Scuderia cold start engine scenario...

Hello, I have a 2009 Scuderia and here in Seattle it stays on the garage on a battery maintainer for 4 or so months out of the year. It never gets very cold here and today it hit 40-45 degrees but was very sunny and the roads are pretty clean so I took the Scud out for a drive. It started funny and did not rev past 1K at startup (normally hits 2K and warms down from there to 1K). I took it out of the garage thinking it was just cold from sitting these past few months. Bottom line, I had it out for 17 miles before I was able to get it home and it never did run right…felt almost like the cold engine settings never “turned off” and the Scud had no power and almost felt like it was running on less than 8 cylinders. When I got it home I was worried. I shut it off and let it set for a few minutes and then turned the key on, the engine passed all tests and I got the “Engine OK” signal. I started it up and immediately knew it was back to normal. Reved correctly and was idling much cleaner. I took it back out and sure enough it was fine. I don’t think I hurt anything (I hope not as I did not push it very hard at all when it was running badly) but want to know if anyone else has experienced this. It ran fine for another 20 miles. Any and all thoughts appreciated. ClayS

 

If it does not start "right", just shut it down, and re-start. Same for 360... Oh, and always wait for the "OK".

 

I had something similar, the car felt like it was on limp mode. I suspect I started the car before all the system checks were "OK" Now I actually wait for the "Check Ok" to disappear before starting the car and drive off. Never happened again.

 

I was excited to get the Scud out and I may very well have not waited long enough for the Check Engine to be completed. Do you think I hurt anything by driving it this way? Sorry if that sounds stupid. ClayS

 

Too late to worry now... Next time you know to just shut off and re-start.

 

I was distracted by a woman I was driving. Never again. We had to pull over on the side of the freeway to restart. EPIC FAIL!!

 

Clay, I doubt anything was hurt. My car used to stumble all the time on cold start...but always smoothed out when warm. Never lost power for extended time. But the cold start stumble (like it was not running on the higher cold idle setting) bothered me, so I took it to FoS. They did a software upgrade and fixed it right up. Less than $150 if I recall. Problem never recurred.

 

Please takes account of the following: If you start the engine after (!!) the "Engine OK” signal wait in the idle speed until the engine has left the cold start mode. The duration is always between 10 and 40 seconds.

If you pull out and the engine is still in the cold start mode the engine will remain in this mode, and that feels terrible. Think about: the engine always runs through the cold start mode, no matter how hot the outside temperature is. Sometimes only briefly, sometimes slightly longer.

Therefore, always start the engine with a little bit of leading time, before driving away (for example when driving after a light signal).

There is nothing wrong or broken. The Scud is a high performance athlete which ALWAYS needs his warm-up time.

 

When you cold start the engine on a SCUD, the RPMs should always go up to 2K initially, or you have an improper start and the car will not run right. If your cold start only goes to 1K rpms, turn the car off and rework the key until you get the "OK" notice. Then start again. Always watch the RPM needle on start up. I always get 2K RPM on the second start. After the car is warmed up, it always goes to 2K on start up with no variances.

How do I know this? My Ferrari Dealer made a big point of this when I bought my Scud and I've always done it with no issues.

And to clarify, my Scud ALWAYS only goes up to 1K on a cold start after the car has been sitting on a trickle charger. The cold two starts procedure is pretty much standard for me when I take my Scud out.

 

Thats normal. In a cold start or on every first start, I let it cycle then turn it off. Then restart. Engine is much more smoother.

I actually have continued the habit to my Speciale and 360.

 

My Scud, my 360, my 612, always start correct on first start, whether they have been sitting for a month or more due to travel... I have only had to restart the 360 a couple of times over 7 years when I forgot to wait for the "ok", but otherwise they all start correctly first time... major they just never really get really cold: SoCal and always garaged.

 

It happens to most of the scuderias especially when you try to start them up after siting for a long period of time. Just shut it off and restart it. It will run normal.

 

I had that happen to my 16M three or four times, especially when it was new because I failed to wait until the "Check OK" light went out. The engine stumbled badly and no revs and no power. I just pulled off the road, shut the engine down, waited a few seconds, and restarted after the light extinguished. All normal after that. Now, the wait is part of my start routine, and it has not happened again. No damage that I can see.

 

If you think about it - the limp mode is a "safe mode", designed to prevent any damage if there is an issue, so I also doubt that something is damaged at all.

 

Ahhh, you blew your big chance

 

My CS would sometimes start in lymp mode - just restarted it and all cool

 

I have a 1986 328 that has been garaged for 10 years. I am replacing hoses and draining fuel. I am concerned with the initial start. Is it safe just to start it? oil not being present on the cylinder walls for so long makes me wonder if it will seize or score.

 

1. You should definitely post in the 328 section of the forum if you haven't already
2. For a car that has been sitting that long, never just crank it. Always turn the engine over by hand at the crank to make sure nothing is frozen.
3. There are 100 ways to recommission a car that has been sitting for that long. If you're unsure, I'd get a professional mechanic involved.