| Author | Message | ||
| Kevin Marcus (Rumordude)
Junior Member Username: Rumordude Post Number: 56 Registered: 9-2001 |
The most exciting part of the battery escapade is that when the battery is say between 7-11 volts (much less than needed to start the car), the electrical system on the car acts *very weird*. Some lights will be more dim, while others will be more bright (!), the onboard computer will quirk, the alarm will chirp funny sounds, etc. At first I thought I had fried the onboard computer or something. But nope... | ||
| Kevin Johnson (Jammy)
Junior Member Username: Jammy Post Number: 64 Registered: 3-2002 |
I sent my 456 in for a service a couple of months ago, and the only identified problem I had was that the car had developed a lazy start. Asked the garage to replace the battery as a precaution and it's just fine now. Would certainly endorse replacing the battery pre-emptively since they're cheap enough and are significantly cheaper than fixing things afterwards. | ||
| ross koller (Ross)
Member Username: Ross Post Number: 278 Registered: 3-2002 |
norman, do yourself a favor and just go get a new battery before you get stranded again. if it died after only one week of no use, its a goner; and batteries that have gone dead have a hard time keeping a charge thereafter. | ||
| Norman Yung (Storminnormin)
New member Username: Storminnormin Post Number: 11 Registered: 7-2002 |
My 550 Maranello battery died this weekend after about one week of inactivity. Could be that the battery is already 5 yrs old. GOt a jump from AAA so it is back to normal now. Because of this incident,I did start using the battery kill switch this week in the hopes of preserving the battery.. | ||
| ross koller (Ross)
Member Username: Ross Post Number: 272 Registered: 3-2002 |
kevin, i religiously use the battery kill switch on the 512tr. i sometimes have to leave the car for weeks at a time, but i just switch it on and she starts right up, so the system does work very well. | ||
| Kevin Marcus (Rumordude)
Junior Member Username: Rumordude Post Number: 55 Registered: 9-2001 |
Gosh, wow I am glad you finally found yourself a 328! It must be super nice because i know you were looking for awhile! My sister took mine down to san diego like a year ago and she's still not yet broguth it back (which isnt an issue given the garage space limitations i have...) but I'm sure the kids at the school she teaches at get a kick out of it.  Speaking of garage space - I've decided to drop the SL. Shameless plug for those interested: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1857692694 | ||
| david handa (Davehanda)
Junior Member Username: Davehanda Post Number: 195 Registered: 5-2001 |
Kevin, The easy way to hook up a Battery Tender is to go to Radio Shack and get a cigarette plug adapter wtih a 9 ft cord attached. Splice one of the adapters that came with the Battery Tender and you just plug it into the cig plug. For easy to find 5w-40, Schucks carries Valvoline synthetic in that weight. Perhaps not your first choice in brands, but it works. I use it in my Ninja bike. BTW, I found a 328 GTS. I get it back from Carlo this Wed. :-) | ||
| Kevin Marcus (Rumordude)
Junior Member Username: Rumordude Post Number: 54 Registered: 9-2001 |
I have a battery tender, but it's too much a pain to deal with. I think i left the V1 in there or something. Anyway, theres also a battery kill switch for several of the newer ferrari's so you dont drain the battery too much. Obviously i'll be more careful next time. I really expected the battery to be much lower in the car though. it's pretty high up. | ||
| BobD (Bobd)
Member Username: Bobd Post Number: 627 Registered: 3-2001 |
Kevin, for that reason, you might consider a Battery Tender. Especially if you don't drive it every day. | ||
| Edward Gault (Irfgt)
Intermediate Member Username: Irfgt Post Number: 1900 Registered: 2-2001 |
Because if you have enough money for a Ferrari you are supposed to pay someone else a ridiculous amount of money to keep the thing running and not have to fool with it yourself. The truth plain and simple. | ||
| Kevin Marcus (Rumordude)
Junior Member Username: Rumordude Post Number: 53 Registered: 9-2001 |
My battery in the 456 died about 6 months ago. I have tried recharging it and giving it the overnight juice but that only brought it up to around 11 volts - not enough to start the car - and it was back down to 3.5 after another 24 hours. So I knew I had to repalce the battery. And so today I did. And oh my. Now, I understand the 355 and 360 have cruddy battery placement, but this is rediculous. It took nearly 3 hours - plus a few trips back and forth since i got the wrong battery and needed to find some 5w-40 oil which apparently is nonexistant in seattle. Anyway, you have to pull out the radiator expansion tank just to be able to get the battery out which of course has a bunch of extra bars and panels to hold it back anyway. I have never seen tools that would bend in a way that would make this any easier. Of course, I did indeed get it up and running, but oh my. Why couldn't it be easy like the 328? |