Installing SRI Gold kit today - little help?

Let's remember that the heater circuits are not particularly low voltage, low current. Supply voltage should be 12V and current 2 to 6 amps. And the ECU is reporting heater circuit shorts, so continuity isn't the issue. If the ECU is working correctly it is seeing a short of the supply to ground. I.E. there is not enough resistance in the circuit. Lack of continuity would have the ECU reporting "heater circuit OPEN".

 

Yep...good pickup. The reading from the sensor to the ECU (not the heater circuit) is between .5 and 1V.

 

Gold plated RCA connectors on your home stereo are one thing...15, 20, 25 year old tin connectors who've spent their life exposed to a hot engine bay and the elements is another.

 

Not even close LOL I have been chasing a few connection issues with a 5 year old toyota. detoxed it lasted a few days. Just ordered a new oscilloscope (good thing) to mess with it.
The crimp connections are killing me also besides the terminals.

Soon as these plugs get moisture in them and pulled on and off a few times they are not nearly what they were new. I think many their plugs at at 10 on off cycles

Add heat, vibration, moisture = YIKES


BTW I used to be an engineer but never knew anything until I retired

 

So....what EXACTLY ...and I mean EXactly....happens to these Tin connectors in the engine Bay???????

Hmmmm....they oxidize. The oxides cause resistance. Resistance sends a week signal back to the ecu....the ecu then can not correctly adjust fuel/air ratio...your car then does not run at its peak.
And what does Deoxit do? it removes oxides.

So again, if the resistance develops due to oxides (not low clamping force) then this may work. If however, the connection is due to worn out JPT terminals with low clamping force then replace the terminals. And the majority of the terminals that the GCK replaces are on the ECU that sits inside of the cabin (with your beloved stereo), not the hot engine bay.

But make no mistake, oxidation at any terminal....your Ferrari or your stereo ....is the exact same thing.

And if you read the deoxit site you will see they make something just for those gold on gold connections, too. I hope you will not need it anytime soon, but Im glad they sell something for it.

So, since you like to think and compare.....why doesn't toyota, bmw, or mercedes have all of these failures and check engine lights even though they use a similar ecu? My OPINION, based on NO FACTS, is that the ECU is disconnected so many times on these Ferraris based on a 3-5 year timing belts replacement. Each time you take apart the ecu connection the clamping force diminishes and the contact does too. I agree with the premise that the GCK has tighter connections making it better than stock, but I (and a guy named Ernie, and the AMP techs) disagree that the ECU connections should be gold. I understand that somewhere marketing has made you think that gold is better (and gold on gold is) but the connections at the ECU in the long run should be tin.

I saw a movie recently that all people in the Future may have a lower IQ.......

 

Ooh, throwing down the gauntlet, aren't we!

 

I was just recalling the film....Idiocracy

 

My wife, who is the ultimate authority on all things, is the person I ask about such as this. She says, unequivocally, that gold is better than tin. I believe her. Or else.

 

Yep...I asked my wife too. She said platinum is better than gold and to hold out until those get developed. In the mean time....she says duct tape.

 

I think I love her!

 

Ahhh....NO!

In the 1990's we went through all this with every cleaner/coating product on the market and settled on the most expensive and magical material the mil-spec stabilant-22 made by the military available to you and me for crazy money like $100 bucks a 4ml bottle. To make it go further some diluted it with 100% alcohol. I have some if anyone would like to buy the bottle of magic from me. It worked for about 6 month cycles and then had to be reapplied in a vicious cycle of ghost chasing. DEoxit says it is a partial cleaner and leaves behind something that is flowable so when a contact vibrates and moves the stuff flows to where the contact was and prevents oxidation. Sounds great does not work in our applications. Improves yes for a short time. Why? I'm not sure but what we noticed was our crappy connectors, aged by poor quality or heat or whatever, were not sealed despite seals on the wires and seals on the plugs. So anything other than a residue free contact cleaner including our magic contact enhancer S-22 attracted dirt and debris which would accelerate the demise of a good connection. We would unplug connectors and there was cr@p in there. SRI's mandate is don't use cr@p on the gold connector pins. Leave them clean and dry. Don't put anything in there.

Stage right is a beautiful ECU that was cleaned by an FNA tech less than one month ago. Car was deemed fit and returned to owner. All that sludge is oxidized yuck and some contact enhancer. This car had many codes and a catastrophic failure. What has temporarily put it right is a stiff brush, bending the plug side ECU pins, and residue free cleaner. This won't last. My Second gold kit is on its way.

