Engine check system failure light

Do you feel lucky?

That light was put there for a reason, don't ignore it.

The car is under warranty, bring it to the dealer and let them worry about it.

 

Make sure the gas cap is on tight. Check that first. If the light won't go away, take it to service right away.

 

The light that looks like an engine in the corner of the display is actually for emissions. Is this the light that you reference? I had a problem with a 2002 Modena where both right and left computers were replaced, each, one after the other, after the light remained lit. Subsequently, the light was not lit anymore. I was told that the triggering of the emissions light was a common problem on some 360s.

 

It monitors hundreds of components and functions. SOME of them are emmission related.

 

Thanks. I should have qualified my comment by posting the factory's answer from page 2.22 of the owner's manual:

"This comes on when the engine is running, to indicate a failure in the emission control system and in the ignition/injection system. It remains constantly lit until start-up for a self-check."

The inclusion of the word "and" rather than "or" dictates that when the light is lit, there is always an emission control problem. If untrue, the factory needs to alter its future descriptions.

 

I had the same problem with my 2000 550. Engine check light on but the car always ran great. After much diagnostic time on the computer, the O2 sensors were replaced. No problems since then.

 

What did the o2 sensors cost , as I have a 2001 550 and have the same problem . I have been waiting to take the car in to get Tubi exhaust installed but have been afraid to drive it till the garage checks this out.
My car runs great, but I have just been afraid to drive it so it has been sititng around for 4 weeks .

alican1

 

Rowdy,

Assuming your problem that triggered the CEL was an evaporative systems leak (like from an improperly tightened gas cap), the CEL would not go off right after the cap is properly secured. It will require several driving cycles before the computer would diagnose the problem as having been corrected. Btw, a flashing check engine light is a much more serious problem -- take dealer corrective action quickly if you ever seen one of those. Glad your light is off.

 

This sounds familiar: This April I packed a toothbrush and rolled the car down the drive, destination Santa Barbara, home, Vancouver, Canada. At the bottom of the drive the engine check light went on. ARRRGH!! 2,000 km to go and at THE BOTTOM OF THE DRIVE the engine check light blazes away!! Needless to say, I had people to see, meals to eat and the Spruce Goose to crawl all over. The engine seemed to be firing on all eight and the CD system was playing Bif Naked in fine order. Great, now would the car (a 2002 360 Modena) make it to Santa Barbara without a problem?
I went for it. Hell, we’re not talking about trying to get a Lancaster bomber back over the white cliffs of Dover with no controls and a couple of missing Merlins, just a modern car 2,000 km over smooth roads.
Once settled in Santa Barbara I drove to the Orange County Ferrari dealer. I was told the gas cap was broken (not that I could see the problem) and had caused the light to go on. The service manager was great. He didn’t treat me like a fool or dress up in a starched white coat while pretending to be a particle physicist, or an impressionist art dealer, no he just fixed the car. I drove home without the light balefully illuminating the dark recesses of my mechanical conscience, and you know, the machine didn’t go any faster and Jem didn’t sound any different on the stereo. Go figure.
Get your dealer to look at the gas cap while the car is under warranty. It costs (I think) a couple of hundred bucks and it falls apart every now and then. I suspect that’s your problem - as do others on this thread more knowledgeable than I. Good luck!

 

Allican:
I have a full two year Power waranty. which I bought with the car.
The dealer had quite a hard time determining it was O2 sensors since the computer kept saying the malfuntions were all over the place. The dealer was reluctant to throw parts at it so to speak. Especially since the were doing all this right after another dealer had just performed a 30K service and belts.
Anyway: each sensor is about $140 to $180. Diagnostic time can be quite prohibitive. My one bill was almost $9,000, luckily which my new warranty covered minus about $1000 which I paid.
My car was just like yours. It ran great. The first I drove it since I could not find my tow bolt. The second and third time I had it towed. Every time after that I drove the snot out of it since I figured it was going in anyway and if anything broke, they could fix it while they had it.
I serioulsy doubt if the gas cap is screwing your car up. I mean you screw the cap on and thats i. My guess is an O2 sensor. I justs out on 4 new ones. What really confused the dealer was another error on a new sensor. We eventually replaced it again and the car has been fine. Start with the simple stuff first. O2 sensors, gas cap, then catalytic convertors, and then EcU's.
Good luck

 

So what can "break" on the gas cap? The seals?

 

Yep. The seals. I’m in Europe at the moment and thus can’t go and look in the garage, but working from memory the gas cap consists of the metal outside piece, a black gasket and a gray piece of on the inside - as well as the retaining strap. The gray piece was no longer perfectly bonded to the black gasket. This caused the engine light to go on.

 

There is a rubber gasket on the inside face of the cap. It creates a sort of vacuum seal in the system. If that rubber gasket fails (or comes a bit unsettled from the cap itself) the vacuum can be lost.

BTW, the nice aluminium caps with a well fitted gasket are less than "a few hundred bucks". Why in fact, I know of a friendly Fchat sponsor who actually has them...

http://ricambiamerica.com/product_info.php?products_id=261141




-Daniel