Electrical system malfunction question

I'm sure it will end up being something goofy I never even would have thought of. That seems to be how these scenarios play out.

I use an FM transmitter in the cig port to play bluetooth music. That said, I didn't add this until later on last year, and the fault was already showing 100% of the time prior to that. The previous owner had no added electronics I'm aware of either. Again, the car should have been without faults when it left the dealership en route to me. Something must have happened during delivery.

The fault will stay on if I have the car on, turn it off, and then turn it back on. The only time it doesn't reappear is if the fault had already been cleared after driving for a while, I turn it off and turn it back on a short while later. It never reappears in that instance, even if I go drive it for another couple hours. Once it's off and the car stays warm, it's done. It doesn't come in the middle of a drive, only at startup, and it remains for a period thereafter. I don't know if it's just some sort of grace period the computer is giving me after the fault clears, or if it is related to something with the car's temperature readings as to why the code sometimes doesn't reappear.

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I would think any Ferrari dealer worth their salt should be able to read a code and at least isolate which module is throwing out the error code. Has the dealer checked the car since it started giving the warnings? As someone else mentioned, if it's CPO, then it sounds like it's their problem more than your issue.

Ray

 

I haven't been to the dealership at all yet as the car was already fully serviced from the dealership I bought it from last year. The indy Ferrari shop nearby installed my exhaust system, changed the battery, and checked around for any loose or damaged electricals. It wasn't an intensive search by any means, as the fault was nothing more than a minor inconvenience at that point and I just wanted to enjoy my new car during our short driving season at that point. Since the fault is staying on significantly longer, it's time to get it taken care of.

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The dealer, as long as they have a full service center / shop, should be able to pull up plenty of info. The car has extensive monitoring and computer data stored, so it should be able to tell you where the problem is located.

Ray

 

Rejoining F-Chat after a long absence, my 458 had an odd electrical malfunction. The dual dash display went white and blank after a big drive and after stopping then starting up. The displays remained blank white until I put the car back on the trickle charger and been fine since then. No other electrical functions were affected. Anybody else have this oddity? Wondering whether it will occur again.

Mary Contrary

 

If you are saying it happened after you turned off and started again ..it definitely sounds like a weak / old battery .. especially since after no problem after you charged it



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I had the exact same issues and symptoms on my 458..I did exactly the same as you did Ray except i chose Antigravity's 40Ah Lithium ion battery..No more issues with the ECU or error codes whatsoever..Pretty sure its the same problem with the thread starter's car.

 

It very well could be, although how he described it later makes me wonder.

On your car, was it an error code every single time you started the car or was the error code more sporadic? On my 458, prior to changing the battery, the error would only occur from time to time during starting the car. From what the OP related, in his subsequent messages, he seems to be having the warning message every single time the car is turned on and off, etc. That seems a little odd / excessive to me (if it's just a weak battery) - but then again never rule anything out with hand made cars from Italy

Ray

 

Mine behaved just like yours and was progressively worse the longer the car was not driven..I've since read the OP's other posts and agree it he seems to have other issues..Has he checked the earth cable and fixing point.?

 

Car is heading to dealership tomorrow. I appreciate everyone's help. I will update when I find out more.

 

Steering wheel NVO board failure was the culprit. Fixed under warranty. Good as new now!

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That's great news!

The 458 should be just about bulletproof when everything is working as it should.

Ray

 

I just wanted to thank you for this post. I too was having the EXACT same issue in my 2013 Italia. So strange that it would only happen in <50°f.

Well I’m in Colorado, and as you can imagine a lot of the nights dip below 50°, I’d start it up and have the Electrical System failure-take to dealer for about 20 min and then it’d go away. I lost all functionality of buttons on the steering wheel and the backlight illumination would flash on and off until it was settled. I changed the battery and still no relief.

After finding this post, I ordered the Electronic Board part number: 255426 from Scuderia Car Parts in the UK. Changed it out myself today and she fired right up with no errors.






