help.... my slow down light comes on right at start up on my 1997 355, i thought this light only came on when the cats overheated, being that the cats are still cold why would the light come on? has anyone had this same problem? sometimes the light is blinking other times it is steady on. thanks
bad ECU/Gremlin Notoriously flaky on TRs (I've got two fresh warning light ECUs) -- don't know if 355 are somewhat "improved" though...
Rocky, I just went through the same thing on my TR. The 7-12 ECU had to be replaced. So, I agree with Steve. The ECU in my TR was just replaced 16 months ago. Good luck. Jim
Also had the same thing repaired last week on the TR. The 'slow down cyl 7-12' light would come on after starting the car and would stay on for about ten minutes before going out. Bad ECU as mentioned. Not cheap either. $371 for the part, 1.5 hours dealer labor to fiddle with it cost $550 total...
When the car is first started, the ECU expects the rear oxygen sensor to read rich until the cats light off, and then consistently read lean from then on while the front sensor oscilates between rich and lean on a (more or less) regular basis. Apparently this is not happening. Potential causes: A) oxygen sensor heating element burned out, B) oxygen sensor out of range (dead or dieing or corroded), C) Cat dead or dieing, D) wiring gremlins.
Mitch -- Are you sure the O2 sensor(s) are involved in the over-temp warning light function immediately after cold start-up? My understanding was/is that the O2 sensors don't make a meaningful/useable output until they reach a fairly high minimum temperature (and that they would trigger a "check engine" light rather than a "slow down" light). ROCKY -- forgot to ask in the first message -- how's your self-test at key "on" been behaving?
Steve.. self test at key "on" seems to be ok, all lights come on than go off, except for the slow down light. I am also getting a P1449 code when I use the code reader, don't know what this is as I don't have a list of Ferrari codes.
I'm following this thread with some interest as, I too, occassionally get the "Slow Down 1-4" light to come on, but then disappear. For me, though, the light comes on not immediately after starting, but usually a couple of minutes later, and then usually disappears a few minutes after I get the car moving. I first thought it was an overheating issue, but then the weather here in the Northeast has been crisp and cool, so it probably isn't. Do you guys think it might also be a faulty ECU? The car has just had it's 30K servicing. Assuming it is, I guess the second question is: can you live with this false positive for a while, or should it be changed immediately? I'd appreciate your thoughts.
Do you get the half power out of the engine or just the light. Mine did this a few times as well on my 355 and seems to have went away on its own.
Just the light Jeff. Based on your experience, I assume, then, that this could be just another lovely 355 "quirk" that some of us have to live with. I think you're right, as the car just went through it's 30K where it was gone over with a fine tooth comb.
ROCKY -- You put too much positive political spin on your answer -- your over-temp warning light self-test is NOT WORKING . You can always try refreshing the thermocouple connections (and any other connections at the ECU where the thermocouple connects) and checking the thermocouple itself for continuity (and maybe room temp voltage output), but those would be the lucky fixes. I, too, am surprised you guys aren't having more "power loss/bank shutdown" issues since I thought these later systems (348 and later) were designed to shut things down on a positive (even if false) over-temp signal -- because (as you guys almost always demonstrate) the driver rarely "stops" when the warning light comes on. Perhaps they've got more smarts in the overall system to ignore a positive over-temp signal if it previously figured out that the initial self-test was wacko itself, but just speculation (always a little frightening when they add complexity to deal with a problem caused by added complexity ).
"I am also getting a P1449 code when I use the code reader, don't know what this is as I don't have a list of Ferrari codes" I know this won't fix your current problem, but... I think it would be invaluable to have an online database of the error codes and description for the new computer cars. I just went through this with my Range Rover. Try and get a dealer to translate the code # for you is like pulling teeth. But I was able to find an online database of ECU codes and translations on line to diagnose the problem.
Mine started to do the same thing yesterday morning(light 5-8) i never lost power, after i booked it in for next week, bloody thing went out last night, sod it still going to take it in and use up some of me waranty.
