Still no electrical...

Were I you, I would be using a voltmeter to check those battery voltage distribution connections in the dash which should have full battery voltage when the car sits without ignition key.

These places include the connector block, relay panel lower middle with it's red and white wires. This voltage block also furnishes power to the ignition switch.

Also check for full time 12.6 V at the top row of the fuseblocks, left fuses 6 & 7, right fuses 7, 8 & 9.

You mention the battery ground having no corrosion, make certain it truly connects to ground as someone can have installed a ground switch such as is original on later 308 cars.

Once you know voltage exists at the fuse distribution points, go for individual circuits. Of course I'm obviously going to recommend a wiring diagram.

EDIT_One parting thought...does anything work? Lights? Lighter? Radio? Wipers etc? That knowledge would be helpful in pinpointing the problem. Also, at this point a simple 12v trouble light will suffice for a voltmeter.

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Given the potential current involved, any time you do major rewiring, you should use a volt-ohm meter to check for continuity and especially for shorts before hooking up a car battery.

I have the remains of a screwdriver with which I accidentally bridged a battery line to ground, momentarily. There's a large chunk melted out of it. I got lucky -- I was holding the insulated handle, and wasn't in the way of the melted metal drip.

For debugging wiring, think of electricity as a flow of electrons. Trace the flow, like you'd trace a fluid line. The electrons have to (a) go where you want them, (b) not go where you don't want them, and (c) get back to the battery (or alternator) afterwards.
The full loop ("circuit") has to be intact for current to flow.

 

Here are a couple of example photos of the "4-way" +12V power distribution block in the relay panel with the red and white wires that Paul mentioned -- confirming/denying +12V being present there (with the key "off") would give a good clue as where to go next as he suggested:
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Look closely in the front fenders....one of my cars had a BIG Shut Off, that when turned disconnected the battery altogether.....for long term storage!!

It had a big red T handle on it.

 

You followed the ground cable to the frame to be sure which one it was???

Hooking it up backwards hurts a lot of things......

 

A voltmeter is included as a part of the multimeter. I'm going to make an assumption that it came with 2 probes or prods, often one is black and other is red.

Two things to make the meter useful...first selecting DC volts. A multimeter will have an AC setting but around batteries you need to use the DC setting.

Second is getting accustomed to using 2 leads and holding the meter all with 2 hands. Poking one prod is easy but you need to find a good ground and keep it there while using the other, often red wire or red probe, to poke the wire or connector in question. Practice at the battery first before going into the dashboard. Check the battery + post for voltage using a ground apart from the battery - post. (important)

A decent ground is not easily found in the 308 dash. Pull the relay panel loose and look for a bolt holding a bunch of black wires, that will be a ground.

Don't worry about reversing a digital meter...i.e. if you ground the red lead and measure voltage with the black one nothing adverse will happen...but try to get accustomed to black=ground & red =battery.

Then of course you will set the meter down and it will want to tip so it can't be read properly. Very common. But once you've found a decent ground you'll do as good as anyone...instant expert!

Keep us informed on what you find.

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http://www.FerrariDiagrams.com

 

Good progress. Battery voltage indicates a charged battery. But don't leave the key in the ignition.

If the antenna works, voltage is coming through the connector block to the fuse panel. The ignition key gets it's voltage directly from the connector block, so check other circuits...gauges lights etc, what all works and what doesn't - key on and key off?



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Maybe bad/flaky ground or power connection to the battery?

If you measure between the battery terminals (12.65V as you mentioned earlier), you should also get the same measurement if you keep the positive probe on the battery and put the negative probe on a bare metal portion of the frame (or a bolt into the frame).

When you measured the voltage at the fuseblock, did you have the negative multimeter probe where Paul mentioned (the bolt holding the black wires by the relay panel)? I think the metal of the door sill might be a use-able ground for making measurements (but sticking with the bolt Paul mentioned would probably be more of a sure thing).

Good luck!

-David

 

You have voltage across the battery, but do you have voltage to ground?
(One voltmeter lead on the battery "+" post, and the other to a metal frame part.)

If you don't have a good ground from the battery, nothing will work. (In cars, the "return to the battery" part uses the car frame "ground" as the return path of the circuit loop.)

If you have voltage to ground at the battery, then follow the battery "+" lead to the next connection (probably at the alternator or starter motor), and then to the next bit, and so on. If you test one place and have voltage, then check the next connector and don't have voltage, then you have a break between those points.

And, since most circuit interruptions are at connectors, you'll probaby put the probe on one connector and find it loose.

Of course, having the wiring diagram really helps, when you start to trace connections.

This is why mechanics charge so much for electrical work: it's a different kind of process.
You can diagnose straight to many mechanical problems from the symptoms, but you either have electricity or you don't, so you have to methodically check each connection, one by one.

(Of course, this is all for "negative ground" cars. Some older Brit and really old US machines used positive ground, where the positive lead was hooked to the frame, and the negative lead went to the fuses, etc. But I think all the Ferraris were neg ground.)

 

Spencer,

Where in the Bay Area are you ? I can show up and help you with this. problem is I am also getting on a plane and getting out of town for 2 week ends straight. But, once I am back, I can come over, dig around a little. Years ago, I was a EE so I know my way around a DVM. Big problems like this tend to be very simple, but you have to find the culprit first.

 

You SURE you connected it properly???

 

Lesson learned: please give more details.

I showed up and found:

1) car was not running since 2005.
2) infected with rodents poop so what else did they eat ?
3) battery-to-starter cable not connected at the starter, and a missing wire to the alternator
4) ignition switch is in-op in the accessory position

I think we found the beginning of the no-electrical symptom and Spencer has got a lot of work to do. This is not a basket case, but it will take a lot of work before this car will start, and even more before it moves on its own power.

Good luck Spencer.

 

Other lesson learned:

Paul Bennett's large, laminated, color coded wiring diagram is an absolute MUST HAVE if you are doing anything electrical on these things. Highly recommended ...

Paul, have you got one for a 328 ?

 

Well, the starter solenoid DOES stack the battery cable AND the alternator charging lead under one nut!

Good find.....

That's how the alternator charge feeds back to the battery..

Be kind of careful with the #8 (#6??) wire as IF it shorts to something, the engine compartment rapidly fills with oily smoke and you have put the entire battery cold cranking amps thru a wire good for about 60 amps!!

Don't ASK me, how I know such things!!! LOL!

Does he need that wire? It should have a small eyelet on the one end for the alternator, then the stater solenoid is a much larger terminal, like a 1/4-20 bolt or something...and you need the insulating rubber 90 degree boot to cover the alternator stud!!

 

The mice live in there 'cuz it's warm.....

In my case they ate the fuel line rubber.....must have been tasty, or they wanted to 'huff" the gas!

Look for some mice with bleary, red blood shot eyes......

So the only thinking "working " is the antenna?
Well, that's a start!!! LOL!

 

Sure sounds like a bad/intermittent connection from the batt to the rest of the car. I'd start at the batt cables and remove/clean retighten them at the batt and at the points where they connect to the "rest" of the circuitry. Also - don't know if that model has the big red connector for the ground inside the fender behind the headlight, but that needs to be checked the same way. Ground connections are most commonly the problem because, as noted, they use the vehicle frame as the common point, but it could be the hot cable as well.

 

We did ALL that.

 

You have at least LOOKed at the timing belts????