Sharing 296GTB battery gone completely dead experience

Hi all,

I am writing to share with you my horrid experience this afternoon with my 296 GTB.
I thought this car being a hybrid, the battery would last at least a month until I needed it to charge in order to start the car. Even the battery life shown on the dash info when I switch off the ignition would show about 91 days of battery life. This was one of the reasons why I was excited to purchase the hybrid Ferrari, that I wouldn't have to worry about the battery going out so soon.

Well I was completely wrong. I left the car without being plugged in for about 10 days, and the car went completely dead. I was lucky that the car gave its last drop of juice just so that I could open the door.

I called up Ferrari emergency service, and they arrived within 30 minutes to revive the car.
The mechanic told me there is a very slight possibility of the hybrid system not coming back online, meaning it would have to be put in for service. After about an hour of charging the LVB, it came back alive. Thank god.

The mechanic told me that there have been an increase in 296 and sf90s going dead like mine.
If you are stuck in my situation do call the emergency service. They should be able to take care of the matter.

 

Modern Ferrari need to be plugged almost all the time when they do not run, a hybrid system does not make any difference for the LVB (and the car cannot work without LV electricity, although one could imagine it would run using the HV system only).
Many years ago I had a hybrid Lexus company car (RX400h, a terrible car); an interior light was forgotten on (I would have thought it would not stay on when leaving and locking the car, but it did) and the LV battery was dead after 2 days, the car was totally inert. Charging the LVB was mandatory to bring the car back to life.

 

I'm surprised your salesperson didn't go over this at delivery.
Mine was crystal clear about the car being plugged in at all times when not in use.
In fact he also insisted I unplug it and replug it if the car has been sitting on the charger for a long time to reset it.
And never park it with the battery fully depleted.
There is a driving mode specifically for quick recharge in your settings.
It's not that you can't leave the car unplugged for a day or two, but as you now know, it's not a good idea to let it run out of juice.
Again, all of this should have been communicated to you at delivery.

 

Not only that, but it’s also in bold in the owners manual.

 

That makes two who have read it - you and the guy who pointed out in the other thread that the manual does not mention the turtle !

 

Not only that but it's called a Plug in HEV.

Not to mention that I wouldn't leave my 458 or 812 unplugged for more than a few days.
You get taught pretty early with these cars to always have them plugged in to counter parasitic draw, no matter their drivetrain.

 

I do not understand why these modern PEVs cannot simply have a step down transformer that runs off the main battery. The LVB is unnecessary and just adds unnecessary weight. If you have a battery that's 50 times the capacity of an LVB, why not use it? It would take months before you would have to plug it back in even if it was half charged.

 

I guess because you need to always have stable 12V current, even when the HV battery works hard (i.e. qualifying mode). There must be a reason that all manufacturers have a separate 12V battery.

 

Im glad it worked out in the end.

Whats the quick charge mode called?



Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat

 

As others have said - very clearly stated all over that it should be plugged in on a regular basis.

 

I don’t get why Ferrari can’t correct the parasitic draw. My 765 lasts 30 days easily unplugged.

 

Question on this, do you leave the car plugged in to the charge port at all times when parked or the trickle charger plugged in? Does the main charger work to keep the entire car topped up?

 

On my 296, I just have 1 power connector for the whole system. Same as SF90. Assuming I keep both plugged in, no problems. I mistakenly kept the SF90 off of the charger for 3 days. It started with no problems or dash indicators.

This different than the LaF, which has both the HV and LV ports.

 

when you guys says leave plugged in- does that mean like in a regular wall plug? will that work?

also - i bought one of these for our range rover (which has a li ion battery that cannot be jumped with a regular car battery). can this be used to jump the 296 ?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015TKSSB8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

sorry this happened. did you see what battery the emerg svc used and how they connected it?

 

Yes. With the supplied wall plug charger.

 

There is only one plug on the 296, which attaches to a normal wall outlet. Charges both the normal 12v battery and the hybrid system. It is highly, highly recommended that you plug in often/daily as possible. Mine has been unplugged here and there, no issues. I certainly wouldn't go 10-14 days though if it could be avoided....heck, wouldn't do that with any modern day Ferrari.

 

well that sound easy enough.

 

So I guess taking the car on a road trip where it'll be unplugged for several nights at a time is probably a bad idea, eh?

 

It recharges as you drive.

 

thats not a road trip brother.

 

Well, I figured there will be a couple of places I like during the trip and will want to stay a few days.

 

Schlep the charger, it plugs into any old three prong 110v plug. (do not use extension cords)

 

it will be completely fine.

 

My dealer is 300 miles away, so no 30 minute fix. Ugh.