Reply from Yiorgos in Denmark:-

Re: Ghibli GT.

Dear Enrico,

Thank you for the advice sent out last time. Once again I wish to say congratulations on your site!

I visit it very often just to discover each time something new and unique. Its contents is an all-time-round Maserati tribute to the trident's glorious past and future.

As a reply to your tips please see my findings after a visit to the service:

1. Magnetic reservoir cap. This was indeed a faulty actuator. It has been replaced and it now works.

2. The bonnet locking mechanisms have been properly lubricated and the hood locks firmly on closure. I have not until now experienced any problems in this area while accelerating.

3. The heating now works fine and there was no need to replace anything. The Maserati mechanic has 'helped it' somehow so let's wait and see.

4. It has been shown that there is nothing wrong with the electronic suspension and that all shock absorbers are in good working order. I have been told that the flashing of the red led is normal and it is only when the red led is constantly on that it indicates failure. The system has been tested with the Maserati equipment and it shows no failure. The check for the buzzing sound in each tyre has also been performed and all absorbers seem 'busy' each time the ratio is changed.

I do not know if I should investigate this any further. Any ideas?

Best regards and keep up this great site!

Yiorgos.

"Robert from Hungary sent in this question and to be perfectly honest, I've always wanted to know the answer to this problem:

Reply from Enrico:-

Re: Removal of Ghibli 'Bonnet Spoiler'.

"CLICK HERE!"

Danny from The Netherlands writes:

Reply from Andy:-

Re: 'Check Engine' light.

This is a very common occurence. The engine check light comes on if the computer notices an incorrect fuel/air mixture. This can be caused by a number of things of which some are minor and some are major!

However, the most common reason for the light coming on is when the lambda sensors in the exhaust are either faulty or have a bad connection. If it happens mostly when the engine is hot then this is even more likely to be the cause. Switching off and restarting to extinguish the light is fine but if it keeps recurring then check the sensors. Trouble is that there are two of them (one for each bank of cylinders) and so fathoming which one is at fault requires the diagnostic kit unless you just replace them both.

Regards,

Andy.

Reply from Enrico:-

Re: 'Check Engine' light.

This has also happened to me a few times over the last three years. On the occasions that the "Check Engine" light did come on I stopped the car as a precaution, waited a couple of minutes and re-started the engine. No light and no problem. If the problem had persisted, I would have taken the car to a Maserati specialist like Bill McGrath Maserati.

Regards and enjoy your Ghibli, they're GRRRRREAT!

Enrico.

Michael in the Netherlands writes:

Reply from Michael:-

Re: Navigation System.

Enrico,

With some deduction and the help of others I found out the following:

- The Ghibli GT has the same electrical system as the Quattroporte IV (thanks to MIE).

- On the Quattroporte IV the speedometer pulse is on connection 5 of the left connector behind the clock unit (thanks to Beijer Autotechniek).

- The colours of connection 5 of the left connector: (black/red +blue-yellow).

I have now succesfully installed my 'Becker Trafficpro 4733' (beautiful machine BTW) last Saturday, speedometer pulse was OK!

Regards,

Michael.

Tom from Germany writes:

"Hi Enrico!

First of all I like to say, that your site is the best Maserati site in the web. Tom sure knows how to get a quick answer to his question!

So I got a question about the Ghibli 2-litre V6.

Do you know the loading pressure (max. boost) of the 306 hp version and of the Cup version?

I`ve been searching for a long time on the web, to get the answer, but I couldn't find it.

Greetings from Germany,

Tom."

Reply from Marcello:-

Re: Maximum boost pressure.

Hello Enrico,

First both cars have different turbochargers with the Cup having roller bearing turbos. Maserati don't give official figures for the maximum possible boost pressure. I have checked in the Engine Workshop Manual. The boost is normally adjusted at the waste gates and as when driving hard the needle on the boost guage is only allowed to enter the red zone on rare occasions, this is for reasons of reliability. As a general guide the Ghibli and the Ghibli Cup work to the following pressures:

Constant pressure 1.1 bar.

Peak pressure 1.4 bar.

