Howdy, 4 days ago I picked up my 2002 360 Spider. When I went to pick it up the battery was flat; we jump started it and didn’t have any issues driving; only the roof due to the low battery. After 50 hours on the 3aH charger we fired it up and went for a drive. After about 40 minutes the battery light came on, 3 minutes later the abs light and then the engine shut off. Got it restarted and white smoke came out of the exhaust. Shut it off and had it towed. It has a new; Power steering belt Ac belt Alternator belt Timing belt Hill bearings 48/6h AGM battery Heat exchanger Gearbox flushed several times and replaced fluid. Flushed cooling system several times and replaced fluid. Would you - get it fixed or run? Problem has yet to be diagnosed..
I'm pretty sure you need a new battery. At least, I would start with that. Once a battery is fully discharged, they seldom come back 100%. Alden
Rule #1 on FChat seems to be: Never jumpstart a Ferrari. A new-to-you vehicle or just after a major service? White smoke perhaps indicates a coolant leak. Always worth investing in a scanner. Almost every day on FChat there are recommendations for a suitable scanner. e.g. Autel MaxiAP AP200 OBD2 Scanner Bluetooth Wireless OBDII Auto Diagnostic Tool with Full System Diagnostic, 19 Reset Functions, AutoVIN, Check Engine Light Code Reader for iPhone Android https://a.co/d/hPj1yZb
The white smoke could be from oil in the intake from possible overfilling oil, but white smoke could be from coolant/oil in the cylinders. Can you remove the spark plugs and look in each cylinder to check? If you remove the air filter / throttle body and look in the intake you see any oil? Is the coolant still good? No contaminants when you open up the reservoir cap?
Battery light usually means alternator. The new battery cranking the car and running it for a bit before it shuts down seems to confirm. The white smoke could be coolant or condensation. How sure are you that no air remains trapped in the cooling system from the multiple flushes? I would recharge the battery and run it again just long enough to tell whether it's coolant burning or not. If you still can't tell maybe change the oil to check for coolant mixing and/or drain the coolant and see if the cooling system will hold a vacuum.
A puff of white smoke, or smoking incessantly until you shut it off? If the latter, was a little bit of white smoke trickling out or a big cloud?
I think you need to let someone familiar with a 360 diagnose it properly. If you want to tackle it yourself, I suggest... 1. Get a good, fully charged battery, start the car and measure the voltage at the battery. If less than 13V, your alternator is dead. 2. An intermix of coolant and gear oil does not result in white smoke. But it does take multiple flushes of the coolant system to clean it all out. 3. Compression and leak down test, if that was not done before purchase. That might lead you to the cause of the white smoke. 4. Drain the oil again, put back 8 quarts of good oil. This eliminates the over-filling possibility. 5. Who did the service, including the timing belt(s)? Did they get it right? I will second what Ias said above: "never jump start a Ferrari, simply charge the battery." This applies to anything later than a 348.
Prove that it is a 'good' battery by having it pass a load test outside of the vehicle. Hence, no guessing. Most auto parts stores do it for free.
Thanks for all the replies. I will have the shop look at it tomorrow, just trying to decide whether I should try to punt it (cancel the sale, as it was new to me, not a pick up after service) or if I should try to repair it and keep it. Obviously not a good start to my second Ferrari ownership…
