CEL at the track day

[Rick R]

Today I was doing an HpD event at Palmer Motorsports. The car run great. After the third session I noticed i had the check engine light on. The car had performed vey well through the sessions. No limp mode, nothing seemed out of order. Temperatures were fine, in the low 200s, another guy with a 350 was there and he said his read pretty much the same.

I had a couple of jerky downshifts on the track but nothing dramatic and nothing I can imagine would have any effect on the engine. This morning I noticed I was running a bit low on oil so I topped it up and that was it, again I can't think it would have had any effect but I'm trying to think of anything different from usual.

I tried waiting a half hour and turning on again but nothing changed, light stayed on. went to an advance auto parts but they said they dont read the codes anymore. The engine idles smoothly, no knock or other ugly sound. Clearly I haven't tried to do hard pulls but it felt like it ran exactly like this morning, with just as much power.

Any guesses?




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[Berol]

Just shooting in the dark, but misfire codes are somewhat common and harmless. They come in more frequently if you bounce the rev limiter.

Is the light gone now?

 

[Rick R]

Is the light gone now?

Sadly, no. At this point I'm leaning towards going home and skipping the second day at the track. It may be a harmless thing - the other GT350 owners told me he used to run a boss that went CEL all the time - but I would hate making a mess of the car if it's something else.

 

[VoodooBoss]

No guess at this point but it doesn't sound terminal. Which model 350 do you have?

 

[Rick R]

Track pack...


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[Berol]

Yeah, I don't blame you. And if the light is not going way, it's really easy to take to a dealer have them look at it under warranty.

 

[F.D. Sako]

Have the organizers announce a request for an OBDII reader for you. Someone surely has one at the event. I always end up lending mine to someone at almost every weekend.

Hope it's something random and harmless. Either way, let us know what you find out!

 

[steveespo]

Pull the negative battery cable for 10 minutes to clear the code. Then reconnect, start the car and let it idle until fully warmed up. Then drive car normally to see if CEL comes back on. If it does, take it to Ford to have checked. It probably won't, somewhere on track you hit the rev limiter which can cause misfire codes to add up, when it gets to so many it will illuminate CEL.

 

[Rick R]

Thanks guys, a guy had a reader and it turned out to be code 128, "coolant below operating temperature" which clearly is nonsense. I heard a few cars had the same code at some point.

 

[RaiderJatt02]

Mine threw the same code this past weekend. I noticed my coolant temp never even got past 1/4 way to normal. Engine oil also stayed below 180F over a 40-50 mile drive. I'm going to replace my thermostat this week.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Raider, welcome to TMO. Have you had yours on track?

I'm glad it wasn't a serious problem and you got your track time in. How did your car do on track?

I hope both of you report the codes to your respective dealers so this issue is documented. This will give Ford information to hopefully release a TSB for a fix.

 

[Rick R]

Car was an absolute beast on track. So much grip. My ballz gave up much sooner than the car honestly. My instructor was in utter disbelief at what it could do.

Plus there was a constant pilgrimage of all guys coming to look at the car and asking questions. Without a doubt the star attraction of the weekend.

The only bummer is at some point I got locked out of driving selection mode and had to run in "granny goes to church on Sunday morning" aka normal mode.

 

[TMSBOSS]

How times change!!

How long did we chase over heat issues with the Boss?? Engine coolant and oil too hot, Trans and rear diff puking oil.

This sure looks like an easier, read cheaper, problem to solve.

 

[Rick R]

Well I hope it costs nothing under warranty!

 

[TMSBOSS]

Agree 110%!!

The on track cooling issues we Meer Boss Owners went through was "Interesting" . Oil and trans cooler cost me around $800.00. Rear Diff catch can another $100.00.

So glad Ford is actually making a RCWALP now.

 

[RaiderJatt02]

I haven't had mine on a track yet as I'm waiting until after I attend the Track Attack next month. Never been on a track before so I figured that's the best place to start. And I'm definitely reporting the CEL to my dealer sometime this week.

Hopefully I'll be a regular at Sonoma and Thunderhill over the next few years.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Good strategy and you'll have a blast at TA. Where are you in NorCal? I'm in Roseville.

 

[mprichar87]

I haven't had mine on a track yet as I'm waiting until after I attend the Track Attack next month. Never been on a track before so I figured that's the best place to start. And I'm definitely reporting the CEL to my dealer sometime this week.

Hopefully I'll be a regular at Sonoma and Thunderhill over the next few years.

If it's in the cards for you, you'll get more out of the Track Attack if you do a track day beforehand. It'll give you less time focusing on just being on track, driving basics, calming your adrenaline, etc. and will allow you to focus on getting faster, or whatever your goal as a driver is. Just my $0.02.

 

[RaiderJatt02]

If it's in the cards for you, you'll get more out of the Track Attack if you do a track day beforehand. It'll give you less time focusing on just being on track, driving basics, calming your adrenaline, etc. and will allow you to focus on getting faster, or whatever your goal as a driver is. Just my $0.02.

That makes sense. I know it's not the same but I was thinking about trying out the Autocross at the upcoming Goodguys show in Pleasanton. It's a week before I go to the TA. I don't think I can make it out to a real track before my trip because all my weekends are pretty much booked now.

And VoodooBoss, I'm in out in Livermore.