Ooohh! too technical for me any DERV men about this Sunday 1st of April evening?:

 

Hi there is a recall on the swirl valve for reprogramming the engine ecu and yes they hate low fuel the pressure rail sensor is very sensitive to this!

 

Thanks for that!

I'll check with Medway Autos whether they know about adjusting the ECU.
The really tough bit is going to be telling my wife that she was right to suggest the link between low fuel and the engine fault warning! Serves me right for sneering at her 'girly' suggestion. I guess we know who's the better mechanic!

 

Yip ME!!!!!! ALFA one at that. But are not the females allways right even when they are wrong and they good at that!!?

 

Ig

If it keeps losing power and the warning lights come on, switch it off and then restart it. When mine did this, I needed to do this 4 or 5 times on my first 159 to 'reset' the valve and thus switch out the warning lights.Its not ideal, but at least it'll get you home without limping in safe mode.

 

Thanks! Did you achieve a permanent solution to the problem (other than keeping the fuel tank full?

 

Yes! I rejected the car after they failed to fix it 3 or 4 times in the space of 6 weeks. I got a replacement 159 SW and have had no problems since.

 

step one - software update
step two (if step one no good) - renew swirl actuator
step 3 (if 1 & 2 no good) - renew inlet manifold.

 

Thanks

I'm not sure if the software was updated, but the problem definately turned out to be the tolerances on the inlet manifold openings - being fractionally too tight they trapped the inlet vanes when the engine cooled, this explained why the fault light came on only when I started the car from cool and never when the engine was warm!

 

Alot of alfa dealers are keeping inlet manifolds in stock as so many getting done.

Sorry didnt realise post was 3 months old

 

very true done about 20 manifolds since the 159 was launched, funnily enough, never done one on a brera! they are a nightmare to change too, goodluck with it mate

 

never done one on a brera! they are a nightmare to change too, goodluck with it mate

They are,its apparently a engine out job but theres always a way

 

very true done about 20 manifolds since the 159 was launched, funnily enough, never done one on a brera! they are a nightmare to change too, goodluck with it mate

Is it only the 2.4's that are affected or has the same problem shown up on the 1.9 JTDm's as well?

 

the 1.9's are affected to, yeah i can do them in place too