Your argument would hold so much more water if you could provide evidence that these cars ran right when new. They did not! When your theoretical destruction of the tin gold connection "nukes" a sensor we will replace the sensor and move on. So far 5 years and counting. If gold pin clamping forces prevail we will get another set of similar years of pain free use. I don't see the problem. You guys are beating your chests while we drive trouble free cars.
JohnK, What happened? You went dead silent after I called you on post #408? Also did you delete your last post? I swear I saw a post that was going in the right direction. It offered a solution rather than a condemnation. What happened to the post about "little gold condoms over the tin pins?" I was mounting a reply and the post vanished? Provide solutions for your convictions otherwise you are just shouting noise over and over and over again.
My car doesn't have any new connectors and it runs fine. I'm driving trouble free, worry free. I don't hesitate to take my car out for a 100 to 200 mile day trip, and that's pretty much all I do with it. I have the records from new and there is only a single complaint of a CEL related problem which was real (bad CTS). And the problem was a lot easier to find due to the CEL because it was an intermittent problem (CEL came and went). I guess someone could have assumed this was one of those oft mentioned ghosts and gone to the gold. They would have been sadly disappointed when the ghost returned because the GCK didn't fix the problem. Just goes to show the power of proper diagnosis. I also note how you continually choose to re-label the gold on tin problem as theoretical when it has been documented to be a real life issue. And you continually dismiss that it is more likely the new connections and (claimed) higher clamping force the resolves any connection issues, not the gold. Your particular car may have had issues that were resolved by the GCK, but the G most likely had nothing to do with it.
I wonder if a gold electroplater as a jeweler uses could do the odd tin pins. Will have to try one day
Ahh....NO! You continually fail to understand that engineering does not happen in single units but as a system. You are stuck at gold on tin and I am stuck on the results of the package. We will never agree so lets not try. 2 years ago I wrote this about the gold kit and I talk about the superior clamping force and its benefits. I do not know all the reasons the gold kit works but certainly clamping force is part of it. I have discussed clamping force benefits long before your interest in bashing this product. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/technical-q/312756-sri-gold-connector-pin-kit-strikes-gold.html When you come up with some data and science as to why the kit works post it. Until then you are just hypothesizing.
Since you were a beta tester, it appears you have more than a consumer relationship with this product; it seems a little more personal to me. Having said that, Im not sure youre able to look at this entire issue objectively
Not only has this been disclosed over 2 years ago but if you read back over the last 22 pages of this same drivel you will also read how I have ordered my second gold kit on my nickel. I'm not the free troll here. All I have stated are facts. KIT WORKS! Parts of kit happen to be gold and some look only at trees I see an entire forest. I hope we don't beat this dead horse for 20 more pages? But I have been here since "Ferrari listserve" and I am still young. I have plenty of time.
