Grrrrr. Still can't get it to start! | FerrariChat

Grrrrr. Still can't get it to start!

Discussion in '348/355' started by bkniep, Mar 29, 2010.

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  1. bkniep

    bkniep Karting

    Dec 31, 2008
    200
    St Louis, MO
    Full Name:
    Bill Kniep
    My first winter with the car in storage. I had it hooked up to a battery tender all winter. Go to start the car and no chirp from the security system and battery is very low. Borrow a battery charger from my tech and hook it up to the terminals in the engine bay. Charge for 24 hours. Still no chirp from security plip. Engine doesn't event try to turn over.

    Does a low battery cause the immobilizer to go into some kind of lockdown mode? I think the battery is charged up now, but can't get a chirp out of the car. It is (of course) stored in a garage that is virtually impossible to get a flat bed down.

    Any suggestions?
    Bill
     
  2. MufflerMan

    MufflerMan Formula 3

    Jun 12, 2005
    1,564
    Sacramento Ca
    Full Name:
    Colby Sandman
    You need to get a voltage reading on the car. Auto part stores will have a cheap voltmeter if you don't already have one, our cars are extremely sensitive to low voltage and it's not a good idea to try a start it with less than 12.5 volts. It is not uncommon for a battery in a really cold environment to a have a cell or two die off rendering it useless even with a battery charger. You may be buying a battery, good luck.
     
  3. X11OUD

    X11OUD Formula Junior

    Mar 22, 2008
    729
    Manchester, England
    Full Name:
    Neil
    I went into my garage last week to get something out of the car and the interior light was dead, battery flat, checked the battery tender to find it was totally dead and the power light on the unit was only being lit due to the last bit of power left in the battery.
    Luckily a new battery tender and a night of charging had it back to perfect condition, no cells down. I'm going to keep an eye on the charger from now on.
     
  4. bkniep

    bkniep Karting

    Dec 31, 2008
    200
    St Louis, MO
    Full Name:
    Bill Kniep
    Well, its not the battery. Installed a new battery and still no response from the immobilizer. What do I do now? The led in the dash is flashing, the plip is lighting up, but the immobilizer won't disengage. Its gorgeous out and I have no spyder aaaargh. Help
     
  5. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 29, 2001
    18,044
    USA
    How is the battery in the remote? ;)

    If that is good and the immobilizer will still not respond, the rechargeable battery in the immobilizer itself may need replacing...there are a number of threads on this site to perform the procedure, but I would start with replacing the 12vt battery in the remote first...common and easy to find at any drug store photo dept.
     
  6. eulk328

    eulk328 F1 Rookie

    Feb 18, 2005
    2,800
    Full Name:
    F683
    There's a battery in the immobilizer? One of the modules behind the driver's seat?
     
  7. bkniep

    bkniep Karting

    Dec 31, 2008
    200
    St Louis, MO
    Full Name:
    Bill Kniep
    Its ironic that my 96 993TT has the exact same alarm plip, but Ferrari made the system so fragile its terrifying. The idea of dropping 2K on a new set of keys and alarm plip because my batter go low (never died) is pretty staggering. Welcome to Ferrari ownership.
     
  8. eulk328

    eulk328 F1 Rookie

    Feb 18, 2005
    2,800
    Full Name:
    F683
    Still have the problem or is it sorted out?
     
  9. unfunnyclown

    unfunnyclown Karting

    Jan 29, 2010
    51
    random question, but is this a low voltage thing with the immobilizer or would removing the battery for the winter also cause it? More or less a question to try and prevent this in the future.
     
  10. eulk328

    eulk328 F1 Rookie

    Feb 18, 2005
    2,800
    Full Name:
    F683
    I doubt if low voltage caused the problem (although it seems it can cause a problem with the air bag module). That's not to say the immobilizer or even the Motronic module will work if the voltage is too low. They will not, but, it should simply be a matter of getting the battery voltage back up to the correct range via charging.

