Recharding Weak Battery

I need to recharge the batter on my 430. It's got enough juice to run through the system diagnostic and to turn on the radio, but it won't start the engine. I'm going to use a trickle charger to recharge it. The question is: Do I need to switch off the battery entirely (using the switch in the luggage compartment) before doing so? I've heard that if the battery is swtiched off then the car's memory will be erased and certain codes embedded within the ECU cannot be recovered.

Thanks,
Sandman

 

I had a similar issue a little while back. I did a search on these forums, and from what I remember, I came accross a good amount of horror stories from people trying to charge their own batteries (resetting electronics and the like). I just decided to have it towed over to my local service place and have them check it out and do a full charge on it overnight + a few more hours.

Just wasn't worth the risk to me.

However, I did come accross some people that did it themselves without incident so I'm sure someone can lead you in the right direction.

Good Luck!

 

SandmanF1,

There's no problem in charging the battery in situ, some of us use battery charger/maintainers connected to the car when it's not in use.

I use one constantly so that I never have a low battery, and the Ferrari needs a lot of juice to keep alarm and ECU's etc.,etc., up to scratch.

I don't mean the 'big' Ferrari supplied charger which is not popular with owners, although in recent times they have been supplying a re-badged C-Tek which is excellent.

The charger/maintainer is an intelligent charger that can be left connected indefinitely and will not cause problems.

It's a sophisticated little piece of equipement which only kicks in when the level fall down near 12 volts, and uses pulse and trickle charging to bring it up above 14.4v, and then switches out.

It's not to be confused with a normal in expensive trickle charger most of which do not switch off and can damage the battery over extended periods.

Optimate, C-Tek and Tronix are three names that come to mind.

I have both C-Tek and Tronix and they are excellent.

 

OMG!!!
The simplest way is to take turn off the master switch, take your battery out and re-charge it at your closer AutoZone or similar. Put it back. Turn on the master switch and wait aroun 15 minutes until the car reads all the maps on the EUC. Whatever you do, dont jump the car!!!

 

This is how I went about recharging my car's dead battery:

- turned the master battery switch OFF
- disconnected and removed the battery from the car
- hooked up my battery charger **which is GEL battery capable
- reinstalled and reconnected the battery
- turned on the main battery switch
- followed the manual's instructions for starting the car after the main battery switch has been turned OFF then back ON

One other thing to be aware of...the side windows. Without power, the side windows won't lower/raise slightly when the door is opened/closed. Don't close the door with the window in the full-up position because you run the risk of breaking it - it won't clear the window-jam when the door closes. If the car is safe in the garage, and the battery can still power the windows, you may want to lower both windows a bit before disconnecting power so you can safely open/close the doors afterward.

 

If you're not in a hurry, and you are relatively certain your battery is still good, I'd simply plug in the battery tender/maintainer and just let it sit until you get the green light on the charger. How did it get so run down in the first place? If the battery is more than 5 yrs. old, the car is stored for long periods of time w/o a battery tender, it's likely close to needing replacement.

I think it's important to keep your battery maintained. Ferraris (like many other cars and even home appliances) are never really completely "off", so there is always some small amount of current drain. Lead-acid batteries like to be kept at near 100% charge, as they perform better and last longer that way. Since a lot of Ferrari owners don't drive their cars every day, it is especially important to plug the car into the tender when you store it for anything longer than a few days. People either wire up a quick connect to their batteries and run the pigtail into the interior or use a cigar lighter plug adapter (but beware that Ferrari lighter plugs seem to be larger than standard, so the fit is rather loose with the standard plug adapter).

 

I had the same issue today . Battery was too low to turn over but lights and dash would come on. Used a $90 speed charger from Auto Zone which has a microprocessor that monitors and controls the flow of juice it sends to the battery while charging. It also has a sensor that will stop the charge to go through if you reverse the connections and accidentally put the negative on the positive for example . If your charger doesn't automatically detect this you need to be sure you connect +ve to +ve and same for negative. I Connected charger directly to the battery without removing it from the car. Selected the 10-20 amp charging .
Showed the battery % at 10% when I connected it and close to 12 volts and within 90 minutes it was charged to 100% and 14volts. Car started normally right after. No need to switch off the master battery switch for 10-20 amp charging. When charging you need to be attach the positive pole first then the negative and then you plug in the charger to the AC outlet. When charge is done you turn off the charger , unplug from the AC and then unplug the negative black and then the positive red. JUMP STARTING CAN BE RISKY and might damage electronics in the car even though I've done it twice without an issue but probably will not do it again. Charging is the best way and if done correctly very easy without removing battery etc. Just make sure that you do not plug the charger into the AC first and then attempting to connect to the car battery as it might cause a spark or worse if you make the wrong contacts. Read posts on this forum and the instruction manual for the charge if it's your first time like me and you'll be fine. I was told also that it is a good idea to check the electrical system for drainage if it loses too much charge too quickly.
Good luck .

