Stradale Starter Issues

Do you mean that you press the starter button down and nothing happens? Very common, if that's the case... just need to hold the button down for several seconds.

 

In particular, if the car was not been run recently and the transmission is NOT in neutral it can take a what seems like an eternity for the F1 system to shift into neutral and then allowing the computer to engage the starter.

The human tendency is to push the start button expecting something to happen....you push and release, push and release, push and release and suddenly the car starts.......what seems like an intermittent starter circuit is usually pilot error.

After hitting the button on the remote to disable the immobilizer, closing both doors, turning the key, pulling both paddles to put the car into neutral.....hit the button. It should fire right up!

 

That's good stuff to know for when my car FINALLY gets here! The doors have to be closed for it to start???

 

Correct. I think you may also need to have pressure on the brake pedal, but I'm not certain.

 

As long as my car is in neutral, I can start it with the door open & without pressing on the brake pedal.

 

Hmmmmm.....curious......I'm pretty sure my car needs the doors closed and the CS owner's manual is explicit about that. A Canadian (North America) car should be identical to a US car.....right?

Puzzling........I'll have to go for a New Years Day drive and try it again!

 

Canadian & American CS should be the same. I've always started it with the door open without handbrake or brake pedal. I've developed this habit simply because I reach in to start it & let it warm up 5 min. before I leave, so I never really get into the car.

I'm curious now if all CS are the same.

 

make sure the alarm light is off also. It does seem to take forever for that light to go off after you turn the key.

 

Everything I've learned suggests that starting a car -- especially a CS -- and letting it sit for 5 minutes to warm up is a recipe for engine problems down the road. I let my CS warm up w/o any manual throttle for less than a minute before driving it. If its relatively cold temperature, I'll warm it up longer but add manual throttle 4-5 times to vary engine rpms between say 1500 to 3000.

 

I have an '05 straight F360. I usually let it warm up for about 3 minutes to at least 1/2 normal operating temp. Your discussion about doors closed, brake pedal depressed, etc. got my attention. I can just reach in and fire it up, door open, no pedal depressed. Anyway, that is not my issue.

Why does letting the car warm for 5 minutes lead to problems? I have done this as standard practice and after 2,000 miles have had no issues. What might happen, as you suggest?

Thanks

 

I can't predict what might happen with any certainty and, perhaps, my knowledge is outdated or is over-ridden by the magic of today's engine management systems. What I learned stems from the days when one thought about the functions of the choke and/or was able to manipulate it or harness the value added of a "cold start injector" that provides a very rich mixture of fuel to sustain cold engine operation. If one starts a big capacity engine, that requires 8 quarts of oil to service 8 cylinders at a preferred running level of, say, 4500+ rpms, but lets the engine idle from a cold point at only 1200rpms for 3-5 minutes, the question arises, is the fuel mixture going to be such that the cylinders are running smoothly or might they strain a bit? In other words, might the engine idle become a bit lean, leading to chugging and possible stalling. Perhaps on a new car, the engine will seem 100% forgiving, but then, down the road, all that idling with minimal fuel and oil pump activity may lead to ??? As I said, what I do, is start my CS by relying on the ECU to get the initial idle right, then after a minute or so, I nudge the gas peddle occasionally to lighly rev up the idle to around 2500rpms, just to push more fuel into the cylinders and activate the oil pump more -- thinking this is making the cold start and idle easier, healthier for my engine. Well, there you have it, the non-expert in the kitchen with his homegrown recipe for making muffins which seem to turn out right, thus the continual practice. Cheers.

 

I'm sure it will come as no surprise to any of you that I'm full of sh_t. With the transmission in neutral, my CS starts with the door ajar.......could have sworn........

 

Your intentions were good!

Getting in the car & driving off becomes second nature, we don't think about the steps anymore.

 

Same here.

 

Thanks Shawsan. I am going to trust that a modern day ECU is going to make adjustments accordingly based upon engine parameters and instrumentation/monitoring, etc. You bring all good points. Might have been more true with older cars. Technically once the oil has been able to flow to all parts of the engine, you should be OK to rev. I just from a common sense standpoint wanted some heat for tighter tolerances/seating issues. Oh, well. I will now adjust my warm up time to 2.5 minutes to achieve the balance of all us amatuers' theories. Just kidding of course...

 

I can start my CS (European) without any problem with the door open & without touching the brake everytime, as long as the gear in neutral & the immobilizer is off.

I've been doing the engine warm up for about 20 minutes everytime (twice a week) in almost 2 years & lucky me my CS never give me any problem.

When I start my engine (cold), I always keep pushing the start button about half a second longer after the engine run to make sure both of the engine banks start right away. It works me...

Just share my experience.

 

woot! Another AZ CS! How many is that here now? 7? 8 in phoenix?