Slow down light

So I got caught in the thunderstorm and rain in my car which I think may be the issue. But anyway, after driving for about an hour with no issues I had the slow down light (amber) blink erratically. Sometimes it would pop on and blink regularly, sometimes it would pop on and off. Amyway, because of the rain I was only driving 50 mph in 6th so hardly racing the engine. No check engine light and no drop in performance.

Made it to my destination. The next day drove the car and after 1/2 hour I went through a period of about min with the same thing. Then nothing. Today after a spirited drive hard, nothing.

The only difference I can note is the rain and the gas I used (was running low so I got sunoco which I hate vs my normal shell).

So what do you guys think? Short because of the rain or something to worry about? I'm thinking of taking it to the shop to check the grounding of the sensors since I know this an be a issue.



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I sure hope its not from the rain... if so.. does that mean each time you wash the car there will be an issue?

 

I had the same problem too but not rain. Next time if the "slowdown" flashes again, quickly look to your right for the red F1 warning light. Assuming you have a F1 tranny. You didn't specify a F430 or 360 but, the same. Basically means your clutch is coming to an end and needs replacing. Put a ODB scan tool and see if there's and codes. Image Unavailable, Please Login


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360 6 speed so not a clutch problem.

I was in the rain storm for probably a good 2 hours so it was nothing but constant rain. All temp gauges were well in the normal for temps.

Have driven the car with no other issues since then. When I get back from vacation I'll take it to the shop for codes and to Check the grounding which is what I'm hoping it really is


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The Slow Down indicator is a high temperature in the exhaust system.

if flashing....temperature in the catalyst convertors too high

if steady....temperature in the catalyst convertors have reached a dangerous point and could be damaged...

Have you switched to a different gas?

 

I did put in sunoco which was just because I had to as I couldn't find shell. Filled up with shell today and a bottle of techron fuel additive. Light came on blinking for a minute after fill up, then drove 2.5 hours on the highway with no problem.

Taking it to mark and vinny at auto elite tomorrow to see if they can find anything.

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Car is still there, getting a couple upgrades done. Changed the oil while I was at it, had Vinny check all the thermocoupler connection grounds and clean. Hopefully this will solve the problem but I have to wait and see as I have the interior out waiting for the Carbon Fiber parts to arrive.

If that doesn't fix it I'm going to replace the ECU's on the cats...my thinking is that they got mosture in them when I got stuck in the 3 hour rainstorm.

Also just ordered the Ferrari Challenge Exhaust. Probably going to wait to put it on till I get some headers and hi-flow cats. Might as well do everything at one time.

 

These cars are sensitive to moisture to a point, they are not driven in the rain consistently so it's not heard about often. It is possible that some moisture got in the ECU(s) for the slow down system. The slow down system is to alert the driver of cat over temps, if catalytic converters get to hot, the internals can expand closing off the holes or "cells" the exhaust flows through, and with continued driving like this can damage the engine. That is why once the slow down light goes solid the car will go into limp mode and supply very limited performance. Actual cat over temp is pretty rare in a 360, that's why I think you may an ECU issue that hopefully will go away once dried out.

 

So quick question.

If I would have to replace the Cat ECU's $379 a piece, need 2, couldn't i just remove the cats and hook up testpipes? Would I still need Cat ECUs? My thinking is no since the cats would be deleated. And for about $70 more i could get Fabspeed Catbypass Pipes, which should offer a weight savings and some additional performance, and connect to my new challenge exhaust that is coming.

Seems like a no brainer but when it comes to mechanicals I'm very much challenged so if anyone could answer this for me I would appreciate it.

 

Unfortunately this won't fix the ECU issue if there is one. If the ECU thinks there is something wrong even if there isn't, it will still put you in limp mode. The slow down system has no idea if the cat is there or not, just if the temp is higher than the window it's programmed to look inside, if the temp goes outside that window, it triggers the slow down light.

On the other hand if you actually have an issue with the cat(s), bypass pipes will fix the issue. Fabspeed is the best for the money IMO. Just know that you get a check engine light with the lack of cats from a completely different system, the OBDII.

 

Why would the engine be damaged?

if you remove the cats altogether the engine runs just fine or even better.

I'm pretty sure the solid SLOW DOWN is to protect the CATs and engine bay from a potential fire.

 

Honestly it would be hard to damage the engine, you would have to keep on pushing the car as the backpressure got worse, but with enough heat and back pressure build up and the right amount of ignorance, you can damage the engine.