Help with my F355

I originally posted this on the 348/355 site, but thought I might get some more guidance from a broader audience. Thanks, Henry

Have you ever done something you knew would be bad, but you did it anyway and have regretted it ever since? Well, my wife and I were enjoying a beautiful drive in our F355 two nights ago, when she mentioned that she'd like to see some of the homes off the main highway. Even though those roads are paved, I had a bad feeling but proceeded nonetheless. All was well until the final detour (naturally) when I came upon a metal cattle guard in the roadway. There is apparently an optimal speed with which one should attack such an obstacle. It's either VERY slow, or VERY fast. I can tell you from experience that, "somewhere in the middle," doesn't work.

So here is my dilemma. Upon driving over the afore mentioned grate, the car shook violently at which time every warning light that Enzo put in the dashboard came on in unison. I drove a bit farther in the hopes that things would, "reset," themselves. When that didn't happen, I pulled off the roadway and turned off the ignition. Upon trying to restart the car however, the starter dragged (as if the battery was low) and that was that. Help was summoned and while we waited, I decided to try to start the car one more time. This time we had ignition and all of the warning lights were now off. We drove approximately three miles with no issues before the two check engine lights came back on and the car began to sputter and buck. The old girl gave me just enough power to pull off safely into a parking lot where we again waited for the tow truck. I have been unable to start the car ever since as it acts like the battery is low.

I contacted Craig from FASTCARS in Redondo Beach (Thanks again Craig) and he and his mechanics thought that the problem could be electrical and I should check all connectors which may have shaken loose, especially the multi-pin main that is located somewhere between the front and rear of the vehicle. I located the two Bosch multi-pin plugs at either side of the rear of the car, but cannot locate that main connection. I also removed the battery and had it checked (OK) and am running out of ideas before I have to bite the bullet and pay for a tow truck transport to the beach. I'm also thinking that it might be a bad ground. Can anyone tell me where to look for those? I saw one beneath the transaxle.

Any ideas would be appreciated at this point. I don't have ready access to a code reader specific to a Ferrari.

 

Chapter 2. Since the starter drags when I tried to start the car, I decided to jump start it this morning and it fired right up. I let it idle for about two minutes and it was a bit rough. The lights on the dash came on once again (although faintly) and none of the gauges were operational. as I tried to feather the throttle, the car sputtered and then just died again. So I would think that this problem is electrical in nature, right?

 

Yes, I've checked the battery (which tested in the good range) and cleaned/tightened the connections. Can anyone tell me how many and specifically where the ground points are located on this car? The electrical diagram in the manual is totally foreign to me (no pun intended).

 

As the gauges were inoperative when I started the car this morning, I was thinking about trying to jump starting it again, but not disconnecting the cables from the donor vehicle to see if a steady supply of voltage from that car would provide any clues or make a difference. Any potential harm in doing that?

 

Someone else mentioned the ECU or multi-pin connector behind the seat (passenger side), but after pulling up the carpeting, all I can see is a solid metal wall. Am I not looking in the right place?

 

Had the old battery tested again at NAPA this morning and found it to be bad, so I replaced it with a new one. Upon initial attempt to start the car with the new battery I just got the old dragging starter routine again. I then jumped the car with another and it started right up. Disconnected the cables and the car ran fine (although my parking brake light was flickering and the open door buzzer sounded like a wounded cat) and then everything shut down again. Looks as though I'm not getting the voltage I need unless the car is assisted from an outside source. So I'll go with the majority and attempt to locate and clean all of the grounds that I can find. After that, I'll concentrate on the alternator.

Thanks again for all of your guidance guys. I know I'll get it figured out (hopefully) sooner than later.

 

Thanks for all of the tips guys. I am setting aside a day next week to check every friggin' connection and ground that I can find on the car. I'll let you all know how I fare.

Henry

 

Thanks for the offer Scott. Unfortunately as the car is currently immobile, it won't be going anywhere in the near future. I do appreciate the thought however.

Henry