456M GTA stuck in second gear / Beware of OBD II tester | FerrariChat

456M GTA stuck in second gear / Beware of OBD II tester

Discussion in '456/550/575' started by Dfender, Sep 28, 2010.

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  1. Dfender

    Dfender Karting

    Sep 23, 2009
    64
    Switzerland
    Full Name:
    Eric
    #1 Dfender, Sep 28, 2010
    A very unpleasant experience struck me on my way from Maranello home yesterday: The auto transmission was stuck in 2nd gear and wouldn't change any more. Revs went to idle when throttle was closed, so the tranny completely disengaged, but re-engaged when giving gas, although just in 2nd gear.

    The Ferrari Repair Shop in Maranello checked the fluids and sent me on the road for a test drive: Still no gear changes. Back to the shop. Switched off battery, waited 5 minutes, on the road again and everything was back to normal! Hell, what was that!!?? They couldn't do more for me and sent me to a more sophisticated repair center in Modena.

    These guys checked the car with the testing software: No faults! There was nothing else they could do for us (they even refused payment for the services they provided) so we drove home to Switzerland. No problems any more during the entire 450 km trip.

    Today, on my way to the office, stuck in second!! Damn, not again! Fortunately, my Ferrari AD is just a few miles away, so I went there to show the problem engine running, gear lever in D.

    The mechanic came back after 30 minutes or so and asked: "What is this thing?" and pointed to my newly acquired OBD II plug from Garmin. This thing transfers over blue toth a range of engine values to the Garmin GPS as well as delivering OBD II error codes to that Garmin unit.

    "That thing interferes with the on bord electronics", he snapped. That "thing" must have confused everything and caused the system to run in kind of a safety mode. When detaching the battery, the error codes were extinguished and the car ran like normal. As soon as I switched this Garmin GPS on, the errors were delivered to the car and the system went nuts. But never immediately! The first time I drove about 200 km before the gearbox desingaged. The second time just about 50 km. On the trip home we didn't switch the GPS on as we knew our way home.

    Well, the Garmin EcoRoute HD is now far away from my F-car and risks to be disposed of completely. So beware of that EcoRout HD! It disturbs the Ferraris ...

    https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=38354&ra=true

    Eric
     
    F456M likes this.
  2. Frari

    Frari Formula 3

    Nov 5, 2003
    1,194
    brisbane australia
    Full Name:
    tony
    #2 Frari, Sep 29, 2010
    Thanks for your post, it is great to find out about suchproblems that can be caused by introduced technology. No doubt someone on this board will experience similar and thanks to you save a hefty exploratory bill.
     
  3. andrew911

    andrew911 F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 8, 2003
    2,887
    Northern NJ
    #3 andrew911, Sep 29, 2010
    Ironic that the advertisement for that gizmo says it save trips to your mechanic- didn't in your case! And it helps calculate carbon footprint....I'd just throw that thing in the trash. The carbon footprint disrupted by that thing not decaying in some trash heap will be smaller than the car parts and transmissions runied by it.

    All kidding aside- interesting and thanks for posting!
     
  4. Dfender

    Dfender Karting

    Sep 23, 2009
    64
    Switzerland
    Full Name:
    Eric
    #4 Dfender, Sep 29, 2010
    Drove the car yesterday and today - with no problem at all! She runs beautifully, changes gears like butter and even with 1200 revs when cold engages as soft as can be.

    Unbelievable, that this interface causes such severe failures like desengaging the auto transmission completely!

    Am I glad they discovered the connection! Others could have searched for ever ...

    Eric
     
    F456M likes this.
  5. ernie

    ernie Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 19, 2001
    22,575
    The Brickyard
    Full Name:
    The Bad Guy
    #5 ernie, Sep 29, 2010
    WOW!!!

    That is VERY interesting.
     
  6. ferraridriver

    ferraridriver F1 Rookie

    Aug 8, 2002
    4,134
    Bay Area Calif.
    Full Name:
    Dave
    #6 ferraridriver, Nov 14, 2011
    Have you had the ground wire on the OBDII connector update installed?

    I just put the Garmin EcoRoute HD in my 550 before I saw your post. I'll keep your post in mind if I have any difficulties.
     
  7. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Aug 10, 2002
    26,369
    socal
    #7 fatbillybob, Nov 14, 2011
    Very strange. I thought the OBD2 port was a one way deal. I did not know you could interfere with the car. Also, OBD2 is an american thing. You guys have obd2 in europe?
     
  8. Dfender

    Dfender Karting

    Sep 23, 2009
    64
    Switzerland
    Full Name:
    Eric
    #8 Dfender, Nov 15, 2011
    Maybe OBD2 is the wrong name. The Garmin Ecoroute HD delivers On Board Diagnostics, but if htese are the same as AMerican OBD2, I don't know.

    In the mean time, Garmin delivered the European version of the Ecoroute HD. This might work correctly, although from outside there is no visible difference. Mine had been a US version (the EU version was not available yet) on a European car. Maybe, that was the source of problems ..?

    Eric
     
  9. 166&456

    166&456 Formula 3

    Jul 13, 2010
    1,723
    Amsterdam
    #9 166&456, Nov 15, 2011
    Yes, only here it is called EOBD II. :)
     
  10. Orthodoc

    Orthodoc Rookie

    Jul 26, 2012
    8
    Illinois
    Full Name:
    Steven H Packard MD
    #10 Orthodoc, Jul 27, 2012
    I recently encountered the identical problem with my 456M GTA. With the reader plugged in the transmission failure warning light came on, and car would not shift out of 2nd gear. Unplugging the unit turned off the fault light and transmission worked normally. This post was very helpful to me.
     
    F456M likes this.
  11. vlamgat

    vlamgat Formula Junior

    Jan 9, 2004
    776
    #11 vlamgat, Jan 23, 2019
    I ran into the same issue with the ScanTool II. Plugged in with the engine running, it disconnects the transmission ECU putting it into limp mode. Removed and after a battery cycle, normal function returns and visions of transmission removal/repair stop dancing in my head!
     
    paulchua and F456M like this.
  12. F456M

    F456M F1 Rookie

    Jan 8, 2010
    3,665
    Oslo
    Full Name:
    Erik
    #12 F456M, Jan 27, 2019
    Your Italian horse refused to co-operate with an American computer! Cool. Would be interesting to test drive a 456M GTA. Mine was a manual. And that’s great. But as an everyday car, automatics are quite nice nice too. Have now driven both a E46 M3 SMG and a Maserati Coupe Cambiocorsa with automated sequential manual for two years, and I must say my Chevrolet truck is like a luxury limo in comparison. And newer Ferraris don’t have real oil pan automatics anymore. So the 456M GTA might be the ultimate Ferrari town car..?! Kind of the best from two worlds.
     
  13. killer58

    killer58 Formula 3

    Jun 30, 2010
    1,189
    CA & DC
    #13 killer58, Jan 27, 2019
    I certainly think so.
    However, it doesn’t like DC potholes any better than my Spider.
     
    F456M likes this.
  14. paulchua

    paulchua Cat Herder
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 1, 2013
    16,084
    Menlo Park, CA
    Full Name:
    Paul Chua
    #14 paulchua, Apr 27, 2020
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2020
    Me three..same issue, careful with some OBDII readers. Definitely make sure it's not the cause of ASR/Transmission limp mode as it was for me.
     
    Qavion likes this.

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