[RoPo54]

Hi,
I am a new 1989 mondial t owner, 16K miles.
The "slow down 1/4" warning light sometimes comes on after driving the car for appx. 30 minutes. Oil pressure, water and temperature gages are all fine and the car is running fine. The car had not been used for several years before Ferrari had done a major engine out service a few months ago.
Would there would be harm in running the car with the warning light on?
Thanks for any advice.
Rob

[Granucci]

Originally Posted by RoPo54

Hi,
I am a new 1989 mondial t owner, 16K miles.
The "slow down 1/4" warning light sometimes comes on after driving the car for appx. 30 minutes. Oil pressure, water and temperature gages are all fine and the car is running fine. The car had not been used for several years before Ferrari had done a major engine out service a few months ago.
Would there would be harm in running the car with the warning light on?
Thanks for any advice.
Rob

can't believe this has been missed: 348 engine warn light on.

You should take it back to Ferrari and have them read the code. Sometimes as it has not been run the sensors need to get worked out.

Since pres and temps are ok, I am not thinking the worse, but you should have it looked into.

[Saint Bastage]

I did not respond as I am not specifically familiar with the Mondial. I did however just notice its the Mondal T. If I'm not mistaken, thats the same as a 348 right? If so, the slow down warnings are almost always a result of catalizer issue's. They are either to hot or being misrepresented by the cat ECU. The cat ECU is the normal problem. If its just the ECU, driving with the light on is not much of an issue. Best way to tell is to swap ECU's side to side and see if the Slow Down 1/4 becomes Slow down 5/8. If it does, thats the problem. ECU's are fairly expensive but Daniel at Ricambi can set you up. If you've noticed the issue when the car has been exposed to moisture, it may be a simple seal issue. Check the 348 section for ECU sealing. I put a photo essay in there for fixing it.

Good luck
Lane

[Magnum6464]

Bastage,

Yes, Mondial T, same identical engine and yes your solution is the same.
Could also be a bad plug, but if it runs great, this should not be an issue.


~

Mario

[wetpet]

Time for the old "italian tune up".

[Saint Bastage]

A serious caution for the "Italian tune up". A friend has a destroyed a 348 engine due to a cat failure. I doubt thats the problem here but then again, I can't see it, feel it, or taste it across the Inet. Also, if the ECU is the problem, forcing the issue will only get you into limp mode.

I'd love to hear more about the problem and a bit more troubleshooting before deciding anything for sure.

[Magnum6464]

Like you said, first step, swap ECU frm 1-4 to 5-8 then work from there.


~

Mario

[RoPo54]

I have continued to run the car without the light reappearing but one other time right before calling it a day after driving it over the weekend for several hours. It has not reappeared again. Taking it in to the mechanic to have a look at next week. The couple of times the light has appeared it has been after 45 min - 1.5 hours of driving. It has gone off upon a restart and the engine runs just fine.
Rob

[RoPo54]

BTW, my car does have a chip upgrade. (Thanks for your help)
Rob

[twestby]

chipped could throw code. the ecu rolls around i forget the intervals and if the light is going off then the ecu is not seeing it agian as it rolls. (non issue) you can blink the codes yourself from the ecu... they apear on the dash like morse code. i rarely trust the code on these motronics. Do you like the chips... they remap everything up top and thats not too good for regular "ferrari" driving. what intake and exhaust on the car?

[RoPo54]

Tried swapping the O2 sensors and the engine started stalling out and running very rough and the Cats got very hot. Switched back and the car ran fine again. The slow down sensor still may come on intermittently but onlay after about driving for 45 minutes and then will go off in a few minutes, without any manisfestation of engine running poorly while the light is on. Will take it in for some more testing next week.

[Granucci]

Originally Posted by RoPo54

Tried swapping the O2 sensors and the engine started stalling out and running very rough and the Cats got very hot. Switched back and the car ran fine again. The slow down sensor still may come on intermittently but onlay after about driving for 45 minutes and then will go off in a few minutes, without any manisfestation of engine running poorly while the light is on. Will take it in for some more testing next week.

How clean are your connectors? Ask Dave Helms on this too.

[lightning]

These "slow down 1-4 and 5-8" warning lights, should they come on briefly when you turn on the ignition before you start the engine, or do they only ever appear when there is a fault condition?
Mine never appear, but somebody told me they should flash briefly when you turn the ignition on.

[Granucci]

Originally Posted by lightning

These "slow down 1-4 and 5-8" warning lights, should they come on briefly when you turn on the ignition before you start the engine, or do they only ever appear when there is a fault condition?
Mine never appear, but somebody told me they should flash briefly when you turn the ignition on.

Your lights will cycle on startup. That is to be expected. I believe the manual even discuss such, but if you are getting zero lights, I'd have it looked at.

So, if those lights are not showing [refer to manual for what should show on startup as part of the cycle] what else is not showing?

[gidleigh]

[QUOTE=RoPo54;109356]Hi,

You might try to re-initialize your ecus. This sometimes can cure a world of ills and is easy to do. It worked for me.

Reinitializing/Resetting A/F ECU's: When your engine is cold, disconnect your battery for 35 seconds (this can be done by turning your battery disconnect switch). Hook it back up, start your car, and let your car idle for 10 minutes (or until at least one radiator cooling fan kicks on). Do not touch the accelerator (before or during this 10 minute period). Do not self-activate any electronics during this time. Your ECU's are now "re-initialized."

[lightning]

Thanks for the advice.
However I'm almost certain that my "slow down" and "check engine" lights have been disconnected.
I can't imagine where the connections might have been broken. The bulbs are still in their holders, if I could get the instrument shroud off I could look at the wiring behind the bulbs, but I can't work out how it comes off.
Having said that the car runs well. It's not so good for the first half mile (engine tends to shunt and poor low RPM pickup) but after that it performs well, no misfires or lack of power and idle speed just over 1,000rpm.
I think the ECU is (are) probably in default/check engine mode though, hence the poor choke operation, as default mode is "hot engine".
It needs looking at really. It's going in for annual service next month so they will hook it up to the ECU reader and may get some clues as to what is going on.

[ferraricyprus]

In '89 you could have either 2.5 or 2.7 motronic. The 2.5 variant has no plug for a diagnostic unit. Fault tracing was done through a device known as a break-out box. If I were you I'd open the luggage compartment and pull the carpet off the firewall (release the three half-turn screws and it will come away easily) and look behind it. To your right you will see a silver metal box; this is your engine motronic. If there is a plug hanging out of the harness around 5 inches from this box it's a 2.7. Look for two small black boxes either side of the panel, these are the cat e.c.u's which send signals to the motronic unit which then controls your dash lights. These may have been disconnected, either due to a system fault on the electrical system, a failed/poor cat or if the cats have been bypassed or updated