Tim do you even own a Ferrari and if so do you ever drive your Ferrari. I'm beginning to doubt that you do. All of my problems were well defined and followed by the book for repairs. All the wiring, connections, etc, etc, etc. were gone through thoroughly. The repairs worked for awhile but this crap always came back and pointed to the ECU connections. There was no hail mary here. That "somewhere along the line" crap you spout was the gold connector kit. It FIXED the problem AT THE SOURCE. The gold you dismiss just makes it that much better. Here's a secret for you Tim, NOTHING LASTS FOREVER. If what you harp on is true I will have to deox the connectors at some point some time down the road. Maybe 10 years, maybe 20 years, and maybe never. I don't care if this kit were made out of cat crap. The friggin' thing works Tim. You have a very difficult time dealing with this fact don't you. Lastly, I'm a geochemist Tim and I've forgotten more about chemistry than you know. Be careful with science it can bite you in the ass when you least expect it. Papers are written under very specific parameters and the conclusions are the results of those parameters. Change the parameters even slightly and so do the conclusions. I know this through many many years of experience. Steve
Wow John, you drive 100 to 200 miles/day trips, really that far. Try 4 or 5 1000 to 1200 mile trips maybe through the West like Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico up and down numerous 10K, 11K, and 12K foot passes running through gorgeous mountain valleys at 120. Drive your car like a man then report back to me about trouble free and worry free. Until you or some other engineer comes up with a better mouse trap, using tin and nothing but tin I'm sure, the gold kit is where it's at (you seem to think Dave is an idiot. Gold was used for a reason John not just because its "gold"). Steve
I've got over 30k miles on my 308, every mile by me. I hear a lot about how these cars (F355s and others) never ran right from the factory. I wonder how many F355 owners here have owned any Ferrari new, out of the box. I would never refer to either of my Ferraris as a POS, or state, Unfortunately, Mr. Helms just does not have the resources of major manufactures to perform long term testing of his products. There are millions of cars out there with tin connectors that do not suffer the corrosion problems depicted on his "Innovations" web site: Innovations - Solutions - Scuderia Rampante Just how many of you have found connectors as corroded as those shown on that page? If you have it is from neglect, not bad engineering. I just replaced a O2 sensor on my 2002 Toyota truck with 155k miles on it. The connector is hanging out in the open, under the engine where all the New England salt and sand, mud and rain gets sprayed all over it. Pretty much the same type of connector as on a 355 O2 sensor. When opened up it was clean as a whistle inside. Tin on tin. I also have a 1996 BMW 3 series with lots of tin on tin connectors--no problems. While I am it, look at the pictures of the water hoses on his page, all calcified inside. In 50 years of working on cars I have never seen a water hose with those kinds of deposits inside. If you like I can post some pictures of some hoses that were on my 308 for 25 years. They are perfectly clean inside. So excuse me but Mr. Helms is showing you worst case examples, IMO, which is typical of a marketing strategy. Developing a strong following to defend his products also follows that of good marketing. Now, I keep on hearing the gold was used for a reason but the reason is not fourth coming. Certainly where possible both the male and female part are replaced with gold. Great, no harm, no foul, might even be better than tin on tin in some instances. But there is nothing fourth coming about all the remaining gold on tin. SO JUST WHAT IS THE REASON? I hear a lot of verbiage but see no supporting evidence as to why gold was chosen. By the way, "because it works" isn't a legitimate reason. Neither is DH tested a lot of things before settling on gold. I mean, provide sound technical data. Show me that the rest of the electronics industry gets it wrong. But I do think DH is a very smart man. He has you convinced you need to spend hundreds of dollars on hoses and I'm afraid to ask how much on the GCK. Oh, and by the way, I don't have the need to drive at high speeds on public highways, endangering other's lives, to feel like a man.
You are lucky you got a good car. Congrats! Respectfully Sir, Your post show incredible lack of knowledge of the brand that is Ferrari. Your statements just shot down any last bit of credibility making parallels between Ferrari, BMW and Toyota. Your statement accusing "neglect" is a put down on every owner and every mechanic who live with and repair these problems on a daily basis. Instead of "fist thumping" the implication that Ferrari is just as good or should be as good electronically with tin as a BMW or a Toyota why not get a little education on Ferrari reliability and try to understand "why", then suggest solutions as an engineer? To accuse SRI of just being a "marketing strategy" is just uncalled for, mean spirited, and reeks of some other hidden agenda other than to inform, discuss, and innovate solutions for our cars. I seem to be a primary poster in this thread. If I bring out that meanness in you I am sorry for all who have to read this. Are we on page 24 yet?
Well JohnK these pictures are very close and from my second 550. My first 550 was the same. After seeing this I recommended that 550 owners consider inspecting their sealed ECU's at their major service. They may be horrified by what they see. My red 550 is a 90pt hyper maintained concourse car. My silver 550 is a 60k mi driver. Both internals look the same. My 348 was a constant connector cleanfest pre-SRI gold kit. That is why it was converted to a racecar. That's 3 out of 3 Ferraris for me in the modern electronic age.
