348 Check Engine Light

Yep. Mine used to come on all the time. When I first bought my 348, I got panicked by it. But after several trips to the shop, I realized that the sensors on the 348 are "hyper sensitive" to say the least. You fart twice and they will detect it and come on.

My solution was the electrical tape one, which I have discussed at length in an earlier thread. Cut you a piece of electrical tape about 2.5 inches long, and carefully place it over the two "check engine" lights. This should semi-permanently solve your problem.

The key with these (or any cars) is, watch those gauges. They'll tell you when there is something REALLY wrong. Otherwise, screw the the check engine lights if your car is running fine otherwise and go down the road.

 

Hi Ken,

Look at my discussion of this here:

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=134451434&postcount=4

That post should help you out. If it doesn't, you should know that this question has been discussed probably hundreds of times; I would suggest doing a search if you need additional information.

 

Mine has been coming on a bit recently - there is a poor connection in my 1-4 mass air multipin connection. The other morning I had the light coming on an the 1-4 bank shutting off intermittently. Just pulled over and gave the connection a bit of a wiggle.

However, I knew that this was it because previously I had pulled the codes from the ECU. Definitely do that as it will at least direct you to certain areas.

Cheers
Kevin

 

Thanks for your thread regarding the CHECK ENG 1-4 light. I've had my 90 tCab since June and have watched my light come on and off with more frequency over the last five months. I discovered early in July that if I ran the car at low RMP (3,000) that the light would come on but I could get it to go out by accelerating and keeping the RMP in the upper 5,000 RMPs. Because I tend to only drive my car for 20 minutes and less on the highway than city streets, I deduced that I must built up carbon somewhere and what I needed to do is take the car out on the highway and run it wide open for a while. Two weeks ago I did that and the light stayed off for a longer period but still managed to come back on by the time I got the car back into the garage. I know my car have the 2.7 Motronic system because it states that on the original window sticker which I happen to get from the last owner.

Two questions I have for you are 1) Do you know where the Mondialt Cab hides its ECU test buttons and 2) Do you know where I can find a list of error codes?

Paul

 

Paul,

You can find a list of error codes at the link I posted above.

As far as the location of the 2 ECUs in the Mondial T, that I don't know. I'd suggest doing a search or posting a separate thread about that.

 

The buttons must be near the ECUs in the back trunk behind the shield that discovered the ECU
Ònly the US cars have these buttons European cars dont.

 

Thanks Dave and Frank, I now see where the buttons might be in a diagram of the FI systems in the tCab owners manual. I'll try the diagnostic procedure tomorrow and let you know what I find out.

Paul

 

Ken,

Did you obtain the error codes from the 2 ECUs?

If not, I would do that. Don't just be happy that the light went off... there is an easy way to find out what the light was trying to say.

 

The reason the light has gone off is because the problem hasn't popped up again. This doesn't mean that the problem when away, it just means that it hasn't triggered the light. The ECU's store the codes even though the light isn't on. ALso there are things that happen with the engine that cause the ECU to store a codes and not give a light. SO you will need to pull the codes from both of the ECU's. It isn't hard, and should take you about 5 - 15 minutes to pull them, depending on how many are stored in each ECU. It really is a good idea to pull the codes because it may be something that is on it's way out and could leave you stranded, or worse lead to a bigger problem. So PULL THOSE CODES!

 

Ken - cars don't normally fix themselves (there are exceptions of course), so I'd suggest pulling the codes from the ECUs to see what had triggered your light in the first place. As ernie says it isn't that hard to do once you figure it out. You do have to keep going through the button-pushing sequence until you have all of the codes - that instruction isn't necessarily crystal clear.

Good luck - and maybe it did fix itself this time!!

Cheers
Kevin

 

Judging by the comments, I am assuming that no one tried my solution?

 

Just wanted let everybody know that I finally got the courage to put a screw driver to the fasteners holding the black carpeted panel infront of the ECUs. I followed the detailed instructions referenced above and got the RPM sensor code (1121) from both ECUs with engine not running. I cleared the codes and put the panel back. I guess the concensus is I've got a bad RPM sensor on the 1-4 side and the 5-8 code is secondary to the engine being off?

