No heat, no rain, really!

So what do you want for it?

 

each of those issues have threads about them. washing was recently discussed and should be revealing. there are work around solutions to these known frustrations.

 

FBB- Time for an SRI GCK for the OP? Did that help your ECU dampness problem?

 

Funny you should ask. Fedex has my second goldkit as we speak. Wicking moisture away or a mild ecu remount will solve the wetness issue. The gold kit will establish tight contacts. On my first 550 the ecu pins were 100% open making weak contact. My 2nd 550 has the same disease. I bend the ecu females to tighten the contact as a temporary measure. The gold kit seems to solve it for longer term. So far 2 years painfree! a check of the gold pins shows complete closure as when new. For the op it could be a good upgrade but it is a lot of effort. There is also a wide range of what is consumer acceptable so it is not for everyone. I have very high expectations so gold kit is mandatory for me despite how great 550's generally are.

 

Billybob I use dielectric grease on every contact. Do you know any disadvantages to doing that instead of gold cotacts?

 

Andrew, I'm sure you're aware that dielectric grease is a great insulator?

It does help to keep air/water and other nasties from hastening the corrosion process, but if the contacts are already tired and not making excellent mechanical/electrical contact with each other, dielectric grease might make it even more difficult to get a good contact.

In years past I used dielectric grease to surround and help keep high voltage within a connection, but the actual connection itself was surgically cleaned, and only if the manufacturer recommended it, a contact enhancement grease was used, then it was sealed up and dielectric grease pumped in and around it to keep all the electrons in

So, I'm personally not a fan of using the stuff directly on the contacts themselves. Others may differ.

 

Oh boy this could start a contacts holy war but here are the facts. We have been down this road and have answers for Ferraris.

If you keep OEM connectors you can clean with wire brush and deoxit or similar. Then clean all that stuff outwith plain not residue electrical contact cleaner. This will last until the next cel. Problem is pin pressures on OEM fail to keep tight and open connections and or increase resistance. Somewhere in your car this will be a 6 month rotating chase of ghost to ghost. A marginal sensor may also need replacing as the deficiencies are additive.

The current longest term solution is the SRI gold kit. It has its detractors. In general if does the job. Tight pins keep superior contact and ghosts stay away. A cel is more likely to really be a bad connector when gold kit is employed. Controversy is over gold to tin connections. While not ideal we see no problems with them at this time. Cars now are about five years running with no issues and even Ferrari from factory has some gold tin connections on key sensors. As the gold kit evolves there are more and more gold on gold connections as pins are being sourced or made for the different pin styles that exist in our Ferraris. At this time gold kit is best option for most pain free reliable running with no documented downside. The detractors will have less and less to complain about as time goes by. Cost is not insignificant but worth it as only the finest componants have been sourced or created for this kit

 

FBB- Ketel is installing a GCK on his F355 in that forum and asked for a little help and there is now a huge food fight on the positives (many) and theoretical negatives. As usual, GCK owners love them and non-GCK owners and internet experts are bad-mouthing them.

They all forget Ketel did not ask for opinions on the GCK, just how to more easily install it. Somebody always has to save the world, though, even if the world is perfectly happy.

 

Agreed. Unfortunately I posted in that quagmire and wish I did not. Threads and posters like that really make me want to leave for the politeness of FL but then the trolls win.

 

FBB- Yup, every once in a while I need a sabbatical. Getting close now.

 

Plain ol' WD-40 has been working pretty good for me.....Just opened a few connections and gave them an annual spray...

 

Fcarhappy, my 456GT random CEL issues were dry, not wet....which is strange in that, one would think, WD-40 would work best for wet problems....But I cleaned connections with brushes, used contact cleaner, switched parts, etc., and ultimately with WD-40, the CEL problem went away.....However, as FBB said, they might return in 6 months, but so far so good....and that's probably just my luck and might not help you, but it can't hurt that I know of either.

Regards....Mark

 

OK then you need to find the source of water intrusion. I do not know of any problem under the cowling. I do know that leaks can pass the "A" piller area at the ends of the cowling. Then water is wicked into the ECU connector. I would open this connector to inspect it for corrosion. There is not enough wiring harness to form a drip loop. maybe the ECU can be repositioned or a wrap of the harness can redirect the wicking away from the ECUs. This is a project on my list but I have not fully addressed it yet except to identify the problem. The "A" piller leak is known. 2 of my 550s have the exact same leak. I did a thread on it I will try and find.

 

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/456-550-575/414415-watch-550-washing-guys.html

There it is...