So... I just got 1990 348 this weekend. Had it for a few hours and broke down on the side of the road. Took it to a shop, installed a "new" re-built altenator. Just got it back last night. This afternoon I took it for a spin to my parents house (about 20 miles) about 2 miles before my parents house the check 1/4 engine light comes on. Any ideas? I am afraid to drive it... It don't want to break down again.
If you bought private..well your a bit out of luck..But if you bought from a dealer you may have a recourse to have the repairs made at their expense unless the contract states otherwise. Your slowdown light is the cat temp ECU warning of an over heat in the cat. Have the car checked asap. 99% of the time its the ecu that needs to be replaced..its just a little square looing box thingie in the engine compartment mounted on the shock/frame support.
For now I would not. Get it flat beaded to your tech so he can take temp readings of the cats. Then if everything checks out..have him swap the ECU's from side to side. If the problem follows the ecu then you know your ecu is bad..and replace it.
The "Check Engine" light isn't from the exhaust ECU - that's the "Slow Down" light. It's quite possible that everything is fine. Did you "re-initialize" the ECU's after having the battery unhooked / alternator replaced? The "Check Engine" light means that there is a fault code stored in the self-diagnostics on the Motronic ECU's. Could very well be that all you need to do is re-initialize the ECU's and erase the stored codes. No actual repair work needed!
I'm not sure what they did at the shop. I didn't do anything to re-intialize the ECU's. Should I try that anyway? How do you do that? If it wasn't re-intialized could it work fine for 1/2 an hour than throw an error? Thanks!
Check Engine 1/4 comes on in a lot of cars. Most of the time it is a bad sensor. This is bringing back memories on when I bought my car! As long as it is not the SLOW DOWN 1/4 lights its probably something small. If the SLOW DOWN 1/4 or 5/8 lights ever come on, PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY AND DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR. The 348 has a self diagnosis system whereabouts you can find out what sensor is triggering the problem. It is very easy to do...Behind the driver seat is the ECU for the one bank and behind the passenger side is the ECU for the one bank. Instructions underneath on exactly how to do due this diagnosis and let us know what codes you are getting...Most of the time its a faulty o2 sensor. Does your car have the cats still in them? Is driving ok but the light keeps coming on and off? Here is the procedure: It is fairly straightforward. You are going to get code 1121 (RPM Sensor). This is normal because the motor is not running. Press the large button beside the ecu on the driver's side for 2.5 to 5 sec. The check engine 5-8 light on the dash will come on for 2.5 sec, then off for 2.5 sec. It will then flash on and off in .5 second intervals for the first number of the error code, i.e. four quick flashes means the number 4, one flash means the number 1. After a short pause, flashing will resume. As before , four flashes means the number 4 etc... It will do this a total of four times in order for you to read the 4 digits of the error code. The same procedure is followed for the ecu behind the passenger seat for the 1-4 bank. Here are the codes: Hot wire air flow meter 1111 Engine coolant temp sensor 1112 Throttle potentiometer 1113 Lambda sensor 1114 Lambda regulation Additive value for self adaption 1211 Lambda regulation multiplicative value for self adaption 1212 Lambda regulation intake manifold compensation 1212 Valve 4111 Injection valve 1 1411 Injection valve 2 1413 Injection valve 3 1414 Injection valve 4 1412 RPM sensor 1121 Stroke sensor 4112 Power module not used 4113 Battery voltage 1122 TDC control unit recognition 4114 Secondary air solenoid valve 1123 Purge valve 1124 Catalyzer temp ECU 4121 Catalyzer temp to high 4122 Speedometer signal 4123 Short circuit on idle regulator 1311 Open circuit on idle regulator 1312 No error detected 4444 M.I.L. 1444 Electronic control unit 1313 Compressor connection signal 4131
Lamdba regulation is Italian for O2 sensor BTW...If it turns out to be this sensor try clamping a ground wire around your o2 sensors with a hose clamp and grounding it to the chassis. These cars are notorious for bad grounds and many times this little fix will solve the problem.
All OBD 1 cars did that, it was Federal law. That is why the industry called them "flash codes". Your Lotus lights all flash, what does that mean?
Matt, Don't worry about the "Check Engine" light(s). Just use the procedure outlined above and see what the light is trying to tell you. "Check Engine" lights are common on 348s. They mean nothing 99% of the time, so don't be afraid to drive the car. It's the "Slow-Down" light that might mean something, but usually that's also nonsense. These 348s have a bonanza of sensors and electronic gadgetry that make the appearance of some warning light(s) imminent.
Thanks everyone. I just unplugged the battery. I drove it for a few miles - the light came on, a few miles later it went off. It seems ok. Just a bit nervous after getting flat-bedded off the side of the highway the other day. I wish I had internet access in the car so I could post a thread and get all of your replies. This forum is amazing! Anyway - rain is coming so I put her back in the garage.
Don't be satisfied because it went back off. Your car is trying to tell you something so you should still diagnose the problem. There is a reason that light came on, although it most likely is not something major, it could be. It wouldn't let this stop you from driving the car, but I WOULD NOT put it off either. Big problems add up to BIG MONEY with Ferrari.
