Ferrari 360 Modena HELP!

Last night I told my garage to idle my 360 Modena to make sure that it would start this morning because I wanted to play a round of golf today. They idled my car for 20 minutes.

And then I went to get my car today but the car wouldnt start. I heard the clicks when the car was trying to fire up, but no successful startup. Now here is my question:

When I turned my key to the "Position II - Running" position (the position before actually igniting your car), in the warning-lights display section of the instrument panel, the check engine light is on and also the message "CHECK OK" lighted up.

In a 360 Modena, does the check engine light come on when you have the key in the Position II position? Is this normal? I haven't paid attention to it before.

I am wondering if maybe the battery just didnt have enough juice to start the car of if there was something wrong with my car because it didnt start this morning. But if there wasn't enough juice in the battery, would the "CHECK OK" message light up?

The car alarm worked fine this morning and the car was idled for 20 minutes last night. SO I find it hard to believe that the battery was not juiced enough. You think something is wrong with the car?

 

Why are you idling the car for so long? That can't be good.

Anyway, you probably have a bad battery (hopefully). The check engine light does come on when the ignition is in position II - I think. I can check tomorrow if nobody else remembers.

When you click on the FOB to disable the alam, can you hear the beeps?

Ernesto

 

Hubert
I had the exact situation happpen to me 2 weeks ago. Everything you described happened to me. Your battery is BAD and will fail in the next few weeks. Get it replaced now. My 360 had to be towed into the dealer. Also, my dealer reminded me to follow the car's manual when the starting the car. Always put the key into position II and wait for the OK before starting the car. I was getting lazy and turning the key all the way over to start the car.

 

>>>They idled my car for 20 minutes.

Idling the car does not charge the battery – you need to drive it for 20 min so that the alternator rotates faster / produces more power

>>> I heard the clicks when the car was trying to fire up, but no successful startup.

what do you mean by clicks - does the starter turn the engine?

>>>...section of the instrument panel, the check engine light is on

yes the check engine symbol is on in the II position with engine not running

>>>But if there wasn't enough juice in the battery, would the "CHECK OK" message light up?

yes the ECUs should work down to around 9V

 

Right... when charging my battery, I drive with RPMs up around 3-4K. Not sure how much exactly is needed... but I wouldn't count on idling to do it.

That's the standard sound you get when trying to start a 360 that has some power, but not enough to actually turn the starter motor.

Agreed. Further note that Check OK doesn't mean "all systems checked and verified"... its only checking a subset of things.


Brian

 

I thought that idling your car would charge the battery. I am wrong?

I idled the car for that long because I had not driven the car for 2 weeks. Idling the car for 20 minutes the night before and not driving the car for 2 weeks could have contributed to the not fully juiced battery?

"what do you mean by clicks - does the starter turn the engine?"
yeah i hear the starter clicks.

"When you click on the FOB to disable the alam, can you hear the beeps? "
yes, i hear all the beeps from the alarm when i disable and able it.

My car is a year 2000. So it should be about time for me to replace the battery right? I am not that knowledgeable about car mechanics and stuff.

Thanks everyone for answering my questions. Oh by the way, I ended up taking a cab to go out of the city to play my 18 holes of golf

 

A battery tender is a must for your 360. Cost is around a $100 or so.
When you turn the key partially you need to wait for the check OK to illuminate. Then you are ready to turn the key the rest of the way. Make sure you do not touch the gas pedal. If the engine does not turn over almost instantaneously turn the key off again and start the procedure all over again. The engine should increase RPM on its own then settle back down. The sound of the exhaust will tell you if you are operating correctly. Let the engine run without touching the gas pedal until it has leveled out to 1000 or 1050 or so RPM's. If you find that the RPM's are quite up and down, shut the car down, and proceed to turn the battery ON/OFF switch to the off position for a minute or so. Turn the battery switch back on and begin start up procedure again. I believe this step will "re-learn" the computer to perform the way it should. Good Luck

 

Would any battery tender work, or do you need to have the Ferrari one?

 

Any battery tender should suffice.

Hubert:

Is your garage heated or is it halfway exposed to the elements (open windows, etc). With the rash of cold weather hitting the northeast the past couple of weeks, that could have helped to drain your battery. You definately need to run the car a bit before you can fully charge up the battery.Once you start reving the engine, you can get the alternator to help create enough power to recharge the battery.

 

Silly question, but did you have your foot on the brake pedal. F-1 cars won't start if you don't depress the brake pedal while turning the key.

However, if you have a three year old car that's not driven a lot then you probably should replace the battery. Did you purchase the car new? if you did not, it may already have a Ferrari factory installed battery charger terminal built in.Have your dealer chck it out. it's located in the front luggage compartment right under the windshield. Check your manual for the exact location.

 

the generator system in a car is designed to maintain the battery not to charge it from low levels (<75%)- I.e. the design assumptions are that the battery is charged and that the generator has to provide only the energy to all the other electrical devices in the car

above condition has to hold for idle as well as for higher engine RPMs - at higher RPMs the alternator is capable of producing more power - this power which is in excess (over idle capacity) can be used to re-charge your battery

Brian's advice "I drive with RPMs up around 3-4K" is what I do too.

Ferrari recommends re-charge intervals based on the current the car absorbs if unused. Your dealer should be able to measure the current and that would tell you how long a good battery should last.

but as it looks I would not be suprised if you need a new battery

 

THanks for the advice!

I will overnite charge my battery (will use one of those battery things that I plug into an A/C outlet and into this plug near the door jam of the driver's side door) when the weather forecast for the day tomorrow in NYC predicts a sunny day. Hopefully the car will start and then I'll drive it around for 30 minutes on the highway to charge the battery.

To answer a question, my garage has a ramp that you drive down like 50 feet underground. It is pretty warm in there even during the winter.

I need my winter maintenance tuneup at the dealership soon anyways and will request to get a new battery. I'll let you know how the car starts or won;t start after I charge it overnite one day.

 

FINALLY got my 360 on a flatbed to FofLI today. Had to wait a week for them to come tow it.
Car was jumped and was glad that the engine sound was back to normal instead of the muffled sound.
Battery probably just the culprit hopefully. Ill let you know what the service department finds wrong with the car.