550 Hibernation Startup Caused Some Lights | FerrariChat

550 Hibernation Startup Caused Some Lights

Discussion in '456/550/575' started by hwyman, Jan 6, 2020.

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  1. hwyman

    hwyman Formula Junior

    Jun 25, 2015
    329
    Canada / Los Angeles
    Quick question to the group. I bought my 550 a week before the snowfall hit us, so I only got one drive in before putting the 550 to sleep for winter. When I drove it there were no dash lights on whatsoever. I didn't try the heater when I drove it since it was warm out. I drove it maybe 75 miles in the country side, topped the tank and put her away on a Ctek. Fast forward to yesterday, the weather outside was decent about +10C so I decided to start the 550 up to get the fluids circulating. The car is in a heated garage, but sat for about 2 months. During my 15 minute idle the suspension light came on (the car with the triangles) then the slowdown light came on. I tried the heater to run coolant through the heater core but there was 0 warm air coming from the vents, it was just pushing the outside temp air into the cabin. It maybe nothing and I assume I will need to wait till I can drive it to see whats up, but these things are weighing on my mind. Has anyone had similar issues when the car sits for a while?
     
  2. greyboxer

    greyboxer F1 World Champ

    Dec 8, 2004
    12,282
    South East
    Full Name:
    Jimmie
    Best case is the suspension is telling you to drive more and then it might go away

    As for the heat very often - no disrespect - it is new owners not understanding the climate control system - a misunderstanding that begins with the manual not being too clear if button in is on or off - it is effectively not a separate a/c & heat system
     
  3. hwyman

    hwyman Formula Junior

    Jun 25, 2015
    329
    Canada / Los Angeles
    No disrespect taken at all, I did turn the heat knob to full heat, the fan to full speed and tried the distribution in different locations. I even tried to put fan on auto
     
  4. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    37,986
    Clarksville, Tennessee
    Full Name:
    Terry H Phillips
    What Jimmie meant was make sure the pushbutton is not depressed. That does not turn off the AC as on most cars.
     
  5. Canuck550

    Canuck550 Formula Junior

    Sep 8, 2015
    462
    Incognito
    Full Name:
    RJA
    I would say check you battery with a meter , I understand it was on a Ctek charger doesn't mean the battery is healthy, the lights are signs of a poor battery or charging system...have seen some strange things with the 550 on a weak battery..
    Also symptoms of the heater valve not switching over, AC to heat vice versa
    Check the simple things first
     
  6. hwyman

    hwyman Formula Junior

    Jun 25, 2015
    329
    Canada / Los Angeles
    Agreed, battery was on the books to be replaced in spring, First step on all my cars. Hopefully it all sorts itself out in the spring
     
  7. F456M

    F456M F1 Rookie

    Jan 8, 2010
    3,665
    Oslo
    Full Name:
    Erik
    Hi! Congrats on your new car!

    The STOP button is like an «ECON» button on most AC equipped cars. So when you push it in to the in/depressed position, the AC compressor is no longer running and of course will not give you cooled air. The VERY strange fact is that it also stop any heated air to be sent into the car aswell. I have really never understood why it is like that.... normally, you can run with the ECO pressed in from fall to spring when temps outside makes running AC not neccesary. Not so with these cars. The STOP button must be in the «out/not depressed» position. It is really not logic because the whole intention on most cars with an ECO/STOP button is to make the AC compressor last longer and reduce fuel consumption. Thats said..., most user manuals reccomend to let the AC system (compressor and its cooling fluid) be on for 20 minutes once every month to lubricate the system. Running the AC in cold temps also helps to dry the air so your windows don’t mist up.

    Try again and make sure the STOP button is OUT.

    Erik :)
     
    308 GTB likes this.
  8. Qksilver

    Qksilver F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Feb 11, 2005
    4,316
    Philadelphia
    Full Name:
    Joe
    One weird quirk with 550s - if they're started 3X without being moved, the suspension triangle light comes on. A drive (even a few feet) should satisfy that one.
     
    308 GTB likes this.
  9. ferraridriver

    ferraridriver F1 Rookie

    Aug 8, 2002
    4,134
    Bay Area Calif.
    Full Name:
    Dave
    They don't have to be started, just cycling the key three times activates the suspension light.
     
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  10. Qksilver

    Qksilver F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Feb 11, 2005
    4,316
    Philadelphia
    Full Name:
    Joe
    A nuance within a nuance I had not realized!
     
