Cambio Transmission Light

G

Godbotherer

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Hey All
I’ve had my 2007 GS for a few months now and it’s been a joy and trouble free, but the grace period had to end sometime, right?
The last couple of days I’ve gone to start her, once from cold and once to restart from hot, the trans lamp has come on, (that’s the one with box with the gearstick, right?)
I’ve tried turning it off and on, shifting into 1st and back to neutral, turning off the battery isolator and waiting minutes, all to no avail.
First time when it was cold, I thought the battery might be a bit low after a short journey, and it it was a cheapo, so went and got a new battery and hey presto, tbe light didn’t come on and the car started. We then had a few trips today, all without incident, but tonight I went for a blat to the takeaway and guess what, light came on. Tried all the tricks again, and did a the isolator again, and guess what, as soon as my wife turned up, thought I’d try it and it started again…she was not happy….
When you open the door, the pump is always strong and there’s never any gear change issues.
Is it worth me changing the 50a relay, just because it’s cheap and really the only thing I can do before taking it to Marios and the crew?
Thanks all for any pointers.
Martin
PS - I don’t have an OBD yet, but would it help if I got one. And which one - can only afford up to £150’ish.
 
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Check the level of F1 fluid. Normally I suggest the Autel AP200 but not quite sure what modules it reads.

C
 
Red gearbox light is pump (you can hear that so its fine) or fluid level.

There are two types of fluid, clear and red.

Yours should be clear so 75w from Napa/Eurocarparts, if red its Shell Spirax S4 ATF HDX

You will need a pump bottle to get it in
 
conaero said:
Red gearbox light is pump (you can hear that so its fine) or fluid level.

There are two types of fluid, clear and red.

Yours should be clear so 75w from Napa/Eurocarparts, if red its Shell Spirax S4 ATF HDX

You will need a pump bottle to get it in
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Thanks for this info.
Might put my brave pants on because I’m not mechanical and at least see if I can get to it (take out the spare and lining and fish through hole on the right hand side?) then dip a cloth in to check colour and see if it’s lower than a few mm under the rim, right?
Does it matter if the car is hot or cold?
 
It shouldn't. I have dealt with some issues recently after many years of trouble-free service. The first thing to do is if the pump primes when the door opens that is good. If it starts listen at the back end with trunk open and it does help if the trunk liner and spare etc. are removed. More experienced people on here than me have said the pump should every so often but mine was doing it every 6 seconds after a change of the electric motor and fluid. That is too often and will burn out the pump quicker. I would definitely do the easy stuff first with the higher amp relay and fuse which are by the battery in the trunk. I am in the process of changing the hydraulic accumulator in my car and I was looking to see if anyone did any instructions. Changing the electric pump from under the car with ramps and the real panel removed in the trunk.....was not fun at all. I got it done and it all works fine but I know / relatively sure the accumulator needs changing. The clear or yellowish fluid used now I believe is CHF 11s pentosin.
 
Giallo Uno said:
It shouldn't. I have dealt with some issues recently after many years of trouble-free service. The first thing to do is if the pump primes when the door opens that is good. If it starts listen at the back end with trunk open and it does help if the trunk liner and spare etc. are removed. More experienced people on here than me have said the pump should every so often but mine was doing it every 6 seconds after a change of the electric motor and fluid. That is too often and will burn out the pump quicker. I would definitely do the easy stuff first with the higher amp relay and fuse which are by the battery in the trunk. I am in the process of changing the hydraulic accumulator in my car and I was looking to see if anyone did any instructions. Changing the electric pump from under the car with ramps and the real panel removed in the trunk.....was not fun at all. I got it done and it all works fine but I know / relatively sure the accumulator needs changing. The clear or yellowish fluid used now I believe is CHF 11s pentosin.
Click to expand...
Thanks for those tips. I am going to be brave and at least check the level and I’ll also change the relay too. After that it’s off to the experts, aka Marios and Russ at Autoshield. The diff is creaking a bit when manouvering and they have some ‘magic fluid’ to try to loosen it a bit before delving more expensively!
It all good fun isn’t it. Although my wife wouldn't agree - twice now when it’s left me stranded, the moment she’s turned up, guess what happened?…..of course it started.
Good luck with your ongoing ‘challenges’.
 
