458 Highly Questionable

I would play it safe and replace the battery, especially given that you don’t know how long it’s been in service. Cheap insurance.

 

Absolutely agree with Viperjoe. If there are no records of the battery being changed, it is cheap insurance to do so now. The battery in my '13 actually lasted until last year which is astonishing. But that is a rare occurrence. In the OEM automotive world, batteries are the highest warranty item.

 

Braille i48CS battery - solves the biggest headache of the 458

Ray

 

What I find amusing is that most Ferrari owners will spend $2K on a carbon fiber cup holder without even thinking twice about it. However, when you suggest spending $2000 on the most vital electrical component in the entire car, suddenly everyone is watching their exotic car budgets...

Ray

 

The video you're referring to is mine.

I ran the Braille battery in my 458 and then in my 488. Braille uses very high quality cells. If I'm not mistaken, they have batteries in the field which are going on 6 and 7 years old. Based on the research I did regarding the i48CS, I expected the life span to be probably around 6 to 8 years.

Prior to installing the Braille battery into my 458, I had the stock battery fail on me a number of times after only a year of ownership. I tried a PC925, but it failed also. It gets old real fast. I remember one time my girlfriend got all dressed up for dinner, we jumped into the Ferrari and it wouldn't crank over. We both were really bummed out. We ended up having to take the SUV. It was fine, but I was really looking forward to driving the 458 that night.

After that, I just came home and ordered the Braille. Never had a problem after that; never used the tender. Never again worried about leaving the car parked and coming out to slow cranking or fearing being left stranded some place.

It's hard to put a price on never having to use a battery tender and never having to think about the battery ever again.

Now, with that black 488 I had, the charging system worked just a little differently in that car than in the 458. The result was I did need to top the battery off now and then. But with the 458, it worked like a charm.

Anyway, glad to hear someone out there is watching my YouTube videos

Ray

 

The battery has pretty good re-sale. I sold mine for $1700, so the effective cost over a year or so wasn't as bad as it might seem. When I sold the 488, I put a $120 Costco battery in. A lot depends on how long you plan to keep your car also.

My 458 was just shy of $250k used (including CA tax and registration). The few extra $$ for the battery was just the cost of enjoying the car fully in my opinion.

Ray

 

Am i understanding this correctly? Didn't the OP leave a charger plugged into the car for 15 hours, which I assume was still on and would have continuously drained the battery? I know these cars are finicky with batteries, but is the battery totally at fault in this case?

 

Since you had the slow crank and its possibly a six year old OEM battery then swap that guy out for any of the non-OEM alternatives and drive worry free. If not doing a Lithium or other specialty battery then always keep your Ferrari plugged in. Low voltages can cause real damage to sensitive electronics.

To Rays point, yes I paid $3500 for a cup holder and thought anything over $150 for a battery was ridiculous! Maybe because I've been swapping out batteries on cars since I can remember and the cup holder is actually most of the center console but point well taken. Battery fear is real with Ferraris which is one reason why I have no interest in hybrids.

 

New battery is always good news on any Ferrari.

I don’t see the need of a 2000$ battery when you can fit a master switch to kill it when you don’t drive it. Indeed I never plug the tender since I have it fitted. On top of that, it gives me extra peace of mind as you can remove the knob and make life of thieves a bit more difficult!

 

How does a master switch work without affecting the electronics that supposedly need to remain powered (minimally) when the car is shutdown? Aren't those the reason for the parasitic draw that eventually kills the battery if not maintained by the charger? I assume they remain powered for a reason.

Jim

 

Ok, yeah, that's what I meant when I said charger; the phone holder charger, not the tender. From everything I've read, these cars are very sensitive when it comes to electronics and batteries. Not surprised a small draw like that, left on for that many hours, would in fact, drain the battery.

Sent from my SM-G960U using FerrariChat.com mobile app

 

A master switch does not affect at all the electronics. Simply as that. I guess that Ferrari do not fit them anymore as with it you can erase easily the random fault codes (in fact that’s what they do when you show up, disconnec the battery and charging you for that)

When you turn it on simply follow startup procedure from owners book. 10 min.

 

Think of the electronics on the Ferrari like on your iPhone or iMac, etc. When you park your 458, it's like putting your iMac into sleep mode instead of shutting it completely down. Same like with your iPhone; you don't power it down while it's sitting in your pocket or on your desk. Your phone is running, but not using as much power as when you are talking on it and using the phone's internal cellular radio for example. But if you wanted to, you could completely power your phone down and power it back up between uses and nothing really would be adversely affected.

Just as an example: I always turn off the cellular radio on my iPhone unless I have to leave the house for some reason...

The Ferrari is basically the same idea. You can leave the car in standby mode and it will draw power constantly. Or you can power it totally down and nothing is really adversely affected. Maybe you lose a bit of ECU fuel correction, but so what. More times than not you clear memory and reset things in the car, which tends to give you a clean slate to start from. If you own a 360, resetting the ECU now and again is practically mandatory haha.

Ray

 

Understood, figured that would be the explanation, I was only asking because of the number of posts in other threads that discuss battery replacement, and having to reset some electronics and functions in the car after disconnecting the battery, including some simple things like the clock, etc., but having never done it myself that may not be accurate. Thanks for the info.


Jim

 

Just make sure you follow the reconnection procedure in the owner's manual, anytime you disconnect power to the car.

Ray

 

FWIW, I am the original owner of a 2013 spider. At the 3 year service while car was still under warranty, I had the dealership change every fluid (cooling, gearbox, transmission, brake, power steering) and the battery. No it all wasn't part of "free" service. I reasoned that if any problems were found, it was still under warranty. The good news is only the battery was shot. It was swollen like a grapefruit from age and constantly being on the tender.
The master tech explained that off the tender the battery never would have made it. Conversely, on the tender the heat produced does take its toll. Especially on the cheap Italian one provided.
Having said that, the CTEK tender we got in 2013 was not the top of the line CTEK! They have many better and cheaper ones without the Ferrari logo. They are much better at cycling and extending the battery performance/life. You just have to buy the $10 or 20 adapter off Amazon to fit the proprietary Ferrari fitting.
The second take away is that the tender is NOT a charger. Especially the 2013 factory one. It will not charge a marginal battery. It is too weak. The newer ones are much better. Yes, I have one.
Net: if you don't go with the Braile battery, get a new battery and a better series charger.
Best,
Randy