Peak pressure is calculated in 4th gear at 1000 rpm then you press the accelerator to the floor until the waste gate opens and it should open at 1.4.

Hope this helps,

Marcello.

Gwen from Belgium writes:

Reply from Enrico:-

Re: Ghibli GT.
1. If this noise is coming from the differential and is just a slight 'clunk' it is quite normal in any Biturbo after a period of time. It should only require attention if it gets much worse.

No 2. I have heard of cars having covered 160,000 km but to date I have not heard of any surviving for 320.000 km. At what mileage was the engine and gearbox changed?

No 3. The suspension changes for the Kit Sportivo were made for the driver who requires a stiffer and lower set-up. The standard car is designed for most drivers and ordinary road use and are therefore not the same. I have listed the relevant part numbers to illustrate this point!

The front struts (shock absorbers) on your Ghibli GT are Part No. 366604108, the front struts for the kit arePart No. 366603108.
The rear struts (shock absorbers) on your Ghibli GT are Part No. 367004110, the rear struts for the kit are Part No. 367003109.
The front springs on your Ghibli GT are Part No. 366604333, the front springs for the kit are Part No. 366603333.
The rear springs on your Ghibli GT are Part No. 367004338, the rear springs for the kit are Part No. 367003333.
The front anti-roll bar on your Ghibli GT is Part No. 396650357, the front anti-roll bar for the kit is Part No. 366603357.
The rear anti-roll bar on your Ghibli GT is Part No. 367004362, the rear anti-roll bar for the kit is Part No. 367002387.

No 4. No, I have never dealt with them.

However, I do know a German owner who purchased some wheels for his car from them:

"Hi Enrico Yes, I have bought my ATS wheels there. Competent people, but the prices are high. For the wheels I've got a discount. I have to look how much %. Daniel."

Yiorgos from Denmark writes:

Reply from Andy Heywood:-

Re: Ghibli GT.

Hi Henry,

No I. Sounds like it could be a faulty actuator.

No 2. It sounds to me as though the cable that operates the left-hand corner lock may require some lubrication as it mat not be releasing the locking mechanism properly after opening. Have you lubricate the bonnet (hood) locks? There are two cables for each lock, one cable is the emergency cable. Get somebody to tell you what is happening to the bonnet lock when you pull and then release the cable. There is also a rubber spacer situated in each corner of the bonnet, make sure this is set correctly. Be careful not to set the gap too narrow in case you damage the hood when closing. Some cars have repeated problems in this area and it is actually possible to fit another return spring for the locking mechanism to make sure that it always comes back fully when the bonnet is closed. Harry Metcalfe reported in Performance car when his car was new and managed to get the left hand side of the bonnet to come up at 166mph!

No 3. This seems to be a problem that afflicted a lot of the earlier Ghiblis. The heater is not good enough to pump the coolant round without help and Maserati suggested a modification which involved fitting an electric water pump in the plumbing going to the heater matrix. This mod did have a part number as I remember so it would be worth enquiring at your local agent.

No 4. I too experienced a similar problem and when the car was checked over, the rear left-hand shock absorber (damper) was found to be faulty and was replaced. These are very expensive to replace (I was lucky my car was still under the dealer's warranty), so I would wait for an answer from Andy in case it is something else. This could well be a shock absorber fault as Henry says and the way to check is to switch the ignition on and get someone to move the keypad through the four positions while you listen in turn at each corner of the car where you should hear the servo motor in the shock absorbers buzzing faintly as they change the rate. If you find one corner that is silent then that is likely to be the problem. Before you order a new unit, pull the wiring plug to the shock and clean the connections before trying again. It may just be a bad connection. HOWEVER, shock problems usually put the red light on constantly and flashing of the light is curious. There is a diagnostic procedure with these shocks which involves plugging in a wiring loom connector beside the gearbox which is normally left unplugged. On a few cars we have seen that errant mechanics have plugged this loom together thinking that they have cured a fault when in fact all they have done is put the keypad into diagnostic mode, at which point it will flash a code in red!

Hope this helps,

Andy.

Augusto from London, England writes:

Reply from Andy Heywood:-

Boris from Croatia writes:

Govert from Sutton, England writes: