Ferrai 360 - SLOW DOWN light came on! | FerrariChat
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Ferrai 360 - SLOW DOWN light came on!

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by Ferrari Spider, Mar 17, 2012.

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  1. Ferrari Spider

    Ferrari Spider Karting

    Jan 16, 2012
    57
    North America
    #1 Ferrari Spider, Mar 17, 2012
    Hey guys, Last night on my way home the "slow down" light came on, I took it easy and came home and thought maybe i was just driving hard and by morning engine would cool down and the light will automatically go away. This morning the light still remains on.

    I am running staright pipe exhaust on my car and removed the cats. The mechanic made me aware that the check engine light will come on but nothing about the slow down light. Has anyone else had this happen to them after an aftermarket exhaust installation?

    Any help would be greatly appreciated. Just wanted to know if this is normal after an aftermarket exhaust because the temp gets too high or what. In the owner maual it says if this happens get the car towed/see mechanic etc. Any suggestions?
     
  2. vrsurgeon

    vrsurgeon F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 13, 2009
    16,540
    Charleston, SC
    Full Name:
    Curt
    #2 vrsurgeon, Mar 17, 2012
    If light comes on with stone cold engine check the thermocouples, their ecus and their connections. Not uncommon to go bad. If comes on after driving, use an IR thermometer to find which bank is bad or hotter than the other. Mine was due to bad coils...
     
  3. FerrariDublin

    FerrariDublin F1 Rookie

    Jun 14, 2009
    3,454
    Dublin, Ireland
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    Greg
    #3 FerrariDublin, Mar 17, 2012
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2012
    FS, everything VR says above, plus, if you're a bit "handy" everything you need to know to diagnose, test, identify faulty component and effect a quick repair (and even a temp by-pass) is contained in this thread, started by FBB ........

    http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=328364&highlight=sdecu

    Best of luck!
     
  4. Ferrari Spider

    Ferrari Spider Karting

    Jan 16, 2012
    57
    North America
    #4 Ferrari Spider, Mar 20, 2012
    Thanks guys I'll give it a shot. Any others?
     
  5. Mr. V

    Mr. V Formula 3

    Oct 23, 2004
    1,247
    Portland, Oregon
    #5 Mr. V, Mar 20, 2012
    Why worry about a slow down light if your car has no catalytic converters?

    I thought the thermocouple read the cats' temp, and kicked in if they got too hot?
     
  6. Ferrari Spider

    Ferrari Spider Karting

    Jan 16, 2012
    57
    North America
    #6 Ferrari Spider, Mar 21, 2012
    Yes, thats exactly what i thought as well and posted it in another thread started by another member on the same topic :)
     
  7. Rosso328

    Rosso328 F1 Veteran
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Dec 11, 2006
    7,345
    Central FL
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    Paul
    #7 Rosso328, Mar 22, 2012
    You are correct in as far as you go, that the thermocouple kicks in when the cats get too hot. But the overheating cats are only the symptom, not the problem. There is something out of kilter further upstream - i.e. in the business section of the engine - that is causing them to overheat. You still need to understand the root cause.
     
  8. testascuderia

    testascuderia Rookie

    Apr 2, 2012
    4
    #8 testascuderia, Apr 3, 2012
    I agree with the guys above on things to check, the thermocouple control units seemed to be more common failures than the thermocouples themselves.

    Another reason to not ignore it even though you dont have cats is that the thermocouple control units can tell the engine control units to shut off fuel to one cylinder bank if they believe the temp is continuing to escilate, even if it is an erroneous fault.
     
  9. Irishman

    Irishman F1 Rookie

    Oct 13, 2005
    3,524
    Raleigh
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    Kevin
    #9 Irishman, Apr 3, 2012
    This is funny because in my car (US 308) I view the Slow Down lights as

    "Impending Fire"

    so I wouldn't be just blowing off the thermo couplers as being defective without checking things out.
     
  10. FERRARI-TECH

    FERRARI-TECH Formula 3

    Nov 9, 2006
    1,677
    Los Angeles
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    Ferrari-tech
    #10 FERRARI-TECH, Apr 4, 2012
    a difference in exhaust temp side to side will also cause the "slow down' light.

    A very common problem is a fuel supply problem, (pump, relay etc) which will cause a huge difference in exhaust temp. A noticeable drop in performance will be associated with that fault. Does the car perform normally when the light is on ??
     
  11. rustybits

    rustybits F1 Rookie
    Professional Ferrari Technician

    Jan 28, 2007
    2,509
    Somewhere, anywhere
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    Eddie B
    #11 rustybits, Apr 4, 2012
    +1.
    Also, the removal of cats means the thermocouples see a lower tempreture. They don't begin to work until they see an exit temp. of 250'c upward. At low RPM if you drop down to that figure the motronic will flag a slow down based on other parameters such as coolant temp.
     
  12. testascuderia

    testascuderia Rookie

    Apr 2, 2012
    4
    #12 testascuderia, Apr 9, 2012
    If the system is working correctly (at least on 348,355,360) the light will first flash at the temp reaches a particular threshold, if temps continue to rise the light becomes solid, finally it it reaches a possible damaging level the car will shut off fuel to that bank. If you start the car up cold and the light quickly goes solid it is very unlikely that there is a real temp issue.
     

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