Get that fixed, the fun's right at 7,800......... Yea, that splice in the heater lines is a common fix.....the front to back pulls are terrible! You wouldn't think there'd be so much trouble, in such a small car....
For a manual, you should be able to download a copy from the ferrari owners site, once you are registered. Won't be any help for a concours, but acceptable for working on and operating the car
You should have gone to Miami....only viewing the totally restored 'old girls' make our ownership less intimidating! If Mr. G. can rebuild VIN #0846, I should be able to change my muffler and fabricate a shroud for it........
He's trying to put together a complete set of original books. I'll get him a set of shop and parts books too.
I read this product review and three out of four comments were negative..One commented that these are junk & they were on their third one, they all failed. Any comments here to back up the claim or disprove this?
That's naturally concerning. I just hooked mine up yesterday. After six hours of charging, battery was getting close to fully charged. I expect it's in maintenance mode now. The intuition is that satisfied customers are less likely to post a review on the web than dissatisfied customers. The results is that (IMO) the reviews will be statistically biased towards the negative. This phenomenon is observable all over the web--another example is HDTVs (very intense purchase that people get emotional about). Doesn't look like junk to be. Put it this way, build quality was greater than the in-car DC-to-AC power converter I bought from (and returned to) Wal-Mart. It could certainly have been made more cheaply. Documentation was good and clear as well.
Just went outside to check on the 328. Optima Yellow Top Battery was reading 9V (!) before I got the Battery Tender hooked up. This dreaded Colorado winter is beginning to get absurd. Less than 24 hours on the battery tender. I went outside, my voltmeter indicated a full, strong battery and the battery tender indicated fully charged, maintenance mode (solid green light). Car started right up. Not a miracle of course but I'm very pleased with this result. My old 308 had the unit mounted inside the actual front of the car. You brought in AC power directly into the unit in (mounted outside of the spare tire area) and it was hooked direct to battery (no current run through existing stock wiring). I may get a separate, smaller unit and permanently mount inside the car in this manner. (This is with the "Battery Tender Plus" rated at 1.25A I believe.)
I'd like to hear from 328 owners who use a Battery Tender Plus and connect it to their car using the cigarette lighter socket. Do any of you worry about damage to the car from connecting that way? It sure seems like that would be the most convenient method but I guess in my mind I equate convenient with bad - maybe since so many other things with these cars is surrounded by a certain amount of complexity or voodoo. I have a Battery Tender Plus laying around just waiting to be connected to the 328... pending some opinions on connecting using the lighter socket. Thanks!
This thread has certainly "charged" up considerable interest in tenders! Best item since sliced bread!
How about a determination on how often the Battery Tender should be changed. Is it mileage or number of years?
2NA, There's something "fishy" about your suggestion!!! You might get a few "bites" with this, however.
I would say every two years or 2,000 consecutive connected hours (CCH), at a MINIMUM. It's good insurance if you ask me, given the cost of doing a top-end rebuild on the battery. Ferrari batteries are known as "interference" batteries so a failed battery tender means you're rebuilding the battery terminals and the replacing the plastic cover on the top, minimum. Don't get me started on those sodium-filled battery terminals!
I did it for at least a couple years...what could go wrong? You are running 1.25 amps back through it. The lighter itself draws 5 times that. My BMW 540 has all kinds of computers and crap, and I still run a Griot's battery Tender (1.5 amp in this case) through the cig lighter....no problems after three years.
Not surprising. Remember that there are positives and negatives and these make up a battery!!! Get a tender!
Don't know, that's why I asked. I figured better to get laughed at for asking a stupid question than to get laughed at for burning down my garage because I didn't ask a stupid question!
Your brother made an excellent observation IMO..if it has thrown a visible amount of rubber dust onto the protective cover, start saving up and driving less.... I'm going with that one.....or five years MAX.... If you can read the lettering on the old belt there was a thread about decodeing it.....
The reviews concerned the black & decker one.. Also Dave, as you suggested; "For $19 why not go buy one...if you don't like it, get your money back". I'm not concerned about the charger & getting my money back if it fails, as much as I am concerned about possible damage to my car or worse yet a fire from a failed unit. I too am in Colorado, and run a red top in my 328. Believe me on more than one occasion I have thought about the cold & drain on my battery even though I do start it up & let it get to operating temp...
There thread was more interesting, who wants to read about belts again..and again...and again. Can you see the belt dust with out taking the car apart? As for age, my 308 looks to have been taken well care of, but I don't know the history of the belts.... Short of taking the side of the car off to look at them, and if you do all that you might as well change the belts
