The 412 Ferrari Breaks Down

Last night while driving the Ferrari to dinner I suddenly feel a loss of power and then the exhaust on the passenger side started going boom boom boom. I pulled over and the engine died. Opened the hood and then smoke started coming out. It smelled like an electrical fire. Also, it looked like it was coming from the passenger side distributor cap area.

Before I purchased the car it ran perfectly during the test drive. Part of the purchase price included full service at Dino Motors. I visited the shop to see how the car was doing and they said one of the distributor cap carbon brushes broke. It was the same cap where the smoke was coming from last night. I was told they replaced the brush instead of replacing the cap. Also, I have heard that sanding down the points too much can create a faulty arc that can cause such damage. Or if the brush gets stuck, it can create this problem too. Any ideas on this mystery problem?

Anyway, I must clearly say that I’m not pointing fingers or placing blame on anyone at this time. Johannes at Dino Motors is a really nice guy and super knowledgeable. I’ll give him a call today to see what he has to say. Will also contact Brad Goldstone. He owns the dealership, San Francisco Sports Cars where I just purchased the car with the full service as part of the deal. Hoping this can get figured out quickly.

But it really sucks! I only drove the car home Wed night. Drove it on Thursday morning. Then Friday night when I attempt to go for my third drive it breaks down. Will keep everyone updated.

Christensen
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Update: First thing this morning Johannes at Dino Motors returned my call. He said to tow the car into the shop as soon as possible. I called AAA and they arrived 30 minutes later. Rode in the tow truck over to Dino Motors and everyone was at lunch. Waited for 45 minutes in the hot California sun and John, a mechanic at the shop came back to the shop first.

I explained that I felt the smoke was coming from the passenger distributor cap and half the engine didn’t have power. He removed the cap and discovered that the rotor was flopping around and not connected to the cam as the screws were not tightened properly during service. Tightened it up. Put the distributor cap back on and the Ferrari started right away with no problems. Vrrrooom! Running on all 12 cylinders again.

A few minutes later, Johannes came back to the shop from lunch. He adjusted the air/fuel mixture like a surgeon and WOW! Johannes brought the famous jet smooth luxury back to the V12! The Ferrari ran so smooth afterwards.

I happily drove home with the air conditioner blasting and no problems. Thank you Dino Motors!

Christensen