Battery conditioner/tender connector

I purchased a Ferrari branded battery conditioner on ebay and when it arrived I noticed that the connector (which the accompanying manual said was for all late model F-cars but only included instructions for the 430, 612 and 599) looked like a computer connector. It did not fit the standard two circular prongs near the battery that I believe other tenders plug into.

In checking my 456M manual, it made no mention of the circular prong connectors; instead, it said that a battery tender could be connected by an optional connector on the left front fender above the wheel arch. My car didn't have that option installed. Has anyone ever had that option and, if so, does it fit the late computer style connector used in the 430/612/599? Or do I sell the conditioner to a fellow f-chatter? Can anyone set me straight on this?

 

That's what the diagram in my manual shows, but I don't have that connector and it doesn't look anything like the connector that came with the battery conditioner. When I get home tonight, I'll take photos of the conditioner connector, the battery side connector in my car and that section of my engine compartment that lacks the connector and post them all. Hopefully I'll get some enlightment or better yet "here's a $2 adaptor to connect the two prong battery connector to the conditioner". THAT would be sweetest.

 

That's the type of "two prong connector" that's attached to my battery that I was talking about. Are you saying I should cut off the connector supplied with the conditioner? I'm reluctant to do that until I've gotten to the bottom of the connector issue using the factory parts.

 

Exactly what happened to me. I ordered it in June and, when it arrived, my wife immediately took it and put it away to give me for Christmas. Came November and the weather stayed bad for a couple of weeks and I said, "sorry, Hon, I need it now..."

 

I was hoping for a more elegant solution that would enable me to keep the Ferrari conditioner in its original form. I also noticed that the plug is more complex than merely two wires, so there must be some kind of data that passes between the conditioner and the car beyond just shoveling electrons back and forth...

 

I know there are cheaper alternatives that work equally well; it was just on an indulgent whim that I got the Ferrari conditioner. And now I want to make it work, dammit.

 

Thanks, Taz. I'll email them my info and some photos, but maybe it's time to call the dealer or yell "Rifledriver, heeeeelllllpppp!"

 

Thanks for the diagrams, Terry. Although they aren't sufficiently detailed, I'm guessing that the plug end of the connector for my Ferrari Ctek conditioner, which is round, plugs into the same round socket option (18-20,27-28 in the diagram) as the Zivan Schedoni-encased tender does even though the unit looks like #33 except for the plug. I'll click on the ricambi link and see what they're pricing the option for. Are the 9-16, 26 mods also necessary?

"Charging Loom": $289.13 from Ricambi. Time to announce the availability of my conditioner in the 612/599 and 430 sections.

 

My short term solution is going to be to drive the car every time there's a break in the weather. That's what I did last night, making sure the oil got up to 150 F.

I'll also poke around the battery a bit on the outside chance that I missed something. Maybe another connection option in a non-standard location might have been put in (the first owner ordered a number of dealer-installed options--tubi, full 3m--, even though he didn't spring for shields or daytona inserts). If all this comes up negative, I'll just sell the conditioner to a 430/599/612 owner and move on to a pig-tail connected tender.

 

That's easy--the battery!