Hi there y’all, hope someone can help me with this : I left my 456 untouched for several months and today it wouldn’t start. The immobiliser seems to be the problem. When I press the button the fob doesn’t lock / unlock the veichle, nor it disarms the immobiliser (the red light keeps flashing). Even worse, as I turned the ignition key, the back of the driver’s seat came all the way up (making now nearly impossible to even sit in front of the wheel). The battery is fully charged, I am able to power lights, windows, radio etc. I tried changing the fob battery but had no joy. I don’t know what to think, my only guess is that the immobiliser got damaged somehow (I recently moved to a new house and the piece of furniture containing the keys/remote fell to the ground several times (ouch!). Though I see no cracks on the fob maybe some of the circuits got disconnected (?). Should I check the “S” relay? Only have one fob and I’m now starting to freak Thanks
Be calm, Immobilizers don't just die. There's a procedure to reset if your fobs lose sync. I've seen this happen when car batteries go dead or get weak. This is a copy/paste from someone else I helped through the same problem: Me - Try pressing the fob button 3 times within a 10 second period Guy with problem - The trick was to open/close the door then hit the fob button three times in 10 seconds as you suggested. One that is done, I hit the fob button once more... success!! Alarm went "beep, beep" - we are good to go! If that doesn't work I'm happy to test the fob and/or immobilizer for you for no charge, but 99.99999% of the time it's something else like the fix above or a fuse somewhere.
Yes, the guy whose correspondence I copied had a 360. Someone else had this same problem recently and I believe he also had a 360. I believe this reset procedure is right in the manual, pretty sure I learned it from Taz.
Hi there Gobble, First and foremost I must apologize: in my post I confused "Fob" with "Immobilizer" (hence "the immobiliser got damaged somehow " = "the fob got damaged somehow). Shall try the procedure you suggest; two silly questions : "Me - Try pressing the fob button 3 times within a 10 second period" : Pressing it from outside the car I assume (?) "Guy with problem - The trick was to open/close the door" : Open/ close the door from outside (by inserting the key in the door lock) or from inside (opening and closing the door)? Also, if i wanted to check for faulty fuses/relays which ones should i check? Thanks again
Two silly questions : "Me - Try pressing the fob button 3 times within a 10 second period" : Pressing it from outside the car I assume (?) I don't think it matters but if it were me I'd stand outside the car "Guy with problem - The trick was to open/close the door" : Open/ close the door from outside (by inserting the key in the door lock) or from inside (opening and closing the door)? I think he just opened/closed the door from the outside when the red light was blinking inside. I guess if that alone doesn't work try it again after locking/unlocking the door with the key Does the red light on your fob go on? I've seen fobs fail but if that happens the light usually doesn't go on or it pulses. If it is the fob, you could buy another fob and just remove/resolder your data chip into the new fob. Also if you know your PIN code you can disarm the car using that code.
Hi again, Alas i don't know the PIN code. The red light on the fob goes on fine; I also replaced the battery inside. "If it is the fob, you could buy another fob" - Purchasing another fob wouldn't be a problem but how do I make sure the problem is indeed the fob? Also, if i wanted to check for faulty fuses/relays which ones should i check? Cheers
I'd try the reset procedure before going down any other paths. The couple times I've seen fuses be an issue I think the dash LED was out, where yours seems to be blinking like it should. That tells me the system in the car is probably not the issue.
This sounds like it is probably more a low/weak battery problem rather than a pure alarm system problem. At this point, I would try a master reset using the battery master (disconnect) switch and performing a run cycle. Here is one I glued together from several workshop manuals. Then see if the immobilizer disarms for you. You also may need a new battery for the car. Make sure you pinched the terminals on the fob before you inserted the new battery. It is possible for a weak connection to be good enough to light off the red fob LED, but not have enough power to disarm the alarm and immobilizer. Run Cycle Run cycle. Turn battery disconnect switch off and turn off all accessories (stereo, A/C, etc). Let engine get completely cold or wait at least 30 minutes. Reconnect disconnect switch. Disarm immobilizer with the fob (you hope). Insert key in ignition and leave for 30 seconds. Turn ignition to on and leave for 30 seconds. Turn ignition off and leave for 30 seconds. Turn ignition on, wait for Check OK, and start. May have to push fob again if 120 seconds have elapsed since last fob actuation. Let idle with no input whatsoever for 10 minutes. Turn accessories back on and drive gently for 10-15 minutes at least. You will have to insert stereo code, if required.
