After driving for some time the display goes dim to the point you can hardly see it. Also the clock always has to be set on power up, i.e. everytime you drive the car you have to set the clock. I'm trying to find out what's up anyone have a pin out for the connector I'm wondering if the 12v goes away when I turn the power off, or may be the ground is flaky. Anyone else ever seen this?? car is a 348ts, 1990
Although we chatted about it this weekend, mine has the same behavior with respect to dimming lights -- but my clock always remains fully set.
Does your ECU have the little set buttons in place for the clock? or are the pushed into the ECU? How long does it take for your ECU to go dim? I checked the main power fuse on my car and it was like brand new, no evidence of heat related failure. I also had a test ECU, it did the same clock thing. So there's something up with both ECUs or the pwr/grnd connections for the clock (12v should be presistant). as far as the dimming problem, may be it's heat related. the longer the ECU is powered the worst it gets??? I did find that the previous owner had pushed those little set buttons into the ECU (I took the unit apart). Who ever did that had pushed the whole display assembly away from the green windows, pushed the screw holding the display out and there was also a black plastic background piece that was just laying there. now the display is flush up against the green window but I doubt that will fix the problem. there is something wrong with our ECUs but I'm just taking a guess. Oh, one more thing, mines a 1990, the test ECU is a 1992, the back cover on the newer unit more vented for air flow wondering if it is a problem on ours? There are a couple of big heat sinks in there...
Tam, My clock (348 `90) always needed resetting after a bumb or engine-start. And the dail`s were very faint... Take it apart (complete thing) and spray the basterd with contact spray. ( do not aim directly at the lcd screens) Let it soak for a night and reassemble. Mine works perfect since, if onely everything was so simple... Regards, Ben.
Bad connections inside. You can actually crack the box and resolder many connection and this really makes the head unit work better. 15years of corrosion on poor solder joints = high resistence and flaky workings...typical Ferrari
Do you have any idea why my fan changes speed when i move the steering wheel??? After a while it stops working completely. Guess there is a rotten connection somewhere, but what can be affected by the steering wheel and the rod through the bulk head? //B//
I put stabilant on the connections inside the A/C ECU and fixed the black plastic shield that goes behind the display. things seem to be working at this time and the display is bright enough. I'll have to see what happens after it's powered up for a while. I also check the hidden fuse in the trunk. It was like brand new, no signs of heat damage and no corrosion. it has to be something in the ECU that screwing up.... Oh, that ground connection for the ECU, the one behind the vent. How do you get that vent out? what direction do you have to move it to get it off the dash? thanks,
Use a common screwdriver. Pull towards yourself and it will come out nicely. Take care when you take them joints off. Make sure you do not loose the cable. Hard to find if you loose it behind the dashboard. Good luck! //B//
update. I put everything back together. display is bright but I'll have to drive the car for some time to see if it is really fixed. the clock works correctly now....
Drove the car to Asheville 600 plus mile RT. no issues with the A/C (it'll freeze you out) or display. It's dim in the direct sun light. but otherwise everything worked perfectly. I suspect taking things apart and cleaning the connectors fixed everything. the problem was after driving for sometime the display would go into some state where it could be read, and the equipment would shut off. or go so dim you couldn't read it, or the clock would get reset, or some nonsense like that.
Well, since it is about 125 degrees with a billion percent humidity, I decided to tackle this task today. Took the whole thing apart, and I must confess -- it was perfectly clean with zero burn marks or overzealous solder blobs. In fact, my 'chewing gum' section was neat and tidy too. After seeing all that, I thought "this sucks... what a waste of time... my problem must be elsewhere." Anyway, I grabbed my trusty bottle of Stabilant and just went crazy. Q-tip? Screw it... I just poured the crap all over the connectors of the unit. Heady from the fumes of alcohol, I then poured the Stabilant all over the oil temp and fuel gauge connectors too. Popped it all back together and BANG! lights are VERY bright, and everything works perfectly. Maybe it was just a loose harness connector, or maybe it actually was the Stabilant. Whatever the cause, it sure as heck looks good now. I will confess, I am so F^*&ng tired of the crappy fit/finish/alignment of those three center panels. I'll get everything snugged up, then one little bump, and the lower lip of the 'upright' section will pop out. Maybe it's not supposed to be snug? Maybe a bit of slop in the panels allows some "give"? Whatever. I sweat 2 gallons in my garage today, and I'm done enough.
