360 electrical issues?

I don't recall seeing any threads mentioning this but could be mistaken - there may be something in the buyers guide which is be worth reading thru' as you're in the market and updating if any conclusive evidence comes up

 

If that's the only thing that your friend mentioned.. then you clean the connections if needed.
I have had one (1) loose connection that I had to correct... since my car has been absolutely reliable and no issues with connections. In fact the car has been as reliable as my Boxster...

Coming from a 355... I presume you haven't had any lifter or top end issues? ;-) If you have a mechanic that has been able to take care of you and your 355.. I think you'll be just fine with the 360.

 

Yup! What Curt said above!

My experience is that they're generally reliable. I've seen one or two mentions of a bad earth appear in a thread where error codes have been hard to pin down - doesnt seem to be common (or at least not yet in the life cycle) and given the relative age and number of these cars still in use if there were loads and loads of issues we'd be hearing about them.

 

They are sensitive to low battery voltage. If you don't drive the car you will experience random minor issues that come and go. Top only opens part way then stalls, then works again and finishes the cycle. Just odd behavior that looks like electrical problems.

Since I have been driving my car every day these issues have disappeared. The battery is always full and I have no more random issues.

 

There is a problem with the alternator harness. Before you buy any 360, make sure they check this, it comes right off the alternator and runs toward the driver's side of the car. If the wire connected to the alternator is brital, or burnt looking, it will need to be replaced. It is very expensive, $2000+ for the harness, and $1200 for installation. Ferrari of course knows about this, as they have an upgraded harness, they just wait for it to fail of course.

 

Yea, either $3200 or crimp a new lug on the wire and be done.

 

I'm a new 360 spider (6 speed) owner. Got the car about 2 months ago and already put about 2000 miles on it (about 1000 driving home from the dealership). Car was running great until late last week. I was sitting in terrible traffic in 100 degree heat and all of a sudden, I smelt something burning. All temps looked normal, but I new something wasn't quite right. The smell wen't away in about 2 minutes, but fearing I would start a car fire in the middle of the highway, I shut the car off for a few seconds. It started right back up, but the battery light was on. Got all the way to my office and the car drove fine, no smell, no problems (though I did shut off the radio and A/C as the battery light was on the whole time).

Took it to the shop (AutoElite in Fort Lee, NJ)...I stopped by this afternoon for him to show me the damage:
http://ferrarichat.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1369986&stc=1&d=1312843522
http://ferrarichat.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1369985&stc=1&d=1312843522

Turns out the alternator shorted out (caused a small fire) and burned the cables coming off it. Fortunately, it didn't damage anything else. Luckily, I do not need to replace the entire wiring harness, just the cables that run from the alternator to the terminal behind the drivers seat.
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This happened to me. After changing a lot of parts and troubleshoot the problem was the alternator positive cable got welded to the aluminum block!! The plastic cover of the cable fail somehow!
Here is a picture;
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To Sgutmann,

I would get a second opinion. I believe you need to replace the whole harness with the upgraded part. Is this mechanic of yours a licensed Ferrari mechanic?

 

Thanks for your contributions guys. I'll be checking the condition of my alternator harness this evening!

 

No problem, I don't want anyone here to have the same issue I had. Especially prospective new owners, make sure this is checked before you buy. To the current owners, a bad harness will leave you stranded.

 

This problem isn't in the top 10 but it isn't rare . The alternator takes a LOT of heat from the exhaust and they have a history of failure. There have been several threads about the cable connector as well.

Sorry Mattyrae but you are shouting fire in the theater and obviously doesn't have the experience to know about this issue. I am not a mechanic but I know of several cars that have had the connector replaced and or had the alternator replaced. Some how, they are still on the road being driven and the wiring harness wasn't replace.

Simple answer, it is not necessary to replace the wiring harness unless you melted things inside the harness. Even then, repair is fairly straight forward unless there is major damage.

 

Skidkid,

Thanks for the reply, I didn't think it was necessary to replace the whole harness. The damage is isolated to within a few inches of the alternator. Any idea how much a new alternator should be?

Sam

 

A new alternator is 1k, but I have a new one that I never use!
PM if you are interested.

 

After having a major brake service on my 04 spider I was driving home enjoying not seeing the brake lite on anymore when I noticed the battery light flickering on and off.
After three K I want all my lights OFF I was thinking.

A week or so of this I called and asked what that light usually indicated. I was told possible and alternator issue.
I set an appointment for today. Saturday I took the car out for a run and a few miles in after a brief stop I noticed my stereo shut down then a bunch of lights came on then the car shut down. After a tow home, a new battery, the light was still on solid.

Cut to today I bring it, a few hours later I get a call from the service manager. Yea the alternator is bad. But that's only the beginning. The wiring assemble is burnt and will need to be replaced. The harness $2400, 9.5 hours of labor and the $1100 for a new alt around 5 grand! I am really confused how can a harness be so expensive and why 9.5 hours to replace? I go down look at it sure enough the large crimp is bad the end of the wire is toast. Would you cut the wire back and crimp on a new piece of wire with a solid connection and proper end of course not. Rip all the wiring apart and change a wire that is 98 percent perfect.

I suggested this to the tech who was working on the car and his service manager. nervous looks back and fourth and all around. "well I would have to have this approved from my boss" RRRRight.

I call Ferrari Parts.com they say yea that harness lists from Ferrari for $2150, alternator $960 add the markup and your right in there. Needless to say I got a used harness and alt for $1100 total. And I will be doing the fix my self in the am. I'll take the 4k to Vegas. I get they need make some money but I asked them both directly if this was a problem. They both said no. After surfing on F.C. for five minutes I see this is a big issue. How about a little honestly guys. I feel sorry for anyone who can't work on there car's a little bit from time to time. Just saying.

 

Its just wire, and a ring terminal.

Ferrari does not use any magic dust, although people paying $2K for the harness might be.

Ferrari does not always use the highest grade parts as OEM. If they did such a bang-up job on this part, why did they have to re-engineer it.

Its ok, just like with our women, we have to overlook the idiosyncrasies and focus on the system as a whole.

All dealers and most indi shops component level troubleshoot. This is not a bad thing, just not optimal from a cost standpoint. It can be optimal from a time standpoint in many cases.

 

Up till now I have had 8 awesome years with this car. No major issues, just regular maintenance. This is a case of bad engineering. Nothing more. It will be correct when I'm done with it.

 

It's not only exhaust heat that kills this harness at that point. Jump-starting or running with a battery that's not good causes it too; the alternator runs flat out to charge the battery and it cooks the connection on the alternator.

 

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- is there space for a heatshield to be made for the alternator ?

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I had this issue, the wire was so crisp, it detached from the alternator.

I highly recommend wrapping some gold reflective heatshield material around it (the kind used in race cars). this will help drastically with RADIANT heat, which is coming from the exhaust and cooking it. This is much more powerful in this area than ambient heat. I have the same problem on my Noble, but it was cooking the starter. I wrapped the starter as well, but unfortunately you can't wrap the alt.



I was told also to replace harness (labor expensive because it runs to the battery housing). But They have to recommend this for safety/liability, as if any remote chance of fire due to a non-complete job is on them. You have to check the whole cable and feel for brittleness. This creates very high resistance, and will result in other problems/failures. It would be possible to splice out the bad parts, IMHO without replacing the whole damn thing.

 

I would trust Vinny's opinion (he was trained at the factory by the way). He only replaces things that are needed and is very knowledgable/honest. (his shop is now in Tenafly by the way- the old one was Ft. Lee).