Hi Tazandjan and thanks for your answer. I’ll certainly try what you suggest (though I have no red fob, only the black one). One question: 8-9 months ago I left the car in the garage with full battery and turned the battery disconnect switch off. How is it possible that the battery drained if the switch was set to the off position? Thanks again
It's possible that maybe the battery has a bad cell or another internal issue. We see this with Maseratis all the time at the shop. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Update: Tried the sequence Gobble suggested : nothing Tried the master reset Taz suggested: ditto The battery is not drained (i had it checked). I also had the fob checked (with a radio frequency device) and it seems to be working fine. Bergxu, thanks for your answer. Haven't changed the battery yet. The guys at Borsh will be coming tomorrow with a jump starter, they suggest to connect the cables and see if the power supplied by the starter will make the fob unarm the immobilizer. Any more suggestions? Panic growing...
Try moving the data chip from your fob to a different one. No need to panic whatever happened can be fixed pretty easily.
Hi there Gobble, the fob has been tested and seems to be working ok, why should I move the data chip to a different one?
If you have one it would be worth a shot. Or send me the immobilizer and I can load the fob back in for you.
The alarm system bypasses the battery master (disconnect) switch, so even if you turn off the switch, the alarm system is still draining the battery. After 9 months, understandable the battery was dead.
If the battery is indeed the problem, when we’ll connect the car to a jump starter the fob should disarm the immobilizer, right? Gobble, you're very kind; let's hope it won't be needed. Thanks ever such a lot for offering.
Just back from the garage. The Borsh guy didn't even connect the jump starter. He checked the battery and said "is fully charged, it gives me 12.5, if it had a bad cell it'd give me 10 or 11". I had previously charged the battery, i knew it was fully charged. He reckons my only option is to call Ferrari. Before doing so is it still worth to purchase another battery and see if it works? Thanks
You still can't move the seat forward and back? That's strange and doesn't seem related to the alarm system. Do other electronics in the car work? What happens if you lock/unlock the doors with the key? I've seen a car forget a fob but have never had a problem relearning it. I've also seen fuses blow that prevent a car from recognizing a fob. I could do some digging back into old correspondence and see what fuses people have told me. The dealer is going to be clueless and expensive.
I just looked through old emails and had two people who thought their alarm systems had failed but it ended up being fuses. One described it as the "main ignition fuse" that blew and another as a fuse that "had a 5 amp fuse in a slot that should have been 30 amps." In both of these cases though the dash LED was not lit. It's too bad you don't have the PIN to try. I just had another guy who owns a large motorcycle dealership have a 360 delivered and the fob they sent him didn't work with the car. He had the car towed to the dealer and they wanted something like $7,000 to replace all the ignition electronics. In his case though he had the PIN number with the books so we got the car back from the dealer and were able to start the car with the PIN, loaded different fobs and saved him $6,500.
Welcome to the world of lead-acid batteries. All lead-acid batteries will self-discharge over a period of time. The self-discharge rate will depend on the type of the battery and its quality. Flooded lead-acid batteries (the kind with caps where you can add water), will generally discharge at a rate of around 3% per month. AGM lead-acid batteries are somewhat better at around 1% per month self-discharge. These rates are specified for relatively new batteries with little or no sulphation. After a few years of use, the self discharge rates can become substantially greater. It would not be surprising for an older flooded cell battery to discharge at a rate of 10% per month.
I have fully charged the battery and everything seems to be working (lights, radio, etc); though i can move the sit ahead and backwards i still can't move the back bit (the bit where you lay your back, excuse the lack of english, I'm not a native speaker I can lock and unlock the doors with the key no probs. The Borsch guy checked all the fuses as well. Everything seems to be working, apart from the fact that i can't disarm the damn immobilizer. I keep thinking the problem lies in the fob (not only doesn't arm/disarm the veichle , also doesn't lock/unlock the doors). Tomorrow I'll pop at Ferrari to see if they can check the fob for me (spoke to one of their mechanics today, seems a rather nice chap). If it won't work, i'll purchase a new battery. If that won't work too i'll start to cry
The immobilizer in that car is located below the rear passenger's window. Maybe try pressing the button closer to that part of the car? If you don't trust me to fix it you could always send the fob to Eric in France to test it.