    Removing the car battery would not cause the problem.
     
  11. bkniep

    bkniep Karting

    Dec 31, 2008
    200
    St Louis, MO
    Full Name:
    Bill Kniep
    YEs,
    I'm still having the problem. Tried new battery in alarm plip and new battery in the car. Everything lights up, but immobilizer not disengaging.
    Unfortunately, the car is stored under a town house and I'm not sure how to get it safely onto a flatbed.
    The Ferrari repair center in St Louis is going to send a recovery vehicle, hope he can figure it out. 80 and sunny. Sigh.
    Bill
     
  12. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 29, 2001
    18,044
    USA
    #12 f355spider, Apr 1, 2010
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2010
    No, there is a rechargeable nickel cadnium battery inside the alarm horn. This is mounted behind and below the bumper, on the drivers side I believe.

    You can search for threads, there are several on the repair procedure. But as I recall, the fail point for the internal alarm battery is a constant "on" of the red LED. But let me check and I will post the thread....standby...

    Sorry, according to the threads I read, a bad battery in the alarm module should not prevent starting of the car. So your problem may be more involved...perhaps a bad ignition switch?

    http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=132336&highlight=355+alarm+battery

    Bruce Wellington is an Fchatter and battery dealer, if you send him the old battery he will rebuild it better than new (I think he will replace the nicads with nickel metal hydride batteries) $40 or $50 versus $900 or more for a new alarm horn. ;)
     
  13. eulk328

    eulk328 F1 Rookie

    Feb 18, 2005
    2,800
    Full Name:
    F683
    Yes, I can confirm that a bad battery in the siren module will not stop the car from starting. Mine started fine with a dead/leaking battery in it and still did after removing the entire siren module.

    If memory serves, I contacted Bruce Wellington some time ago and he no longer supplies replacement batteries.
     
  14. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 29, 2001
    18,044
    USA
    Okay, I just PM'd Bruce Wellington and yes, he says he has retired from the battery business and recommend we contact Tom Jones at Sport Auto as he has a stock of them: [email protected]

    BTW, if you have a battery rebuilder in your town, these can be made by anyone with raw stock of nicad or nickel metal hydride cells and the machine to weld the tabs and heat shrink them together to form the battery (which is an assembly of individual cells).

    I have had packs built by these guys before: http://www.energy-sales.com/
     
  15. bkniep

    bkniep Karting

    Dec 31, 2008
    200
    St Louis, MO
    Full Name:
    Bill Kniep
    #15 bkniep, Apr 3, 2010
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2010
    HFinal update! Hooked up the charged battery again and tried the trick mentioned above of turning on the battery kill switch and pressing plip 3 times in ten seconds as stated by alarm booklet. This did not work. Finally I just shouted f%*k, f%*k, f#%k over and over while pressing button repeatedly. Guess what? The alarm beeped and car started right up first time. Is there a deeper lesson to be learned. Xtra thanks to the community for help and saving me a 2 grand trip to dealer. Also kudos to Reid Vann auto for making 2 house calls for me.
    Best
    Bill
     
  16. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 29, 2001
    18,044
    USA
    Bill, keep us posted if this problem comes back or not...
     
  17. X11OUD

    X11OUD Formula Junior

    Mar 22, 2008
    729
    Manchester, England
    Full Name:
    Neil
    I wonder if it works like saying "candyman" 3 times???

    Great news Bill, I hope it stays programmed in and you can get some fun in the sun with her
     
  18. bkniep

    bkniep Karting

    Dec 31, 2008
    200
    St Louis, MO
    Full Name:
    Bill Kniep
    200 miles in 3 days and nothing but pleasure. Everything is good so far. I bet I hit that button 15 times w/accompanying profanity. Can't find rerence to that in manual, but will try it as future fix.
     
  19. Night life

    Night life F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 1, 2007
    7,288
    The city that rhymes with fun in Canada
    Full Name:
    Roberto
    Phew! good to hear :)
     

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