Battery conditioner | FerrariChat

Battery conditioner

Discussion in '360/430' started by sanchezdds, Dec 11, 2012.

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  1. sanchezdds

    sanchezdds Formula Junior

    Aug 15, 2009
    336
    California
    I decided last night to hook up the battery conditioner to my Scud for the first time. I have been so busy lately that I have been only driving my car a couple of times a month. I am worried that the battery will drain eventually, so last night I figured how to connect this thing to my car.
    I have one question....last night the light showed the battery needed a charge. Image Unavailable, Please Login
    This morning it showed that the battery was not completely charged ( as per pic). The light still showed that it was half way charged. Is this normal, or am I reading too much in to this?
     
  2. bball16

    bball16 F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Dec 2, 2011
    4,120
    NY LI FtL
    Full Name:
    Mike
    The light on the right turns solid when it's done.
     
  3. sanchezdds

    sanchezdds Formula Junior

    Aug 15, 2009
    336
    California
    Is this any indication of the weakness of the battery? It charged overnight but still no full light.
     
  4. sc170

    sc170 Karting

    Oct 5, 2012
    109
    California
    Took mine 48 hours to fully charge.
     
  5. bball16

    bball16 F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Dec 2, 2011
    4,120
    NY LI FtL
    Full Name:
    Mike
    Same here.
     
  6. sanchezdds

    sanchezdds Formula Junior

    Aug 15, 2009
    336
    California
    Thanks guys! Sounds like it's normal to take a couple of days to fully charge.
     
  7. bigred2171

    bigred2171 Karting

    Sep 14, 2008
    161
    Montreal,Quebec
    Give it a couple of days.
    All should be fine.
     
  8. ferrame

    ferrame Formula 3

    Mar 2, 2005
    1,196
    Orange, Calif
    You got a junky battery, that's why.
     
  9. ONEOFEW

    ONEOFEW Formula Junior

    Jan 19, 2006
    835
    LA
    Full Name:
    Steve
  10. sanchezdds

    sanchezdds Formula Junior

    Aug 15, 2009
    336
    California
    Mine is an 09 Scuderia
     
  11. ONEOFEW

    ONEOFEW Formula Junior

    Jan 19, 2006
    835
    LA
    Full Name:
    Steve
    See if the maintainer will be able to top it off in couple of days, or even a week
    If it switches to green your good.

    From what I understand these factory maintainers are very low amperage, not exactly up to task, when our batteries are healthy 100% they are able to top it off, however as time goes by, winter time cold conditions it will take longer to switch to green.
     
  12. sanchezdds

    sanchezdds Formula Junior

    Aug 15, 2009
    336
    California
    Oneofew,

    Sounds good! It's been less than 24 hrs, so when I get home I'll check.
     
  13. donho

    donho Karting

    Oct 11, 2006
    154
    Naples, FL
    Full Name:
    Michael
    Yes, it is normal and you are reading too much into it. You should know also that the indicator can turn green even with a bad battery. A lead acid battery has a finite life. In hot climates (like Florida), that life (in my experience) is four years. In colder climates (like New York), it's five or six years. The tender helps a little, especially if you don't drive your car much. But your battery will still go bad eventually, even though your tender shows a green light.

    When your ear tells you the starter motor is turning more slowly, get a new battery.
     
  14. Zxgarage

    Zxgarage Formula Junior
    BANNED

    Jan 21, 2011
    638
    MD/ DC area
    Full Name:
    Zack
    #14 Zxgarage, Dec 11, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Problem with all battery maintainer/ conditioner is that once the battery is too low... it can't recover. I use the battery tender from Deltran before and lost already four, plus it doesn't do the job, plain and simple.
    The C=tek is way better... I have for my Porsche and works flawless.
    Now if the battery is dead... I don't think it will kick back. I found the Save A Battery and order one from www.glisteningperfection.com ... problem is... already over two weeks and no sign of item... or track number... I try to contact them several times. Phone, emails... No answer. Do you guys know them ?
    Here is the pick and link: http://www.glisteningperfectionstore.com/servlet/Detail?no=226
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  15. augustxke

    augustxke Formula Junior

    Feb 7, 2009
    412
    MN
    Full Name:
    Bruce
    It takes about 48hrs for mine to go green then it alternates green for 1 minute back to orange for 15 sec then to green. I had a new red top battery placed two months ago.
     
  16. Zxgarage

    Zxgarage Formula Junior
    BANNED

    Jan 21, 2011
    638
    MD/ DC area
    Full Name:
    Zack
    I think the way the C-tek/Ferrari OEM works is on cycle. It fully charge and wait to drop again to start charging back.
     
  17. HighandDry

    HighandDry Formula Junior

    Jul 24, 2012
    447
    Seattle
    Full Name:
    Steve
    The newer cteks are much better than the older OEM. More amps and more sophisticated.

    I have a SaveABattery charger. The reason I got it is that my Ctek wasn't able to fully bring my battery back. The ctek has a 1.5 amp charge (the OEM one is lower, like .8 amps) when trying to charge a low battery, while the saveabattery has a 4 amp charge. If your battery is in good condition, it probably doesn't matter, both are good units.

    @ Zxgarage, you should have ordered from Amazon! Glisteningperfection has had order problems in the past.
     
  18. Zxgarage

    Zxgarage Formula Junior
    BANNED

    Jan 21, 2011
    638
    MD/ DC area
    Full Name:
    Zack
    I cancel my order from glisteningperfection.com and order from Jegs. (free and fast shipping)
    Glistening doesn't have a bad customer service... there is no customer service at all.
     
  19. Noblesse Oblige

    Noblesse Oblige F1 Veteran

    Nov 7, 2011
    6,114
    Three Places
    The charger for the 430s is really a low current unit -- only about 1/2 amp maximum as I recall. It is normal for it to take a day or even more to charge to capacity. The light will turn green when it is done.

    There are pros and cons to having a low current charger. An obvious con is that it takes longer. But there is very little risk of frying the battery at such low currents.
     
  20. Zxgarage

    Zxgarage Formula Junior
    BANNED

    Jan 21, 2011
    638
    MD/ DC area
    Full Name:
    Zack
    Let's not forget charging a Deep Cycle battery is little different... If and when charging one, we must use the right tool. :)
     
  21. Mo T

    Mo T Formula Junior

    Nov 26, 2011
    478
    Saudi Arabia
    Full Name:
    Mohammed
    Just for the record, it took the OEM tender 8 days before the light finally went green.
     
  22. Trent

    Trent Formula 3

    Dec 10, 2003
    2,013
    Indialantic, FL
    Full Name:
    Trent
    The CTEK 4.3 is more powerful, might have been faster, also the 4.3 has more indicators and more complex "conditioning" modes so you can see what stage the charge cycling is at.

    I use the OEM (which is a CTEK 3000 or so, and a CTEK 4.3. Too bad they both don't share the same connector. So i have two pigtails on my 430. The 4.3 has a vastly superior low insertion force connector. Almost worth the change in itself. The 4.3 is ~$70 usd
     

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