Trunk and Gas won't open?? | FerrariChat

Trunk and Gas won't open??

Discussion in 'California/Portofino/Roma' started by motzatoge, May 5, 2013.

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  1. motzatoge

    motzatoge Rookie

    Dec 4, 2012
    36
    New Orleans
    The battery goes dead every 4 to 5 days ferrari has put 3 new batteries in the car but the car will not start if it sits over 3 days.. This time we charged the battery the car started but the fuel door and the trunk won't open....any suggestions?? Keep in mind i live 400 miles from the closest dealer
     
  2. SVCalifornia

    SVCalifornia Formula 3
    Rossa Subscribed

    Mar 28, 2011
    2,447
    Silicon Valley
    Full Name:
    Keith
    Have you tried using the key unlock below the trunk lip?

    Also, with the key fob, hold the unlock and trunk release buttons for 5 sec to kick the trunk open.

    Sounds like a short in the system, perhaps in the electrical section for these subsystems. When you start the car do you get any error messages?? When you press the button for the gas cap, do you hear any solenoid noises that indicate the system is active? Might check the condition of fuses to see if something has blown. In these cases it could be a short has developed which can cause a drain the whole system or the lack of communication with a missing subsystem is causing a higher drain on the master computer...

    SV
     
  3. exotic.33.cars

    exotic.33.cars Karting

    Jul 10, 2010
    81
    Sounds like you have a draw somewhere if you keep going through batteries..

    Sent from R2D2
     
  4. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

    Jan 18, 2013
    4,425
    Full Name:
    Michael
    Very troublesome problem you have... and the other posters have made very good suggestions so this is all I can suggest.

    It's very curious that both the fuel door and trunk lid switches no longer work - they are located together by the driver's door. I wonder if there is a short circuit with the 2 switches which is causing a parasitic draw on your car's battery.

    Were the 2 switches working properly before? Was there any work done on the car recently?

    If you believe your car battery is being adequately recharged by the battery tender then the malfunction in the fuel door and trunk lid switches cannot be due to a low battery.
     
  5. motzatoge

    motzatoge Rookie

    Dec 4, 2012
    36
    New Orleans
    Everything worked fine before, but the car hasn't started 6 times so far with only 1200 miles on it. it keeps getting trucked back to the dealer, to come back and not start again. They charge the battery or change it and start it for several days in a row and the car starts so then they say its fine to keep it on a battery tender.. I don't think in any case if the car sits for only 4 days and won't start that you should have to put it on a tender, if sits sits over a week yes i understand.
     
  6. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

    Jan 18, 2013
    4,425
    Full Name:
    Michael
    I agree with you that it should still start fine... even after sitting for a week, or even a month. The battery may be down a bit but the car should still start and run fine. It's only when you keep doing short trips over a long period and not recharge that the battery will eventually fail.

    Having said all this - did anyone check the fuel door and trunk lid switches? Because if they are suddenly not working I suspect that is where your problem is. There may be a short associated with those switches, draining the battery.
     
  7. ross

    ross Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Mar 25, 2002
    36,210
    houston/geneva
    Full Name:
    Ross
    you have some kind of short as said above, and that has also knocked out one or more fuses - namely the ones for the trunk and fuel flap. i had exactly the same thing happen on the 456. took for ever to find the right fuse since that one is bundled in with a couple others on my car.
     
  8. Fiorano57

    Fiorano57 Formula 3
    BANNED

    Dec 23, 2010
    1,689
    What kind of idiots are putting in 3 batteries and still have not found a real draw on your car.?
    I had a BMW that did the same and it was the alternator that had a short in it. Its probably not your problem but if I lived that far from my dealer I would just let them keep it for a week so they could really fix it.
     
  9. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

    Jan 18, 2013
    4,425
    Full Name:
    Michael
    LOL!
     
  10. ar4me

    ar4me F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Apr 4, 2010
    3,114
    Southern California
    Full Name:
    Jes
    On my 612, if the battery has been disconnected, the trunk will not open with interior switch or remote, UNTIL you lock and unlock the car with the remote. Then everything works again. Easy thing to try...
    Jes
     
  11. ajgk

    ajgk Rookie

    Jan 23, 2013
    4
    Scottsdale, AZ
    I have a similar issue. They may be related. After the battery charger is plugged in and the car sits for more than one day, the trunk will not open. The key or the button the floor will not work. The problem is the car will not start while the battery charger is connected. I cannot open the trunk, so the car is dead until the trunk decides to open. I have tried locking and unlocking the car numerous times with no luck.The car sat for 10 days. It took two hours for the trunk to unlock. Of course, the dealer could not replicate this problem. My key will fit in the key hole in the trunk, but will not turn to open it.
     
  12. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

    Jan 18, 2013
    4,425
    Full Name:
    Michael
    Good lord, what a nightmare! Sorry it happened to you, such a silly and frustrating problem. :(

    It appears the battery drained just before or soon after you plugged in the tender and closed the trunk. Not sure what you meant by it taking 2 hours for the trunk to unlock after the car sat for 10 days. I can only assume someone, perhaps the dealer came after 10 days and did something, and 2 hours later it unlocked. Perhaps he disconnected the battery inside the hood and attached another battery charger? That will work.

    I don't shut my trunk when I plug in the battery tender and after learning of the diabolical problem you experienced I don't think I ever will. I hope your battery and battery tender are now working properly now. Thanks for the tip!
     
