dead battery, difficult situation

A battery is $100

How much screwing around do you want to do to save a $100 battery that may not come back from the dead anyway?

 

When you are stuck with no way to remove a wheel if necessary, then even still, a $100 battery does the job but you still have to jump it. Do it carefully and do it right. Ground peg, middle positive peg. Worked for me AFAIK. Dang, I could have called IFS to check on my baby again if I didn't get called to another branch. It was sleeting at lunchtime anyway.

 

Remove the battery and charge it at home? Any spare outlets there?

 

If the battery has sat discharged for a long period of time it is probably toast anyway. Sulfate crystals form on the surface of the plates which makes it difficult to get it to recharge. Some "smart" chargers have the ability to reverse this in some cases, but the battery is likely never 100% again.

 

If you're paying a hundred bucks for a battery either it "fell off a truck in New Jersey" or you're buying the wrong battery. Chances are your owners manual recommends an AGM battery, and for good reason.

Plan on spending around two hundred bucks or perhaps a bit more for an AGM type, depending on where you live, to get the proper battery for your car. There's more to selecting the correct battery than physical size and voltage.

 

Did you find the cause of the dead outlets?

 

New Battery. What will happen if you use the old dead battery is the Alternator will be working at max output to restore it and then maintain it. So... in as little as a few months you'll then need a new battery as the diodes and bushes are working at full tilt.

I know its pricey with a full stable but I replace my batteries with new ones proactively every 3-4 years or so. It keeps my Alternator happy.

 

Did you mean to say "a new alternator"?

 

Did you try pressing the GFI reset on one of the dead outlets? If one needs to be reset, the whole series will go out.

 

another vote for a new battery; only way to go. who needs the hassle and headache of a dicey battery. Very few Ferrari problems can be solved for $ 100.

 

Lol. That one made me laugh (based on my location)... just this morning I ordered a battery through my old man's buddy who owns a body shop. He gets them for me at cost. $90.

 

Ross,

Here's my 6th ever post on FChat. It's in the 348/355 section, on batteries and SmartCars:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/348-355/229520-odd-starter-problem.html#post138362142​

Just buy a new battery.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

I'm pretty sure Ferrari specifies a VRLA battery for your 430, which nearly always means using an AGM type. That's because the battery is mounted inside the passenger compartment and your car is made from aluminum. The Absorbed Gas Mat battery will not vent either acid or dangerous gas under anything other than very unusual circumstances, such as overcharging caused by a failure in the electrical system.

Conventional lead/acid batteries, sometimes vent acid and normally vent explosive gas during normal operations, neither of which you want inside your car. I personally don't want to worry about the contents of my battery eating my car for lunch, but that's just me.

The fact that a battery doesn't have conventional screw-off battery caps does NOT mean that it's an AGM type. Price is actually a pretty good indication with conventional batteries costing roughly a hundred bucks and AGMs up in the two hundred bucks range (or a bit above), depending on location.

If you can get a properly sized AGM battery from your New Jersey "friend", good for you. Does his last name end in a vowel?

 

That's what I meant! Thanks Dan.

 

Get a jump box!

It won't give spikes like jumping, and you'll be good to go... straight to get a replacement, because a battery that flat is most certainly ruined.

You need to maintain your batteries better over the winter.

Cheers,

George

 

Keep in mind that trickle chargers are not meant to charge a battery from dead. They are designed to "maintain" a fully charged battery.

 

Amen. A trickle charger or battery tender will do NOTHING for a dead battery.

 

How many Fchatters does it take to change a battery? Thank god it's not a light bulb.

 

That's just horsepuckey - totally depends on the device you have. This unit brought back a completely dead battery in my Quattroporte just a few weeks ago. Hurr durr.

Amazon.com: CTEK Multi US 7002 12V Battery Charger: Automotive

 

You posted a "charger" with 4 separate charge modes.

A battery tender or "trickle" charger is to "maintain" a battery not "charge" it.

 

You are incorrect. I have a trickle charger, and when the battery in my Toyota goes flat due to cold weather and short driving distances, I use it to recharge the battery. A tender that goes on and off to keep a battery topped off is a different animal, though some of those have a charger mode/modes too.

Cheers,

George

This is my unit, which I've had for 15 years: It's charged batteries in everything from motorcycles to pickups, to my Ferrari. If you Google, "Schumacher Trickle Charger", this and similar are what you will come up with.
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Yeah, I mean what would Rifledriver know about ferrari parts!

Fwiw, I bought the battery my dealer told me to for my CS and IIRC it was around $140 (so not $100, but not a lot more). Dealer even came to my house and installed it (he told me to get the battery at Auto Zone rather than pay dealer prices). Love my service manager!

 

Try reading my post...that's what I said.