Weird transmission problem on F430 Spider | FerrariChat
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Weird transmission problem on F430 Spider

Discussion in '360/430' started by Flywheel, Aug 30, 2012.

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  1. Flywheel

    Flywheel Formula 3

    Jul 8, 2012
    2,089
    Sweden
    Full Name:
    Henri
    #1 Flywheel, Aug 30, 2012
    I'm experiencing this weird transmission problem on my F430 Spider -07. Occasionally I receive this "Slow Down" warning after I've been changing gears. While the warning is up I can't change gears. It keeps the warning for about 30 seconds, and then it goes away and all is back to normal.

    I was driving on a track and it happened only once, while outside of the track it has maybe now happened 15 times. Once I received it when I left from trafic lights, accelerating heavily and suddenly when i tried changing gears it didn't, and I was just bouncing on the rev limiter. Other times it has happened when I rev through first and second, and when changing to third I lift off the accelerator. It seems quite sporadic.

    The weirdest thing is that it does not leave any kind of a fault code into the system. I'm myself thinking of some kind of a faulty sensor that believes something is overheating, cats? It should not be any transmission oils as I just had the car at service.

    One more detail, Just a few times the warning light for the transmission has blinked really quickly when it has happened, and then it turned off again.

    Does anyone have any suggestions or experience from this kind of a problem?
     
  2. F430GT

    F430GT Formula 3

    Sep 29, 2005
    1,300
    Marco Island, FL
    #2 F430GT, Aug 30, 2012
    There are two sensors next to the differential, an e-diff control sensor and a F1 control sensor. They both go bad with track use due to the heat from the catalytic converter and the proximity to them.

    The car uses a temperature sensor in the engine compartment, and the SLOW DOWN warning comes when temperatures in the engine compartment are high (no idea on the actual value), to prevent burning cables, wires, sensors, and damaging plastic panels.

    The error codes are not stored in the two ECU, they are stored in the F1 and E-Diff ECU (there are 4 ECU, 1 for left bank, 1 for right bank, 1 for F1, 1 for E-Diff).

    Check the error codes from the two other ECUs. The sensors are affordable. Change the transmission oil every 12 track days, or every 5,000 miles.
     
  3. Flywheel

    Flywheel Formula 3

    Jul 8, 2012
    2,089
    Sweden
    Full Name:
    Henri
    #3 Flywheel, Aug 30, 2012
    Thanks man, I'll forward this info to the Ferrari shop takin care of the service/repair.
     
  4. BillEllison

    BillEllison Karting

    Oct 16, 2011
    89
    Conroe, Tx
    Full Name:
    Bill Ellison
    #4 BillEllison, Aug 30, 2012
    I have experienced the "Slow Down" light many times over the past year I have owned my F430. I kept taking it back to the dealership and they said it was simply carbon buildup and as long as it was just "flashing" and the car wasn't losing power, everything was ok... Recently, the light stayed on, the car lost power and I glided off to the side and the car dies... I wait a moment, fire it up and it runs fine. Finally, the dealership is replacing the Cats & a Temperature sensor. Apparently the "Slow Down" light specifically refers to the Cats potentially overheating. There is an 8 year warranty on the cats and if you have the warranty, it will be covered as mine was. It has been in the shop for the past 3 weeks and I am supposed to get it back today. Hope this helped.
     
  5. John NY-Naples

    John NY-Naples Karting

    Aug 25, 2007
    143
    New York
    #5 John NY-Naples, Aug 31, 2012
    I had similar issues when I first bought my 05 430. First I got the slow down light, which later became E-Diff light. I bought the car with a 3 year warranty, and the dealer replaced the E-Diff. Later, I started getting the blinking transmission light and the car would fall out of gear and into neutral. The dealer spent a week with the car and concluded that the car had a bad ground. He corrected the ground and the car has been trouble free ever since. I hope this is helpful.
     
  6. Flywheel

    Flywheel Formula 3

    Jul 8, 2012
    2,089
    Sweden
    Full Name:
    Henri
    #6 Flywheel, Sep 9, 2012
    Turned out that it was a failing transmission oil pump. It sometimes failed to get the right pressure in order to switch gears. Service cost around 5k USD over here including taxes. Dealer is obliged to take the cost as I just bought the car.

    So now the service costs are up to 9k USD after I bought the car. Luckily it's the seller/dealer who had to take the costs as I told them I wanted a serviced and problem free car.

    The car had run 2300km when I bought it 1,5 months ago and now it's at 4200km. Hopefully it will run problem free from now on.
     
  7. ModenaF1

    ModenaF1 Rookie

    Sep 1, 2012
    12
    #7 ModenaF1, Sep 9, 2012
    You might find this funny, but i had the same warning light problem with my 360 when the car was driven quite hard. I took it to my service dealer and it only needed new brake pads! After that no slow down warning light appeared again.
     
  8. alvav

    alvav Karting

    Apr 27, 2012
    123
    Montreal, Canada
    Full Name:
    Leonidas Vavougios
    #8 alvav, Sep 9, 2012
    That has to be coincidence as the two are not related whatsoever.
     

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