F1 light blinking on dash?

I have the exact same problem and my Google research yielded results pointing to the e-diff solenoid which is apparently quite an endemic defect for the F430.

Can anyone point me to a supplier anywhere that would have this part? A part number or contact no. where I can order this would be fantastic!! Thanks in advance!!

 

Sorry, I just realized that I never wrote back to report if the brake light successfully fixed the problem!
well, the brake light switch fixed it perfectly for approximately 5 years and 9,000 miles. The new owner that purchased my car just let me know that the problem was occurring again with the SAME EXACT symptoms! I told him to change the cheaply made switch again. I'm 99% sure that the brake switches just keep failing every few years.

 

Just an update. I found out tat a new brake light switch didn't fix the problem for him
He's going to look into a few other possibilities.

 

I cured my F1 blinking light by doing a fluid change and purging air off the system. I also did a PIS readjustment while I was at it.

 

The problem with my car was different. The flashing you describe is caused by low pressure usually. It makes sense that low fluid or air in the system caused the issue.
With my car, the light would come on randomly for a split second, and turn off. There is no pattern. even happens at steady speed some times.

 

I see. There is a pressure sensor located nearby the fluid reservoir. That might be the problem. Best of luck.

 

I have a little more info from the guy that bought my car. He told me that he thinks it’s fixed. He’s not 100% sure yet, but it seems like it is.
He said that he installed a “smart relay” for the F1 pump that supposedly works electronically and is supposed to be better for the pump. I told him to remove that, and check it. So far he said that the light hasn’t come on!
Here is the item that he installed:
https://www.scuding.com/Shop/en/ecu-solutions/101-smart-emt-relay-ecu.html

 

In my opinion that smart relay is expensive and way over-engineered snake oil. Nothing wrong with the low cost mechanical relay Ferrari fitted to the F1 system (the early 360 relay was a problem however, but is easily upgraded to 430 spec). For extra peace of mind just chuck a new relay in every 3 year service and you are good to go.

 

I totally agree.
I told him to keep a spare relay in the dash if he was afraid. Then he only has to make sure that the pump does not run more than approx. 10 seconds when opening door. If it does, it's either a leaking accumulator or a weak pump. Other than that, he just has to listen to the car when he shuts down to make sure that the relay didn't stick closed causing the pump to run continuously and burn out. Those are very simple steps that take minimal effort (and become habit), and the operator is essentially keeping an eye on the health of the F1 system with every use.
In the unfortunate event that the pump goes bad, there are instructions online to replace only the motor section of the pump (very easy) and its only approx. $350.
In my opinion, that "smart" relay is way over engineered and addresses a non problem. As a matter of fact, in this instance, it appears that it actually CAUSED a problem!

 

Now that I read these posts, I am wondering if that is my issue as well. Never really had a problem with the F1 light in the first few years I had the car, but here lately, it's a constant wonder if the car will start. Granted, there may be mechanical/hydraulic issues going on, but I never really factored in the "smart" relay causing an issue. Guess I'll try removing it and see what happens....

 

I've also seen stories on here with people who have installed the smart relay then becoming convinced their F1 system has developed faults. Lots of $$ spent replacing pumps, pressure bulbs, valves etc with no resolution to the smart relay beeping. Perhaps not being a Ferrari designed part there are subtleties to the F1 system the relay developers are not aware of.... There is quite a good monitor of F1 performance factory built into these cars, it's called the F1 transmission control unit. It connects the SD3 scanners, diagnoses faults and even lights up warning icons on the dash. Amazing.

 

Newbie here.. Sorry to resurrect this old thread again..

First Ferrari (360). Had the car all of 13 days. 1999 car. Bought from a recognised Ferrari dealer with warranty. Clutch at 50%. Only 400 or so miles done so far (300 via motorway). Not that impressed with the gear changes that may be "smooth" but feel innately "slippy" to me. Maybe that's the character of the F1, but they're slow and meandering in nature. Lifting off on the up shift helps (a lot).

The issue:

After a 15 minute hard(ish) drive in decent British weather, I'm waiting to get back onto an A road and I get the flashing tranny light (no beeping as far as I can remember). Remains in neutral and I can't get a gear. After a while prodding the brake pedal and persuading the paddles, I get a gear (no more flashing)

However.. pretty much each time I come to a stop after that, more flashing, no gears. So even after a relative amount of cooling (on 8 mile motorway trip) it's still playing up. Afraid to drive it at this point as it's just embarrassing and mildly dangerous

Fault codes produced via generic ODB reader are seemingly unrelated (?): P1531 (timing variator position not reached), P1122 (o2 senor), P1113 (o2 sensor)

Anyone experienced / resolved this? Not the most auspicious start to Ferrari ownership..