Did you re-initialize after unplugging the battery? Are you familiar with that procedure? It's very simple, just want to make sure you're aware of it.
Matthew - I recently had a similar (short lived) problem with the CEL light. http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58847 -Daniel
Since I assume the battery was disconnected when the alternator work was done, you should reset the ECU's. Disconnect the battery terminals (both). Let the car sit for 20 minutes. Then start and let it idle for 15 minutes. This will reset the ECU codes. You might have driven the car away from the alternator repair without the ECU's having the proper time to reset (the 15 minutes). Good luck, the 348's are great! BT
I hear you. I spent a ton of time and money rebuilding my suspension and upgrading brakes with BIG Brembos and have yet to drive my car because I decided to strip the paint off and respray it. It has been down since mid-April. John
No I didn't re-initialize the ECU's. Is the procedure the same thing that BT348PBG just posted? If so I'll do that tomorrow. Thanks!
Disconnect your battery for 15 minutes. Hook it back up, start your car, and let your 348 idle for 10 minutes. Do not touch the accelerator (before or during). Your ECU's are now "re-initialized." It's not that tough!
Our 348's store two types of errors, transient and permanent. Since your light went out, you had a transient code. The error was recorded, but your system hasn't seen it again. Also, rain won't hurt your 348. I drove mine through a Florida hurricane on my way to Alabama. The rain was so hard that the wipers couldn't clear the windshield of water at 5mph. Welcome to new Ferrari ownership and the affliction locally known as "Ferrari Anxiety" (FA) in which we frighten ourselves into not driving these great road machines. Luckily, FA diminishes greatly as the new owner gets his hands onto various 348 components. Self-wrenching is the best known cure for FA. Soon you learn that the air conditioning, brakes, mafs, keys, locks, electrics, switches, O2's, and many other components are generic, or Bosch, or GM, or Fiat. Which is to say, these beautiful machines aren't some magical technology beyond our own ability to easily, quickly, and inexpensively repair. Changing spark plugs is easier in a 348 than any other car I've ever touched, including Jeeps, Corvettes, Porsches, etc., for instance.
Oh..I'm such an ass!! I should have read the post more carefully!..D'oh..I just saw 1/4 and thought of the usual...carry on..don't mind the nut bar in the corner!
When the "check engine" light comes on it means that some error has gone on with the opperation of the engine that the Engine Control Unit (ECU) has recognised. The ECU will then store the code/s in it's memory. Here are the steps for pulling the error codes from the 348 ecu's. 1) Remove the covers behind the seats so that you have access to the ecu's. 2) Place the key in the ignition and turn it to the (on) position, but do not start the car. You will see the lights on the instrument panel illuminated. 2a) Make sure that the transmission is not in gear. Now start the engine, and let the car idle. Wait for all the engine lights to turn off, then follow the rest of the proceedure for pulling the codes. 3) Push and hold down the button, located next to the ecu, for 5 seconds, then release it. When you are holding down the button, you now should see the check engine light illuminate for the ecu you are on. (check engine 1/4 or 5/8) 4) When you let go of the button you will see a pause then a long flash for 2 and 1/2 seconds, pause with no flash for 2 and 1/2 seconds, then begin the flashes of the engine codes. The long flash indicates the begining and end of the code. Then it repeats the same code, until you move on to the next code. 5) Each number of the code is flashed for 1/2 second followed buy a pause then the next number in the codes is flashed. For example you will get the long flash indicating that the code will start, a pause, three flashes, pause, two flashes, pause, one flash, pause, four flashes, pause, a long flash indicating the code is finished. If this were the series of short flashes you got, the code would be 3214. 6) After you pull a code you will notice that it just keeps repeating. To get to the next code what you want to do is wait until the long flash comes on after the code. When the long flash comes on you want to hold down the button for the whole flash and let go of it in the middle of the pause. You should then see the check engine light give you another long flash to indicate the begining of the next code. 7) When the last codes has been pulled, you will get nothing but long flashes telling you that there are no more stored codes. 8) Now that all the codes have been pulled you will want to clear the ecu of the stored codes. When the ecu's is giving nothing but long flashes, you need to push and hold down the button for 10 seconds to clear out the old codes. 9) If needed, repeat the process for the other ecu. For those of you that have already pulled the codes from your car, you have noticed that the "TDC sensor"/crank possition sensor error code comes up. When you pull the code/s as I have instructed in step #2 you will always get this code, even if there is nothing wrong with the TDC sensor. The reason is because the sensor gets it's reading from magnetic signals coming off of the crank pully as the engine is turning over. When the engine is not turning over the sensor/s are not getting the signals from the pully, and thus the ecu thinks that there is something wrong with the sensor/s. So that is why you will always get the TDC sensor code when you pull the engine codes with the engine off. To avoid getting this false signal, follow step #2a. The ecu's only hold the codes for 50 starts of the engine. If the codes haven't been pulled by the 50th start of the engine, they will get deleted by the ecu.
