Battery charger question - Zivan

In the OTO, it's behind a panel on the right side of the trunk. I'm not sure if the pre-OTO cars are all wired for it or not.

 

The 2008 and later 612s came with a standard CTEK battery charger with trunk mounted receptacle. The earlier 612s had an optional Zivan with the connector in the trunk starboard side panel. If you did not have the factory Zivan as an option originally, the wiring may not be there and it may be difficult to connect. Here is the receptacle location. Page 245 of your owners manual. Hope the prewire is there for you.

Taz
Terry Phillips
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I would not jump it at all. Buy a regular battery charger, not a maintainer, at any auto parts store, turn off the battery switch, and charge the battery. After it shows it is fully charged, turn on the switch, start the car and let it idle for 10 minutes with all accessories turned off (A/C, radio, etc) to reset the Motronic ECU. Or just drive it gently and it will do the same thing, only take a little longer. Then buy a new battery and throw the old one away.

If you got a leather case for the Zivan charger, put the charger in it and use it for show in the trunk. Or sell it. You can then buy a $69.95 CTEK with alligator clips that will work fine. That is what I use and I just have it in a Zivan leather case. It may be possible to buy and fit the OEM Zivan connector, but they are not notoriously reliable and I am not sure it is worth the trouble.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Hi Taz!
Can I connect the factory Zivan charger without turn off the master switch?
Thanks!

 

David- Affirmative, no problem. Designed to work that way.

 

As some of you may know I had heaps of trouble with my last battery and I jumped it 3 days in a row.

I asked the Ferrari dealer mechanic and he said that Battery to Battery was completely fine.

 

Maybe so, but I would not do it. Too many horror stories.

 

That's a fair call.

An issue could be disastrous.

 

I have my charger hooked up but must be low since the door locks don't work or the trunk release. How can I open the trunk?

 

Not sure on the 612, when I had mine, never lost the battery, but my 599 was dead Wednesday, and had to put my charger on. Manual release is under the centre console, on the 599 lift out the rear tray of the console, just under there is a loop which if given little tug, boot releases. As I said, can't remember on 612 but may be similar

The citek chargers are much better in my opinion, had those fitted before as they came with permanent ends which could be fitted to the battery, and the unit itself plugs into it, that way, encourages you to leave on trickle most of the time. The big unit I have is so clumsy and picky to fit, you can't leave it attached hence I had my dead battery

 

Hi Guys , I have some questions about the factory charger:

My car is a 09 599 GTB and the delivered date was in FEB 2009 and I'm the second owner , I think the battery is the original that came from the factory.

1) Since the battery is pretty old , should I have to connect the factory charger to the battery all the time if I don't use the car everyday?

2) If I buy a new battery , should I have to connected also to the factory charger if I don't use the car everyday?

 

Mohammed- There are so many variables that make that one difficult to answer. If you drive the car every 3-5 days, you probably do not need the charger. Mine has not been on the CTEK I have for the last five years. If she only gets driven every 2 weeks or so, and that sometimes stretches to 3, then I would have the charger on all the time. If your battery is weak or over 5 years old, put in a new battery. Very cheap insurance. Everything in between the 3-5 days and the 2-3 weeks is a crap shoot and depends on the car.

Many owners disagree and have their charger hooked up any time they are not driving, so let others chime in with their opinions and experiences.

One thing for sure, low battery charge can cause some serious squirrels in Ferraris, especially when starting.

 

Taz is right,

I just went through this whole Battery Business and the simplest and easiest fix was simply to have a new battery installed, now she works absolutely fine.

PS - The OEM charger is rubbish and I have upgraded to a better one that I really would only use if I know that I am not going to be driving my car in the next 1 - 2 weeks.

 

Thanks alot Terry.

I have no problem yet but since its almost 5 years old I should change it.

 

Thanks alot CM - any suggestion about what brand should I order if I don't want to use the factory charger?

 

Mohammed- Ferrari makes a CTEK they sell with Ferrari colors for about $200 or you can buy the same one without the red paint for about $70. The CTEKs have proven to be very reliable.

Wait, yours is an 09 so it comes with a CTEK in a little nylon case. That is a perfectly good charger with the hook-up in the trunk. Would not hesitate to use it. The Zivan that was optional in late 06 and early 07 has not been very reliable.
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Hi Terry , Yes , you are right , my connector charger came with a little nylon case , inside the factory red bag that has all the covers for outside and inside, so I probably don't need to change it.

Thanks alot Terry for you useful information , I really appreciate it.

 

Hi Terry ,

some pics of it , is that what you are talking about?
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Mohammed- Affirmative. Bought one myself at a fire sale price ($70), but too much trouble to adapt the connector to my 575M, so sold it to a 599 owner. They work great.

 

I replaced my battery recently-- but, it was 5 years old, and for the original FIAMM I think that's reasonable.

I keep mine on the charger whenever it's in the garage.

 

Thanks alot Terry.

 

Hi Don ,

Mine is almost 5 years old too , will change it next time I go to the dealer.

thanks for your advice.