Digiplex issue on BB512i?

Hi all,

For the last eight years, I have a recurring pb am unable to solve BB512i. When I say "I", I mean the various shops I brought my car to.... Things would work for a while but get worse over time.

It all started with speedometer and rev counter not working properly. They'd be both working at first, then one or the other would stop working after 15min driving. It became worse through the years to the point of none working at all. I also had one blip on the oil pressure, with the red light coming on for a fraction of a second while idling during a run. So the car went straight to the shop once more.

I got the car to be serviced and wanted to get things fixed, everything was checked (speed, rev and oil pressure sensors) as well as the dials, no fault was found. Once I got the car back, the speedo has been working fine, rev counter is working 2/3 of the time, but oil pressure indicator keeps falling suddenly, with the red light blinking. Being a mechanical pump, and knowing everything was checked, I am pretty confident this is a red herring, but still, I am nervous and don't enjoy driving the car, spending all the time watching this damn oil pressure.

We suspect this could be the digiplex playing funny, Since it's the only thing that wasn't changed/checked, What do you experts think? The shop where I service my car don't know where to source the part, but they could try one from another BBi.

I also found this link while searching on this forum for digiplex issues:
https://permatune.com/portfolio/ferrari-512-bb-ignition-module/

Would this be a good option? Any other options out there? I didn't see the price but something tells me this would be worth changing anyway. Thoughts anyone?

Just for the record, I am based in Europe, next to Geneva.


Regards,
Julien

 

Hi again,

Just to add some more info: I don't seem to have any other running issues. Well, not related to this anyway. The engine is running smooth.I have a water leak since last service (probably a hose clamp that needs tightening) and some smoke coming from the right cylinder bank, but those don't seem to be related to the dial issues...

I don't have any alarm that could interfere on the electric side, and my fuse box was changed about 5 years ago without bringing any change to the speedo and rev counter not working.


Regards,
Julien

 

I think you may have a problem with ground at the dashboard

 

That's a good point. They told me they checked the dashboard but I could suggest they check this specifically if they haven't done so... The car is due to go back to the shop this winter anyway. So they can sort out all the gremlins...

 

If the needle in the gauge reads a reasonable value, but the red light comes "on" = either a bad warning light sender switch or the wire going to the warning light sender is shorting to something metal in the engine bay.

You wish you had Digiplex ignition (even with its problems) -- your BB512i uses the earlier, even more flaky Dinoplex ignition . The tach signal is created by the Dinoplex ECU so either that could be bad or the tach itself could be bad. I'd be contacting FChat member alhbln (Adrian at Magneti Marelli Dinoplex Repair and Restoration Documents) -- see this thread:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/206-246/276251-rebuilding-dinoplex-aec103a-9.html

A search in this section using "Dinoplex" will get you many more prior threads.

Good Hunting!

 

Thanks for the tips and info. The shop did some testing on the dials, but checking for good ground connection or interference from something else is on the TO DO list. Seeing how many things went wrong with dials on the dashboard, it seems natural to think there is something wrong there. But apparently, they checked for that already.
But like I said, the guys have access to another BBi, so it should be easy enough to check the dinoplex and see if it works better with another unit. If my dinoplex is faulty, then I ll try to get it fixed or source a replacement.

And correct about dinoplex, I remember reading they replaced the dinoplex with a digiplex on the Testarossa.