 

Every time this battery charging topic comes up there is always a fair degree of scaremongering/panic put forward, as if charging the battery 'in situ' was akin to handling nuclears components.

Yes damage can be done if you don't know what you are doing, but it really is simplicity if a little bit of common sense/logic is applied to the operation.

The battery is easy to access in the passenger footwell, and very visible when the footrest is folded down.

If memory serves me right, the positive terminal(Red)(+) is on the left as you look at the battery and then naturally the negative (Black)(-) is on the right.

The C-tek charger/maintainer comes with an extra short length of leads red black with eyelet connectors on one end and a quick irreversible connector on the other end.
No doubt the Optimate is also suppied with this extra lead.

The eyelets can be secured within the nuts and bolts of the battery connectors and the quick connector can be left just lying behind the matt for easy access by hand, and lifted over the top of the matt with the need for undoing the footrest screws.

The charger has a quick coupler/connector near the crocodile clips, which can be undone making the crocs redundant, and the connector can very quickly be fitted to the one in the footwell making it a real no-brainer to attach the charger maintainer quickly and easily for anyone who doesn't use their car on a regular basis.

 

No one here disagrees that it is easy and harmless to attach a trickle charger to keep the battery charged. We think that it is a BAD idea to jump start the car or use a high power charger in situ.

If you want to attach a trickle charger there is a great attach point in the panel behind the drives seat (several threads on this already including pictures). It good part is you don't have a cord hanging down into the passenger footwell.

 

Thanks for all the responses, extremely helpful. After taking a second look around, I realized that I don't have any outlets in my garage (I live in a condo) that are close to my car. As such, I'll have to take the battery out and either charge it at home or take it to an AutoZone to get charged, or jsut buy a new battery entirely. Given the inherit risks of charging the battery indoors, I may just play it safe and go to Autozone.

Are there any complications in removing the battery? More specifically, what deoes removing the breather pipe entail?

 

Accessing the terminals in the panel below/behind the drivers seat is not such a quick process, and the permanent pig-tail lead in the footwell is simplicity itself.

 

It's a bit tight while working down in the foot-well, otherwise no real difficulties. The breather pipe just unplugs from the side (top, right side IIRC), no problem.

Also, I would cover your seat and door sill with towels so you don't damage the leather while working. Dragging a heavy battery out of the foot-well is a nick/scuff waiting to happen.

 

SandmanF1

Another possibility ! Do you have strong daylight in your parking area?

If so, you get a solar trickle charger and let it do it's work over a few days.

Removing the battery requires working on your knees in a stooped position. The battery clamps have 13mm/1/2 nut and bolt in each and the retaining bar is more than likely 10mm/ 3/8
.
The breather pipe pulls free from it's fitting on the top opf the battery.

 

Unfortunately my garage is underground, otherwise all my problems would be solved!

Grea tip on using towels to save the leather.

 

So I managed to get the battery out and took it to Pep Boys to get re-charged and, as it turns out, the battery is completely dead and won't take a charge. Oddly enough, my mechanic suspected that this may be the case when he diagnosed the problem earlier this week.

So my question is now: Are there any specific brands or specs that I should be looking for in a new battery?

 

Get the Interstate MTP-91 battery. Just got one for $95 plus tax.

 

SandmanF1

I'm sorry you have to buy a battery.

Don't allow the new battery to lie up for extensive periods without use, since the biggest killer on batteries is not being 'cycled'.

Surely there must be an a/c outlet, for maintenance purposes, somewhere within the parking garage that you could get permission from owners committee to use for a battery tender.

The amount of juice used would not significant to annoy anyone.

 

Since the F430's battery is inside the cockpit, you may want to go with Interstate's AGM battery, the MTP H6A. If a normal wet lead acid battery ruptures in a collision, it could injure the occupants. The factory battery is a GEL design, somewhat similar to an AGM battery (absorbed glass mat). I assume Interstate still makes it.

Also, be aware that if you have a factory warranty (Power, etc.), Ferrari wants the OE battery in the car. Otherwise, they may deny warranty coverage.