EDIT - Thread started as a development thread but these are now available for purchase: R & AUTO version: https://store.**********.com/products/ferrari-f430-599-reverse-auto-button-switch-assembly-and-harness R, AUTO, LC version: https://store.**********.com/products/f430-599-reverse-auto-l-c-button-switch-assembly-and-harness Greetings folks, So, we are in the process of developing a solution for the failing rubber transmission buttons (R, AUTO and LC) for 430's and 599's. Our solution will be a permanent fix to a long standing problem. 1st, the coating will be our hard touch coating with factory correct, laser etched graphics - it will never fail or get sticky. 2nd, our solution will be complete new switches, buttons and electronics that will be hard plastic - not rubber. This is not going to be a band-aid fix, it will be a profession solution. We will be building prototype circuit boards and harnesses end of this week. So, we are looking for 2 beta testers. - We need one person in the USA with the R & AUTO assembly and another outside the US with R, AUTO and LC. Please email (not PM) if you are interested to discuss details. dave.lelonek@**********.com My best, Dave Here are some photos of the progress. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Prototype electrical boards and harnesses complete for non LC and LC cars. These have been bench tested and work as designed and are now off to beta testers to check in-car operation. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Because the original buttons are silicone rubber and: 1) Coatings don't stick to them 2) They disintegrate over time. You cannot install a hard button into a switch assembly that uses a rubber button - the internal parts are totally different and the assemblies function differently. Our solution will be plug and play and will take 15 minutes at most to install. The solution will be permanent - the buttons won't get sticky or disintegrate. Our price point will be very attractive for this turn key solution.
Thank you but we are all set for beta testers. The harnesses are shipping tomorrow to a tech friend who will test at a minimum the non-LC but he actually plans to attempt to test both.
stickyrx, wonder if you have developped the 360's cam lock tool. i know u have the 355's. ideally, the 360 cam lock tool should be coming in 2 versions , one locking from front of engine, one from rear of engine
We've not done any electrical testing as of yet with the exception of testing the harnesses by powering them and evaluating voltages, etc. My electrical engineer is a long time friend and a brilliant guy who has designed circuits and sensors for NASA and the space shuttle programs. The micro switch has cycle data and it's operation life cycle is 100,000. It's also the exact switch used by the OEM which took some effort to find. In fact, the one on the above photo is not the correct one, we located the correct one last Friday and the samples arrived yesterday (electrically, for test purposes, what is on the boards now is fine). The other components are all well within heat ranges for the application. It's important to remember here, we have not designed this from scratch - this is mostly a reverse engineering project with mild changes based on manufacturing methods and improved quality. Multiple prototypes of the mechanical parts have been produced over months and production parts are in the works now as I type this. This is an exciting project as it will be a permanent solution for a long standing problem. And, our solution will come with a warranty of 2 years against any defects.
I'm glad to discuss this with you at any time, but let's please keep this thread on topic. To answer your question, short term we have no plans. I own 355's so I often create solutions that I need and then make them available to the community.
So, I just spoke with my tech friend Matt who tried the harnesses today in a 430 SCUD. Everything worked as designed! He will create a cell phone video for me later. Discussing production electronics with a vendor next week. We are on the way folks
Our first run sample injection molded buttons are being sent to us today for approval Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sample buttons received today. We will inspect these over the next two days (visually and dimensionally) and then provide approval to run production parts. Mean while, 1st batch of housings in route and awaiting electrical build quotes to award wire harness and boards. We are getting very close Image Unavailable, Please Login
Samples have been racked and have translucent white applied. Black to follow and then laser etch Thread title changed also since we have our beta testers Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sample buttons now have low gloss black coating and will hopefully be laser etched tomorrow Image Unavailable, Please Login
So, here is an update: We laser etched 3 of the sample buttons today but these are not for a 430 or 599 - they are for an Alfa 8C - Yep, the Alfa 8C uses the same crappy rubber buttons also So, our new switch assemblies will work for that model too More updates on this to follow As you can see, the buttons are just like OEM and they will illuminate at night as designed. I just used a mini flashlight to backlight these. Ignore the tiny white particles on the AUTO button, I didn't blow it off prior to taking these cell phone photos. So, who wants a rubber button that will fail when these hard plastic buttons with a hard touch coating that will never fail are going to be released very soon? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Done. First set reserved for you my friend. Thank you for your ongoing support. Have not seen you around here much. Missed your posts.
Hi Dan, It's hard to say exactly. We are waiting on a couple more electrical build quotes before awarding that portion. Most are quoting 3-4 weeks. The production buttons are due in about 3 weeks and then we need to paint them and start assembly. I think it's safe to say before Christmas, probably early December. We already have a list of people ready and waiting to purchase the moment we have product on the shelf. But, like all we do, quality comes 1st and we won't rush and deliver a substandard product.