  13. LARRYH

    LARRYH F1 Veteran
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 3, 2011
    9,142
    virginia usa
    It sounds as though you have a constant drain on the battery. I have found on my car that if I do not charge it occasionally I will start to have little issues like the trunk not unlocking or other similar things this is even though I normally drive it most days however if you only drive a short distance the battery may not get a full recharge from the startup..
    something to look at is do you have any interior lights or other drains that are staying on this could drain the battery in a few days ,charge the battery and look at the car with garage lights out see if any lights are staying on..
    Best of luck..
     
  14. ajgk

    ajgk Rookie

    Jan 23, 2013
    4
    Scottsdale, AZ
    The dealer just put a new battery in 3 weeks ago. I had this problem before and after the new battery. After trying to open the trunk and it won't open, I leave the car sit for anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours and then I press the button and it opens. I don't think it is a battery problem. I drive the car usually every day. The manual key slot in the trunk does not turn at all. I will have them check that out.
     
  15. MarkCollins

    MarkCollins F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Jul 2, 2002
    3,202
    South England
    Full Name:
    Mark Collins

    Interesting, my car's trunk has on occasion refused to open on the key or floor switch and had not linked it the the battery tender which now you mention it may be related. My key will open the trunk but you do feel like you'll snap the key with the amount of effort required
     
  16. ajgk

    ajgk Rookie

    Jan 23, 2013
    4
    Scottsdale, AZ
    Yes, it feels if the key will snap off if I use any more force. I certainly don't want to do that. It would create even more problems.
     
  17. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

    Jan 18, 2013
    4,425
    Full Name:
    Michael
    I wonder if there is a problem with the solenoid-operated trunk motor circuit. Now that I think of it, I faintly recall something similar happened to my E39 BMW. I think either the switch or the motor went bad. Dealer fixed it under warranty.

    I wouldn't mess with the keyslot. It's also ridiculously stiff in my car. The lock may not have a manual release for the latch and only uses the solenoid motor to actuate the latch. So you must push against the spring of the locked (stuck) solenoid and would explain why it's so stiff.

    Very odd design, wonder why they do it this way. Seems to be done on purpose. The "key" point is to make sure your battery is always well-charged and in good condition.
     
  18. ELP_JC

    ELP_JC Formula 3

    Dec 13, 2008
    1,264
    I also couldn't open the trunk with either fob or buttons, but didn't have the battery drain issue or the tender connected at the trunk. Somebody suggested a procedure that I now forgot and it worked again.

    After reading this thread, maybe the battery was low enough that the settings were reset, and I just needed to lock and unlock the car with the fob. Hey, learned something new today :D. Will try that if it ever happens again.

    And to the OP, something is staying powered in your car. It shouldn't take long for a competent Ferrari mechanic to find what it is. A light is the most obvious culprit, but I assume you already checked for that, right? What's puzzling to me is the car has a 'battery save' feature that basically shuts everythng down, except the fob receiver, so it can 'wake up' when the fob is used. Again, it shouldn't be hard to find which module is causing the drain. I wouldn't accept the car back again until something was done. Good luck.
     
  19. leocosta

    leocosta Rookie

    Jul 12, 2013
    1
    United States
    Full Name:
    Leonardo M Da Costa
    #19 leocosta, Jul 12, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 12, 2013
    easy. with your car keys open and close couple of times and you ready to go. good drive.
     
  20. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

    Jan 18, 2013
    4,425
    Full Name:
    Michael
    I suppose this suggestion would sort of fall under the "reboot" approach to fixing electrical/computer problems.

    The lock mechanisms of the door and trunk lid would be part of the security system and who knows what happens to their circuitry when there is a significant drop in voltage or partial loss of power. It's certainly a plausible and simple troubleshooting step to try.
     
  21. Need4Spd

    Need4Spd F1 Veteran

    Feb 24, 2007
    6,644
    Silicon Valley
    I've had odd things like this happen occasionally. A couple times I disarmed the alarm and was unable to open the trunk, either with the fob or the button on the floor. I've not been able to duplicate the problem on purpose but found that rearming and disarming again usually restores functionality.
     
  22. Reverie

    Reverie Rookie

    Jan 29, 2017
    2
    Calgary
    Full Name:
    Neil
    Thanks, this thread was helpful.

    I just had a similar issue today on my 2010 OTO that I had never experienced before. It sat without being started for several months on the tender with the trunk closed. When I tried to wake it up from winter slumber, everything booted up normally, but the trunk wouldn’t open electrically with either the floor button or the key fob. The battery was charged up fully, and everything else seemed fine with the auto-lowering window switches, dash lights, radio, F1 pump, etc.

    There is a manual trunk release between the rear seats, at the top of the armrest indent. Pull down the armrest, and at the top of the indent pull the Velcro flap away where you’ll find a plastic ring-pull that manually pops open the trunk.

    I unplugged the tender, fired up the car and noticed while the car was running that neither the fuel filler door nor trunk would work with either the fob or floor buttons, which didn’t entirely surprise me for the obvious reasons.

    After I ran the car for a few minutes to warm it up, I then shut it down, got out and tried both the fob and floor buttons again. Nada. So as per the suggestions above I locked the car with the fob and then unlocked it, with no waiting in between. Voila, the trunk and fuel door are working normally. Seems like some sort of security sequence.

    Thanks again gentlemen.
     
  23. KDGreenGuy

    KDGreenGuy Rookie

    Apr 21, 2023
    1
    Southern Indiana
    Full Name:
    Keith W Dempster
    Trunk and fuel door would not open when pushing the buttons in the center consol. Checked all fuses that I could find. There are no relays marked for that in work shop manual. I did a computer Reset. Buttons work perfectly. A (3) month mystery cleared up in a 35 minute procedure. Thanks to this Forum I was able to piece together a solution from some one having problems with their door locks. This is my first post. trying to give back anything I have learned.
     

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