Hi friends. i have got a problem with my alarm siren that has become more and more requent. Some times when I lock and arm the system, it takes about 5-10 mimutes and then the sires starts beeping with full volume. If I press the fob, the turn signals flashes and the car unlock. I can start the car and all things work normally, but the siern is still sounding as if I had not unarmed the system. There is nothing I can do really. The alarm goes off after about give minutes. Anyone have experienced the same problem? Thanks Erik Oslo
Yes. Last week. Solution pending, however. https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/550-alarm-wont-turn-off.673423/ Will the alarm cancel with a long push of the fob button (over 3 seconds)? False alarms are usually triggered by faulty door/hood/trunk switches, faulty anti-jacking sensor or the vehicle battery being interfered with. Rifledriver says that flat siren batteries won't trigger an alarm, but I suppose leaking batteries might affect the siren circuits.
The good news is the alarm diagnosis in the SD2 is probably the best written program in the machine. In my experience false alarms on an undisturbed car.are nearly always the anti jacking sensor. Especially the old mechanical pieces. Do not recall if the electronic are prone to same issue. As far as the siren goes I have seen all levels of battery related corrosion in them and never seen one cause a false alarm. Theres always a first time. If its the siren there will be not alarm trigger in memory.
I have never seen a tilt sensor failure create an alarm that cannot be cancelled. Not sure it its possible. Seems if cannot be cancelled and we are sure fob is communicating it must be in main unit? For the record, I hate that system. It should have been an option. Theft of these cars is a problem in Europe. It is rare to the extreme here. SD 2 records every triggering event going back aways. If it is a hardware issue in the ECU I am not totally sure it will leave an event in memory. Its not on the list of components that is designed to trigger an alarm.
This is the confusing part. If the car can be started, then you would think that the Immo ECU has received the correct fob signals and is "happy". Are there Immo ECU sub-circuits which fail (i.e. one which sends a signal to the siren to turn if off)? Are there receiver circuits (for that signal) in the siren which can also fail? Yes, I've seen quite a few issues with these on the forum. Looks like the old type "biscuit tin" tilt sensor is no longer available, so a new "lightweight" type (full kit) has to fitted. https://www.eurospares.co.uk/Ferrari/456/456_M_GT_M_GTA/PartDiagrams/133/Anti_Theft_Electrical_Boards_and_Devices https://www.eurospares.co.uk/Parts/65892700/Ferrari/New/41210 The SD2 tool certainly cuts out the guesswork.
Thanks alot. This forum is fantastic. I have been wondering if there could be a problem with this sensor. I had to remove it when I took the old radiator fans out and then of course put it back after the new fans went in. I remember I had to bend the bracket a little bit. On my 550, the rectangular "cigarette pack" type of sensor is mounted just behind the fan shroud low down in the engine compartment. Is it the same sensor as is used as accellerometer that also works for the Bilstein shocks? I have had the "car with arrows under the wheel" symbol in the multifunction display for a while now. I had the car for many years and there were never this message in the display. Never. Ever. The strange thing is that sometimes when I park the car in a slight degree uphill, and then started the car, there are no such message. And I could be driving for about an houre before it come back. But this is not always. I have taken the rear shocks out to check that the actuators work, and they both go two times to the right and two to the left and then settle about in the middle. The front actuators do the same. To check those, I just take the clip off and turn it so I can see the gears move. So it seems like they should be working! This suspention light is quite annoying and of course the suspention goes to "safe mode" and will not adjust automatic like it should. Since I have traumatic experiences giving the car to a Ferrari workshop, I instead want to learn what is needed to fix it myself. But now this alarm going off is rather unpractical since some people might think I steal my own car... And sometimes my dog needs to wait inside the car for a few minutes while I am in a shop and I am sure he hates that siren... Dogs can hear very well but seem also to be able to cancel out noise. I changed the siren about four years ago. I doubt it is already gone bad. It is an original siren with the right Ferrari chirp. Thanks again.
No. Separate sensors. The older type sensor is behind the left hand front wheel (according to the WSM) Image Unavailable, Please Login I assumed it was just a matter of replacing the mounting bracket for this sensor and installing a new bracket and the smaller type sensor. What is your vehicle assembly number? This will tell you if you have the old type fitted. The old type is fitted on vehicle assembly number 30741 and before.
Thanks alot. My car is a 1999 550 Maranello, not a 456. The reason why my nick name is F456M is that my first Ferrari was a 456M when I made this Fchat user. The chassis number if my 550 is: ZFFZR49B000115743. Is it the same system for the 456M and for the 550? Thanks
oops... According to the WSM, the location is the same for the 550 (at least for the big type anti-lift sensor) Eurospares has a list of parts https://www.eurospares.co.uk/Ferrari/550/550_Maranello/PartDiagrams/131/Anti_Theft_Electrical_Boards_and_Devices The components seem to be the same (but check it for yourself). Assembly number is different from chassis number. The assembly number is only 6 digits. The 550 assembly number is here: Image Unavailable, Please Login How carefully did you inspect the internals of the actuators? Sometimes just a tooth is missing. Image Unavailable, Please Login How were the little metal wheels on top of the shock struts? Does the 550 suffer from twisting actuator wiring harnesses? Unfortunately, only an SD2 tool can really tell you what's going on (without pulling the whole car to pieces and spending countless hours on faultfinding).
