California fob wont unlock car

Did you try changing the battery as a start?

 

I’m just guessing but the security system software may be corrupted and need to be rebooted. Such events can happen if the electrical circuit experiences an unexpected brief voltage fluctuation. Check with your dealer but one thing you can try is to disconnect the battery after you unlock and open the driver’s door and leave it opened during the process to avoid issues with the window glass not dropping when you open the door without power. Then wait 5 minutes and reconnect the battery, reboot the system. Only do this at home or at the dealer’s in case your battery is bad. If your car has HELE there is also a minor setup procedure to follow before it reactivates. Your dealer can explain what is involved.

 

Do you have a second key? Will tell you for sure if it is the car or fob.

It is still possible it is the key fob battery tho. If you haven’t changed batteries yet, it is likely time to.

SV


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Will cost you a pretty penny, but I would consider talking to the dealer about getting a second key.
T

 

You need to be more precise but I assume you are referring to the battery disconnect procedure and not the HELE procedure. That procedure is explained in your owner's manual. I have pulled the 3 relevant pages for you from the PDF copy of the original Cali and posted them below. That procedure assumes you are also removing, replacing the battery which you may not need to if the battery is fine.

Make sure you heed all of the warnings.

It's not a complicated procedure but it should be performed in a methodical and careful manner. Pay attention to keeping the clamp away from "other metal parts". REASON - the battery normally acts as a buffer for electrical discharge (HIGH VOLTAGE) and it protects the sensitive electronics of the car. When you remove the battery, the car's electrical circuitry is no longer protected by the battery. Static electricity can have extremely high voltage and even though static discharges are of low current, they can fry sensitive components. So make sure the disconnected clamp is insulated when you handle it and that includes you - wear proper shoes and preferable a pair of non-conducting gloves.

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I suspect you are relatively new to the brand and not the original owner of your car because HELE was an option for N. Am cars and European owners know what HELE is because their cars have been required to have them by law for years.

As well, if you are not familiar with the HELE acronym then your car doesn't have it. HELE is STOP-START à la Ferrari and you definitely would know it if your car has it. I described the HELE setup procedure in detail on FChat years ago. It was fairly laborious to post last time so I'd rather not repeat it. It should be searchable on FChat.

I am not familiar with Autel scanners but I suspect it is similar to the "Official Ferrari diagnostic tools" which for the California is apparently a system called DEIS (Diagnostic Easy Integrated System), applicable for models "...from the 599 GTB onwards...". There are also older Ferrari scanners but they don't work on the Cali. DEIS is what people need to properly service their cars with but it's quite expensive - if you are an experienced tech and mechanic and own one of the very expensive Ferrari models, then it would be a worthwhile tool to own and use if you like to technically bond with your cars.

OTOH, I just use a Bluetooth USB diagnostic tool that runs off my iPhone to interpret generic OBDII codes... if my car threw fault codes. The special Ferrari codes I leave to my dealer as I do not intend to go around my dealer for service for want of a properly-working car. I just own diagnostic tools for convenience, to catch silly spurious codes instead of or before I take my car in for service.

 

My Ferrari trickle charger didn't work and as a result the battery died on my 2012 Cali. After I jump started the battery, the key fob didn't work properly. I called the Ferrari service department (Mike at Ferrari Long Island), and he walked me through it on the phone. He had me put the key fob next to the rear driver's side tire and told me to follow a specific sequence. I don't remember exactly what he told me to do, but it was fairly simple and it worked. I don't think the solution was anything printed in the manual, either.

Also, by the way, once I got the car running, I had to drive the car for a while before the large "Engine control system failure. Go to dealer" graphic went away.

I'd call the local Ferrari dealership on Monday if I were you (rather than driving for 3 hours to get there). They may know exactly what you need to do.