Lovely new battery for the TR but what is this wire?

I've just fitted a new Exide Premium battery to the 1987 Testarossa as shown. In the process discovered an unattached wire. Shockingly it's permanently live, showing 12.5V to the battery's 12.7V. Any ideas what it is for?
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Alarm? Radio amplifier? Espresso Machine? My '87 doesn't have any TR-related extra wires on the battery.

 

Agree, can only be for something aftermarket. Looks like you actually have 3 extra wires (red, orange and black)? All you can do is trace it to see where it terminates. With that large a terminal in that location I'm not sure what it would hook to--most aftermarket components like stereo, cell phone (80's), radar detector(s), alarm, etc. would not typically be in the battery bay...let us know what you find.

 

Chop it off and see what no longer works

Jedi

 

"Shockingly" 😜

By "permanently live" do you mean that it is connected to another battery? If so, it sounds like an alarm.

Cheers,
Vincenzo

 

Or some type of lojack. Part of getting a TR back to proper running is gutting 30 years of aftermarket add ons.

 

Isolate the wire(s) until you find time to trace it ...

 

Dank je veel, Mel. Indeed, that's what I've done. I wonder how long it's been bobbing about like that. It does seem that bodge jobs are just as common on pricey Ferraris as on lesser marks.

Thanks to all the advice. I'll do some investigating when I can and report back. Curious myself...

 

This picture is of all the wires and after market stuff I removed when I sorted my 88 TR.
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I've wound up with extra bags-o-wire as well. Yes - "interesting" wiring is common.

 

We removed even more in my 512TR + 2 extreme amplifiers + tweeters ... WHY do people molest our car ?

 

I just started tearing into my 87 TR. Clifford alarm, LoJack, K40, and some Sony CD head unit with a HUGE remotely mounted amp/FM tuner that was behind the passenger foot plate. And miles of loom...

 

Why do you need any kind of stereo in a TR with nice sounding exhaust?

 

Because when you commute in it, it's nice to have some music. I daily drove my 4 months of the past 12, and the stock stereo is awful!

 

Much prefer a nice sounding exhaust...but it's literally thousands of dollars more than a sensible head unit, and I don't have to replace the head unit every two years to pass an emissions check.

 

I much prefer to hear the stereo. I got over loud exhaust in my 20's.

 

Not loud exhaust, mellow 12 cylinder. sound.

 

I like both.

My QV has a amplified, digital, six speaker component system that you would not believe but looks pure 1984 dealer on the surface.

And a Tubi