My FF eats more than one battery per 6 months

F cars, but really all exotics ever, have a tendency to draw from the battery much quicker than "normal" cars given the many computers and systems needed onboard.

That said, do you normally use a trickle charger / battery tender? If not, then you absolutely should, even if you plan to drive the car often. This will "condition" the battery and it ensures it's always charged whether you drive the car or not.

If you keep replacing the battery and you end up with the same issue, it's not the batteries.. something is drawing amps at rest. Could be as simple as a loose connection or some system that doesn't turn off like it should. Either way, if you're not planning to test every system (by pulling fuses and then measuring the voltage over a few days), then keeping it on a charger should do the trick..

 

My battery just gave up today and needed jumping. It had been slightly hesitant to start a couple of times and started giving electrical system errors and glitching out some of the electrics, but I put it down to not regular enough usage although I do about 650 miles a month sporadically.

I only installed it in November 2023 so it lasted about 9 months. These are the specs so it should be more than suitable:

• Startup Power: 900Amps (CCA)
• Capacity: 100Ah
• Bench Charge: 6Amps

It's absurd that a modern car needs to be on a trickle charger or used every day in order to not completely destroy a battery internally in less than a year. Ferrari get away with a lot, no one would find this acceptable for most other marques.

 

Both my 360 and my ff do this. I put them on a tender all the time when not being driven.

Yes it is annoying but I’ve seen people do clever things with placement so it’s no big deal.

I think you may be able to fix it but you could spend so much time and money it might not be worth it.

 

yeh if you arent driving the car for more than 2 days you have to keep it on a tender. if more than a couple weeks i just turn the battery off all together. these cars are very sensitive to batteries with bad cells.

 

One other thing, Ferrari includes the bottom of the line CTEK battery tender. I would suggest you invest in a CTEK 7002.

 

F cars discharge the battery faster than other cars, but according to what you said, your situation is not normal. Have you added anything such as a GPS tracking system, music system or remote exhaust system to your vehicle? These systems draw extra electricity. Or maybe there is a leak in your vehicle's electrical installation?

 

Is there a cutoff switch? The 360 has one but I have not been able to find one in the FF. Apologies as I have not rtfm

 

Yes, that is a good one.

 

Yes, here are the instructions from the manual. I can't copy the illustration, but the "quick release C" is a gray lever attached to one of the terminals.

"To cut off the power supply from the battery to the electrical system, use the quick release C on the left side of the battery. Use the locking lever to loosen the terminal. Detach the terminal from the battery: the power supply from the battery to the electrical system is cut off.

Warning The battery quick release must only be used if the battery conditioner cannot be connected.

Warning Place the terminal so that it does not come into contact with the battery terminal or other metal parts of the vehicle. Reconnecting the battery Place the clamp on the battery and fasten it by closing the locking lever. Each time the battery is reconnected, do the following before starting the engine: - close both doors and close the luggage compartment lid; unlock and lock the doors using the remote control; open the luggage compartment lid using the remote control; - adjust the clock (date and time on instrument panel); - close both doors and fully raise the driver side and passenger side windows to their upper limit; check that the windows move down to the “target position” when the doors are opened."

 

Do what I did (and what members on here suggested) get an Antigravity Li-Ion battery.

https://antigravitybatteries.com/products/starter-batteries/automotive/ag-h8-rs/

It likes to flash some electrical warnings on first start as it warms up but within 5 minutes it's all good, every time. As a city guy that can't battery tend and had frequent discharges when I first got my car, this is a godsend. I've never had a failed start since. Even has a little jumpstart keyfob in case you leave the lights on or something and has a built in jumper battery. just push that button and turn the car on (my 911 discharges if not used for a while and you have to jump it with the fob)

 

I also high recommend the antigravity battery - 80ah. My FF was eating batteries as well even with the tender and after changing to the antigravity with the ctek lion tender it’s been great. I also used a Rubbermaid Brilliance container to protect it and keep it clean. Just drilled a hole in each side. Image Unavailable, Please Login


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While I don’t have an FF, the stories I am reading here sure sound similar to my experience with my 458. I second the Antigravity battery idea. I had an independent garage do the installation a few months ago and my car has been almost completely error free since.

 

I don’t think it’s a tender problem as much as a car component problem: my F12 went through 4 batteries in a little after two years before they upgraded the pulley (there was a mid cycle upgrade), belt and I think they did a new alternator. There was also a bad ground or negative side cable that they replaced. With that I got two years out of this one, but it’s now not holding charge.

 

Ditto. Interstate AGM battery plus C-tek tender with AGM setting is the first thing I did when I got my FF. I did so based on advice and research via F chat.

 

When connecting the 7002, do you just splice in the factor connector? I’ve got a Lusso with the little magnet connector by the license plate.

 

I use the alligator clips and attach directly to the battery.

 

I bought a little pigtail from EBay that plugs into the cTEK and has the same round magnetic coupler as the OEM one. Arrived yesterday but my Lusso is at the dealer so I haven’t been able to test yet. Looks the same though.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/156035866531?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=OjwHGMubSDO&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=pXmR_zIyQqe&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

BTW , instead of buying the 7002 from Amazon , buy the SEMA builder kit #2 from CTEK website directly. Gives you a bunch of accessories some of which are relevant and others not as much.



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