 

In some aspects the smart relay is appealing, (electronic vs mechanical relay, status indicators) However, the default settings for the error beep are a little too restrictive, which results in frequent alarms. You can reset the interval but it is a somewhat involved process and if you don't do the sequence just right, you have to start the process over from the beginning. You can also turn off the alarms and just have the LED indicators. Part of the issue is when that little light starts flashing and buzzing, people automatically assume it is a faulty system, and they proceed to throw parts at it, rather than doing the research or having their tech check it out.

My understanding is the developer is has a pretty good background in Ferrari tech, and his products are some of the only non-Ferrari items I am comfortable about putting in my car. As for the relay manifesting issues, this is the first I am hearing about it and I will soon pull the electronic relay and try the standard one to see what happens.

 

Congrats on the new car and condolences to the world of Italian electronics....

First thing to do is read the owners manual if you haven't and if you have, then read it again. Not trying to be a smart ass, but there is a so much info in there that stuff gets overlooked, and it's usually the simplest things.

Secondly, the F1 light on the dash, coming on at somewhat random times, usually when stopped indicates a loss of pressure in the F1 system if I recall from the manual. There could be a variety of reasons from poor pump/motor performance, to internal leak, to air in the system.

Best recommendation is bring the car to someone who can work on the F1 system and perform diagnostics and/or a flush. Hopefully, those codes you posted are not from your car. If so, I'd definitely bring it to someone experienced with Ferrari diagnostics.

 

Appreciate that Ghostdiver

Yes it will be flat bedded back to where I purchased it from. I'll ask them to do full checks. My worry, as it often the case with stuff like this, is that Ferrari diags will show nothing.. But we'll see what happens

When you mention you hope the codes are not for my car..? Well, they are the codes thrown up. I was told by a Ferrari specialist that using a non Ferrari SD ca sometimes throw confusing codes?

Is that likely to be the case here, or is a fault code a fault code? I don't have any CELs (aside from the tranny light) so perhaps they are just old codes that didn't get cleared?

Anyway, I trust that garage will get to the bottom of it

If anyone else has experienced flashing tranny lights (particularly when stopping) please chip in

I'm guessing there's potential for it to the brake light switch? Is that either working or not working or can that fail intermittently? (ie perhaps only when the car is hot?)

 

A generic OBD scanner will not pull transmission codes. Get it to an experienced ferrari tech.

 

OK..so this situation has nose-dived. Help needed from all willing to chip in.. Appreciate your ears and thoughts!

I'm not going to name names at this stage, as it's Easter and the trader has yet to reply to the latest situation, but I just want to canvass opinion

I'm based in the north-west of England and the firm is based south east of London, so it was a bit of a journey to collect the car, but my decision etc it's a Ferrari dealership

Bought the car just over a month ago. The car has done 1300 miles (in my ownership) and is actually warrantied for 12 months / 3000 miles.

So i had the first blinking light issue. Usually at standstill when the car is hot. Blinking light, no gears. Hazards on, essentially undriveable car. Gears would often come back, but then I'd either get stuck in 1st (and then they'd come back), or i'd come to the next standstill (in neutral) and more blinking / no gears etc

Car is flat bedded to the traders. I obviously describe the issue and state that in my (not very expert) opinion, it feels like a "hydraulics / pressure" issue.


The firm plugs the car into SD2, checks the transmission TCU and they see a bunch of fault codes so decide to just swap out the TCU for a slightly newer one they had in the garage from a previous swap over for a CS TCU.

Now I wasn't totally convinced that the TCU was the issue here. Sure, the original TCUs are crap (it's a 99 car), and I was glad to get a new TCU but my instincts were that the issue would resurface. I asked for the car to be test driven. Tests go fine.

I'm not quite sure of who bears costs when a car breaks in a month (actually within 13 days), but I bear costs of train travel, tube, travel costs and not only petrol home (£100), but petrol for the test drives (ie the tank isn't replenished to recorded level it was at on flat bed). Again, if that's my responsibility, then fine.


On trip home when I start the car up at a service station, i get a lingering tranny light and three beeps. The light then goes out. So at that point, I'm thinking, Here we go again...

