DO NOT JUMP START YOUR CAR

My odometer recently went from reading its normal 19,000 miles to 347,000 kilometers. I just don't drive that much. Miller Ferrari says the entire pod needs to be replaced at $4,000 plus. Recently spoke to one of the usual suppliers who told me to ship him the pod and he can reset the odometer to read in miles, and reset correct mileage from the ECU.

He has seen a ton of these, all caused by jump starting a dead battery. Either the odometer just stops working, or it flips to km, often with some insane number. And I remember jumping the car one cold February morning. So best to remove battery and charge outside the car or just replace the dead battery with a new one.

 

Yep. This has been discussed many times. The instrument clusters are fairly delicate and very sensative to power spikes, low voltage, etc.

 

Sorry to hear about your problem. Tried to edit my last post to add this but the system wasn't having any of it so a 2nd post it is.

 

What models and year ranges does this apply to?

 

Jump starts have a track record of blowing the air bag computer, too. Then you're stuck with the air bag light on.

 

All 360s

 

Does this apply to 430s too?

 

Having years ago blown the diodes in the regulator/alternator of an Isuzu Impulse and
a Honda Accord by giving folks jump starts, I've just taken the policy NEVER to leave
the battery connected whether giving or getting. Disconnect, charge the battery
up for a while with the jumper cable, then reconnect and try again. Maybe I'm
just paranoid - but you can't argue that the little extra work it takes can't hurt
and generally gets the same results.

 

Yup!

 

We recently had a 360 with about $8000 worth of burned up electronics from jump starting. We have had many with lower amounts. Put a tender on them. If the battery is dead, remove it and charge it or replace it.


The odometer is common and is a cheap fix due to the much maligned people who offer a service to reset them.

 

Thanks...I did not know this!!

 

$4000 of a tough lesson

 

Ditto.

Mental note made!

 

ouch

 

We now leave the cutoff switch to off when parked if over 12 hours and away. Even the T is now an issue.

quesiton: so, if away and one does NOT use the cutoff switch, you recommend taking out and charging [T is a PITA as tire must come off or you'll be there all day]. How about a slow charge from say, AAA tow truck? And any hints to such people on how the procedure should transpire? These things do happen at the most awkward of times.

We actually carry a battery pack to trickle it, as a 'just in case' when we go away for weekend.....even the T is experiencing quicker drawdowns.

rik

 

Where is the battery cutoff switch on the 360?

 

Under front hood. Standing looking in trunk will be on left side back of trunk (as in below windshield, behind where battery is located). Its black - kinda stealth.

 

i don't know if shutting off the power using the switch under the hood is such a great idea. i think using a battery tender/trickle charger is the way to go.it is my understanding that if you disconnect power the settings (?) for the motor control servos and sensors have to be reset by turning the key to the on position and waiting 20-30 secs. before starting. maybe someone with more knowledge can confirm.

 

when you first re-connect the power, yes, you are supposed to turn the key to on and wait about 30 or 45 seconds roughly. You'll hear some of the stuff in the motor compartment going through some sort of motion. I would guess it's probably something going through a range/limit test or something. I don't really know myself, but when I used to disconnect the power and turn it back on, I would always wait for the car to go through its initial start up stuff back there.

I used to kill the power on the car if I wasn't going to drive it for a while. I ran a dry cell racing battery which held up better to longer periods of no use also. When you kill the power to the ECU, the car does have to relearn when you drive. This is the reason a lot of people don't like to cut the power. I opted to cut the power because I didn't want to run a battery tender. Myself, I never noticed much difference in how the car ran between when I cut the power vs. when I didn't. If anything it seemed like the car ran better from a "fresh start", but maybe that was my imagination

Ray

 

Thanks! Same place as in my TR
I should have known.

 

Leave it on the charger.

Never Jump your car, ever.

Join F-Chat because it just saved you thousands of dollars.

Eat your vegetables and drink plenty of water.

 

Sorry, but jumping 'some' Ferraris is not an issue, just the newer overly electronic ones.....will wait to be flogged by better persons on this, but certainly one can jump an older [thinking up to the 348 series, even the 456's].

 

Periodic Maintainence for me
Replace the battery every three years no matter what.
$120. = cheap insurance.

 

That is really good to know. I absolutely love Ferrari's but it is very annoying to me that there are so many weak spots in the cars. Sure they have improved on the most part but there are still some very annoying problems. I helped push a 360 off of PCH in Newport Beach, CA because the car would not go into gear (was an F1 tranny). Nothing like being stopped dead at a major intersection because the car has reliability issues. Also saw a 360 stalled in front of Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo in Portland, OR blocking a road because of the same issue. Doesn't look good for the marque.

 

Apparently this affects all newer models with electronic odometers. I have jumped my Dino on a number of occasions with no problems. On the 360 the jump causes a voltage spike which messes up some of the instruments. Luckily I have found one of those "much maligned" companies who will reset the odometer to true mileage and have it show miles rather than km. all for $500. Better than $4,000 +.

Now I will remove the battery and charge it outside the car if necessary.

Is the correct mileage recorded in one of the ecu's and can it be downloaded by a dealer with the special computer? I have no desire to artificially lower the miles driven.