Suspension Warning Light After Storage?

[allister]

Dear All

At the weekend I took my F430 out for an hour or two while the weather was fine. During the winter months, I take the car out whenever possible (dry roads, sunny skies and no salt) in order to try and keep all parts moving, as I feel this has to be a good thing for the car.

The car was last out about 5 weeks ago and all was fine then. However, when I started the car yesterday the Suspension Warning Light came on (see image / link to below) - I drove the car out of the garage, left it running for a minute or two, then turned the engine off and re-started it, the light then went off and didn't come back on..... My garage is not completely flat so I don't know if that had anything to do with it? Perhaps upsetting a sensor?

As I say, when I drove the car all was fine, the light never came back on again - Has anyone else experienced the Suspension Warning Light coming on following a period of storage?

I've had Range Rovers for the last 10 years and they often give warning lights or messages that mean absolutely nothing and never re-appear! (anyone who's had one or two will probably have experienced the same), are Ferrari's equally as fickle or does this suggest I need to get the car checked over?

Many thanks

Allister

[stain]

I'm going for low voltage. My Scud went flat once and all manner of lights were on afterwards.

[allister]

stain said:

I'm going for low voltage. My Scud went flat once and all manner of lights were on afterwards.

I guess it could be, although it has been kept on a C-TEK Trickle Charger

[Cerberaherts]

Low voltage or a sticking relay are most likely....

[HardtopManual]

On my 355, the suspension light will come on if you start the car and don't move it (or only drive very slowly) for more than a minute or so, I assume due to the lack of a speed signal. Turns off when you get up to speed or turn the car off/on. Perhaps the same on 430?

[johnnyreggae]

allister said:

My garage is not completely flat so I don't know if that had anything to do with it? Perhaps upsetting a sensor?

Very high likelihood - its a keep an eye on it type thing rather than a problem - the owners manual implies if it goes off don't worry

Edited by johnnyreggae on Tuesday 9th February 08:15

[Scalper]

HardtopManual said:

On my 355, the suspension light will come on if you start the car and don't move it (or only drive very slowly) for more than a minute or so, I assume due to the lack of a speed signal. Turns off when you get up to speed or turn the car off/on. Perhaps the same on 430?

I had a similar problem with my Barchetta.
The light would come on if I started the car more than three consecutive times without moving it.
Taking the car for a quick spin around the block solves the problem.

[HardtopManual]

Scalper said:

...Barchetta. The light would come on if I started the car more than three consecutive times without moving it.

Just tried that on my 355 with the same result. You learn something new every day!

[allister]

Seems I'm not on my own and it's nothing much to worry about if it's correcting itself.

Thank you to all for taking the time to reply.

Allister

[cgt2]

Had this on a couple of Ferraris, if it recurs it's usually down to a loose earth or wiring.

[keith jecks]

That light came on for me once. It was an ECU. Unlike yours though, it didn't go off again until I spent £1,500 to fix it!

[allister]

keith jecks said:

That light came on for me once. It was an ECU. Unlike yours though, it didn't go off again until I spent £1,500 to fix it!

YIKES!!!! Hope it's not the ECU then...... Having said that, I've got warranty until May 2017 so hopefully should be covered if it is.

[Cerberaherts]

On all the earlier models, the light comes up if the ignition is cycled three times of the car isn't moved, as the ECU sees no speed signal. The 430 uses a totally different system. It's likely to just be voltage related, but I've seen ecu failures (mainly from jump starting) and also broken contacts in the connector cassette on the steering column that feeds the Manetino switch. Despite being on a battery tender if your battery isn't up to scratch it's the likely candidate...

[keith jecks]

I don't wish to worry you, but I had the Ferrari warranty. It covers only a list of specific things, It is a veery long list, but the suspension ECU wasn't on the list...

[rubystone]

Happens on both my 575as from time to time whilst in storage. Sorted by rotating the isolator knob to "off". Do 430s come with these? If not, then could be a duff cell in the battery. I had all sorts of warning light issues with my SA...down to a duff cell in the battery.

[allister]

keith jecks said:

I don't wish to worry you, but I had the Ferrari warranty. It covers only a list of specific things, It is a veery long list, but the suspension ECU wasn't on the list...

I do of course recognise that most warranty company's, (Ferrari included) will always try and squirm out of whatever they can...... That said, I would of thought the ECU would be covered, especially when taking in to account that it is not a part which suffers wear and tear in the same way as lets say a clutch, tyres or exhaust, etc, etc.

Having said that, I suppose I shouldn't be that suprised if it's not covered!!!

If that is the fault and it's not covered under warranty, then so be it, I can live with £1,500........ If it's £5k+ then I will be kicking up a fuss!!

[South tdf]

Had the same after a few weeks of storage, turned the car on but light would not go out. Mine was also the ECU which was about £1200 at the time and not covered by the Ferrari used warranty. Worth noting it drives like it's in race mode when there is a fault.

[allister]

South tdf said:

Had the same after a few weeks of storage, turned the car on but light would not go out. Mine was also the ECU which was about £1200 at the time and not covered by the Ferrari used warranty. Worth noting it drives like it's in race mode when there is a fault.

Thanks for that South tdf, I'll take it steady if it appears again..... Annual service is due in April, if it continues to be a problem I'll get it checked over then.

[keith jecks]

You don't need to worry to take it easy. All that happens is that the dampers default to full hard if there is a fault (presumably that is theoretically safer?) When mine failed, I was in Switzerland on my way to Italy. We completed the trip with no other problems. It wasn't actually too uncomfortable.

[Pesch]

This happened a couple of times with my 430, I found it only happened when manovering in a certain car park from cold. It didn't like the shiney surface of the car park when on near to full lock.