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I installed a 40aH Antigravity last year after taking possession of my 458 Spider. I have had this exact issue since it got relatively cooler in Texas, around November or so and pretty much throughout the winter until it warmed up to no cooler than 70 at night. After a few seconds or minutes, depending how cold it was, the blinking lights and failure warnings would go away and the car would operate as if nothing were wrong. I guess I need to order this NVO board and swap it in...

 

I would say it’s worth a try… Disconnect the battery. Two bolts - one on each side to pull the airbag. The rest you have to pull/pry out as it’s held in by rubber stoppers. Try to pull straight towards you. Then a few small screws to get to the board for replacement.
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My Spider is currently in the shop for diagnostic, so I discussed this with them.

 

Quick one Gents
Only would like to give some Feedback
Exactly Same symptoms as mentioned
after power up “Elec sys Failure “ everything blinking on the steering wheel .. after while goes off by itself, during this period no functions on the Steering wheel buttons accept engine start
Fix was :
The Faulty unit was Steering Wheel control unit ( located inside the steering wheel itself ) 500 € replaced by my Ferrari dealer also needs new proxy software loading was included

 

My car too had crazy dash and wheel problems that turned out to be NVO/ Steering wheel module. It seems to me there is some variability in exactly what symptoms this failure causes, but it sure is a common one. It took my dealer almost 10 weeks to figure it out, because there were no codes created, and they started with a mistaken idea that my car's symptoms weren't a fit with the NVO.

My reading here about this issue suggests an algorithm for troubleshooting electrical system failure message with odd symptoms in dash and wheel as: 1. Assure battery is fine 2. Check for codes 3. check grounds 4. If still not resolved replace NVO board.

 

I was just discussing with a friend about my issues and he related a story of his Audi RS4 that he had a no-start problem, replaced a bunch of stuff (battery, alternator, etc) to no avail tracked the culprit down to a (missing) engine ground. Tracing grounds is one thing I have not tried yet and it came with an Escort radar detector hardwired in...so maybe I should investigate that.

 

When my local F dealer got my car in, they first confirmed my new lithium battery was fine, then checked major engine/chassis grounds, then went thru the wiring related to my aftermarket radar system and stereo. They said they made some improvements to this aftermarket wiring, and concluded it wasn't the problem. I was happy they were willing to work through that part of it and not just say "aftermarket - dealer cannot touch or fix"

 

Update: had the indie swap in a new NVO board. Car was outside (I was on a trip) where it got down to about 50 degrees in the morning (two mornings), fired up normally. Prior, it would have had the flashing warnings and LEDs. I want to at least get well into fall before I say that it definitely fixed the issue, but it's looking like that was problem. Interestingly enough, the technician said there were no CAN codes to support it. I suppose meaning, they probably wouldn't have replaced the NVO board as a fix for this issue. They did state they've replaced several for turn signals not working.

 

So start up you were getting the electrical system failure, and then all the lights on the steering wheel would blink and make it click noise for a few minutes and then go away?
QUOTE="eYoungman, post: 148401204, member: 240307"]I just wanted to thank you for this post. I too was having the EXACT same issue in my 2013 Italia. So strange that it would only happen in <50°f.

Well I’m in Colorado, and as you can imagine a lot of the nights dip below 50°, I’d start it up and have the Electrical System failure-take to dealer for about 20 min and then it’d go away. I lost all functionality of buttons on the steering wheel and the backlight illumination would flash on and off until it was settled. I changed the battery and still no relief.

After finding this post, I ordered the Electronic Board part number: 255426 from Scuderia Car Parts in the UK. Changed it out myself today and she fired right up with no errors.






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[/QUOTE]
Sorry, just reread your post. That’s exactly what I have going on.

 

[/QUOTE]

Ironically, or perhaps unironically, it was another member here on FChat that was located in Colorado that experienced the same issue I was having that prompted me to replace my NVO board. The "Electrical System Failure" and flashing lights will not generate an error code on a Leonardo. I don't know but about circuit boards but I'm guessing its a bad solder joint or something.

 

I wonder if it’s a bad board or if it just needs to be refreshed software? As Ferrari likes to charge for board and software