My Ferrari experiment going badly--" Engine Control System Failure"

Wow ... why ?

And where is that fuse located ? On topof the battery ?

 

I have a relatively new to me 2013 458 Italia with approx. 9k miles. I was at the track last weekend and got this same error message ("engine control system failure") while driving on the track. Either while in 2nd or 3rd gear (cant remember) and at approx. 7 to 8k rpm in a turn.
I tried shutting down and restarting the car several times, but the message did not go away. Drove 20 miles home, unloaded the car and restarted it and the message was gone...

So... was there a resolution to this thread? Any hints as to what this could be / have been?

Will have the dealer check it out, but just want to get a sense of what others who experienced the same message may have found out.

Thank you in advance.

 

I'm hearing that check engine very well may be due to a battery past its prime, even if left on the tender in between drives, so if your battery is older than 2 years or is not an original spec battery (or better) could simply be that. The electronics are very sensitive and the alternator is not powerful enough to cover the electrical needs while driving, especially while engaging in spirited driving...

 

That's possible. I am not sure how old the battery is, but I do keep it on the battery tender and drive the car once a week.
Thank you for the reply.


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Add me to the list of engine control system failure warnings. My detailer left the car sitting without keeping it on a charger then tried to start the car.

Was this ever an issue for anyone more serious then a reset?

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When I had my 458, I had the same warning light, it was related to half a day off the tender (I had driven it earlier that day). Took it to the dealer, they charged the battery kept it overnight, problem solved. Similar thing happened with Lusso T but that happened while driving because of the start/stop system which allowed the battery level to get too low and then error came on.

These are complex cars that need a lot of juice to keep all systems running. You don't get F1 technology without some hitches. As others have stated, the key to reliability is actually to drive it more. The more it sits, the more problems you will have, guaranteed.

BTW, similarly with carbon buildup, the key is, properly warm up the car and then drive it like you mean it. High RPM and full throttle blasts once warm keeps the carbon off the valves. I have a DFI 1M coupe, 8 y/o with 48k miles and no issues with carbon buildup while many others have had to blast the valves. Key is I try to always make sure once warm to rev it out every time I drive it. Waaaay more fun too!

 

Thanks I'm a little less worried now. The car was hauled to the dealer this afternoon for the scheduled maintenance. We'll see what they come up with.

 

Low battery. Before I changed to a Braille battery, I had this warning more times than I could count on my 458. Just disconnect the power to clear it and fire everything back up with a fully charged battery and you should be back in business.

Ray

 

Did I miss something?

 

Just that the post was from 2012



Ray

 

Yeah, noticed that after the fact!

 

In reference to the GDI comments... where does this buildup come from if not the fuel? is it ultra fine particulates that the air filter doesn't pick up? I assume that these engines don't have an EGR system right??? If it is coming from the air, it might be effected by things like air quality, pollen, etc. Has this been an issue with the 488 or other turbo Fcars?

 

I just had my 2012 458 Spider delivered and it has been showing "electrical system failure" at start-up.. It comes on even before I start the engine, when only the electricals are turned on. The car starts right up and the error message goes away on its own after running for a few minutes. The RPM LEDs and buttons on the steering wheel blink continuously until it goes away though and you can't use the turn signals until it shuts off. I don't know what to make of it. It was at the dealership for a couple weeks and then in a truck for a week.. Not sure if the battery became finicky or what. The battery is actually brand new, installed by Ferrari dealership before they put it up for sale. I haven't been able to drive it, but for a mile drive home from the truck drop-off, because of the cold, wet weather. The code went away and it drove fine fwiw. I know it was fine at the dealership. I had it inspected and the driver would have noted it while loading. Hoping to drive it this weekend and see if anything happens.

 

Actually the fuel helps clean them. Carbon buildup wasn't a problem with port injected engines because fuel was sprayed into the cylinder from the intake manifold and had to pass over and through the open intake valve to get into the cylinder. Gasoline is a very strong solvent and it would help to clean the valves. Direct injected engines spray the fuel from INSIDE the cylinder itself and so never pass over the intake valves. Heat and carbon from combustion byproducts are what deposit on the valves. Driving aggressively, especially in a turbo engine on a somewhat regular basis helps to blast these deposits off before they get too significant. I am not an engineer but this is my understanding of it.

