CEL 0410 secondary air pump woes

I've been hearing some high pitch strange noises when starting cold and today I got my first CEL in 13 years.

Turned out to be code 0410, secondary air pump so I jumped in forgetting some of the ideosynchronities of working on Ferrari's, it's been a long time, several years in fact, since I have done anything under the hood.

Silly me, I thought I'd take the secondary air pump out from the top since it's a real pain in the butt to put the car on jack stands and remove the undertray especially at my age, I'll be 85 in Oct.

Well a couple hours later and many livid comments about whoever designed the location of these components, especially the jerk that put that hose there!! Poor car learned some new words today, I finally got the pmp out and on the bench. The problem was immediately apparent, the fan wouldn't turn!

I took it apart, taped the fan shaft forward a bit so now it turns freely. I reassembled the pump and it apparently works, at least on the bench.

I know there is no way I can put it back in from the top so tomorrow I get to crawl under it, take the undertray off, and put everything back together, if I remember how and where everything went. Sucks to get old and forget stuff.

This car is incredibly lucky I love it so much or it would have been history long ago.

 

Dave your car is indeed very lucky to have you as it's owner...all these years

 

Dave, you're a young guy

But, I bet it still was fun in a sick kinda way - right?

 

We are lucky too. If Dave didn't have his 550 we would not have benefited from his many innovations.

 

Although Dave & I haven't talked about the specific nature of his pump failure, it sounds like worn shaft bushings.

We need to start thinking about repair/replacement options for this pump as Ricambi shows it to be NLA.

We now know that without this pump and/or the SAI system we'll get CEL's. I've often wondered if there isn't a way to remove/bypass this system, and its error code logic, in conjunction with replacing the old ceramic substrate cats with more modern, higher efficiency ones that don't require SAI.

FWIW, some European 550's were built without this system.....

 

Dave you have my admiration for what you do. Just about every time I drop that pan I teach the car new words. It's not so much taking it off as putting it back on. If you are on your back under there don't forget to use the boxes to support the pan while putting it back in place
And some aspirin/Advil for the day after ...
Good luck!
Bill
FL

 

Thanks for the kind words guys, I don't feel all warm and fuzzy with putting this pump back on. I took the cover off and the impeller wouldn't turn, it felt like the rear of the impeller was rubbing the housing so I punched it forward a bit but I can't see any difference except the impeller turns freely now. I hate things like this, unresolved! All I know is after I buttoned it up it works on the bench.

Now I gotta go jack the car up and tackle taking the undertray off. BTW Bill, I used to have the perfect size box saved just for that. and I might substitute wine, vodka, or some left over opioid for the aspirin when I get done. just depends

There is a Mercedes pump with a built in filter that possibly might be adapted, a bracket would have to be made. Location can be a bit vague since it's connected by hose and wires but I don't feel like taking on another project right now.

It might also be possible to adapt one of several other secondary air pumps and employ a remote filter, after all it's just air being pumped.

 

Dave - while you have it out, you might want to change the filter media (assuming this pump has it - 355's do). I got media from McMaster Carr.

 

so very very true

 

Colour me impressed Dave. At 61 , every time a crawl under a car I swear and say to myself I'm getting to old for this...

 

Yeah, putting that undercar cover back on is a pain. I put my car up on Rhino Ramps, then raise the cover with my floor jack. What were they thinking with the front edge of the cover going under the front lip?! (Oh yeah, aerodynamics.) I use the suction cup from my radar detector to pull the front of the cover into alignment with the front holes.

 

OK, car is back on the ground with enough new additions to it's vocabulary to make a sailor cringe.

No CEL although I have no expectations of this continuing. There is something wrong with the secondary air pump and it's one of those things that won't come apart non-destructively so repairing it is not an option.

There is a Bosch pump fitted to an Audi that might be a candidate for us but it would require some serious skills in bracket making. I don't expect the plumbing and wiring to be much of a problem, that's pretty straightforward.

 

Dave,

Do you think there is anything preventative we can do like cleaning it or lubing it to extend the OEM life?

 

Hi Carl, nope, just hope for the best.

Both sides of the impeller showed wear from rubbing the case. The material looked like a high density plastic, ABS ?

There’s no way to get to the bearings without destroying the case that I can see.

I wonder what the dealers are doing for parts.

There is a pump that I think might be doable but it would be a lot of work for little return and the specs would need checking out first, CFM etc.

 

SPAL are the OEM for the pump; maybe they can offer a replacement even if Ferrari can't.

Alternatively maybe someone who is a real ECU guru could compare the code in the Euro ECU's which don't use the SAI system with the US ECU's which do, and figure out how to disable/bypass it. That, and replacing the cats with newer types would be the cleanest solution, and it would really tidy up the engine bay too.

 

John - I believe guys have gone down this road for the 355 (also made by SPAL) and failed. The subcontractors are all under contract to not sell outside the OEM (that is, for specialty designed products - so if the pump is a SPAL standard, when then they could sell it, if they still make it)

 

I would have to check but in the USA I think the smog pump is part of "secondary air". That system must be intact to pass smog in some states like kalifornia. The smog test looks for this embeded system via obd2 port. Not only can this systme throw codes to make you fail but has a "readiness monitor" to fail you before you even take the test! I'll know more about that if Dave doesn't already know, once I plug my tester in. In kali now all monitors must be ready after MY 2000 I think?

 

I once put that big undertray back on all by myself during a seriously heavy hangover... I felt quite satisfied afterwards

 

Scuderia Car Parts shows this item as being "Available to Order" - whatever that means, but it's better than "NLA"

 

Few years back I had the same problem with the same trouble code, John walk me through like an expert guide. There are few more things might possibly cause Malfunction. Luckily the pump operates only for few seconds in the beginning and then shuts off. Related issues to the pump to malfunction is either the motor itself due to accumulation of humidity causes rust the shaft or the propler itself including cracks and shatters since it is plastic. The pump is located right under the air filter box and is accesable from above. I agree with Dave it is a pain to get it off. Other important structures includes the vacume plastic units under the radiators which are expensive too, they operates by vacume generated by manifold to open the valve and allow pump pushes air toward exhaust manifold, if the vacume hoses are cracked or ruptured the valves function remain useless. The other thing if the valves becomes sticky and remains open all the time then moisture may travels up and corrod the pump motor. This is what I learned to follow step by step from John if the code comes up.