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SDL light warning - hopefully addressed

F355 
2K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  Ready321now 
#1 ·
Well, drove "Bella" home from work the other day and my heart dropped as I saw the a quick flash of the SDL on the dash, cut back power and it seemed to address the issue, keeping speed down to about 60mph. The light never remained on, but flashed and held steady for a second or two, then repeated the process on the way home - no power loss.

PPI done just a few months back was very clean with no codes or warnings and she even passed smog with no issues. I normally don't drive her in the rain, but it just so happened that it rain came down that afternoon.

After searching through posts, my first thought was to obtain a good OBDII reader. Ended up picking up an Alterra Bluetooth that connects to a PC and feeds all data through the Windows application. The process worked beautifully (yes my ODBII connector was upgraded prior to my ownership) and I read two pending codes - P1445 and P1451. A search of the threads on this topic led me to the ECU's (three of those bad boys). Although replacing all three at first seemed like overkill, I opted for that route because each of them were the original "black" units and there was visible cracking along the edges of all three pieces. While down there, I removed the air pump and cleaned out the filter since it looked pretty dirty - now it's clean and bright white again. All three ECU's have been replaced and I cleared my "Pending Codes". No SDL during the test drive, but will need to take her out for a 50+ mile drive to make certain the situation was diagnosed properly. Prior to the install, I did smear a bit of silicone around the edges of each ECU as added protection as that was mentioned as a precaution in one of the posts I read.

If the codes pop up again, I will consider changing out the OXY sensors (I have four new ones) and perhaps the Thermocoupler for bank 1.

I picked up all the parts on Ebay and had a great experience with FerrParts out of Sacramento. The ECU's were priced at about $300 apiece new with free shipping, a great deal that saved me about $150 and the install was fairly straight forward - just a bit cramped on the passenger side. I also picked up a new thermocoupler from these same folks for $175 - again, a good price.

Love working on Bella, and will be considering new exhaust manifolds next (once I am certain the bugs are gone).

In closing, I just want to point out that although the Ferrari boards can be a bit discouraging, the wealth of knowledge as a result of members posting their experience enhances our ownership of these vehicles. Yes, we could run to the shop for every issue, but with the aid of the boards, owners such as myself are afforded the opportunity to get in and do a bit of work - hopefully with the pleasure of a correct diagnosis. :thumbsup:
 
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