Ferrari 550 Immob on ferry
Discussion
I recently took my 550 on the ferry to Jersey and both ways the alarm fob wouldn't work.
No problems to lock the car as that can be done on the key, the issue was when I wanted to start the car and the immobiliser wouldn't disengage.
You can imagine there was just a small element of panic the first time!
I put it down to a glitch up until I boarded the ferry home and after working all week the plip wouldn't work again.
I Googled it and it seems to be a known issue put down to being in a huge metal box and the alarm signal is too weak. Not sure that makes sense but the instructions were to hold the fob as close to the steering column as you can as that's where the receiver is and (eventually) it worked.
Has anyone else come across this and are there any simple fixes?
For the record it works fine on the Eurotunnel.
Gratuitous pic
No problems to lock the car as that can be done on the key, the issue was when I wanted to start the car and the immobiliser wouldn't disengage.
You can imagine there was just a small element of panic the first time!
I put it down to a glitch up until I boarded the ferry home and after working all week the plip wouldn't work again.I Googled it and it seems to be a known issue put down to being in a huge metal box and the alarm signal is too weak. Not sure that makes sense but the instructions were to hold the fob as close to the steering column as you can as that's where the receiver is and (eventually) it worked.
Has anyone else come across this and are there any simple fixes?
For the record it works fine on the Eurotunnel.
Gratuitous pic
Does your immobiliser have a tracker or alarm monitoring function?
I ask because friends of ours experienced something similar but far worse.
They took their 360 on a road trip to Italy. Everything was fine until they stopped to refuel in Switzerland. After refuelling the car wouldn't start. Many hours' troubleshooting and head scratching later, the problem was traced to the immobiliser. Upon contacting their immobiliser company, they were informed that the re-start signal wasn't getting through to the tracker and this was a known problem. Why is it a problem? Because Switzerland decommissioned its 2G network in 2023 and the immobiliser monitoring works on 2G networks.
The solution was to flatbed the car to the nearest approved Ferrari workshop and dismantle to car to extract the alarm system. It was of a vintage where the entire wiring loom was festooned with tilt and sonic sensors so a lot of work had to be done.
So I suspect that the issue you experienced, OP, was a weak mobile signal rather than a fob issue. That's why you've had no problem on Eurostar on mainland France or UK but you have on a ferry in the channel islands.
Don't take your car to Switzerland!
I ask because friends of ours experienced something similar but far worse.
They took their 360 on a road trip to Italy. Everything was fine until they stopped to refuel in Switzerland. After refuelling the car wouldn't start. Many hours' troubleshooting and head scratching later, the problem was traced to the immobiliser. Upon contacting their immobiliser company, they were informed that the re-start signal wasn't getting through to the tracker and this was a known problem. Why is it a problem? Because Switzerland decommissioned its 2G network in 2023 and the immobiliser monitoring works on 2G networks.
The solution was to flatbed the car to the nearest approved Ferrari workshop and dismantle to car to extract the alarm system. It was of a vintage where the entire wiring loom was festooned with tilt and sonic sensors so a lot of work had to be done.
So I suspect that the issue you experienced, OP, was a weak mobile signal rather than a fob issue. That's why you've had no problem on Eurostar on mainland France or UK but you have on a ferry in the channel islands.
Don't take your car to Switzerland!
Thorney did a video recently, where some McLaren's at his place just would not respond to any fob signals.
They found out it was caused by RF interference from a large item of kit (a compressor?) so maybe there was something on the ship doing the same?
Apparently there have been incidents where cars would not start after filling up, the cause the same, which needed the car moved off the forecourt before it was start again?
They found out it was caused by RF interference from a large item of kit (a compressor?) so maybe there was something on the ship doing the same?
Apparently there have been incidents where cars would not start after filling up, the cause the same, which needed the car moved off the forecourt before it was start again?
Thanks all for the comments.
I will obviously pop a new battery in the handset at some point but was trying to understand if the issue was more than that from other people's experience. It's not the nicest feeling not able to start your car, especially when you are preventing other people from getting off the ferry!
I don't think mine has a tracker function ANOpax, but I may avoid taking it to Switzerland just in case
although I think I would have just had it recovered out of Switzerland rather than immediately have it gutted, that sounds £££Ferrari!
ssray I have in the past held a remote to my head and it does seem to improve the signal so if I get stuck on the ferry again I promise to stick my head in the footwell with the plip near my head and get my passenger to take a photo!
TBCTBC that does make more sense in my head than just it being a faraday cage, there must be a lot on a ferry to interfere.
I will obviously pop a new battery in the handset at some point but was trying to understand if the issue was more than that from other people's experience. It's not the nicest feeling not able to start your car, especially when you are preventing other people from getting off the ferry!
I don't think mine has a tracker function ANOpax, but I may avoid taking it to Switzerland just in case
although I think I would have just had it recovered out of Switzerland rather than immediately have it gutted, that sounds £££Ferrari!ssray I have in the past held a remote to my head and it does seem to improve the signal so if I get stuck on the ferry again I promise to stick my head in the footwell with the plip near my head and get my passenger to take a photo!
TBCTBC that does make more sense in my head than just it being a faraday cage, there must be a lot on a ferry to interfere.
Are you sure the receiver is in the steering column? I thought it was in the passenger footwell because I once had a problem when it wouldn't work when I was going to leave the Festival of Speed and it was because I had bought some stuff and dumped it in the passenger footwell and it blocked the receiver.
I also had a problem one time at Silverstone when I popped in to visit Terry Keys. Apparently there is/was a company in a unit there that does electronic stuff that is known to interfere and the guys just pushed my car a few feet and it was fine.
I also had a problem one time at Silverstone when I popped in to visit Terry Keys. Apparently there is/was a company in a unit there that does electronic stuff that is known to interfere and the guys just pushed my car a few feet and it was fine.
Locally a tesco delivery entrance gate blocked immobiliser signals, caused chaos until they figured it out!
There were also some traffic lights whereby if you stalled, you couldn't restart your car. AA who rescued my colleague said he had been to a few at the same junction! Very odd.
There were also some traffic lights whereby if you stalled, you couldn't restart your car. AA who rescued my colleague said he had been to a few at the same junction! Very odd.
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