Here is my dilemma I have a Cs tcu I got from ricambri in may of 08. I have had the Tsu in the box in came in on shelf for the last 10 months waiting for chance to get it installed, and to find an appropriate shop that could do this correctly. Fast Forward last Friday. I figured Classic Coach in new jersey would work to do this. I called them up and they said it would be no problem to do. So I took the car down and they started to do the Tcu. They pulled out the passenger seat put in the tcu and nothing happened. They hooked up the Sd2 and it came up blank, no response. So they pulled out the cs tcu and put back in the stock tcu and hooked up the Sd2 and everything came out fine. All gears changed fine and all read outs fine. So once again they pulled out the stock tcu and put back in the Cs tsu and hooked up the Sd2 and once again nothing. At this point they let me know that the Tsu is a faulty unit. They said that they have cars that come in from FNA for coachwork and units that they order that come in faulty and they need to be returned. They said that this happen sometimes and they just send them back and the get new ones. Also they knew I got it from ricambri and they said just send a message to Daniel and they will help you out. So they hooked back up my stock tcu didn't charge me anything. So at this point I emailed Daniel at Ricabri about the unit. Finally found my order number and all the info for the order and sent it over also. At this point Daniel lets me know that they "have sold probably 20 of these TCU's over the years and had two of them reported as 'bad'. When we pulled them back from customers, and both were properly tested on an SD computer, they came back 'o.k." and that "this order was 11 months ago. I am very very sorry, but I simply cannot replace an electronic item from that long ago". Now I understand that the unit was ordered 11 months ago and this is a problem for them, but my response was that I have had the unit in home for the last 11 months and have not had a chance to have it installed. Now from what they said they have never had a unit go bad ? So in now way am I asking for refund of my money on the product. Even if they send the unit back to Ferrari to get fixed I would wait and it would be fine with me. All I want is to figure out how to make this work and if this one still works. So what I asked Daniel to do is I would fed ex the unit down to them on my dime and have them check it out and it comes back good then I can take it to another dealership and have them install it. No harm no foul. But they don't want anything to with it, Just this as a response "I understand your frustration, and am sorry this has happened. I simply cannot replace, exchange, or compensate you for an electronic item that was purchased nearly a year ago. " So in no way am I writing this to flame Ricambri or Daniel. They have been good to me when ordering parts and very informative on many subjects and contribute massively to this board. Is classic coach crazy and didn't want the Tcu to work ?(don't know why because they would have made money off me if it worked) Has this happened to anyone else ? Is there a way I can test out the Ecu? Don't you think that Ricambri would at least take a look at the tcu for me ? Its 2000 dollars I am out and that sucks and I think every one can appreciate that an amicable solution would be good for everyone. Anyone who has set one of these tcu up or had one of these set up please let me know how it goes or how your experience went. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
It could be a faulty TCU. It could also be a marginal electrical contact in your car's TCU socket. You can try your CS TCU in another car to see if it can be read by the SD2. Also take a close look at your CS TCU for signs of bent or corroded pins.
Thanks for you response. I thought the same thing. I just want a fair out come for both parties. I spent a long time writing the post and making it very accurate and correct and appreciate everyones help with this. thanks again
Tough call... Most places don't take electronics stuff back. If you had returned it earlier, perhaps Daniel could have returned it for a refund. He is probably past his return window, and so are you. Good luck...
Situations like this are always tough. A lot of times, I buy something and don't have the opportunity to use it, install it, whatever. Months pass by, then when a problem arises, there is no recourse. This is bad for everyone. I might not have posted about this if I were you. It gives Ricambia a ding on their "credit" and its not really their problem to fix now. Although I guess if it were me, I'd give my customer the benefit of the doubt. But they are a great company and I go to them whenever I need anything. On two occasions, they have taken time to do research for me, when they knew there was nothing it for for them. They were just helping out a perfect stranger. My point here is that I hate to see anything disparaging written about them. I hope this gets worked out for you soon. sorry for the rambling.... e
Yea i agree with that, and by no way am i asking for a refund. All I want is for them to check out the unit. And i will ship it back and forth on my own dime. All i want is to figure out how to make it work and see if it broken or not.
Sorry, but IMHO 10-11 months is too long to go without trying the part. Electronic parts in general don't normally carry warranties once their installed, even normal stuff purchased at NAPA. For all the vendor knows, the dealer screwed up the part when it went in. In my view, you're SOL, and trying to put pressure on Ricambi in this public forum is poor form.
So it is poor form to ask someone to run a check on a item ? And also i am not trying to call them out. as i said in my post they are good guys and always helped me out. Its not a rag on ricambri post. its a " has anyone had this problem with a cs tcu" ? Maybe classic coach there is an issue ? i am looking for info. In no way was my post a slam on ricambri and is not to be taken that way.
Why not have another DEALER test it using the SD2 reader and they can better tell you what is really up. 11mos is a long time, although I'm curious to know what is the warranty period from Ferrari on these units?
I have personally installed at least 40 new TCUs in various 360's and never had a faulty one come out of the box. It is a standard policy industry wide "NO return on electrical components". I know exceptions are made but those generally consist of one of the following. A. A good long term, high volume customer. B. A trusted customer in the industry who, through experience you have some faith in their expertise and honesty. C. The return or problem is handled in a timely manner. With my suppliers I "Usually" fall into one or all of those catagories and I have NEVER expected them to make an exception in the industry standard no return rule. Sometimes the exception is made, sometimes not. I have never felt a disservice was done when return was refused.
can you be more specific regarding the non-operation issues? Is the f1 screen blank on the dash, and a CAN error stored in the tcu memory? It's just that iv'e had that issue before a couple of times when doing that swap. You set "new closed clutch position" as per the old unit, set the P.I.S, switch on the ignition, then NOTHING. I usually switch of the battery switch and reset then it all springs back to life...odd.