Stage left is the look of a virgin ECU plug. That gunk is a bunch of corrosion yuk that has got past the oem seal. It has spread pins in there and on/off cycles did not kill this plug. Poor cheap tin OEM jpt pins did that. If you never take your ECU plug off you are still going to have spread pins. If you do many on/off cycles you are just going to kill the plug faster. OTOH, the SRI gold kit pins are keeping their grip. If you don't have good grip the surface of the pin means nothing.

I have a new to me "second" 550 now running "Ferrari" perfect. My first 550 has run so good for so long my initial reaction after driving second 550 is that there is still something wrong like it is missing. Second 550 does not idle as smooth and will not rev as quickly or as smoothly. I took for a smog check and it passes so well that 3 or 4 of the parameters are lower than the average for all vehicles tested! You can'y get that kind of good report if the car isn't running well. Still, If you guys could drive my 2 cars back to back you would notice an instant difference. My old gold kit 550 is so much better. Well I'm just preaching to the choir and some will never be convinced. I don't care why it works it just does.
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I like your logic. As an Avionics technician on 737's, it's all about keeping them little electrons flowing with the least resistance. I use the De-Ox-It as a preventitive measure. Also I live in a dry climate with low humidity. If I were in a humid area I would consider gold contacts. Which by the way are used heavily in aviation.

 

Billy, I am trying to understand your post.

Are you saying that after the tech cleaned the terminals the car returned to working condition? And that you feel it just will not last? Ok, I can respect your opinion. And, I don't think it will last either.

What I hate to read is your comment on "cheap Oem tin connector". I agree that the Oem connector is cheap.... But not because it is tin. I repeat....the tin is not the problem....it's the clamping force of the Oem pin.

And to set the record straight a tin pin may cost .40$ and a gold pin costs maybe $1. So to me, they booth are very cheap. The cost difference is negligible.


And you do realize that the improved connectors I am referencing have a second outside piece of metal that leads to higher clamping force?

So can we agree that Tin is NOT the problem. If you or anyone here thinks that TIN is the problem, then why? I or no other post is advocating the replacement of the connector with the OEM design.

Secondly, if the connector is already upgraded and you get corrosion....why not clean it with deoxit? The data shows that more oxides will arise w a gold to tin connection (if we believe the data). Howevever, if the oxides are formed from the fretting motion, then we should hope that the higher clamping force will diminish this. Again, higher clamping force wins out.


So, to make the point again...gold on gold is better, tin on tin is good, gold on tin not as good. Higher clamping force is the best!

Stop hating on Tin. I realize you guys are a tough sell, but probably not as hard as it would be to get the wife a Tin ring.

 

According to the noble chart the only thing worse than Tin-Gold is Magnesium-Gold. So it could be an issue.
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What are the values in this chart you have? So Tin-Gold is 1.64, but 1.64 what?

And Tin-Magnesium is -2.23, but what?


I just want to make sure I understand the chart.

 

Or...did you mean to say Gold-Magnesium? (values atomic potential?)

 

I need to sober up

 

Just know that any value higher or lower than 0 is worse. Whether it be + or -. More voltage flow between metals. This is how thermo-couples work basically. So you want 2 metals together with as low a number as possible. There are other factors such as the electrolyte such as moisture and other contaminants. Just thought it was interesting.

 

So...you are saying that your second 550 does not run as good as your first? And your only explanation is the gold connector kit?

You seem to be open to data...I mean you are using emission data so you seem reasonable.

Why don't you dyno both cars. Verify that your first car is in fact better than the second.
Change the connectors, then verify that the second car is now better.

Again, I get that you are happy with your results. I am happy for you. Seriously.

I just have been shocked that you can not fathom that UPGRADED tin connectors would be better at your ecu.

I also think that if you are/ and have the chance to change BOOTH sides of any connector (male and female pins) then yes...use gold. It would be a better union and the cost is still inexpensive. Go to waytek or mouser and check for yourself.

This is a DIY site. When people start getting into doing ECU and terminal crimping for the first time they should not be confused and think gold is better for everything. There are many other tech sites that go through solutions to clear CEL...Ferraris are not unique. We are the first generation to work through these ecus in cars. I'm glad we don't have e diffs and navigation , etc.....this is hard enough!

 

Yes...and thanks for posting. This is why the techs said not to use gold contacts on your ECU ...they said "it's a Ferrari, I don't want you to ruin it."

I was shocked too. So that is why I set off to see what others had read and what other data they had to disprove these "non Ferrari" techs.

