Alfa Romeo Owners Club of Australia Forum

Technical => 932 Series (156, GTV, Spider, 147, GT, and 166) => Topic started by: ALFA156DALE on April 15, 2011, 11:18:46 PM

Title: Some 156 problems
Post by: ALFA156DALE on April 15, 2011, 11:18:46 PM
Hi guys havn't been on here for quiet a while, I have a few problems with Alfa that Iam hoping you guys might be able to help me with:

1. Low pitch horn not working (HIGH PITCH HORN IS WORKING.)
2. Injecter/engine Light is on and off and on and off
3. Catalytic converter rattles, I think its buggered (I SUSPECT 2 & 3 MAYBE RELATED, WITH THE CAT SENSOR.)
4. Air intake hose has a crack in it (TEMPORARY TAPE AROUND IT.)

Iam wondering whether anyone can point me in the right direction for parts/&opinions on why the problems are there.

Iam after the air intake hose that connects directly to the throttle body on a 99' 156 V6
and a catalytic converter for also the same Alfa, as i suspect these are the main causes
of the injecter/engine light coming on and off

and maybe a low horn too, but that is only a minor problem.

Thanks
Dale

Title: Re: Some 156 problems
Post by: colcol on April 16, 2011, 11:43:05 AM
Hello Dale, I think that you are right, the rattling cat convertor means that something is broken inside as this is a non repairable item, you are going to need a new one which will be expensive or get a good secondhand cat from one of the Alfa wreckers have a look in the sponsors list, on the forum, BUT get some qoutes for a new cat as the prices of these items are coming down now that the 156 is getting quite old now, if a new one is not too expensive, i would go for that as a second hand one may fail within a few weeks of putting it in, as for your light coming up, replace the cat first and see what happens then, it could be a Lambda sensor in the exhaust, these should be replaced between every 60 -100 thousand klms, depending on who you talk to, with some expensive makes, Lambda sensors are replaced during a service,as for the easy one, the horn, this is an essential item in any Italian car to move the Toyota drivers out of the way doing 20 kays under the speed limit, use a test light and see if the horn is actually getting power, if it is the horn is dead, as they don't last forever, a second hand one may work, but for how long?, the price of a new horn is ridiculously cheap, see what Repco has them for, i purchased 2 new ITALIAN FIAAM horns that were exactly the same as genuine Alfa ones at K-Mart, about 10 years ago for $25 for the 33, some quirk with horns is that if one won't work, then the other one stops as well, as for the broken air intake pipe try a Alfa wrecker as these don't tend to wear out but sometimes get broken during a service, i would hate to think what a new one would be worth!, there will be a 932 series workshop technical night on Friday 27th May at Maranello Pur Sang Motors, if you wish to book email drtool@bigpond.com.au or phone 0407 090 826, Colin.
Title: Re: Some 156 problems
Post by: shiny_car on April 16, 2011, 12:56:59 PM
The Italian Job in Oakleigh will definitely have those parts, so give them a call or drop by.

:)
Title: Re: Some 156 problems
Post by: ALFA156DALE on April 16, 2011, 03:36:29 PM
Thanks guys for the quick and great advice, Colin you are correct you do need a horn, since i havn't had one i have needed it many of times. I will give some of the sponsers and wreckers a ring. I would love to go to the workshop but unfortunantely iam working friday and saturday until 5pm and i live 4 hours away from melbourne.
thanks Dale