512tr won't start,help!!!!

My Dad purchased a 1992 512TR a couple of weeks ago, and after bringing it home, which was about 30 miles it wouldn't start, the key would turn and nothing, it wasn't like a dead battery or alternator it was as if a wire came loose in the ignition or something, 10 minutes later it started no problem. We contacted the dealership who said to bring it back and they would take care of it, but lo and behold we got there a couple days later and it would never do it, they drove it 50 miles trying to get it to do it without success, so they detailed it over the course of a week, all the while trying to get it to do it to no avail. We picked the car up again today drove it home, stopped for a beer, wouldn't start!! Any ideas? The dealership is being really cool about it and will fix it once they can figure out the problem but they don't know where to start.
Any ideas and/or thoughts would be appreciated.

Denver

 

I just purchased a 512TR myself and the same thing was happening. Whenever the car was warmed up, the starter would not work at all unless I turned the key 15 times and then finally it would start. My mechanic is doing my major service now and said that it is common with a lot of Ferrari's. He says the factory wiring and starter solonoids can't handle the electric current when hot and it causes hot start problems. The solution (at least in my case) was to add an relay to the starter. I'm sure someone that has more knowledge will add or correct maybe some of things I have written but hopefully this might help you eliminate possible causes.

 

I had the same problem on my Testa (89). Relay to the starter seemed to solve it.

 

Possibly a high resistance in the isolator switch (battery cut off switch under front bonnet).

I try to avoid fitting starter relays directly to the motor... more often than not, it's a high resistance in a connection somewhere.... an age related thing.

It's always better to fix the cause directly, than to mask the symptom.

Trouble is it can cost 10x as much to find and fix the true cause, than it does to mask the symptom, so you need to balance it out.

 

I had the same problem and it seemed to be getting worse; going from having to drive the car hard for an hour before it would act up to just a quick drive to the gas station for the car to not start. After a full service, the dealer was not able to get it to do it again, and I haven't had the problem for the past month. Apparently, for some cars it can be an alignment issue keeping the starter from engaging when it gets hot. For now, I'm good to go.

 

when the problem appears, i would disconnect the starter solenoid wire and try puting 12v to the soleinoid directly . if the engine cranks , there is resistence in the wire coming from the start solenoid wire. i have found cut-out switches,alarms etc on this wire . could be poor contacts in the ignition switch as well .most people opt for mounting ann external solenoid at the starter . it does work and is not hard to do . i would prefer to see it fixed properly . good luck forza

 

the exact same thing happened to my 512tr...for absolutely no reason whatsover. as it turned out, the starter solonoid was the culprit.

 

Normally I'd agree about not masking symptoms, but if the fix is super expensive than a relay is okay in my book in this case. It's not a DPO fix at all; the relay will see very low current and if the system is designed to handle the full starter current (albeit badly) then it can handle the relay easily. Unless there's a short circuit and a fire hazard, I say go with the relay if that will solve the problem.

Ken