Flat Battery Shut Out of Car

bigsteve

Junior Member
Messages
88
On my 2012 Grancabrio I have had a problem with the electronic parking brake, few people pointed out it could be related to battery problems, yesterday went to start the car to give it a run and it would not start. Ordered a cytek charger from Amazon for delivery Monday, went into garage today to look in the boot at battery terminals etc and when I pressed open on key fob alarm went off, then stopped . repressed key and again alarm went off and no access to car. Anyone any ideas how I can access boot when charger arrives or am I going to have to call out Maserati recovery. Also does anyone have the number for Maserati recovery as my instruction book etc is in the car.

cheers
 

hodroyd

Member
Messages
14,150
Hi Steve,
I take it this car has no actual key that you can use, only electronic entry..??

The number in my book for assistance is: 0800 358 8250 Maserati Assistance..!!
Cheers
R
 

hodroyd

Member
Messages
14,150
Excellent Michael, I take it that the car is either open, or the hood is down to be able to do this, what happens if the hood is up and it's locked..??
 

bigsteve

Junior Member
Messages
88
I do have a key but it would not open the car yesterday just set the alarm off, so no access to open boot from inside. Anyway after sleepless night worrying that the alarm would go off in the middle of the night I phone Maserati assist this morning. Excellent service and after 30 minutes a RAC recovery vehicle showed up and a second van with an electrical specialist from RAC. Key worked when they tried but all electronics dead. They got boot open from inside ( thanks for the video it helped ) and after a charge they got ignition to work so they could release steering lock. Car has now been towed away ( I think the guy from Maserati Assist said that they would exchange it for a brand new one but it may have just been a bad line ). Replacement car arrives at time I requested tomorrow.

Thanks for the help guys
 

TridentTested

Member
Messages
1,819
Excellent Michael, I take it that the car is either open, or the hood is down to be able to do this, what happens if the hood is up and it's locked..??

Is there no mechanical old-fashioned key and key-hole on the GranCab's door?

When my QP was a flat as a pancake (wouldn't trigger the central-locking) I was able to open the car the old-fashioned turning the key in the lock way; and opened the boot using the secret keyhole (after watching another helpful video).




Glad you got it sorted Steve.

Maseratis and batteries eh? We should have a bl00dy big sticky on the top of every forum section explaining how to open the car, what dying batteries do to error messages, and how to change your battery.

Maybe it should be a ReadMe file that each new user has to read before joining? :)
 

TridentTested

Member
Messages
1,819
Anyway after sleepless night worrying that the alarm would go off in the middle of the night

When my QP's battery was completely flattened, and I opened the car mechanically (as explained above), I discovered disconnecting the battery to charge it was enough set off the alarm. It obviously sees battery disconnection as an attack.

I too worried that it would sound all night, or at least at intervals through the night, but it only seems to do it for the first ten-or-so minutes. That alone was enough ear-ache.
 

bigsteve

Junior Member
Messages
88
Yes there is a key with the car but when I tried it yesterday it just set off alarm and did not open the door, today however when the recovery guys came the key did open the door but I noticed the red alarm warning light was not on this morning. Also Dick Lovett have provided the car with a Maserati Battery charger in the boot but I couldn't get to it as could not access the boot ( also embarrassingly I had forgotten about the charger hidden in the boot and had ordered one from Amazon so will have to cancel that )

Cheers
 

BigR

Member
Messages
447
I've had the same issue on my GT and eventually it just randomly opened the door. I don't know whether just jiggling it eventually worked but... and then thanks to the forum I found the secret loop to pull and open the boot!
 

hodroyd

Member
Messages
14,150
Steve,
Glad to hear you are geeting the situation resolved and looking forward to your "NEW" car..!!:goodnews:
Cheers
R
 

Tipmethewink

Junior Member
Messages
366
When you grab the GT handle, you should be able to feel that it's in two parts, one part, nearer the front of the car, is the electric part and a smaller section, nearer the back of the car is the manual bit. If the battery's flat and you unlock the car, you have to use the manual bit for the door to open.
 

bigsteve

Junior Member
Messages
88
Final update . car was towed to dick lovetts, they identified an excessive drain on the battery, had to wait till a NavTrac engineer was available, he fixed the drain , dick lovetts checked that everything was now Ok, new battery fitted and car returned on a really nice transporter yesterday. Just a word on the transporter that Dick Lovett use the car comes on a flat bed on the transporter which then slides of the back of the vehicle with the car on it and then lowers itself to ground leaving on a small incline so on worries about clearance etc very impressive.
 

hodroyd

Member
Messages
14,150
That's the best kind of transporter, a lot use those now, we all remember the bad days when the ramps went on the back of the truck..!! Glad you got it sorted Steve, these NavTrak's are a real pain for Masers..!!
 

Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
21,013
Glad you're all sorted, Steve. I agree with Robert that NavTracks can be a pain in the rear but having had reason to use mine it's well worth the agro. Other than whatever issue you had with yours, I think that as long as you either use the car regularly or keep the battery in good shape with a conditioner they shouldn't cause too much bother.
 

c4sman

Member
Messages
1,243
Glad you're all sorted, Steve. I agree with Robert that NavTracks can be a pain in the rear but having had reason to use mine it's well worth the agro. Other than whatever issue you had with yours, I think that as long as you either use the car regularly or keep the battery in good shape with a conditioner they shouldn't cause too much bother.

Sounds as if you you use a conditioner with your GTS. I have ordered a CTEK to do exactly this but wanted to know if the power point in the boot is always live (i.e. can i just pug CTEK in here as opposed to messing with the battery terminals)?
 

Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
21,013
Sounds as if you you use a conditioner with your GTS. I have ordered a CTEK to do exactly this but wanted to know if the power point in the boot is always live (i.e. can i just pug CTEK in here as opposed to messing with the battery terminals)?

Yes, the power point in the boot is always live so you can keep the battery in good condition without dismantling the boot every time to get at the battery. In fact, mine's plugged in now - CTEK plugged into the power point and the wire dangling out the boot, car all locked up. Nice and easy. :smile:
 

c4sman

Member
Messages
1,243
Yes, the power point in the boot is always live so you can keep the battery in good condition without dismantling the boot every time to get at the battery. In fact, mine's plugged in now - CTEK plugged into the power point and the wire dangling out the boot, car all locked up. Nice and easy. :smile:

Job done. Thanks.
 

sjc

Junior Member
Messages
280
Indeed, although when my brand new 2 day old Cerbera decided to lock me IN when I was at a petrol station it took a while to get me out! Explaining to the bloke on the next pump that I was locked in,getting him to write down a number, give it to the woman behind the till,and then asking her ring my dealer was a bit surreal to say the least !
Still, I was out in...40 minutes.