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164LS Problem Solved
Since I purchased my 95 LS a year or more ago I have been plagued with a
problem which no local mechanic (nor digesti) has been able to accurately
diagnose or cure. Whenever it rains the car will start but will either idle
and run erratically until warmed up, or if there has been a heavy rainstorm,
it will start, idle badly on three or four cyclinders and then crap out from
flooding. The next day it will start again and run as if nothing has
happened. Diagnoses have included wrong plugs, bad coils, bad ignition
cables, bad catalytic and/or O2 sensor and bad ecu. Well, one of the above
was somewhat right and it was not until I went to England a month ago and
called some top Alfa mechanics in the London area (thanks to the AROC
President there) that I was able to find out the cause. All three diagnoses
were the same as this is something they have encountered frequently in the UK
where it does rain somewhat ( in fact almost EVERY day for the month I was
there !).
It appears that leaves get into the drain hole(s) below the windshield
wipers, block them and cause water to enter the interior of the car above the
radio and temp. display unit and dampen everything below it including the
ECU. The interior of the ECU develops a fungus which when damp expands and
causes signals to go haywire. Eventually the heat from the
motor/exhaust/heater will dry it out ennough for it to act normal again. The
cure ? Clean out all leaves in the gully below the windshield especially
where the drainpipes are for the sliding roof channels and clean out the
drainpipe which empties water from the gully. I did the former and found it
to be full of dead leaves from a large oak tree under which my car is usually
parked, however I did not clean out the main drain as I am unable to find it.
Does anybody know where it is eaxctly and the best way to clean it. It has to
be in the center of the gully somewhere, either under or to the right of the
air conditioning filter holder and to the left of the power steering fluid
container, to cause it to leak into the ecu area. Dop they have to be removed
in order to access this pipe ?
Secondly just exactly where is the ecu on a 24V LS and how hard is it to
remove to check it out for fungus ? By the way, could this be a cause of the
dreaded clock/temperature readout display going dark ?
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