California 30 - doors not opening with fob or key | FerrariChat

California 30 - doors not opening with fob or key

Discussion in 'California/Portofino/Roma' started by Oitbc, May 18, 2021.

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  1. Oitbc

    Oitbc Rookie

    Mar 25, 2021
    47
    Full Name:
    Phil Thomas
    Hi,

    I’ve had my Cali 30 for about 6 weeks now. It lives outside in the UK and gets driven every day as my daily driver doing the school run (about a 20 mile loop (about 6 times a week) and then taking the kids to football on weekends (usually 18-20 miles round trip).

    I went out to get in it today and while the fob caused the loud beeping and lights flashing as usual the car door did not open when I pulled the handle. I tried a couple of times to no effect. The passenger door was similarly locked shut.

    I tried the key in the drivers door and it made no difference. It would turn but still locked.

    I tried the spare key. No difference.

    I popped the boot using the fob and that worked. Opening and closing the boot caused the boot to activate the servos to pull it down right after it was closed.

    I’m stumped. Any advice appreciated. I last used it Monday morning to do the school run, but it had been used Tues, Wed, Thurs, Friday, Sat, Sun quite a bit. So 30 hours since it was last used?

    No windows down. No trickle charge on. Can’t get in car or bonnet. Just the boot.
     
  2. Oitbc

    Oitbc Rookie

    Mar 25, 2021
    47
    Full Name:
    Phil Thomas
    I did the search of the forum but everyone has an open window or their boot doesn’t work or it’s a 360
     
  3. alex

    alex Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 19, 2003
    674
    Crystal Lake, Illinois
    Full Name:
    Alex
    First question: how old is the battery?
     
  4. Oitbc

    Oitbc Rookie

    Mar 25, 2021
    47
    Full Name:
    Phil Thomas
    No idea. It was bought from Ferrari Newcastle last September.

    Surely it’s been run enough for it to be fully charged and when it was in the detailers for 4 days in April he had it in a constant trickle and recondition charge from one of his units while working on it and that said it was in good condition.
     
  5. alex

    alex Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 19, 2003
    674
    Crystal Lake, Illinois
    Full Name:
    Alex
    Do you use the trickle charger when the car is not being driven? These cars are HEAVILY battery dependent. I believe you can see the date code on the battery. If the battery is three years old or more, it needs to be replaced. Make sure you get a good quality battery, and one that is made for your car. What year is your Cali? Does it have HELE? (Start/stop feature) I'm an owner of a Cali 30, not a technician. You may want to post this question in the Technical Q&A section. Good luck! Many California "gremlins" show up as a result of an old or weak battery. Did you have a prepurchase inspection done on the car? That should have brought to light any electrical issues. The trickle charger could be bad, also. Just some thoughts...
     
    Bill Phillips likes this.
  6. alex

    alex Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 19, 2003
    674
    Crystal Lake, Illinois
    Full Name:
    Alex
    In any case, call Ferrari and discuss the issue with them. They should have service records available to help with the issue. Please let us know how things turn out; it's great to share knowledge with other owners!
     
  7. SVCalifornia

    SVCalifornia Formula 3
    Rossa Subscribed

    Mar 28, 2011
    2,447
    Silicon Valley
    Full Name:
    Keith
    So you’re saying turning the key in the door lock does not unlock the door? I believe that is purely mechanical so if that does not work then there is something impeding the lock inside the door.

    Try turning the key in the drivers side door and hold to see if the top folds down. Then you can unlock from the outside.

    SV
     
    tomc likes this.
  8. Oitbc

    Oitbc Rookie

    Mar 25, 2021
    47
    Full Name:
    Phil Thomas
    Great thanks all.

    Yes I had a full Pre-inspection done as the chap I bought from bought it from Ferrari until they’re ore-approved range and didn’t like it after a couple of months.

    I went through all the past service history with Ferrari as well before buying They did shocks and tires and that’s all before selling it under their warranty program.

    Not left on a trickle charge as it’s a daily driver. 830 miles in 6 weeks so far.
     
  9. Oitbc

    Oitbc Rookie

    Mar 25, 2021
    47
    Full Name:
    Phil Thomas
    Ok, used the other car for the school run this morning. Just got back to try the helpful things out. Pressed the open button and the door now opens. Argh.

    So it now works but no idea why I got locked out yesterday and it didn’t respond. At least I know I’m not going mad as I got my wife to try everything last night as well. Will let Ferrari take a look at it when it’s in for its service soon.
     
  10. alex

    alex Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 19, 2003
    674
    Crystal Lake, Illinois
    Full Name:
    Alex
    I'm glad you figured it out! These cars can be quirky sometimes. Enjoy owning your Cali, and welcome to the club!
     
    Oitbc likes this.
  11. Bill Phillips

    Bill Phillips Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 4, 2019
    478
    New Orleans
    Full Name:
    Bill
    It’s a wonderful car overall but it can have seriously maddening electrical gremlins and glitches. Alex is correct, however, about battery sensitivity. If the car doesn’t like the battery output for any reason, no matter how seemingly insignificant, it will cause all sorts of problems. As for physically turning the key to open the door, it is monstrously difficult to rotate the key in the trunk keyhole, so be aware that it may feel blocked even though it just takes more muscle.
     

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