2002 Ferrari Spider F1 Exhaust Upgrade No Good!

That scenario caused SLOW DOWN's on my old 360. Could very well be a mismatched ECU reflash. Mine had been updated, with the wrong software. So if you're told it has aftermarket software, that's not the end of the inquiry. See if you can get that fixed before going and changing out your exhaust. Now way to tell what you already have if the ECU doesn't match your setup.

 

Oh boy Ferrari's a last resort. If it's been reflashed, the file will be locked and Ferrari will only be able to tell you that it's aftermarket, nothing more.

If you do happen into a Ferrari service bay, have them examine to see if the ECU's are cracked. 2002 I think half the year they were still using the original glue, which was prone to cracking and led to damage. Search here for that. I think the color of the bad glue was blue and the good glue is black.?.? That might cause your SLOW DOWN as well.

Where was the setup purchased? If you have records, hopefully they'll talk to you. I'd think they might since there's no way you can come back at them after the car's been resold. They should be able to confirm if a reflash was even done. If so, I suppose you'd carefully inventory what's currently on the car from the airboxes to the cats, including whether your headers have air rails, get them exactly what is on the car today, since it could be different than what was on the car when they flashed them, and have them examine the ECU software to see if it's correct. My personal experience with Evolution Motorsport is that if software has been purchased for that car, they'll reflash it correctly pro bono. But don't know if it's been resold?

So try to find out where and when what was done exacty and by whom, drop it off at service center, pull the ECU's, examine for damage, if none, ship the ECU's to the vendor for review. Make sense?

edit: Seems to me someone here also mentioned this could also be a problem with the O2 sensors.?.? Definitely seach and read completely every thread here on the topic.

 

Here's the low-down on Slow Down warning.....http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=328364

You probably have a bad thermocouple (the component which measures the cat temperature) or the little ECU device which interprets the signal from the thermocouple.

If you read through the thread I've linked above you'll find all the information you need to diagnose the problem. The components are relatively cheap, particularly if you can first identify which exact component is bad.

 

If you have a multimeter and take a little time to read the thread above I suspect you'll be able to diagnose the problem and fix it yourself. The slow down light is a common failure problem on the 360 and other models.

 

I have a long and storied "SLOW DOWN" history as well...

It always happens upon start up when nothing is clearly overheated. It flashes for 5-10 seconds then goes away.

I've had the thermocouplers changed and (when it threw a CEL - which I then thought was a legitimate problem) just this year new headers after it was determined that there was pre-cat material in the headers.

So...

Based on the fact that my "SLOW DOWN" occurred literally right after I purchased the car - when it was totally stock - and still happens to this day with new headers, I have to imagine it may be a battery reset required or even ECU flash?

Truthfully, I have no idea - with the exception of this very costly light, the car runs absolutely perfect, having just been in for a belt/fluid service.

I have no idea how to "flash" an ECU - but again, this light has always been on...anyone have ideas??

 

OK the light is coming on before the Cats could possibly be overheated so we can step over that first (and important) thing to check.

Generally speaking we're talking about Faulty Thermocouples or Faulty Slow Down ECUs (which are the little black boxes into which the thermocouples are connected).

You've eliminated the thermocouples (having replaced them) so unless you're unlucky and have installed a component that isn't working your next logical step is to test the ECUs.

Using an OBD2 reader you should be able to determine which side of the engine has the problem. Do that, then clear the codes, swap over the ECU to the other side and see does the problem then present itself on the other side. If it does you know which one to replace.

Bear in mind you can (and probably do) have trouble codes stored even if you don't have a CEL lit.

The problem could, of course, be further up the chain (bad connections, bad earth etc) but it's more than likely one of these four components.

Best of luck.

 

Pic of Slow Down ECU.... (hidden under the engine bay side-guards). This one comes complete with cracks which usually let the moisture in and spoil the unit......
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Thank you for your quick reply - last September I had both of the following replaced:

Pyrometer and Controller, Pyrometer.

The Shop Wrote:

"Replace both pyrometers and controllers. The pyrometers are not showing the correct exhaust temperature. The controllers should also be replaced at the same time. We installed new pyrometers and controllers, test drove the car and verified the repair is complete. There is no more slow down light or loss of power."

Only problem...

When I got the car home, the light came right back on.

Fast forward to June 2011...

Slow Down (as always) came on, but so did the Check Engine Light.

I had been scheduled to take it back anyway, but the Check Engine Light made it more hurried. They found pre-cat material in the stock headers, so I replaced them with Agency Power's, with air rails. The drove it and said all is fine.

I get it home, and SLOW DOWN comes right back on.

My hypothesis: The check engine light was the actual pre-cat material in the header problem (they took a video of the boroscope and proved there was material falling off)...but the SLOW DOWN is independent of that...

Since I've owned the car for nearly 2 1/2 years I have lived with this light...and everytime they say it is fixed, it isn't

 

OK, thank for the additional information.

I can only assume that the "pyrometers and controllers" = "thermocouples and Slow Down ECU"

I presume your dealer isn't in your back yard as otherwise you'd have thrown the car back at them and said "FIX IT" when the same problem popped up immediately on getting home?

There are two stages to the slow down warning - to the best of my knowledge the first doesn't trigger the CEL - it's just a warning. Only when the sensors reckon the temperature is going off the scale is the fuel is cut to that bank and a CEL triggered.

The CEL you got may have been related to this problem or may have been entirely unrelated.

If you want to fix the Slow Down warning I'd suggest you proceed as follows.

1. Ideally check with an OBD reader and see if you can isolate which bank is causing the problem.
2. Disconnect the connections from the thermocouples to the Slow Down ECUs and using a multimeter, measure resistance across the two female pins. On a good thermocouple you should get continuity (very little resistance) and on a bad one you'll probably get no continuity (or very high resistance).
3. If thermocouples are ok check the Slow Down ECUs. There are three wires - between the centre wire and one of the others you should be able to measure 12v (with power on at ignition) - that's the feed in. Between the centre wire and the other wire you should get a reading of something in the order of 1v to 5v that's the output side. On a cold cat with a healthy thermocouple connected you should be getting something in the order of 1 to 2 volts. If you disconnect the thermocouple plug while continuing to monitor the output voltage you should get circa 5v.

Hopefully one of the above will be outside limits and will help you identify a part for replacement.

If you don't understand all of above or don't have the equipment - print this out and bring the car to any auto-mechanic or someone you know with basic electrical skills. (I'd suggest you remove the engine bay side-guards first to facilitate easy access to the components and save time).

Best of luck.

 

Thank you again for all your help - I will for sure print this out and take it with me...the shop isn't that far away and I'll be sure to remain on top of things.

The CEL is RARE (maybe 2x in 2 years) whereas the SLOW DOWN occurs just about all the time...again, within minutes of start up, when there is no way anything is too hot!