Fried Alternator Cable

I had the same issue two years ago with my 2004 360 6-speed. An expensive repair but the updated cable is evidently more robust. Rebuilt the alternator as part of the repair. Ferrari dealer told me it's not uncommon on 360s, particularly ones in warmer climates.

 

It's a single cable from the starter to the alternator to the + post behind the drivers seat. The other lines are wrapped into the harness with the single large gauge cable from the alternator. I'd say checkout the wiring diagram but Ferraridatabase is gone.

Not uncommon to have the end of the alternator cable fray and oxidize.

 

1+
Happened to me and I solved it with a direct cable to the terminal behind the seats.

 

From the picture, it looks like the connection to the alternator has corrosion. That may act as added resistance to the cable and create heat... Just my thought on this. I just had my alternator off and rebuilt as I had to drop the oil pan and A/C compressor. My cable looked fine.

Good Luck!!!!

 

This is interesting.... I have an intermittent battery light, as well as a hot start problem. I wonder if this cable could be failing.

 

That is exactly what happened to mine. The corrosion created enough resistance that the cable started to catch on fire. Fortunately, we caught it before it became a bigger issue. Definitely something to keep an eye on if you have the belly pan off.

 

You can have a new section spliced onto your cable for minimal $$$. I did this to mine at the F-Dealer for ~300 bucks, he used a heavy duty butt splice and added a new cable end. I think it was 3K to replace the cable with new Ferrari part and 1200 of that was labor. The stock cable is a spendy item because it is not a simple loom. I think the part is 179833 here is a picture of it First Pic. 2nd pic is how mine looked on my car with only 9K on odometer and stock electronics. This was in 2014. Third pic is how far the under the sheathing the damage had gone. Last pic is the repaired cable getting for re-install. Note the extra layer of insulation added to end of cable to hopefully give it a long life.
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Actually it really starts with either a poor connection or a perpetually compromised battery.

Cars with a battery and connections that are being looked after will never have that problem.

 

Has the alternator connection ever been checked? Has the battery ever been load tested?

Both should be done at annual services.


That may be a common condition but it is not a normal condition. I service plenty of high mile 360's that have never had the problem. It is 100% avoidable.

 

My guy thought there was a problem with the cable itself. He thought it wasn't crimped well enough from the supplier. Is Draka the only supplier?
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Please tell us the result !

 

DRAKA is a NL firm but any cable firm can replace this imo !

 

I'v ehad mine 5 years+ and put 10,000 miles on her. No problem with the alternator. Am Replacing my batteries every 3-4 years preventatively. If she starts to crank slower.. replace. I'd put my money on Prior owners running with a near dead battery. It hasn't just happened in the last 3 years but has been building over time IMHO.

 

This type failure is not just a Ferrari thing. Had the same problem on my Motor Home inverter cable at the 300 Amp fuse block. Simple fix, cut away the heat damaged cable back to good cable and solder on a new connector if your cable is long enough. Or, as has been suggested, butt splice in a new section of cable with a new connector. No need to change the entire harness and it is a quick, inexpensive, and appropriate fix. A new harness will have the same crimped connectors and may fail again. Soldered electrical connections are always better than crimped connectors by the way.

 

Except for the fact that the entire electronics industry does not agree.

 

Never seen on cars properly serviced.

 

Here you have a good point Brian

 

Learn something every day. Looks like you guys were right about the auto industry using just crimped connections. Lot of discussion about both crimped and soldered connections and when crimped correctly, crimps are superior to soldering. The anti-crimping opinions seem to come from crimping without the proper tools and with commonly available cheap connectors. Soldering tends to encourage breakage at the solder margin as that portion of the wire becomes stiff and may break in a high vibration environment and if improper flux is used, that encourages corrosion of the connection.
Now I have to order an expensive crimping tool! Ignorance was bliss! Thanks for correcting me guys.

 

A good solder is better than a bad crimp so do what you are good at.

The point is in a controlled environment crimps are better.

 

I try to mention checking this cable whenever someone starts asking about a garage queen purchase because this has been my experience with mine. My car was serviced correctly AFAIK from Newport Beach Ferrari and Eugenio over the 11 years before I picked it up. The car only had 5700 miles on it though!

 

Most of those when I check them are loose.


That means more resistance, that means more heat, that means more resistance....china syndrome.

Cars need to be taken care of. It is really that simple. Those cables die because of poor maintenance. It took a long time to get that way. That means there were a lot of missed chances to stop it from happening.

 

I just found this thread after this happened to a friend of mine recently. Led to the alternator losing power which led to the car dying in the middle of an intersection after the Cavallino Classic this year. Had to be pushed to the side of the road. After getting diagnosed at Ferrari of Palm Beach with an exorbitant quote, he found an Indy in the area who offers the service of splicing in new cable and connector where the original was corroded and burned for a fraction of the cost. After he told me of his experience, and that the Indy mentioned it being a somewhat common occurrence, I found this thread, and pulled my pan to check mine right away. Thankfully, my connection and hardware to the alternator are shiny and clean, with no corrosion on the cable itself. From Brian’s advice, I checked the nut for proper tension, and was able to get less than an 1/8 turn out of it, but I was happy to have it snugged up. Happy days! This is now definitely on my checklist of items to inspect every time I’m in there from now on.
Thanks!