I sometimes am just as guilty of thinking...."but it's a Ferrari, it must be different." Sometimes they are and sometimes they are just cars that must still abide by the same scientific laws of the universe.

 

I find the whole gold + tin vs tin + tin debate very bizarre. This question has been answered in laboratories and research facilities decades ago and this forum is probably the only place in the world that is still debating it. I was agnostic when I first heard about this but during my research, I could not find anything supporting gold + tin. I challenge anyone to find data to the contrary. Physics and chemistry doesn't change whether the car badge says Toyota, Yugo or a Ferrari. Since the question on what is better has already been answered, the next question to ask is why use gold. As many have already alluded to, it’s simply marketing. In today’s fickle market, you can design a better mousetrap or something that is perceived to be a better mousetrap and you may do even better. And god bless our free market, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Just look at monster cable or the kardashions. If you can make a ton of money selling something plated in gold when better alternatives are out there, go for it and I hope you succeed beyond your wildest dreams. The only thing I ask is please do not insult the intelligence of community by claiming something that is clearly not true.

 

NO. I bought the car within 1 month of an FNA tech "fixing" the car certified ready to run. The car died and owner says last straw and got fed up and sold it to me. So car failed in one month. I cleaned the ECU connectors again and fixed results of failures and everything is working "temporarily" again. This is my 6th Ferrari since the 308. They are all this way. This is partly what gives Ferrari the bad rep it has. In 30 years the only lasting relief I have ever had is the gold kit.

I am not a tin hater. The oem pin just happens to be tin. I am a result lover. Calling one pin tin and one pin gold is just an easy way to communicate to people about them. If this pin has a name like junior power timer model xyz that's fine too but gold and tin work for the majority of people to set them apart. Like I said before I understand the paper physics. Engineering is a cogent assembly of physics into coherent system that is later tested in real life. Engineering is dynamic and a system may change based on real world needs and results. The only thing I can say is what Ferrari gives us does not work very well. What SRI has done works. That's it.

And have you read my threads starting back 2 years when I showed pictures of the spread pins and discussed clamping force? We know that the gold pins have better clamping force and maintain it as well. My previous post also talks about this as an absolute need. That said have you tested the different pin types and do you have data on clamping force and longevity?

I don't care what the problem is. I care about what works. One thing is not the problem. There are a host of issues that conspire to give us modern Ferrari ailments. Heck as JohnK said you could really be having a problem in a sensor and all the fancy wire ain't going to fix that.

It is not about tin v.s gold. It is about "OEM consumer acceptable" vs. "running better than you ever thought possible". You are welcome to pick your own name for it. This kit is not a tough sell. I'm a buyer and a user not a gold kit seller. I just bought kit number two for my second 550. We gold kit users are making a quiet revolution with the best running cars, lowest cost of ownership, less visits to the mechanic, and our records will reflect this as well the resale price. I don't care if someone buys this kit or not. I don't make any money. But what really bugs me is science taken out of context used to breakdown a fine product. To the naysayers, instead of looking around at all the awesome running cars using the gold kit and telling the world it can't possibly work maybe time would be better spent figuring out why it works and innovate off of that.

 

I can tell you that after installing new connectors all over my engine bay, trunk, wheel well, and passenger foot well, that light oxidation isn't what you are going to find. If that was the case, sure, Deoxit would probably take much of that off...and then you'd have to do it again and again as the years go by. Of course, each time you pull a connector apart, you are shortening it's useful life. Many of my connectors were beyond any kind of magic fluid. I had already tried Deoxit and physical cleaning. Replacement and/or physical cleaning were the only solutions. The male pins were cleaned thoroughly with a wire brush and contact cleaner. The female connectors were beyond repair due to oxidation, corrosion and reduced clamping force.

I didn't think that was really all that hard to understand...but there is that idiocracy thing you mentioned. Should I speak slower and use smaller words?

 

Who said I can't fathom? You brand me as a tin hater. That is not the case? Who is making a tested and proven "tin" kit? No one I know. I'm pretty tuned it. Anyone???

I want results for me! SRI wants result for "all" of you. You guys have no idea the greif SRI had to go through just to source a crimp tool that would work for all users. When no extraction tool worked for all users the FBB2 tool was made to try and mitigate the problems the OP has in the first post! The kit is still not perfect because SRI won't stop improving it until it is perfect.

SRI sells the only solution. Pins happen to be gold. Get over it. It works.

 

The only thing I would ask of the armchair quarterback naysayers is to produce any cars with the gold kit properly installed that aren't improved.