97 Ferrari 456 GTA bought in auction

[fastgerman]

Thanks I’ll go with the Ctek connectors suggested above.

Starting to look at some minor things like squeaks, rattles, door seals, trim repair etc.

Some products for the day:



Any other recommendations?

The gummi stuff is the best I’ve used on door seals, highly recommended.

[fastgerman]

Another help please... this time the battery is dead and won’t charge after 1 day of not being used. It is a new battery and the lights went to number 8 on the CTEK.

The only thing I have done is fit a CTEK adapter with led light. The CTEK power light flashes after 2 minutes which means it doesn’t think it’s connected. I’ve tried the crocodile clips also.

I put the car under a cover and forgot to lock the car using the alarm. Is there something clever to be reset or do I need a new battery?

[fastgerman]

jeremyc said:

re you sure you have your CTEK adapter connected the right way round? I would assume that the cable with the black stripe should go to the negative terminal [-] (check the instructions).

I can't quite make out which is which from the picture.

Definitely black on negative. The CTEK gives a warning light if you do something like that:

[fastgerman]

idealstandard said:

Have you disconnected it from the car and then checked with the CTEK? There was a drain on my old one which would suck a battery empty in days.

So you are on to something, battery charging now with everything removed. So what’s happened, has the alarm disabled something?

[fastgerman]

It’s definitely alarm / immobiliser related. Electrics on the dash fine. Windows dropped on connecting the battery but I can’t start the car and the flashing red led light won’t stop. I’m probably annoying the neighbours with the alarm going off now also :-(

[fastgerman]

Have tried fobs, maybe it’s this - https://www.ferrarilife.com/threads/how-to-reset-t...

Will try in the morning

[fastgerman]

I’m starting to realise this is basically an Italian TVR :-)

Battery is now on number 4 light on the CTEK but there seems to be an immobiliser / alarm issue so Rardleys are kindly driving over to investigate :-)

Re-cigarette lighter connection, I have an old one that worked fine on my 911 but was advised not to use it on the 456. I don’t know why, maybe the circuitry is not up to it?

[fastgerman]

Sorted, I need some new battery terminals/connectors eventually.

[fastgerman]

QBee - I wish mine had the reliability of yours where I could start it today and use a cigarette lighter to charge it :-). I think the battery was too low as suggested above.

It’s back on charge, light 3 was on the CTEK, electrics worked but not enough oomph for the starter motor.

Sebastian - I think you’re right that something is draining the battery. Battery seems okay and the charger light is now on 7 of 8.

Adrian - very nice indeed and maybe I also need a bigger battery. Hunt for a Tracker or similar. Remember a while back having a car that had a bomb detector in, that certainly used the battery quickly.

[fastgerman]

A very nice looking horse

So, my battery is charging to light up all 8 lights on the CTEK. 2 days later (if I don’t connect and leave locked / unlocked), it is down to 3 lights if I connect. At this point the interior lights work, windows drop etc but not enough juice to start.

I think the car might have an earth issue - does anyone know exactly where to check?

Thanks in advance!

[fastgerman]

Thanks guys, appreciate the research and posts to help me. Those Ratarossa videos are excellent, I’ll have a go and have a volt meter and plastic clamp (for the door switch) on order - my list of tools is growing with this car, similar to owning a Land Rover it seems.

The Ratarossa video on the barn find 512BBI... wow!

[fastgerman]

Hi All,

Well I still haven’t fully resolved the draining battery but the situation is at least improved - I haven’t had any issues for the last few weeks starting the car.

Some Christmas swag:



I have a spare key to get cut in the form of an Enzo key from Forza in Scottsdale US. On the hunt for another fob, they do appear to be the same as the Ford Explorer on eBay... ?? That is random

I’m looking for somewhere that will print me an A5 copy of the user manual also as have a download.

Then I’m hunting for a Ferrari tool kit :-)

Carpool on the PH homepage also - https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-carpool/ferrar...

[fastgerman]

Thanks QBee, I’ve had the battery tested, all is fine with it. I need to spend more time with the volt meter and get some new battery terminals. It’s probably similar to the Ratarossa vid posted above, just haven’t had the time yet

[fastgerman]

Great shout on the Bluetooth connecting replacement of a cd changer! Finally got off my arse and followed the Ratarossa steps and guess what:

Battery at 12.6 volts after not being used for a week (switched off):



Battery drawing between 2.9 and 4 amps (negative connected voltmeter and positive prong on the negative battery terminal):



Culprit (unplugged amp and cd changer):

Edited by fastgerman on Wednesday 30th December 16:31

[fastgerman]

Thanks guys :-)

Next winter project will be removing the passenger side airbag cover to sort out the rippled leather.

I won’t be using the car with salt on the roads so it’s now in partial hibernation.

[fastgerman]

ferrisbueller said:

DaveEvs said:

Hi OP.


There was also a James Blunt CD fouling the changer, meaning the motor ran every minute to try and eject the cartridge.

Toyota's early implementation of the taste chip protocol was only partially successful.

Hahaha

Happy new year to that!

[fastgerman]

Cheers guys and yes the issue was the same as on the Ratarossa YouTube video.

I don’t think it’s a design fault for the kit in the boot, possibly the head unit receiving direct sunlight in the centre column is not ideal. A 23 year old Sony amp and disk changer has probably exceeded its life expectancy.

I’m not too fussed on originality of the hi-fi bits that can’t be seen so plan to upgrade everything while keeping factory sized speakers and the Sony head unit in place.

I could even leave the old Sony head unit unplugged and install something in the boot with Alexa capability. This is quite far down the list though haha.

Anyway, it’s nice that I can lock the car and the battery isn’t dead 1 week later.

Edited by fastgerman on Thursday 7th January 14:21

[fastgerman]

Hi All,

Winter update... having been recommended a few pages back, I have bought some of this so I can drive through winter:



I have a cracked wheel arch plastic trim, which Eurospares has helped out with:



Wasting much time looking at exhaust upgrades, I stumbled on this most fantastic sounding 550. The work was done at Rardleys and this is the sound:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnmmMT9FtYk/?igshid=1w...

It is incredible! The tubi, capristo etc systems I’ve heard on other 550’s and 456’s sound a bit ‘farty’. Now the downside... you’re looking at about £10k for the full system including 6-1 manifolds, sports cats and back boxes but this is the only way to do it properly in my opinion:

[fastgerman]

Bellissimo!

That is going to sound incredible

There is one other company in Japan called Brilliant Exhaust. Along with Fiammenghi they seem to be the only ones to build a 6 to 1 manifold / header, which you need for that old school F1 sound

Links:
https://www.ekimani.com/
https://www.fiammenghiitalia.com/en/

Edited by fastgerman on Tuesday 19th January 20:37

[fastgerman]

Snow shot