When you mentioned a slight uphill, I had this feeling of deja-vu. This gentleman was only getting the light on when he was going up an incline. https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/148829342/ Same system on the F355. Unfortunately, there was no resolution. He lost interest in fixing it.
yes the actuators have been twisting... at the rear, I took it apprt to install Dave's rubber cushioned shock mounts. I could see nothing really wrong and the gear and piston turned normally when i manually rotated it with my fingers.
Erik, sorry for stating the obvious but did you disconnect/reconnect the battery and did this not help with the suspension warning sign?
Unfortunately, it's difficult to see that black plastic piece inside the actuator. That may be causing the gear to jam intermittently. I got tired of getting those intermittent lights, so I bought a brand new actuator i.e. a known good one, and systematically interchanged it with the ones on my car. When I found the bad one, I sent the bad one off to Captain Z CNC and now have a permanent spare. I got another light a few years later, just before a major service, so I got the technician to plug in his SD2 tool and it identified the problem immediately. I changed the faulty one myself. I don't think the (independent) technician even charged me for the diagnosis. Note that the 550 may have the same logic as found on some F355's. If you start the car a few times and don't move it, the suspension light illuminates. Apparently it needs to feel motion (through the accelerometers) or perhaps detect vehicle speed to complete its internal checks successfully. There is a vehicle speed input into the Suspension ECU from the instrument cluster. So a possible wiring issue. Maybe a wire has stretched too much.
Thanks alot. So best thing to do is to connect a SD2 tester, as it will determine which actuator is possibly broken. And then change that one. ?
Hi Erik. Not sure that your alarm issue is related to your suspension light, but I can offer some of my suspension error experience. I've had a few suspension failures over the years, and besides broken gears on the shock rod which is easy to check, it's was always an issue with an actuator. never any accelerometer, or steering sensor failures. I've and an actuator that looked good, but was throwing an error because the plastic gear had a hairline crack that was not easy to see. I eventually found it by inserting a screwdriver into the actuator gear and twisting and I could see the gear spread open. This was causing an error on startup as the actuator ran the test turning to both extremes. I've had actuators that failed electronically and required repair. The only way to isolate the bad actuator is with SD2 since nothing visually wrong and the actuator still did the test on start up turning both ways. It is possible to have an actuator successfully perform the start up test but still be bad, so checking to see that it turns both ways on startup is no guarantee that the actuator is working properly. I have sent my actuators one by one as they failed to Captain Z CNC for repair. Two failed because of split gears, two failed electronically. Even when the failure was only electronic, I had him replace the gear with a metal gear at the same time for added durability. After all 4 actuators were repaired, I had some time with no errors. Then I got an error again and for some reason the SD2 would not "talk" to the suspension ECU to isolate the problem, so I sent all 4 actuators back to Captain Z CNC for him to check again and of course he found one that had not previously failed electronically had now failed. So now I have 3 actuators fixed electronically and all have metal gears. No problems for the past few years! I also bought a used one cheap a few years back and sent it to Captain Z CNC to check, it was electronically bad so he fixed it. Now I have a spare, much cheaper than a new one. If you have access to SD2, be sure to clear the suspension errors first, then drive the car and check again, My car had so many old errors in the ECU, it was showing every actuator was bad. The dash light will go out as soon as you fix the problem, no need to clear the codes to get rid of the light. This is why there may be many old codes in the ECU. Good luck.
The Suspension ECU also has a memory of past faults. I believe the SD2 operator clears the memory after completing the scan. I usually remove whatever panels/components are necessary to allow the SD2 operator to access the test plug. In the case of the 550, the Suspension ECU seems to be above the passenger footwell relay panel. Image Unavailable, Please Login (EDIT: Sorry, crossposted with Ryan) Ryan, can you recall if the logged errors were in order of occurrence? My tech didn't seem to have any problem identifying the latest fault. I had quite a few old ones, too.
Hi Ian, I’m not sure, I didn’t do the scan. I had to take it someone I know that has an SD2 and he told me there were so many errors when he first connected he just cleared them all to start over, but I didn’t ask if it recorded the sequence. After clearing and driving, only one code, Here are the possible errors the ECU stores. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thank you SO much!! Very interesting reading. I will do the SD2 test. But the car is far away and in storage so will take some time before I can have the test done. Will update you! Thanks!!
SD2 is the Ferrari “computer” that connects to the car to communicate with all the ECUs. You will need to find a mechanic that services Ferraris, they may have one. The Ferrari service dept of course is an option too. The SD2 should help point you in the right direction for both the alarm and suspension issue.
It's also important that the SD2 operator has software for the 550. Image Unavailable, Please Login Not only does this device cost 10's of thousands of dollars, you need to pay annual fees for software, I believe, which is why small independent Ferrari techs may not have what you are looking for. capote = roof antifurto = immobiliser cambio = F1 gearbox
