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Strangest thing happened in my Cali, has this happened to you?

Discussion in 'California(Portofino)/Roma(Amalfi)' started by Night life, Jun 29, 2025.

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  1. Night life

    Night life F1 Veteran
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    Roberto
    #1 Night life, Jun 29, 2025
    Car has been running great, no real hiccups, the odd glitch when turning the key nothing serious, turn off turn back on always cleared.

    Yesterday after driving it for sometime I get back home, park it like normal, then 10 min later go to leave and the dreaded electrical system failure comes on but I mean everything is flashing like a Christmas tree, I have heard of this before and have seen what it can do but this was different.

    My electronic temp gauge needle was missing but the oil temp was on was fine, blinkers were blinking but they operated just fine, every single light on my dash was flashing very quickly. Car would start no problem but could not engage any gear. See pic below

    I tried to restart several times to no avail, after a bit of research I tried the disconnect battery leave it for 30 min and voila just like that car is back to normal, fires up, drives normal zero lights, weird

    Has this happened to anyone else? could it be a bad ground? battery is pretty new and I drive it lots so I don't believe it is a battery issue.
     

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  2. Willl

    Willl Karting

    Oct 8, 2022
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    Will
    #2 Willl, Jun 29, 2025
    wow, Christmas tree was accurate.
    Did you scan for codes?
    Could be a bad ground/connection. Make sure all connections are clean and tight. Could be a voltage glitch never to return. I've had a couple of those but not the Xmas tree variety.
     
  3. bb2thdr

    bb2thdr Formula Junior

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    Scott Bialik
    #3 bb2thdr, Jul 2, 2025 at 7:42 PM
    looks like a voltage issue. Check the battery. How old is the battery. If the battery is good then you have to think about the voltage regulator or alternator. After sitting for an hour, did it start up normal?
     
  4. Night life

    Night life F1 Veteran
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    #4 Night life, Jul 3, 2025 at 11:28 AM
    It's been running perfect ever since, I don't believe the battery is very old maybe 2 years old, I have been driving it now for a few days everything normal, that's why I believe it is a ground issue but so far so good, I'll keep posted if it occurs again.

    The good news though for others in this situation, just unplug negative terminal wait 30 min and plug back in, love those types of fixes ;)

    .
     
  5. LARRYH

    LARRYH F1 Veteran
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    #5 LARRYH, Jul 3, 2025 at 12:46 PM
    I had something very similar happen to my 2013 about a year ago .I did exactly what you did and it cleared but came back and had to send it to the dealer it was a bad relay.. but truthfully I drive my cali most everyday
    But always keep it on a tender a couple nights a week..or for a couple of days a week if I don't drive it..
     
  6. RWP137

    RWP137 Formula 3

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    #6 RWP137, Jul 4, 2025 at 12:55 AM
    9/10 times it’s the battery. These newer cars with all of the electronics need clean, steady electric power or they freak out. Most of us don’t drive these cars regularly. Keep it on a battery tender (I like ctek).
     
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  7. Night life

    Night life F1 Veteran
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    #7 Night life, Jul 4, 2025 at 10:53 AM
    I do keep car on tender if I am not driving it for 2 days or more, but everyday use you do not need to connect to tender, it's like pissing in a lake to make it full excuse my analogy :D.

    .
     
  8. LARRYH

    LARRYH F1 Veteran
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    #8 LARRYH, Jul 4, 2025 at 11:50 AM
    Not really unless you drive it lots of highway miles I think its a good practice to atleast plug in over night a couple of times a week..
    Driving it a few miles is probably barely breakeven .based on my experience with modern ferraris.
     
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