812 Superfast BATTERY question

Did they use a battery analyzer- most dealers have one. A battery with cells will look just fine in terms of taking on a charge.

 

I do not know yet. I have been in depo prep for a depo tomorrow. I probably wont get to speak to them until Thursday. I am guessing they have a battery analyzer.

 

Once the OEM Ferrari battery dies and needs a deep charge the writing is usually on the wall. Start pricing AGM H8 batteries in your area. See if the dealer would entertain a replacement/upgrade. Anything with good weight, 1000 CCA and 90 Ah rating with 170 min reserve would last years if using the OEM charger. Should be at or under $200 incl. tax for the unit.

 

I would not put a lithium ion battery on a V12, yes you will save some weight and that is attractive, but the location for a lithium ion battery is far from ideal.

I have changed both my F12 twice and my GTC4 Lusso x1 so well versed by the subject, I have tried the standard batteries and Ferrari approved upgrade batteries from Oydesy, and failed them both.

Not only are the V12’s very amp hungry, one of the biggest issues is the heat soak from the V12 lump, particularly as it is located just above a huge exhaust manifold (really don’t know any other manufacturer sticking batteries in engine bays anymore - was really hoping Ferrari would re locate with 812 as I have a GTS on the way, and almost resided to then fact that after 2-3 years going to have to replace the battery). Lithium ion batteries are usually located in cool locations (like on the V8’s, away from the engine bay) or cooled. Also the smart alternator is designed to work with a perfect battery and when a battery gets down to 80% life, the programming can assume a 100% battery and often not charge leaving you at perilously at 60% next time you start, again would love an option to disconnect the smart alternator and just have an always charge option, I don’t think it’s actually saving any fuel mpg on 6.5 V12 (definitely not in my cars anyway).

Unfortunately once you start to see problems , it’s usually too late, and a new battery is the remedy. Here is my experience and tips to keeping a battery healthy based on tough experience.

1) don’t overcharge the battery - whilst the Ctek charger is designed to condition it, if left on too long it essentially cooks the battery, a little like boiling a kettle and forcing the automatic cutoff switch down until you have boiled all of the water away - once it’s reached full charge switch it off. I believe this may even be the biggest failure point....as you start to see problems we become more paranoid so leave it on tender even longer, thinking we are giving the battery what it wants but actually starting to accelerate the very problem.

2) perhaps the opposite to number 1, don’t let the battery go flat. The battery needs some regular maintenance.

3) not a must but more common sense, don’t charge a hot car, leave it to cool first.

4) drive the car....

Hope this helps, it’s working for me, beware of the Ctek chargers....



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Interesting that you've experienced battery overcharge with the trickle charger. Folks usually detail the inability of the OEM CTEK to bring a low battery up to charge.

Agree with heat soak. I always lift the hood when garaged after a ride. The temp at the battery box is immense. My OEM battery lasted 7 years. Added some aluminum coating to the header side and bottom of heat blanket when I replaced the old battery with a nice AGM.

 

Yes and I have tried x3 different (same OEM Ferrari CTek chargers supplied with cars). the CTek trickle charger can overcharge slowly cooking the battery, it obviously takes a couple of days to reach that state, best practice simply take your battery off charge when it’s 100%....perhaps this is why the cars that are used never have a these problems as their batteries are getting regular top up not overcooking.

Interestingly I have a mate who makes the casings and assembles car batteries, so I sent the Ferrari OEM battery upto him and we tested at 33%. X3 of the cells were completely dry, he topped it up with battery acid and retested at 90%. I still have the battery as a spare for a 12V supply to my Quick Jack....and it works fine.....maybe the service should include good old fashioned inspection of the battery and top up if necessary.


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To bring this thread back to life because I have a problem with my 812. Decided to take my son for a drive in my 812 yesterday and when I tried to unlock the car with the fob nothing happenned. No lights, no blipping, no unlocking just a silent locked 812.
The tender was connected to the rear of the car but someone had inadvertedly switched it off on the mains switch. When this occurred I can't say but I haven't driven it since middle January due to salt on the roads and too busy with work.
I have a good charger in the garage but don't know how to pop the front bonnet(hood) to get access to the battery. The car will not open with the fob however I haven't ruled out flat fob batteries but I suspect its the car's battery.

 

Well you still are connected thru the tender right - yes it is a bit slow maybe, but it will get there eventually....

 

John, use the key in the remote fob to open the drivers door, to then open the bonnet.

 

This is my current strategy although my faith is waning on this solution.

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll get onto it tomorrow morning and then connect my charger dirct to the battery terminals. This is not the 812's fault but purely a human oversight. Which human remains to be seen as nobody is admitting liability

 

Sounds like my wife, when I noticed a little dent in the front of her car yesterday when I was washing it!! When I said it looks like it was from a post, she did then say, she had parked closed to a post, but did not think it had done any damage
She gets it from her mum, after hitting a bus, she said "she was there, knew nothing about it, and it was not me", women.

Press the silver button, near the ring pull on the key and give it a little tug and the key will pop out. I fear you will need a new battery though, check the manual for the reset procedure after fitting/ charging a battery. Don't forget to remove the positive connector on the battery which just clips on and off before charging in the car.

 

My 812 needs a new battery. It seems it’s an H8 AGM battery. Interstate lists several H8 batteries with different dimensions. Does anyone know the correct one? I’m running an interstate in my 458 Spider. Is it the same battery?

 

Just an update. Over the last few days I managed to get my 812 going. I simply used a spare battery which I placed on the floor and connected it to the 812's battery via jump leads and just left it for a few hours. I then disconnected the jump leads from the spare battery and charged it back up again using a proper battery charger. I then reconnected the jump leads again for a few hours and repeated this exercise a few times to carefully charge rthe 812's battery up without risking the ECU. It still wasn't cranking.
All this time I kept the Ferrari trickle charger connected and switched on. Yesterday I coonected the jump leads to the battery on my Izuzu pick up with the engine idling. I then sat in the 812 and gave the electrics a minute to wake up and tried to start the car. It fired right up after only a few seconds of cranking. I went for a 30 minute drive and parked back in the garage. I returned in a few hours to try again and it fired straight up.
So it seems the 812 is back to normal. In hindsight I think I made a bigger job than I had to and it would have been fine to just connect the jump leads to the Izuzu straight off.

 

Thanks. I’m going to try and charge it tomorrow.

 

I didn't drive my 812 for 6 weeks, no tender attached either. Dash lights come on but wouldn't start. I used a NOCO 10 charger (see Amazon) to charge the battery, then did the "repair" mode which desulfates the battery. Then used a carbon pile load tester (also on Amazon), and the battery could exceed the 800 CCA rating under load no problem. So battery is fully healthy.

Usually batteries go bad with age or if you discharge the battery WAY too far. Leaving the car without a tender for a month or so won't damage the battery, but any longer and you might discharge it too much and do real damage.

Going forward, I'll just be more religious about driving it every 2-3 weeks rather than the hassle of using a tender which I may/may not trust to overcharge.

 

I would say that it is the heat from the engine that might kill the battery.

 

I took delivery of a 2020 Superfast in November 2019.
Factory battery lasted 2 years; replaced with an Interstate AGM H8.
Lessons learned:
1. Battery location in the 812 is abusive; batteries don't like heat.
2. I never connect the tender until the engine compartment has returned to ambient temperature.
3. Although inconvenient I will always reconnect the battery tender within 36 hours after a drive.

 

Exactly this, I always open the engine hood after my drives, let it cool down for a few hours, then connect the trickle charger. Sometimes, I leave the hood open for days with the charger connected. Seems to work fine.