Thanks for the info. Thats just what i wanted to find out. 40 tcu and none were faulty. That makes me think something was with the install at classic coach. thanks for your help rifledriver
It costs the manufacturer vitually nothing to either reflash the chip or replace it. ricambri should replace it for you without question. I'm surprised that they haven't commented on this thread. If they still are a sponsor in good standing you should challenge them to "do the right thing" for a member of the forum. In today's economy, no one can afford bad press.
How long have you been in the retail end of the car industry? What the manufacturer can or can't do is not an issue here. The OP did not buy it from the manufacturer. Ricambi did not buy it from the manufacturer and I bet the company he bought it from did not buy it from the manufacturer. Magnetti Marelli made it and they only sell to Ferrari Spa. Is Ricambi supposed to eat it? Because if he takes it back he will have to. No one in the industry would take it back. Sorry Sometimes you just need to be a grown up and roll the dice.
I hope everyone can see i am not trying to disparage ricambri at all. I am just stating facts of what happened and trying to come up with a solution for my issue. It could be any number if things and I am just looking to the board for some help. thats all. thanks for everyone's time
Part of what you are buying when you bring a car to a repair shop is an insurance policy. If I buy that part for your car and it doesn't work it is my problem, because it's not going on your bill. If you choose to fix your car yourself, for whatever reason, you accept those liabilities. The same applies when you choose to supply your own parts and have a shop install them. That is exactly why very few shops will use customer supplied parts. There is no finger pointing when a part goes bad. Now the OP is faced with; Did the part get damaged when the guys I had install it do something wrong? Is it undamaged and they installed it wrong? Was it bad when I bought it 11 months ago? Or I'm short on cash and I would really like to just return this thing. Now how does that become Ricambi's fault?
Sometimes it's hard to be the guy who 'eats it'. But since the introduction of higher tech electronics, industry standard has been a "you brought it, no return" on almost all electronic parts. I have several items which would have been nice to return and I am sure that all shop owners posting here do also. It's easy to 'fry' an ecu by wrongly installing, and the other side is that people will purchase just to 'try' and diagnose problems by substitution. The parts seller has no idea what happens to the part when in the customer's hands, hence the policy. As Brian stated, sometimes the supplier knowing the customer is both a regular and competent shop MAY take the item for return. More likely on higher volume items. As you say, you can only try this in another vehicle, therein lies the next problem, could this endanger the electronics on that vehicle? Difficult ain't it?
On what planet does that happen??? Aside from the usual "no return on electronics" stuff that Brian has cited - this thing was bought 11 months ago. I have no doubt that if he could help Daniel would, but he has nowhere to go with it. There is no way he can send it back, I am sure if he could, he would. So you are suggesting he just take the loss on this to avoid "bad press". Frankly, in this instance I think that is grossly unfair. It is pointless him testing the thing - especially when the OP has already basically had it tested.
great idea! now all we have to do is make sure there is enough mark up to cover this type of scenario. So when parts houses raise prices suficiently to do that, we'll all thank you for it? Not!
I think rifledriver is right on the money again. When we decide to fix things ourselves we assume different risks than in the role of a customer paying for services. Re-read the return policy that comes from Ricambi and warranty that comes from the manufacturor. If you paid with a credit card, you may get double the warranty or an extra year warranty for a defective purchase! Next, are you sure that the unit is really bad. Maybe it is something like a different wiring harness or some other incompatibility issue. In any event, why don't you try a different shop to see if they can get it to work or at least give you a second and hopefully more useful opinion about what is wrong. Finally, your car still drives great. You can always wait another 11 months before doing any of the above and just enjoy life and not dwell on the potholes.
why would anyone buy a TCU and wait 9 months to install it that's almost as bad as buying a cheeseburger and waiting 3 days to eat it
You don't need some reflexive policy that the end-customer will eat the pain no matter the cause. Electronic parts aren't just good or bad. If they're bad they're bad for a reason. That reason can be analyzed. The original mfr should be keen to diagnose the problem to improve their production knowlege (if the fault is theirs) or to avoid responsibility (if its not). Practically every manufactured item bigger than a toothpick has a serial number and a QA check papertrail. The original manufacturer can tell you if the unit was checked before shipping, and tell you (if it was good when shipped) what could have caused the fault--ie, rough handling, static, etc. Brian, your point also doesn't convince me: if there was one bad unit for every 20 good units, and manufacturer took responsibility for the bad one, prices would go up only 5% to cover it. All customers would pay $2100 and end up with a good unit, instead of the status quo whereby all customers pay $2000 and get a unit that probably works... but may need to buy a second (or third, or...) before they end up with the working one. Finally the fact that this original post ever came to be necessary really sours me on the entire Ferrari aftermarket. Any of you guys selling stuff--if you don't get a check from me thank Ricambri, Iain, Brian, and Rifledriver for teaching me that industry practice is "don't stand behind your product."
You haven't been around Ferrari long have you? Or the car business in general? Manufacturer taking responsibility? Thanks. I haven't had a laugh that good for a while. And BTW. It is not the Ferrari aftermarket, It is the entire automotive industry.....Watch my lips.....The entire industry.
Too many people who don't understand how this industry works complaining. This isn't McDonalds where they screw up your burger and you get another one. 11 months, sorry, nobody knows what you've done with it (not questioning your integrity). As Brian stated it's unlikely the manufacturer will take responsobility and Daniel works on a limited margin, it's not like he is making $1,000 profit on the thing. He has to sell another 15-25 to break even on the loss of one. If Daniel did all these things you guys would run him out of business and drain our community of one of our best resources because you fail to read the service agreement page and just skip through it.