This is the passenger plug side. How's that for corrosion! Sealed inside the passenger footwell. Does your 3 series BMW leak water over your ECU? My kid's 3 series does not but my Ferrari does. Design flaw! We are you getting an education eh? Image Unavailable, Please Login
How about this JohnK? This is the driver's side ECU that a professional FNA dealer cleaned only 1 month before this picture, about 3 months ago. Look at the goop. That sludge collecting in the ECU is oxidized yuk. Did they clean anything? The work order says so. I can only report what I see. I make no accusations I just see corrosion yuk to clean out of this sealed ECU. That's just what I have down as a DIY'er in the last 2 months. Image Unavailable, Please Login
So JohnK, Here is picture of a pile of tin pins I have just finished pulling out of my ECU blocks. I see one (it is hard to see) spread pin I condemn the whole block. I took all these pins out just for you! I hoped to find multiple tin pins with damage. I was shocked to find 100% of these pins utterly useless. If these tin pins are so great I defy you to find "one" pin that you would want in your car. Each pin is spread loosing the clamping force as I have posted other pictures before. The tin pin quality is just not there. You may not like the gold pin but before you can get fretting corrosion you have to at least make contact. PM or email me an address and I will send you this batch of bad tin pins for your inspection. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Fatbillybob, I have to agree with you here. It seems that as soon as someone chimes in about the SRI GKC, johnk is quick to jump on the thread to espouse his contradictory opinion. Beyond what's been stated in the current thread there are plenty of other examples from just the last 6 weeks: Post #4 http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/348-355/416108-more-gold-connector-feed-back.html, Post #43 http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/308-328/408593-328-love-story-scuderia-rampante-gold-connector-kit-3.html. The statement, "reeks of some other hidden agenda . . ." fits the bill indeed. I will happily disclose that I am an SRI customer currently running the first GKC on a 328. My satisfaction with the product has already been stated earlier in this thread. On a separate note, Fatbillybob, many thanks for your contribution to the board. It was from your posts that I learned how to degree the cams on my 328.
Nothing new there billy. Everyone that comes into the shop with a check engine light, I head straight for that ecu. The ecu connector is the absolute pits. Those terminals float around in there like nothing I have ever seen on any car. Garbage. Don't get to hung up on the BMW thing either. The newer cars are terrible for water damaged wiring. The trunk is the worst.
I would just like to repeat what was already said I think earlier i noticed an improvement in the amount of shock and check engine lights as well as the subjective seat of the pants or idle improvements with my installation of the gold supreme f1 355 kit. I do not care if some do not believe me or of it goes against someone's scientific data. My car had issues previously and at lease now it takes one more unknown out of the equation. I just try to relay my facts and try not to relay my options as facts.
What does water leaking over the ECU have to do with gold or tin contacts? Do you think it would be ok to have water running over the ECU if the contacts were mixed gold on tin? The problem is water leaking, not tin contacts, not clamping pressure. Fix the leak to cure the problem. .
Please don't label it my opinion. It is the opinion of the electronics industry that gold to tin contacts are to be avoided. Not my fault if you want to ignore that. I'm glad you 328 is running fine. I'm happy to disclose that my 308 has run great since the day I bought it new, 28 years ago, without need of anything other than a couple of majors and a set of spark plug wires.
I think I was trying to say the same thing but I think this sums it up better than my post above. +1000
The problem is that gold on tin IS an issue. And trying to convince you otherwise is a diversion. As was posted previously, both Jag and BMW issued service bulletins to correct such issues. Why? There is a continued dismissal of all this by misdirection pointing to the improvement provided by refreshing electrical contacts with the GCK in spite of the fact that it introduce this recognized problem. Too much BS. FBB is correct. We will never agree on this because he dismissed the issue.
I don't know what to say other then I'm glad fatbillybob does speak up hear and I agree with all his points and counter points.
