Hi there! This is my first post being a new 92' 348Ts owner so I wonder if you chaps could offer some advice. Basically, I went to start the car today and the battery was flat as a pancake! No lights, windows nothing! The car has only been sitting since saturday so its not that long. I jump started the car and she fired up first time however as soon as I took the leads off the car died.....Tried it again and noticed the battery light was staying on. I fired up again and left her running with the leads connected for 5 mins or so and after removing the leads she ran for a minute or so and then died again. (seems battery is holding a bit of a charge from the jump leads?) I've only had the car a couple of weeks but drove 500miles the day I collected her with no probs at all. I've since done another 500miles again with no problems. The last time I drove the car was on Sat where I literally drove for 2mins (after a warm up) from my garage (round the corner) to my house. I then spend the afternoon fitting window booster box's before putting the car back to bed. I did however notice that on a couple of occasions I had the car running on idle (so as not to drain the battery when testing windows) that the battery warning light came on, as soon as I revved the car above idle it went out again however. Also a couple of days before it did the same for a few mins dunring a 45min drive but appeared to go away again? Just wondering what your thoughts are ? Does this sound like a bad connection or an impending Alternator problem ? Where would be the best place to start to diagnose this ? Cheers Des
Okay, 1st) I'm not sure if the '92s have the bullet connectors for the battery cables. Have a look under the air box to see if yours has the bullet connector running to the starter. Then have a look on the negative cable coming off of the battery running to the frame. If you have them that is where I would start. Make sure that they are cleaned and connected properly. Or.......you can do as I did and get rid of the stupid things all together. You can have solid cables made for about $20 - $30 for both +/- cables. 2nd) You may have a bad voltage regulator in your alternator. You can rebuild it for $100 or less yourself. Here is the "how-to" http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142329 3rd) Welcome to F-chat, and welcome to the 348 Brotherhood. Now go start turning that wrench.
Asking for advice here is good. Jump-starting a Ferrari is bad (these are high-temp beasts, and charging a dead battery off of your alternator is a good way to burn an alternator up). You didn't know the above so won't hold that against you. In general, batteries and alternators on Ferraris are best replaced in pairs. A bad battery can burn up an alternator...a bad alternator can fry a battery. You may want to have a pro connect a temporary ammeter to your 348 so that you can view your current drain when your motor is off. It's entirely possible that you have a circuit using too much current when you aren't using your car. Cheap and quick to test, though. Ferrari 348 alternators are very sensitive to the alternator/frame ground strap. A bad or missing ground strap/connnection can kill them. Likewise, a bad connection from your battery ground cable will fry a 348 alternator. These can be hand rebuilt by a complete amatuer for a few $$ in a few minutes, however. Nice job adding the window speed booster boxes, by the way. Lots of raves about that mod.
Ernie and NoDoubt>>>>>>>>>>> You guys are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The way you guys help out any brother in need commands the utmost respect! Thank you.
Just returning the help I got years back when I was a new owner. Heck, even as recently as a few months ago with a transmission rebuild, and a starting problem that turned out to be a stinking ground wire. Glad to be of help, and it's nice to now your appreciated. So Thanks for the thanks.
Thanks for all your help guys, very much appreciated! Just quickly with regards to the alternator, I notice that there are 2 types, how do I tell the difference between the 2 of them ? IE is mine likely to be the Nippondenso type being a 92' model ? Also, does anyone know where I can source a suitabe regulator and rectifier in the UK? Since I'm going to be jacking the car up etc I might as well upgrade the alternator regardless as I'd like the car to be as reliable as possible! Thanks again! Regards Des
Do you by any chance live in the neighbourhood of Ascot??? There are a few fellows working at QV London and they will help you out both with spares as well as some info of how to get on. Phone no 01344-622011 Real nice chaps to deal with also. Most of the guys here in this forum are fantastic. They know every little screw of the car and all problems you might experience, they have the solution handy, for all of us newcomers. Good Luck //B//
Alas I'm in Aberdeen up in sunny Soctland so not quite in the neighbourhood! Unfortunately there is nobody within about 150 miles that knows anything about these cars. I'm quite happy to mail order the suitable parts however and fit them myself....
Hi Des. If you discount the connections/grounding as suggested by the guys above it's probably the alternator (the belt is not totally slack is it..). If you dont fancy pulling it apart yourself, or it looks in a real bad state, you could take it to any good motor factors (or direct to a local alternator specialist) for reconditioning. I had my Corvette one done for about £100 IIRC and it came back like new (painted / cad plated pulley etc.). There is nothing special about the alternator - do not tell them it is for a Ferrari. Say Lancia or Alfa maybe. Unless you remove it first, tell them not to loose your pulley.. I'm with ND on replacing the battery as well if you do the alternator - they never seem the same after a few total discharges. One more thing.. A battery tender (Accumate or similar) is a good idea if the car isn't going to be used for a few weeks. If you don't have power available I think you can get solar ones.
Thanks for the tips Chris, The stripdown of the alternator doesnt scare me at all so I'm happy to give that a go, a local parts specialist has found me the suggested components at circa £80 though so perhaps it might be worth getting a full recon done. From what I can tell the battery is actually pretty new so I'll give it a good charge first while I'm waiting for the alternator parts to arrive. Funnily enough have just been looking at solar power battery conditioners, looks like I can get one that'll sit on my garage roof with leads long enough to get to the charge points in the rear. Regards Des
Any car with a fully discharged battery should be "properly" charged with an outboard battery charger. Nothing Ferrari specific here. Batteries and alternators should be changed together only if you have way too much money. What if the battery is bad from old age, sulphation, use of mineral water, cracked case etc.? You don't change the alternator because of that on any car. Sure, defective alternators, batteries and voltage regulators can damage their companion components. You have the parts tested and replace the bad one(s). Any alternator on any car can get damaged due a bad or missing ground strap. Again, not Ferrari or 348 specific. Maybe you meant to say something like the ground straps on 348's were marginal when new and only get worse with age or they're undersized or have a history of getting loose etc. Erich
Good point Erich. I should have written that in general it's preferable to change the battery when you are changing a bad alternator, not the other way around.
Well, I managed to give the battery a good charge today, checked all the connections that I could find and reinstalled the battery. Car starts fine and runs on its own but the alternator warning light remains on so its no doubt just draining the battery Just in response to a couple of suggestions mentioned earlier and for future info on the 92' onwards cars, mine doesnt have a connector under the airbox its wired straight through. I also have a good earth from the subframe to the engine though I couldnt see the one from the alternator as its hidden behind a cover that I didnt have time to take off. I'll get the parts ordered anyway and get it all changed out at the weekend when I've more time so at least I'll have some peace of mind! Thanks all very kindly for you held and advice, very much appreciated! Kind Regards Des
Well then I have my money on the alternator being bad. You can tell the difference pretty easy. The old AC Delco Alternators have an external fan on the front of the alernator. The Nippondensos have an internal fan. You can also tell by the mounting brackets. The Delco units have a boomerang looking bracket on the front.
Thanks for all the advice chaps, alternator removed, stripped, cleaned and rebuilt with a new voltage regulator and all working well. I had a rectifier also but it wouldnt quite fit so I'll just take that back as the old one looks in good condition after a good cleanup. Best regards Des
