My 156 twin spark engine stalling happened and became a continuous problem at about 2 years after the purchase. The symptom began from a start up problem that the engine only fired up with the accelerator pedal depressed when cranking.

Engine bay view of the immediate stall
Instrument cluster view of the immediate stall

If I managed to fire it up, it often stalled at low rev unpredictably, examples including

  • at the moment of deceleration before entering roundabouts
  • idling and waiting for the green light
  • Idling and waiting for the rise of car park gate, etc.

Unlike the problem of MAF failure, I could start the engine immediately after the stall.

Terrifying experience

The most scary thing happened was the sudden stall on the highway There was a time, it happened; out of instinct, I depressed the emergency light, depressed the clutch pedal, put gear into neutral and turn the key……Thanks God, it started. I looked at the rear mirror, the car behind me was so close and then I could feel my heart beat gradually subsiding.

Luckily it was on a straight line. What if it happened in the middle of turning a corner, no power steering, no vacuum amplification for braking…..😨

No more delay, handing it to the mechanics

The cause of Alfa twin spark engine stalling

The mechanic checked the MAF, replacing the idle control unit and a lot of sweat (the mechanics’, not mine).  No result after months of investigation. 

Eventually the mechanic discovered that the problem is the leakage of the intake manifold.

The plastic made Alfa Twin Spark engine intake manifold

The intake manifold used on the CF2 twin spark engine is made of plastic. It seems that it is more fond of having the air leakage problem.

After replacing mine with an used manifold, all symptoms are gone immediately. The bill was huge due to the long diagnosis effort but no more heart-attack like nervousness in front of the traffic light. it is worth it.😊