Ferrari Battery Charger question...

Do you have the big red one that goes in the fancy leather case? My battery recently failed and the charger had all three lights on even though car wouldn't start. I got a new battery and deltran charger as my car had the factory wiring under the wipers and a pig tail behind the seat. I feel the old Ferrari charger was not accurate.

 

Buy a CTek....... Problem solved....

 

At least one LED should light when connected to the wall socket and the other end not connected to the car. A second should light once the car is connected.

 

What model number would be the "best CTek" for a 2003 360?

 

My F-Car Dealer got me this:

Amazon.com: Save A Battery 1702 12-Volt Battery Charger Maintainer and Tester: Automotive

works perfectly.....I paid $99 from the dealer with the install of the adapter to plug it in....

 

Rick- The Zivans have not proven to be very reliable, but Zivan USA will rebuild it for you if you really want them to. Personally, I would take everyone's advice and get a CTEK instead. I have a CTEK I keep in the pretty Zivan Schedoni case. Break out the Zivan for a concourse.

 

The stock charger is garbage. Like everybody says, "buy an aftermarket one"

 

I am an 04 360 spider. Can someone please tell me how to connect my CTEK charger to the battery for trickle charging. I have heard that I am not supposed to connect the charger directly to the batter but instead connect to some other area somewhere in the passenger area of the car.

 

Jeff it depends a little on whether your car has the leads from the factory and if your CTEK is the factory or aftermarket and if the latter if it came with tails ready to attach to the battery - once you've figured all that out there are very good threads on how to attach (try a search on CTEK in this section)

 

If you want one with the logo...
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CTEK MUS 4.3 (93-56-864) with a CTEK 56-382 pigtail.
Alan

 

Jeff- You can connect the CTEK directly to the battery with no problems. I usually connect the ground alligator clip to the chassis instead of the battery ground terminal, but it does not hurt to connect directly to both terminals.

With a full size battery charger, it is always best to use the battery disconnect switch before connecting. With a maintainer, current flow is so low, no problem connecting directly.

 

Isn't the use of a trickle charger long term not a good idea as it can over charge?. The battery tenders will sense voltage and cut back the charge accordingly which trickle chargers (or regular battery chargers) cannot do.
Alan

 

CTek is the way to go. Either the 4.3 or 7002 models for USA. I like connecting via the eyelets to the battery and use the quick connector. (All should be included with the tender).

 

Yes, if you use a trickle charger that does not shut off when the battery reaches its full potential, battery damage can occur.


Since trickle charger voltage is typically greater than the full-charge voltage of the battery, a small amount of energy continues to be pumped into the battery, after the battery has accepted maximum charge. This can cause overheating, or even a rapid oxidation event

The terminology is confusing because different people use the term "trickle charger" in differing ways. Trickle charge is supposed to imply "slow charge" instead of "fast charge."

Anyways, "Float Trickle Chargers" or "Automatic Trickle Chargers" are designed to temporarily shut down when the battery reaches full potential, and then resume charging if the battery voltage drops.

Some companies market their products using all three words "Float," "Automatic," and "Trickle." I've attached a picture of one such product that caught my eye...
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I kept looking and looking and looking for a product in the picture and couldn't find one... unless she is for sale.

 

I use the more advanced CTeks. They do an amazing job. I think I have 5 of them. I travel a lot, and my cars stand for months..... Never an issue.

 

I was unaware my trickle charger was unplugged until I hopped in for a drive yesterday. How long should it take for the charger to top off the battery?

 

There are a few variables...the state of discharge on the battery, and the output capacity of the battery maintainer you are using. Even Ferrari released more than one version of the Ctek...the earliest versions were around 1 amp. Later ones were a bit more...perhaps 3 amps. These were meant to "maintain", not recharge a completely discharged battery.

 

Thank you. I ended up just getting a new battery as mine was 26 months old. What a PITA getting it back in. The + line bundle kept slipping back behind the battery and keeping one of the threaded posts with the bottom hook was a *%@#^! keeping it upright while I slid the battery in. Then the threaded posts would for some reason not reach the bracket. After an hour, I liked my mechanic a bit more! I got it in, what a job!

 

weird... takes me 20 min to replace my battery... it's just a weird position; and I can see if you are chubby to have an issue ...No offense