Slow Down Light?

Its the one in the compartment. Mine was a pain to turn as well.. to turn it off turn it clockwise I think.. may be a pain. I hope it's just a misreading sensor.. sounds like an abreeart sensor given smooth running.. hope it works out well....

 

It is tough to turn - yes.

Turn it to the OFF indicator

 

Yes, if the cat really is overheating (as compared to a false alarm - slow down light flashes but temps in cats are normal), then you need to look elsewhere, as vrsurgeon suggests. The Slow Down light is to warn you that the cats are overheating, so that they don't get destroyed. But if you get the light and the cats are at normal temps, that indicates something faulty in the sensing system. Really only a limited number of choices, two, I think (x2, 1 set for each side), either the cat ECU or the thermocouple. Wiser people on this board suggested I change both at the same time even though only one side was faulty. Guess they were right, because now I suspect the other one is faulty.

 

It is tough to turn. I use two hands to grip the wheel and turn it clockwise (the direction of the arrow) to turn off the battery. You will hear a click when you turn it. (about a quarter of a turn.

 

Do you have an ODB2 reader to see if there are any codes?

 

The slow down warning can also be triggered by oil temperature gauge, a faulty oil temp sender can cause the oil temp to rise quickly to red which in turn will trigger slow down warning light, but light will go off as the oil temp drops down again.

 

It's not ignorance and you are not crazy, the SDL is just about the most confusing and annoying problem to have. My light appears when I know there is no overheating, so it is a sensor issue. And truthfully I'd even live with the dopey light coming on for 5-10 seconds during the first mile of driving, but it is that one time where I had to limp home that freaked me out.

 

A malfunctioning cat temp sensor/ECU likely plays havoc with your engine management system, possibly causing some power loss even if not putting you into limp mode. Best to get it sorted out as soon as you can. Thinking it needs to "save" your cats from overheating, who knows what changes it causes to the engine's running parameters.

As for the SDL going away magically, I wonder if you have a loose connection at the ECU or sensor that's causing on-again, off-again behavior.

 

AlphaBoy, did you ever get your problem sorted? What did it turn out to be?

Also, does anyone have any guidance on where these ECUs are located and how to change them? Panel under right (passenger) side of engine compartment?

 

Each euc is located on one side of the car behind the lateral panels of the engine bay. To remove it you need to turn the master switch off. Each euc has two plugs that have a lock that needs to be pull out in order to lift the aluminum lock. After that remove four 8mm bolts that holt it to the bracket.

 

Thanks Ingpr and AlphaBoy. I took a peek through the holes in the covers and found the ECUs. The panels are held by a handful of hex socket screws. Besides avoiding dropping the screws into the engine bay, any tips on removing the panels on a spider?

 

Same problem here, new owner, 01 360 spider, from the discussion its either the sensor or the cats are hot. my dilemma is different, i have the SDL but i dont have cats in the car as i replaced them with staright pipes and took out the cats. Dealer told me its normal for the light because its just giving a description as to why the CEL is on and the cats arent there, ALL is a result of playing around with exhaust and nothing else. True?

 

I don't think an exhaust without cats could possibly get hot enough to trigger a genuine SD light so you are most likely to have a faulty cat ECU or a faulty thermocouple. Search for SDECU in the Tech Q&A section for details of how to diagnose which component is faulty.