Fluid change at least in the Ferraris of the same vintage F355 and 360 which is probably the same diff etc. again some wiser persons on here,, but typically Redline 75w/90 NS is used... Without the Limited Slip in it, so non-LS added.. It can be purchased separated and a minimal amount added it needed. Please check maybe here to see what others are using, but the independent Ferrari specialists....and ours is a Baby Ferrari...use this....
 
I am changing my accumulator for the F1 system over the next few days as I have changed everything else in the F1 system......that I am capable of. My ccar works as it should with the new pump installed, but it primes way too much every 6 seconds or so and I know that is too often, so the accumulator which is designed to keep the pressure up once the pump gets it where it should be is nitrogen charged and hopefully the one, I bought off eBay...a low mileage unit will work!!!!!
 
In my humble opinion the easiest way to top up the fluid is removing the trunk liner....it just makes iit easier....not easy IMO. You probably should have a small fluid transfer suction type device to push the new fluid in the reservoir by the way. No room IMO for anything too big. You can get something at most auto stores or cheaply on Amazon. Again, just my opinion. mark has a lot to say!!! Can't help it trying to pay back what I have learned through all the Chat sites!!!!
 
And am I right in thinking that the unscientific but accepted method for checking the right level, is to dipped a gloved finger into the header tank until it touches the bottom plate, extract said digit and if it’s a fingernail wet, (is that about 10mm?!) that is about right?
Thx
 
Giallo Uno said:
In my humble opinion the easiest way to top up the fluid is removing the trunk liner....it just makes iit easier....not easy IMO. You probably should have a small fluid transfer suction type device to push the new fluid in the reservoir by the way. No room IMO for anything too big. You can get something at most auto stores or cheaply on Amazon. Again, just my opinion. mark has a lot to say!!! Can't help it trying to pay back what I have learned through all the Chat sites!!!!
Click to expand...
Was thinking about using a big syringe, but will I be there all day?! Suppose it depends on how low the level is, he says, answering his own question…;)
 
The F1 Reservoir is actually very small on the system. You don't need to dip a rag in it. The size is probably 3 inches wide by 3 inches deep approximately, It doesn't hold that much fluid. Unscrew the top and put your finger in it. You will know the color, and I will bet it will be clear or slightly yellow. Some of the fluids are not compatible. I think the CHF 11S Pentosin is, but check I just can't remember. You should be able to tell once you put your finger in it and if you bend down in the trunk IIRC you can see the level. Easier than you think. The hard part is topping it off. I replaced the fluid when i did the electric pump as it all came out at that time, so my refill was a decent amount.
 
The big syringe would work fine especially if it has a flexible` hose type attachment on the end so you can bend it in the reservoir.
 
Giallo Uno said:
The F1 Reservoir is actually very small on the system. You don't need to dip a rag in it. The size is probably 3 inches wide by 3 inches deep approximately, It doesn't hold that much fluid. Unscrew the top and put your finger in it. You will know the color, and I will bet it will be clear or slightly yellow. Some of the fluids are not compatible. I think the CHF 11S Pentosin is, but check I just can't remember. You should be able to tell once you put your finger in it and if you bend down in the trunk IIRC you can see the level. Easier than you think. The hard part is topping it off. I replaced the fluid when i did the electric pump as it all came out at that time, so my refill was a decent amount.
Click to expand...
Thanks again for all the info, but just for absolute clarity, when do I stop filling it?! Is there actually a max fill mark?
 
Just stop say 1/2 inch from the top. If you overfill it, it will push out the excess a bit from the top and maybe you see a small amount on the floor. If it was me, I would suck out whatever you can with the syringe and they refill it. Just MO
 
I wouldn’t get to hung up on the fluid level so long as no level light as above any over fill will be pushed out when it gets warm.

The main concern is the gearbox fault light, it can be multitude of different faults, so needs plugged into diagnostics to understand the fault.
 
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