I think this thread name should be changed to major restoration project one of the best threads on Ferrari chat.
I asked the moderators to do that for me but they never responded so I just dropped it. Thanks for the kind words....
After putting back in most of the interior, I charged the battery and turned the key and almost nothing electrical is working at the moment. instrument lights and gauges: Not working hvac panel & fan: Not working Radio: Not working gas, fuel gauges & clock: Not working Brake lights: Not working Headlights: Not working Wiper motor: Not working Door open beeping sound: Working door lock button switch: Working Hazard lights: Working I'm not very good with wiring diagrams and stuff so is this going to be complicated to diagnose? I am so discouraged right now....... Looking at the workshop manual, it seems that the stuff not working all pertains to the "circuits energized by the ignition key" except for the radio I did kind of screw up by starting to dissasemble the interior without disconnecting the battery, I removed the radio and guauges above it as well as half the connections in the instrument cluster before realizing that the battery had not been disconnected. I therefore disconnected it at that point and continued on.... Every connection inside the passenger compartment and doors was disconnected and the battery. Every other connection on the car was left "as is" while the car got repainted. I also used a spare key that I had made for the first time but it seems to work fine. Is it possible the circuit is unresponsive because I am not using my original key? I am not sure how to go about diagnosing the issue.......any help here will be greatly appreciated
you knew there would be one seriously depressing moment and this might be it, you've hit bottom. its monday morning and whole country is drinking coffee and troubleshooting this for you right now, hang tight someone will respond with something more useful than my chat encouragement. the nice thing about hitting rock bottom is that is gives you something to push off of... "I am not sure how to go about diagnosing the issue.......any help here will be greatly appreciated"
Thank you everyone for your help and kind words. All the above posts have helped me figure out the problem as well as Dave Helms and Bradan. I basically removed the steering column cover and looked at every single connection and they were all ok which was even more depressing. After cursing up a storm I went back in... I then spotted a red cable that was a little too exposed on the back side of the plastic connector so I opened the connection and, sure enough, there it was: the male from the red wire had gotten pushed back and arched crooked so there was no connection. I assume the red means power in automotive wiring so I adjusted the male, pulled it back into the plastic until it popped and placed it in line with the others. Popped that sucker back in and everything is working....Like everyone said: It will turn out to be something so small and stupid (and indeed it was...) I lost so much sleep over this issue over the weekend. what a relief!!!!! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thread count is now at 30,000+ views....amazing! Thank you all for following my story. Tomorrow the car should be completely put together and I will have more pictures
Actually I didn't start it but all the lights came on the dash, the instruments, radio, hvac, headlights, etc... That was enough for me to jump for joy! If all goes well I should be able to start it tomorrow and let it idle for 10-15 minutes so that the car can reprogram itself. Once the body shop is finished, the car is going to Ralph at Monaco Prestige to install my new Nouvalari exhaust, change the power steering reservoir and remove some engine components for some Hydro carbon dipping detailing including refinishing the calipers and changing the brakes. I also plan on rechroming my wheel bolts
You can see below the color difference between 3218 and 3228 dye. 3228 is what is being put in today's Ferraris so I wanted to update the color to something more modern, more coffee-like and less vanilla yellowish. I also had the metal door panel plate powder coated. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
More reassembly work including clear/white euro lenses on the front..... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
New stickers under rear hood. In order to make sure the car looks original, I bought a new airbag sticker as well as a new paint sticker. Eurospares carries a ton of Ferrari original paint stickers but unfortunately did not have the Rosso Scuderia 323 so I bought a plain paint sticker from them and added the paint code by overlaying another sticker I made with a label maker. Looks great!!!! I can't believe I'm at this late stage in the game that I'm actually putting stickers back on the car. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
-Doors and door panels being reassembled -New fuel filler guard rubber installed -New Pininfarina side emblems installed -side vents cleaned and shined with Kiwi shoe polish Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
New windshield installed. Original OEM with Antenna built-in. All trim pieces were saved and re-used Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
A special thanks to Jay (full_garage) for sending me the arrow stickers for the air vents. I was going to just leave it as is but the added detail is much better... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
handle on driver side soft top was broken. Ordered another one from Ricambi, 2 screws and it's done! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Fab: You can also try Mother's "Back-to-Black" on your trim pieces. I've had very good luck with it. BTW, you have done a fantastic and extremely complete job. Feel very proud.
