Hey, hope someone can answer this. I have a f430 and the original Ferrari battery charger that goes with it. Now usually when I plug it in the charger takes a day or so and the light pops to green to show its topped up and maintaining. I plugged the car in last week and came back into the garage a few days later expecting it to be green, yet it was still orange? So I thought maybe the connection wasn't on properly but I checked that and switched the charger off and on again, when doing this the light flicked to green and stayed for a while then reverted back to red! If you turn the charger off and on at the wall she flicks to green for a while before going back to orange. Is the charger duff or the battery? Battery was replace just over a year ago.
I just read some posts that some reported the charger was draining the battery flat, does yours get warm as mine does but tbh I never felt the charger when it was switching to green so can't tell if it's warmer then usual
In effect the charger is a transformer and rectifier in 1, with some form of electronic control, not surprised you feel it warm
Connect a voltmeter across the battery terminals and note the voltage. For a fully-charged battery you should see around 12.7 volts. Now connect the charger and plug it in. If the charger is working you should see 13+ volts on the battery. Determining if the battery is going bad is a bit more difficult. You can leave it off the charger for a few days while not driving the car. Check the battery battery voltage every day with a voltmeter. If it is going down 0.1 volts or so per day, it's probably not holding charge. You can then take it to a mechanic to have it tested, or remove it from the car and have it tested at an auto supply shop. If the battery is 3-4 years old, I would just replace it.
Thanks for the reply guys will get a multimeter and test it, as to a new ctek charger ie a higher output one, will it be ok on the electrics side as I'm planning on using the Oem plug under the dash. Any recommendations on a charger?
If you connect a meter across the battery and note its voltage, then put the headlights on and note the voltage. Now try startings ( with lights off ) and note its voltage. Any battery will give 12 volts with no load but when a load like lights or starting is applied a good battery does a better job of maintaining the 12 volts or a lower volt drop. When a battery gets a bit old it will struggle to maintain the volt level. Think of a battery as a sponge soaking up water, as it gets used and dirty it holds less water, ie capacity. Battery is just the same as it gets sulphated on the plates
Thanks I have got another ctek from a friend to try out and charge the car. Will see what happens as that will rule out the Carter or the battery
I've had similar issues with the charger (relabled Ctek) included with my 2009 430 Scuderia. According to my local dealer, I have a warranty replacement, as the one the car came with had lower charging output, and performed poorly. The current one, does something similar to yours...I plug it in, and after many hours, or overnight, I would expect a full charge indication...but no. If I unplug and replug in, it immediately indicates a full charge and green light illuminated. Something wonky in the electronics. It does this intermittently, as other times it works normally....I plug in, and within an hour it give the green light. I simply put it away and purchased a Granite battery tender, based on the recommendation from Brian Crall aka "Rifledriver". I then made an adapter to connect to the under dash plug using this tutorial: https://www.kumari.net/index.php/cars/ferrari-battery-charger-cable/diy I'm not a fan of Ctek. I own 8 or 9 battery tenders, Granite, NAPA, Deltran (multiple), Griots Garage (multiple), Yuasa, Surecharge battery minder...only the Ctek has given me trouble.
Well I managed to borrow a friends ctek and its charged the battery fine it'***** the 5th light so I am just waiting on it to go on the final 6th light.
The factory charger will shut off when fully charged and then come back on when the battery needs to be topped off so I think you are seeing normal working order from your charger. The car is using electricity while sitting in the garage.
