Fuel Cooling System (FCS) question | FerrariChat

Fuel Cooling System (FCS) question

Discussion in '456/550/575' started by AVIMAX, Jul 9, 2020.

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  1. AVIMAX

    AVIMAX Formula Junior

    Aug 5, 2014
    686
    Toronto
    Full Name:
    Ryan
    Not sure if anybody will be able to answer this, but I'll give it a shot. The fuel cooling system in the 550 uses freon from the air conditioning to cool the fuel returning to the tank. I assume if you turn off your air conditioning using the STOP button, the FCS stops functioning. What are the possible problems you may run into if on a hot day for extended drives if you shut off the AC and therefore the FCS? I was out for a day trip yesterday, it was hot, 30+ Celsius and about an hour into the drive I shut off my AC because my AC drain clogged and I started to get water in the passenger footwell when cornering hard. Go figure, 6 years no clog, in fact just last week big puddles of water under my car normally, go for a 600km drive in cottage country on a hot day... clogged. Anyways the idea of water pouring into the footwell where the electronics are didn't seem like a great idea so I put a tool down to catch the water and I turned the AC off hoping to not add to the problem. (I have since been able to get under and unclog the drain.) About 20 mins later with the AC off, the car was not running well. It felt like fuel starvation. If I held a constant speed with engine at 2800rpm and light load on the engine, the engine would struggle, as if lacking fuel, but as soon as I pressed the accelerator, it was fine. No issues with under load accelerating or idling, only a problem with slight load at constant cruising speed, and mostly around 3000rpm. After an hour of this, thinking what could possibly be the problem, it occurred to me that maybe the FCS being off is an issue? So I turned the AC back on. No improvement, but after filling the tank with 60l of fresh cool fuel, it ran normal again and ran fine the rest of the day, with the AC on. Maybe I'm just reaching for straws here hoping that it's just the AC off that caused my issue and not some other gremlin I have to chase. Car has new fuel pumps, filters, cleaned injectors, new ignition wires and otherwise runs perfectly. So what do you think? Can turning off the FCS cause drivability problems? Seems odd to have a system on a car that is necessary, but you can turn off.

    A photo... just because. Filling up with fresh fuel in Sprucedale, Ontario.

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