  11. hwyman

    hwyman Formula Junior

    Jun 25, 2015
    329
    Canada / Los Angeles
    That answers it!!! I've cycled the key a few times without moving the car. I'll verify the STOP button since I thought with stop pressed the fan will not increase speed... Im hoping that's all for the heat. You guys rock, put my mind at ease! The slowdown light I'll need to look at since it didn't go off whilst driving but who knows if sitting caused a leak. On a plus I got my droopy visors fixed by Dave (awesome turn around)previous owner used Velcro!!!!!!, found the unobtainium heat shield and angle bracket for the battery the previous owner never reinstalled. Cant wait to get it back to mint. With 13k miles on it I am surprised with some of the issues but she is getting on 19 years old now.
     
    F456M likes this.
  12. AVIMAX

    AVIMAX Formula Junior

    Aug 5, 2014
    686
    Toronto
    Full Name:
    Ryan
    Definitely check the battery first, low battery does weird things, but if it's OK...

    Did the suspension light come on immediately when you turned the car on or did it come on sometime during the 15 mins of idling? As Dave said, numerous cycling of the ignition without driving will trigger the suspension light due to a lack of speed signal to the ECU, but it comes on right away in this scenario, not after a few minutes. The good news is if this is the reason, the light goes out almost immediately after the car starts moving.

    The STOP button will shut down the HVAC completely, you will have no fan if you press STOP. You said it's blowing air, just not hot air, so I doesn't sound like the STOP button is your problem. You should be getting heat after 15 mins.

    Slow down light can be a thermocouple, a cat temp ECU or a legitimate issue, you need to check into that. If the slow down light comes on right away when you stat the car, you at least know it is not a an overheated cat problem and more likely one of the ECUs, or maybe a thermocouple, but the ECUs are notorious for getting old and sending false signals. I had one go over the summer.

    Hope your issues turn out to be minor, like a weak battery, but for a few months of winter storage, best to hook up the battery and just leave the car alone until spring, no need to turn it on and idle unless you are going to go for a drive and get things good and hot. Better for the car, and better for you, you won't know about the problems waiting for you until the spring!
     
    308 GTB likes this.
  13. hwyman

    hwyman Formula Junior

    Jun 25, 2015
    329
    Canada / Los Angeles
    I debated not starting it since it never gets hot enough to evaporate all the moisture in the oil etc... but then my mind was going about the coolant and oil settling... I know... OCD is terrible. Yeah the fan was blowing but it was garage temp air not warm air. The coolant and oil were both up to temp. I revved it to 2k 3 times only held it there for a second or so each time to get the pressures up. That's when the slowdown light came on... but oddly my coolant temp went from the middle up a bit as well. The car seems to act like the thermostat is toast but then it wouldn't have warmed up to operating temp as quick as it did. Do these cars have a quirky cooling system? I know driving it too the temps were up and down
     
  14. Laserguru

    Laserguru Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Aug 7, 2016
    1,255
    New Hampshire
    Full Name:
    Eric
    "It is really not logic" Hmmm, well, sure it is. It's just the unique flavor of Italian logic. Opaque to the rest of us but there it is....
     
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  15. pkl03

    pkl03 Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 29, 2004
    455
    Sydney, Australia
    Full Name:
    Peter
    QUOTE="AVIMAX, post: 146978760, member: 164694"]

    The STOP button will shut down the HVAC completely, you will have no fan if you press STOP. You said it's blowing air, just not hot air, so I doesn't sound like the STOP button is your problem. You should be getting heat after 15 mins.
    [/QUOTE]

    The STOP button position has nothing to do with the fan. The STOP button deactivates the compressor and the water control valve.
    The fan is controlled by the position of the fan control knob irrespective of the stop button location. Think of the STOP button as the AC on/off button in a “normal” car.


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  16. AVIMAX

    AVIMAX Formula Junior

    Aug 5, 2014
    686
    Toronto
    Full Name:
    Ryan
    Interesting, I stand corrected. I'm just going off what I remember in my car and anytime I've pushed the STOP button, everything stopped including the fan, but 95% of the time I have the system in AUTO, so it makes sense that the fan stops for me. Not sure I've ever tried fan positions 1-4 after pressing STOP, I just assumed everything was stopped.
     
  17. hwyman

    hwyman Formula Junior

    Jun 25, 2015
    329
    Canada / Los Angeles
    That's the part in my manual I didn't understand. So most cars the AC button turns the compressor on and off but you almost never have control of the water solenoid for the heater core. So does this actually mean that the stop button turns off the compressor and shuts the hot water flow through the heater core? Wonder what the point of that would ever be? You'd think the temp dial would control the flow of hot water through the core based on the interior and exterior temperatures.
     
  18. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    37,986
    Clarksville, Tennessee
    Full Name:
    Terry H Phillips
    The Stop button does disable the fan, but only in auto settings. Note this is 550 only, 575M operation is different.
     
    308 GTB likes this.
  19. hwyman

    hwyman Formula Junior

    Jun 25, 2015
    329
    Canada / Los Angeles
    Thanks Taz, part of the fun of owning Italian cars... learning all the intricacies of each one
     

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