But .... did you test the lead from the front, from the FB if it only gives voltage IF you engage the key ? Be very suspicious ! Mine gave 2 volt anyway/allways .... wch gave me a big problem (and it was a FB problem ...)
Sorry Melvok - what does FB stand for? I tested voltage at all the connectors on the solenoid with no key in the ignition and the only one that had voltage (12 V) was the battery lead (which is to be expected, no?)
LOL, cool, thanks for the clarification. My wife and I were joking about how this little problem adds to the anxiety of driving an early Testarossa... The list is now: 1. Single lug wheels potentially flying off! 2. Fusebox meltdowns causing fires! 3. Diffs exploding with no notice! 4. My 9 year old tires ready to blow! 5. Rising values - every tick of the odometer takes money off the table! 6. My starter potentially kicking in at any time and causing a meltdown! It's no wonder my car only has 19k miles on it!
I had hot-start problems with my 512TR and the Denso starter/solenoid, so I wired a relay at the starter as your dealer did and I had ZERO start problems for 22,000 miles. Then one day the starter engaged while driving and produced this: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
While the ring gear on the flywheel was OK, the starter was obviously toast. The problem lies in the fusebox. For some reason uniquely Ferrari, they route the white (start) wire from the ignition switch through the fusebox (in connector I and out connector F if I recall). Somehow this wire got some minor voltage bleed into the starter wire circuit, enough to activate the relay and cause the starter to engage. Without the relay, this voltage would not have been enough to activate the starter solenoid. I jumped the white wire from connector I to connector F external to the fusebox and the problem seems solved. I also wired a hot-start button into the circuit to cure those embarrassing no-start situations, but so far (6 months and 4000 miles), I have not yet needed to use it. The tiny button activates a relay bringing 12V from the battery to the ignition circuit downstream from the fusebox. The button is under the radio cover to prevent curious minds from pushing it while the car is running.
B.S. - The Differential issue is not propaganda. (No, they don't explode, and not on every TR but they can have some profound issues......) - The large white connectors on the fuse box do melt (though not necessarily catch fire). There are multiple circuit board rebuilders in the country for a reason. There are numerous threads and countless photographs showing the results of the two items mentioned above. ...................................................................
Wow! That is one badly melted starter! Oh, and it looks like I'll have to do something - took the car out for a 30 mile drive, shut it off, and when I went to start it up again, nothing on the first try. Weirdly enough, I just turned it back to 'off' and then tried again and it started again. Thinking of adding something like a solenoid from an old Mustang in place of the relay (I've done a lot with Mustangs in the past). At least that piece of equipment is made for a hot and wet engine compartment! Any thoughts on two solenoids hooked in series? Do you think there's enough power through the 'low voltage' circuit to engage two solenoids? Thanks!
Exactly Han! People dont seem to realize that we already have explored all these very same things and wrote lots of threads about it F.I. Last year I described exactly that same starter/fb problem which Jimbo now writes about ... (with pics) ... I decided not to make an extra starterswitch because the fault could never appear again imo. READ people, read
Is there such a thing as "auto hypochondria?" I think the testaross causes it. We don't even stress about cam belts .....we have much more to worry about. If you really want a psych disorder, the 355 is a good choice.
Here is my feedback.....learn the starting circuit. It took me a while because it is not very straight forward. 1) start with your battery cables. Do you think it goes straight from the battery to the starter? I was shocked that I had quick connectors in this heavy gauge circuit. Without good flow trough this circuit you may also get a click. 2) now learn your keyed circuit. Start with the signal wire on the starter. Do you think it's a single wire leading back to the key? Nope. (This is why a relay is only a band aid...don't do it) If you trace the wire back just 3 feet you will find a connector. Bad connection here? Now it goes to the infamous white connector. Bad connection here? The real problem I see on this board is that most people don't diagnose the whole system. It is easy to blame the starter or fuse board. And when you replace them you are by default freshening these connections but ignoring others. Remember that resistance in a series is cumulative. In conclusion, your problem can be the starter or solenoid but does this make sense? Not to me. There is nothing unique about our starters vs other cars. What is unique to our cars is the many connectors these circuits have. With an old and unused car, this is a problem. I promise that if you learn the circuit you will feel better. So like Mel says....read
Yeah I've read the other threads, including the discussions on the WAI solenoid and the fault of the current solenoids design. I just don't mention it in my posts that I have read them all the time. I checked the single connector and 9 pin connector under the expansion tank, they were fine (actually pretty clean). I don't want to futz with the wiring to the fuse box too much because I don't want to end up causing more problems.
It actually is that easy. The 12 v relay needs to be placed between the key exit ( input into fb) and the signal out to the starter. Take the fb out of the circuit entirely
It can be as easy as cutting back a little insulation on the white wire from ignition to fuse box ("I" connector, position 1) and the white wire out to starter ("F" connector, position 1) and soldering a jumper wire between the two. I now believe some of my no-start-when-hot problems are from the FB connectors themselves. When hot, I can jiggle the "F" connector and the car will sometimes start. I will post pics of the starter relay button soon. I have left it attached but not soldered waiting for a hot-start failure and now I can't make it fail!