This is not unique to Ferrari. Audi was really the first to mass produce these engines with their turbo 4 cyl and had lots of recalls about the carbon buildup and engine failure early on with it. I think it has improved since or at least they know what to look for now.

 

I would highly recommend picking up an OBD-II scanner to read the code when you get an ECU failure. For $100, something like https://www.amazon.com/BlueDriver-Bluetooth-Professional-iPhone-Android/dp/B00652G4TS. Some times the codes clear with an engine off/on cycle, the diagnostic scanner might help you narrow down what your car is seeing.

 

I have an Innova 3020 and it just reads "0 dtc" or "nosup" for ABS. I don't know if it's not supported on the 458, but it works fine on my Gallardo. Can OBD scanners pick up electrical errors? I always thought they were solely CELs.

 

Only b/c they haven't DELIVERED a mid-engine model yet...

Something about "electronics"??

 

I got the same problem with you , do you solve the problem?

 

My shop looked at it a bit while it was in for the exhaust install.. They couldn't find anything to solve it. The car ended up running fine all summer. Probably some kind of wiring gremlin. Sometimes it stays on longer than other times... Like 10-15 mins. I noticed when the temp outside is colder it stayed on a bit longer. Could have just been a coincidence though, I didn't really drive it much in chilly weather. That said, i did recently get a TPMS not detected error message just prior to putting it away for the winter. Not sure if that has anything to do with it or not. I'll have to wait and see what happens next Spring.

 

I think I might have a different perspective. After spending over 45 years taking cars apart and owning close 500 cars, here is some very good advise. There is NO such thing as a perfect car. I have owned American cars, Italian cars, British Cars, German cars, Japanese cars, Korean cars, and probably some I'm forgetting. They all have issues, and I have gotten to the point that if I don't feel any difference in the way they drive, I don't bother with it. My (current) Maserati has issues if you touch the parking brake to release it, so I don't touch it. My winter Porsche came out of storage with a drip leak (antifreeze), so next week I am putting it up on the lift and fixing it, meanwhile it is not affecting the cars performance so I'm driving it, and when I am done I put something under it to catch the drips. I always do what I call a shakedown run on my cars and I always find something that needs fixing or changing, sometimes the car goes back to the dealer but usually I just handle it myself. I just bought a 458 spider, and I drove it for a week (due to our weather I was only able to really push it one day), but I found things that needed to be addressed, but since it was going into storage at the dealer for almost five months I am going to let them handle most of the things. I will handle the other issues when it comes out of storage. A nine year old car with 2000 miles I have been there done that, and cars that are not driven much in my experience are far more problematic (I bought a 360 that sat for 19 years took over 23K at dealer cost to get back to running condition), which is why I bought a 2014 with 23K miles that was sold by my dealer and locally owned and serviced by my dealer. I would take the car back and if the car is still under warranty I assume it is a CPO car, I would ask them to go over the car again, and make sure they check the rims, I cannot tell you how many cars in dealers inventory I have driven that have bent front rims (the easiest to feel while driving). What I am saying in a long winded way is if you are the type who worries about every little warning light or noise, I'd advise against owning certain cars, and Ferrari's would probably be on that list.

 

my 458 has been very reliable. i also drive it. i wonder how much of the op's problems have to do with the car not being driven. also could be just a battery issue. i got an electrical system failure sign after charging the battery and i just shut the car off and back on and it was fine

 

I got this error on my 458 that had a broken fuel filler tab, so the ECU apparently saw it as the equivalent to leaving the gas cap off. Replaced the fuel filler assembly, and the error is now cleared.

 

Got the engine control system failure tonight. Restart didnt go away.

Battery tender was flawed, car sat for about 5 days no tender. New tender arrived and charged car for about 12hrs.

All my 458's and this is the first warning light that wont go away.

Thoughts?

 

Did you try disconnecting the battery for a bit, then going through the reconnection sequence?

Ray

 

I did not, wasn’t up to speed on what the process is. I really hate dealing with batteries.