I mention this to the firm and they tell me to keep an eye on it, "it's a Ferrari.." etc

Anyway, after about 100 ish miles the car is acting exactly the same way it did before being flat bedded. Blinking tranny light, no gears and the pump is making what I can only describe as an unhealthy (/ horrendous) sound. Again, not an expert here, but just my take on it.


So, put yourself in my shoes. It's a beautiful Easter weekend and your dream car is totally beached (and a family member is also sick in hospital to add to matters..)

How would you play this? The reason I mentioned costs before is that, as you can imagine, the costs involved (from my end) in actually having this car put in a roadworthy condition are starting to mount (if we're just repeating the whole process again). So that's another issue.. Let me know!



(thanks in advance)

 

If you've bought the car from a trader then you are covered by the Consumer Rights Act. This would almost certainly cover a major fault that occurred 13 days after purchase. You should give the seller opportunity to make it right. If you had bought the car from me and had such an issue I would cover all your expenses in getting it back to me - if you had breakdown cover then I'd ask you to try and get it recovered by them to.

UK trade sellers just need to suck up major faults that occur soon after the sale. I sold a 360 that developed a crunch when engaging 3rd or 4th gear within a month of the sale. Turned out to be the 3/4 synchro and the insurance back warranty we sold with the car didn't pay out (wear and tear). I repaired it a significant cost to myself. It hurt but that's the business we're in.

You need to give the vendor the opportunity to make this right. Please resist the temptation to name and shame as it will certainty get their backs up and you may find dealing with them more difficult. PM me if you want some offline private advice.

 

Thanks voicey, I appreciate that

The vendor was gracious enough to speak to me on Easter Saturday so hopeful this matter can be resolved locally without further expenses incurred.

Your example is a good one but I imagine is somewhat non-typical for the industry. It jut irks a little that when you pay the window price for a car there are extra bills to foot within a month of use..

In any case, thanks for the PM offer, much appreciated. I'll hit you up if needed

Cheers

 

I have to admit... Having spent this amount of money on a sports car (and I am not Mr Wealthy), with beautiful Easter weather (about as common in the UK as flying elephants), I am close to seething.

The fact that you can tell a company that's probably worth in the tens of millions exactly what the symptoms are and something as simple as changing a bloody pump is not done (even out of simple courtesy, to at least cross that issue off the list of probable causes) is just beyond me.

It's either penny-saving at its absolute most pathetic level or it's an acute lack of understanding over what makes these cars fail (and even someone with absolutely ZERO knowledge on 360s might be able to deduce that on a 20yo car the pump might be worth changing) (note: they have "plenty of pumps in stock and it's not an expensive fix" apparently...............)

I'm going to keep myself together for god knows what reason, but if we're not naming names at this stage it really questions the point of having Ferrari forums such as this. End of rant.

 

Well ... my throw out bearing / clutch assembly gave up three (3) days after purchase, during Easter holidays 2017, and after a month long waiting (debating with the dealership) I still had to pay 50% of the costs of a new clutch. When I did the PPI, the SD3 (?) showed 68% wear of clutch, so I figured there's around 20-30% still left. But nope.

After that ... pure enjoyment. Tho I'd really like MT not F1.

 

Rosso: Aldous Voice was good to reply to you above. He is one of the most experienced 360 engineers I know. If you have not looked at the articles on the F1 transmission on his web site, you should.

https://aldousvoice.com/

If you read his excellent technical articles and his thoughtful post above and still think “it really questions the point of having Ferrari forums such as this” then I’m not sure any of us can be much help.

I hope you will get this sorted out and can enjoy your car. When properly adjusted the F1 is an amazing transmission, I think. I find it great fun and much faster than I can shift a manual. I hope you can get it properly repaired and adjusted and can begin enjoying your car!

 

Thank you, Bob

 

Just wanted to update people as much as I can at present..

So my "dream car" has been a complete nightmare. Following endless attempts at repair the car still exhibits the same issue.

The car will be handed back for a full refund.

I think I will opine fully on my "Ferrari experience" shortly, so as to help new people / younger people that are looking to buy their first car. At this point, I just cannot support the idea to anyone. These cars are endlessly complex, are more like race cars than road cars (sounds great but in a practical everyday reality sense is a ****1ng nightmare) and unfortunately seem prone to failure.

Anyway, I'll report back again soon, probably both here on my specific issues and with another post on my brief and utterly soul-destroying experience.

 

Would erratic behaviour like this possibly be caused by a bad battery? Or is that just a silly question?