Maserati blue a écrit:Everything You Always Wanted to Know But You Where Too Afraid To Ask


What is this about:

The Cambiocorsa gearbox/clutch has an F1 pump which primes when there is not enough pressure in the CC system. You can clearly listen to the F1 pump when you open the drivers door.


So whats the problem:

The F1 pump gets power from a relay (more about relays) which after long term use, gets stuck open and fries your F1 pump.


Whats the solution:

As preventative maintenance, you can change your relay once every couple of years. The Maserati Part Number for the relay is: 155437.

In the early cars, the relay was of gray color, made by TYCO and looks like this:



In later years, once they realised that the relay failed occasionally and caused a lot of damage, it was replaced by a newer/better one. The new relay is of black color and it is made by BiTRON and looks like this:




How can I get one of those?

I tried Eurospares, but they only have the older gray types. Eventually, I went to my local Alfa Romeo dealer and got one from there, since the same relay is used in many other brands/cars.

Just ask for a: BiTRON relay 46520419 B047 50A

For example, here is one you can order online from Germany:

Alfa Romeo Fiat Relais 46520419 Bitron B047 50A - ..:: alfacarparts Online Shop ::..


Questions and answers:

- How frequently does the relay gets stuck?

Unknown, it depends on its use. We've never seen a "black" relay get stuck, so far we've only seen gray ones get stuck.

- In "another" forum, we were told that a 40A relay works fine, why is the new relay 50A?

Yes, a 40A will work but has a shorter lifespan, its stupid to use a 40A with a shorter lifespan when you can get the proper 50A which is within the specifications. If you can find a higher rated relay than 50A then that would be even better, but so far we haven't seen a compatible one (12V with the same contacts).

- Will it fit my car?

I know that my GS came with the newer black relay. I tried the gray one from Eurospares, it seemed to work for a while but at some point it failed because it didn't "sit" well.

I asked around and I was told that older cars may have a different relay base. One tech told me that he buys a relay base from VW and uses that to convert old relays into new ones. This still isn't clear to me, but I will soon take a look at a 2002 car so I can compare. I'll let you know what I find.