stuttering 156

Hey guys,

My 156 has started to develop an intermitant stutter.

I have had it on the examiner and no error codes and garage cannot identify the problem.

Have had crank sensor checked as it stalled at 80mph 2 months back, and its not that.

I tend to lose power but then regains seconds later.

I am not tehnically minded (hence me posting)

Is this electrical or fuel related ?? It is as if I am running out of fuel. Could it be the spark plugs or maybe air in the fuel line ?

who knows ? hopefully someone out there reading this

Start with something simple....

look for oil or water in the spark plug wells.


Then look at the duct between the MAF and the throttle body.....look for a split.

i had a similar problem and it turned out to be 1 of the ignition coils breaking down

hmm that sounds expensive, was it ?? if u dont mind me asking.

Guess il be checking the plugs etc soon just incase

I got a complete coil pack replacement from shop4parts £250 which is good value compared to Alfa prices and it included all leads, Alfa want £20 not sure if its per lead or per pair of leads.

I would def take the coilpack out and check all conections as they can get in a right mess due to the long service intervals for them.

ebay coils are £20 each, twice the price of most scrapyards but i recently paid it because i couldnt get one at a local scrapyard, ebay is handy as long as you're willing to pay the extra.

Been a while since i have been on here due to mainy thigns.

I have had the coils and plugs looked at and been told not them.

Unplugged the Air filter and it ran okay for 100 miles then started coughing and spluttering again. Have also had the odd backfire.

I'm hoping the healthcheck on saturday will determine the cause and correct whats wrong.

Originally Posted by Jonsiv

Been a while since i have been on here due to mainy thigns.

I have had the coils and plugs looked at and been told not them.

Do you know how they tested the coil packs? How old are the plugs (change every 60000 miles ... expensive as there are 8!

Originally Posted by Jonsiv

Unplugged the Air filter and it ran okay for 100 miles then started coughing and spluttering again. Have also had the odd backfire.

Watch backfiring!!! It can and has split the inlet manifold on cars before now ... they are plastic and expensive! Plus running without an airfilter can mess up the MAF as dirt gets stuck to the hotwire.

Originally Posted by Jonsiv

I'm hoping the healthcheck on saturday will determine the cause and correct whats wrong.

Have you tried unplugging the MAF when the misfire happens? If it misfires with it and not without, that might be your problem.

"Do you know how they tested the coil packs? How old are the plugs (change every 60000 miles ... expensive as there are 8"

To be honest no i dont, as I wasn't present when then done the testing.

"Watch backfiring!!! It can and has split the inlet manifold on cars before now ... they are plastic and expensive! Plus running without an airfilter can mess up the MAF as dirt gets stuck to the hotwire."

Airfilter has been reconnected in preparation for the healthcheck on saturday. Forunately we have a 2nd car so this hasn't been driven since Weds, just hope those pesky little backfires have done no damage.

"Have you tried unplugging the MAF when the misfire happens? If it misfires with it and not without, that might be your problem."

yes I have and the misfires seem to dissappear, However when i was sat in traffic I still get the odd cough and splutter when the temp was 90+

thanks to all those that helped in this matter and for the suggestions.

In the end it was oil in the first 2 sparks plugs, this obviously conducting electricity and resulting in the loss of power and my underperformance. Which michaeld said from the off

When checking other thread and talking to people it just seems like the MAF is to easily blamed !

they would have seen this oil if the coils had really been tested.

True true, just goes to show that 2nd opinion's are worth it. However, had i not been so lazy and gone out and bought some tools I probably could have found this out myself !!!