Car is finally running great! Update!

Glad to hear your car is back up and running. It was a pleasure meeting you at the CNC event.

 

Glad to hear you got it sorted out, it was a real bummer reading about your initial woes......
I remember seeing that car listed at Jake's - I was not ready for that price point, but
got a 360 recently.

I think you got a good deal if the car is all sorted out now. Yes --CNC event was great- heard they sold a lot of cars that day.

Enjoy your ride !

 

John, It was great to meet you also. Hopefully your thread doesn't incur the wrath of the Solenoids gods...they love to zap you at the precise point when you are convinced the problem is solved! Here's to you and your future enjoyment and some trouble-free days ahead.

Bert, good seeing you again.

Until the next event, drive safe and enjoy.

 

Unfortunately, I am still battling with the same problem. I am now 0 for 9! In fact, I bought the last 3 from Ferrari of Silicon Valley. I'm hoping that one will work! If not, there are maybe 2 left in North America. As it is, the car has been in the shop for over 3 months.

 

Is this also a 430 you are talking about?

 

Is there an aftermarket replacement?

 

Intrigued....have they fitted lots of solenoids which worked at first and have subsequently failed, or have the solenoids been replaced to cure a pressure issue?

 

Have they told you this is a model/year issue? F1 generation, ECU, TCU, solenoid (crappy production run)...or do they just not know?

 

My car is a 2005 F1. Ferrari is aware of the problem and their solution is to keep replacing them until you find one that works. I have seen the original solenoid, which has a gold color to it. The new ones are silver in color and made by a different manufacturer. This is not an uncommon problem and there is no solution. Who knows when Ferrari will create another batch. The factory is probably closed and will be until the end of the year. At best, probably March or April until they get more. In the mean while- my car is useless.

 

Holy Crap! That's miserable! Is it used on any other car or application? Do you have the manufacturer's part number (as opposed to the Ferrari p/n#)? I can't imagine no one else has it!

 

Here's a thought...My understanding is the f1 in a Ferrari is very similar to its Maserati counterpart, Cambiocorsa, with a number of interchangeable parts. The difference...Maser parts are less expensive. And no, Ferrari is not inclined to inform you of this fact. You might be able to look there for the part???

 

Maserati don't use the e-diff system..

 

ooops...You are correct. I had the F1 stuck in my mind for some reason. Sorry.

 

To add insult to injury, the service manager (great guy and very helpful) has constantly been on the phone with Ferrari of North America and even had them come to inspect the car. FNA shrugs their head and says, keep putting more in. My service manager then goes on to explain how my car isn't the only one with this problem and how long the car has been there taking up a mechanic's time (not getting paid for it), and a lift! Not to mention all the time I have been without a car.

 

You are a better man than I. I b*tch and moan when it rains on the weekend and I can't get my drive time in, I can't imagine what you must be feeling!

Sounds like your service manager is also pretty fed up with this solenoid situation. It's hard to imagine someone somewhere hasn't debugged it yet.

 

I actually have my 05 430 coupe sitting right next to my 05 430 spider at the same shop. I'm having problems with the instrument cluster on the spider. At least I'm getting free storage. If either of them gets finished, the 99 360 will most likely go back for MAF problem. In conclusion, it's a good thing I have my Porsches and old VWs to keep me happy. There are NEVER any problems with them.

 

I have a couple of 430's also and I am feeling your pain! How does the failure of the solenoid manifest itself? What are the symptoms?

 

It's pretty basic. The slow down light comes on, along with "e-diff failure" and then the car will put itself into neutral. Basically the new solenoids suffer from "internal leakage," and can't hold the correct psi to operate the F1 system

 

Thanks, Jay. WOW! No mistaking or misunderstanding that! I just wanted to be prepared should symptoms start manifesting themselves, but I guess it is rather abrupt and difficult to misinterpret when it blows. Sounds like there is no "limping" to the next off-ramp or servicce station. All you have is the momentum of the car at the time?

 

In my case, I actually blew a F1 line and all the fluid drained out. The white smoke with the computer screen going crazy pretty much tells you that you are now SOL! This happened on the freeway and luckily I was able to coast to the off ramp. Assuming the hose didn't blow, you can usually get the car back into gear in "normal driving mode." As long as you keep the revs low, you should be able to drive the car with the "E-Diff Failure" I hope this doesn't happen to anybody else. It's no fun when your car is gone for months at a time.

 

WOW! What an embarrassing mess that would be with the tranny fluid going up in smoke and spewing all over the freeway! (Not to mention all the others behind you getting a perverse ironic chuckle out of it).

Thanks for the info. I'm hoping this never happens to me or anyone else for that matter, but it's always good to hear from those who have suffered through the experience and the manner in which they were able to compensate in order to reach a safe haven.