start valve allowing air to bypass the throttle butterfly housing. On the other car (a Volvo 760 V6), the valve only opened when the engine was cold to increase the tickover speed but closed after a couple of minutes running. Is the Biturbo arrangement the same? In which case, I suspect a faulty valve. However, one thing which may be relevant is that the water temperature gauge has only risen above 50 degrees when I turned off the heater. With the heater off the temperature gauge immediately started to climb towards the 90 degree mark. If I turn on the heater (which incidentally works superbly), both radiator fans immediately start up. Could this be why the temperature is remaining cool and the air by-pass valve is staying open because of this?

The first time I switched the lights on, after a couple of minutes a red warning lamp along with a larger unmarked red lamp, came on on the dash. This lamp has what looks like a picture of a light bulb with a cross through it. This suggested that it was telling me I had a failed light bulb somewhere but they all seemed OK. After it had been on for a while it ceased to be on permanently and started flashing at a regular (about every 2 or 3 seconds) interval. It goes off when I am braking, flashes in sympathy with the indicators when indicating left and (sometimes) comes on and stays on when indicating right. On odd occasions it goes off for a while and then starts to come on but very dimly, as it gets brighter the other larger lamp comes on too. All of this only happens if I have the lights on, if the lights are off, it stays off. I have noticed that there appears to be a tell-tale lamp to tell me I have sidelights on, but this doesn't work. Could it be as simple as all of this being down to that?

As you have by now probably gathered, I didn't get an owners handbook with the car. Is there any possibility of getting a photocopy of one?

Finally, is there anything I need to know about folding the hood? I release the two catches at the front, lift the hood cover out of the hole that the hood goes into and push the hood back. It starts to fold into the hole but then stops and it appears that the frame is jamming against the rear three-quarter area of the hood (there are marks on the inside of the hood where the frame has been chafing at that point). I don't want to push it down and risk ripping the hood, but is there a technique to it that I haven't yet found?

Thanks in advance,

Richard."

John in Malta writes:-

Re: Meeting up in Malta

"Hi, Enrico,

About 2 weeks ago I bought a Maserati Spyder E Convertible, year of manufacture 1992.

From the moment I saw it I just fell in love with it and grabbed it. Now whilst browsing through your web site I have noticed that a gentleman from Malta with the name of Julian has asked you some questions about about his Maserati.

I would very much appreciate if you could give me his contact details in order that I could contact him and start a meeting for Sunday mornings with our Maseratis.

In the meantime I have already made contact with a person who owns 2 cars and another I will call him tomorrow. This way I hope to get out the Maseratis on the street of Malta which are hardly seen.

Whilst thanking you in advance, I send you my best regards, John."

Richard in the UK writes:-

Re: Gearshift rattle?

"Hi Enrico - I have a 1989 Biturbo Spyder with only 7000 miles on the clock that was stored for 10 years & is now being used again.

It runs perfectly except for 2 problems:

1) The gearshift rattles between 3000 - 4000 rpm & is very annoying.

2) On full steering lock there is a grinding sound.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Regards from Richard."

Steffen in Canada writes:-

Re: Starter motor removal?

"Hi there,

I have a problem with the startmotor, the relais engages but you have to tap on the start motor (with air filter removed) in order for the startmotor to engage.

Is it necessary to remove the engine for this? Or can the intake manifold be removed which then gives access to the start motor?

Regards,

Steffen."

Malcolm in Australia writes:-

Re: location of boost pressure sensor?

"Hi Enrico,

I am based in Melbourne Australia. I am currently trying to locate the boost pressure sensor. According to the wiring diagram it is located next to the boost control solenoid but I can’t see it. Do you know how to locate it?

Thanks,

Malcolm."

Reply from Enrico:-

Re: location of boost pressure sensor?

"Hi Malcolm,

The boost pressure sensor is indeed located next to the round brown plastic solenoid valve. It is a small round metal component (see photo).

Malcolm in the UK writes:-

Re: Biturbo Spyder engine management wiring system

"Hi Enrico,

I am fitting an auxiliary engine management system to my 2.8Lt Spyder and am looking for the pin-out for the standard ECU. I think the information I need is figure 56 of the Engine 1 - manual you have on your site. This diagram is quite hard to read.

Do you have a version of this diagram that you can email to me that has a higher resolution?

Thanks,

Malcolm."

Reply from Enrico:-

Re: 2.8-litre Spyder engine management wiring system

"Hi,

Hope this helps.

Mark in the UK writes:-

Re: Biturbo Spyder idling problem

"Hello to all, Hopefully someone amongst the vast amount of experience and expertise on this website can help me with a (hopefully) a small problem I have with my 1991 2.8 Spyder IE.

I have just completed changing all the belts on the engine and had the plenum chamber/rocker covers removed refurbished and is all now back in one piece. However now when I start the car up it will not idle.

If you keep your foot on the accelerator slightly the revs just seem to go up and down, up and down all the time. It still revs sweetly if you put your foot down but it's this constant up and down that is the problem.

I have checked all the parts that were removed for the correct re-assembly but I cannot seem to get to the bottom of the problem.

Is there anybody had the same problem and found the solution?

Any help is appreciated,

Mark."

Byron in the USA writes:-

Re: Biturbo Spyder front shock absorbers

"Hello,

I have recently purchased an '89 Spyder which needs new front shocks. Unfortunately I have discovered that the only way to purchase this item is at a cost of $995 US per strut assembly. Apparently there is an issue with finding a replacement for only the shock absorber within the strut.

Has any one solved this issue? Can you advise how I would change the shock without having to but the whole strut?

Regards,

Byron."

Jon in the UK writes:-

Re: Biturbo Spyder starting problems

"Hello,

Have looked at your website and am very impressed with your responses - was wondering if you could help me out with an issue on my car?

I've got a 1990 Maserati 2.5 Biturbo Spyder. A few days ago I was driving the car when I pulled out to overtake a car and as I hit the accelerator the engine cut out. I coasted to a stop and tried to restart the car but it wouldn't. After leaving it a while it finally started but then cut out again about 300 yeards further down the road. This happened about three more times before it eventually failed to start at all.

I had the car recovered to my home where it is now a 'non-starter'.

I noticed a 'buzzing' noise from behind the dash each time it cut out.

I have also noticed that when I try and start the car now I cannot the hear the fuel pump powering up like I used to.

I have replaced all three fuel relays near the suspension turret but this hasn't made any difference, I have also checked the fuel pump fuse in the glovebox fusebox and this is fine.

Before I go mad and replace endless electrical components and try to get this porblem resolved I wonder if you could shed any light on the matter if you've experienced anything like it before?

I would really appreciate your advice on this.

Many thanks,

Jon."

Malcolm in Australia writes:-

Re: 24-valve engine transplant

"Hi Enrico,

Here is a question I was hoping you could share with your readers.

I am investigating performance upgrades for my 1994 Spyder. After looking through this site I contacted Modena Performance. They have upgrades available but only for the 4-valve engine.

Does anyone know if it is possible to fit the 4-valve heads onto my 2.8 litre 3 valve engine?

There is an additional pulley on the 4-valve engine, is it possible to add this pulley to my block? What changes would I need to make besides the intake and exhaust manifolds and the engine management system?

Has anyone attempted this? If this is not practical, does anyone know where I can get hold of a 2.8-litre 24-valve engine?

Thanks,

Malcolm."