 

I've pulled an "RPM sensor" code as well.

This does NOT mean your RPM ("Crank position") sensor is BAD! It means the connection is a little loose or DIRTY. Your RPM gauge works, right? Well then, the sensor is fine.

I've lived with it for a while. If I feel like wasting about $500 then I'll have the dealer fix it.

 

You will always get the rpm sensor code when you are pulling the codes with the engine off. The reason is that the engine is not turning over, and the sensors are not able to get a reading from the grooves on the back of the crank pully. So it will give you an error code. The workshop has this information in it. Most likely that is the reason for the code. Now if you were having a misfire problem, then I would say that you could have a bad sensor/s.

 

Thanks Ernie for the suggestion. I think the car is running fine and the light is coming on and off (in a matter of seconds on Thursday during a 25 minute run across town) due to a loose connection or something else that is inconsequential. However, I did enjoy learning how easy it is to access the diagnostics feature of the ECUs.

I was advised by my mechanic to use a bottle techron on every second or third tank of gas to help keep the injectors clean. I plan to run the current tank of gas (3/4 full) out and try the techron before thinking about seeking a bad connection. My car has a tendency to not turn over if I try to re-start the car on the second leg of a trip (usually the at gas station). I had the starter replaced which affords me a reliable start when the car is cold and I've just swithced on the battery. Now that I know there are no looming error codes in the ECUs, I feel confident that the failure to crank issue is not related to an electronic inhibition from the ECUs.

Paul

 

I owned a used 1992 348ts from 1994 to 1997. It was in the shop quite a bit with the 1-4 light coming on. The 5-8 light wasn't as bad as the 1-4. The dealership where I purchased the car seemed constantly puzzled as how to remedy the problem. Later on a few years later, I purchased a used 1994 348 Spider, owned from 1998 to 2000 and the same thing happened but not as often. I was always told that I drove my Ferraris too much. Since no one else drove theirs as much, it was difficult to determine " why " I was having so many problems. 1992 had 59,640 when traded in and the 1994 had 38,600 when traded. That was horrible by some Ferraristi standards ... others gave me a thumbs up.
For example, I would be driving down the road and the car would be running great. Sounded great, handled great etc. All of a sudden the 1-4 light would flick and then appear again and stay on. The car would begin to run like crap and that would be the end to a good time. When the 1-4 and 5-8 lights came on at the same time, the car would become an immovable object and have to be towed. The closest Ferrari shop was over 200 miles from my house. That was not cheap !!!
The cost was ridiculous at the shop, especially when the problems repeated themselves. No warranty on used cars ...
Finally I sold the car and bought an Acura NSX-T. No more problems. Folks beware buying a 348 of any kind. They were beautiful cars but ... until the ECU problems were fixed with the 355 series, the 348 was a pain in the pocket.
You folks who don't have problems with your 348s are very lucky.

FM

 

Family Man, I completely understand you frustration and disfavor for the 348 generation ICUs. I think my problem is on the minor side of the spectrum but my car (85927) is coming up on 31,000 miles at 15 years. It may degrade to the situation you found in your 348s at some point. Hopefully that won't happen. I purchased my Mondial after nearly twenty years of admiration of make and model. I will probably purchase a modern F car in the next five to ten years that I can enjoy boldly driving from zero miles forward. In the interrum, I'll enjoy making up for lost time in my tCab with expectation that the cost of ownership might exceed its used purchase price at some point in the future... and that OK with me.

v/r

Paul

 

THIS IS KILLING ME. YOU GUYS ARE MAKING WAY TOO MUCH OF THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS.

IF YOUR CAR'S RUNNING WELL, SLAP A PIECE OF ELECTRICAL TAPE OVER 'EM AND GO ON DOWN THE ROAD.

IF YOU DON'T, YOU WILL BE FRUSTRATED FROM NOW ON - THEY WILL NOT QUIT COMING ON.