My first issue with my Pista in 15 months....and it has to be electrical! I've had the car in the garage connected to the factory provided battery conditioner for the past couple of months without having used the car at all. All lights on the conditioner unit were illuminated and i have tended to check every couple of days or so that this has been so just in case the connection had slipped etc. On getting in to the car today, there was enough power to light up the dash and driving lights etc but not enough power to start the car. On the first attempt it seemed like there was almost enough juice to get something going in the engine bay behind me but that quickly disappeared and now there is no sign of enough power to do anything other than light the dash, driving lights, open the front boot etc. I saw in another post here when searching that these lithium batteries tend to "drop off a cliff" when the power depletes to a particularly low level - so maybe what I experienced today supports this. I unplugged the charging unit and pressed the reset button and then plugged it back in for another 3 hours by which time all the lights on the charging unit were illuminated again - on trying to start the car again there was enough power to light the dash etc as before but clearly not enough to even try and start the engine. Couple of questions: Anyone else experienced this and/or have any ideas on what the issue may be? the fact that the battery conditioner appears fully functioning by the show of lights on the unit could mean the problem is with the actual battery, or i guess it could equally be a faulty charging unit that is not working even if it appears that it is? I will need to call out Ferrari Assistance to get the car started - how simple is it for them to get the car started if the battery is still showing not enough life and are there any issues with jump starting the car? Thanks for any advice on this.
I had this happen to me. Forgot to disconnect charger (458), called SA and that’s the first thing he asked. Disconnected and all was fine.
You might consider pulling the panel in front of the passenger foot rest and check the battery’s voltage thru an amp meter. If the reading is low could be the battery or the trickle charger.
Probably not a big deal for them and hopefully your batter isn't toast. I dont Ferrari warranties them.
This happened to me. When the battery is completely dead, the charger won’t even detect it, so it won’t charge. Remove the metal plate from the passenger side, unclip the grey connector (cuts battery connection to car), plug up a portable battery charger for about an hours or so, then reconnect the battery. The tender should be able to detect the battery at this point. It will take about three days to charge. Or, have Ferrari pick up the car. They will try the same technique. If you mess up your $5k battery, it’s on you. If Ferrari does it, they should be able to cover it under warranty. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Thanks. Did this solve your issue ok without further problems? Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat.com mobile app
I thought that only the lithium specific chargers should be used on these lithium batteries? If you use a regular charger as described to give the battery an initial boost does it not run the risk of damaging the lithium battery? Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat.com mobile app
I used to have something similar. Strangely it would happen every week on the nose when the factory charger was plugged in! Clear evidence if you leave the charger plugged and unlock the doors, then the charger light pattern would shift down, depending on the charger model. I now use a high end ctek model that provides for true charging and maintaining the battery as well as conditioning. I’m not sure there wasn’t some incompatibility in the charger and battery. SV
Did you actually hear the engine start to crank and then it stopped? There is a switch in the brake pedal that keeps the car from starting if the brake pedal is not depressed. Sometimes when you don't drive the car a lot, you need to really press hard on the brake pedal or else the car doesn't think your foot is on the brake. Try pumping it a few times, then mashing to the floor before you try to start the car.
The crucial difference between a lithium and lead acid charger is with lithium there's no "float" or "trickle" charge stage. When the battery is fully charged it needs to be completely disconnected from the charger--no current flow. Just don't leave a lead-acid charger on longer than it takes to get the battery back to sufficiently charged and you won't damage the battery. Your lithium charger should have detected the low voltage and initiated another charging cycle, disconnecting when fully charged. Also, a battery allowed to go dead is generally a permanently damaged battery.
You got it ! Thank you so much for the observation on the brake pedal - this has solved my problem! I did think yesterday when trying to start the car that the brake pedal felt unusually "dead" with absolutely no movement at all - I just put this down to there being no power assistance activated and didn't think too about it much until i read your post about this and the lack of engine cranking... Today, I followed your thoughts and pushed the starter button once to light up the dash and have some power in the car, then pushed hard on the brake pedal three or four times before pressing the start button again - and hey presto the engine started first time. Thanks indeed for the thoughtful suggestion - you've made my day! and to keep the smile firmly in place i've just been out for a quick 80 mile drive to remind myself what I've been missing these past couple of months! Happy Sunday here indeed - and thanks johnr265 for the remote diagnosis and helping me out! Graham
Graham, my 488 brake pedal is stiff hard to push when starting the car. My wife called me once saying the 488 won’t start. I got home and it started right up...but I had to really push hard on the pedal. My 2018 Porsche GT3 was like this too but the Ferrari I have to push even harder. Glad you got it figured out! FYI, as a musician myself I hope we get back to work soon! Hang in there.
Love that this was an easy fix! Sometimes you end up tearing your car apart if someone doesn’t ask what feels like a simple question! Great team work to troubleshoot this stuff guys
great Tip I did not know that... do you know if Ferraris go into a sleep mode if the doors are locked like Porsches do ?? I can leave my Porsche for months at a time without a charger by locking the doors and it goes to sleep mode.... but never tried with my Fcars....???
I dont believe there is a sleep mode. If anything I think turning on the alarm may drain the battery faster. I had a weird thing happen where I locked my Pista while it was on the trickle charger and when I started the car I got a bunch of errors. I usually dont lock the car while its in my garage on the charger and never had the error messages. I experimented 2 more times locking the car on trickle charger and waiting overnight. Sure enough error messages popped up probably due to low battery. The trickle charger would show fully charged though. The errors would disappear when I restarted the car. If I leave unlocked then no error messages. Not 100 percent and not a scientific method but it feels like there is more of a drain using the alarm on mode.
that's what I do also I am afraid if I lock a Ferrari in my garage I will never be able open it if it has a dead battery , but Porsche tells you to lock the car to go into sleep mode and the battery is preserved typical German efficiency ....
The sleep mode they have now on German cars is really good. Its great to come back to cars after being away that start after not being on trickle charger. Ferrari just does not do well with batteries . For some reason they allow parasitic drain on most of their cars at least the ones Ive owned. It ends up being like a Tesla with the constant charging. The OEM batteries are usually changed out by my dealer prior to delivery to help the situation but the Pista has a lithium they left it in there.
In the 570 the reliability of the electrical systems are as bad as Ferrari but at least the 570 doesn't need to always be kept on a tender and, has a far better MI amongst other basic general functionality. Having never owned a Ferrari up until the 488 I was truly shocked to discover just how backward Ferrari is for such a high price late model car. What surprised me the most and still surprises me to this very day is how so many owners prefer to defend the car and try to offer up any excuse they can muster to cover up for Ferrari's inexcusable deficiencies rather than call it out for what is. It's extraordinary. In comparison to Porsche, Ferrari is light years behind where electronics and general functionality is concerned....not even remotely close.
My wifes 2019 Panamera GTS just sat for 1 month and 11 days. She went to start it today and it just cranks right up and goes.
Same with my Cayenne V8D. I can go away for 8 weeks and return and it'll fire up straight away. My Porsche 997's did have battery issues if left unused for a month but nothing like the Ferrari. Since 991 series battery issues are a thing of the past. My 991tts was 4 years old when I unloaded it and had never been on a tender and the battery was still as strong as the day I took new delivery. Many times this car was left for a month at a time and never an issue.
Hey look ...even the Ferrari Chat website uses up batteries!!!.... LOL At least they are consistent with the car company Image Unavailable, Please Login
