F8 Full Time on Tender = Dead Batt?

First I would go in and have the battery tested.

Second, if this is your first Ferrari here is the recommended starting sequence:

1. Press red button “lightly” allow the car to cycle through the electronics. The lights on the dash will then go out and then press the red button again to start the engine.
2. Wait for the yellow engine light to go off before putting the car in gear and driving.

Do this every time.

 

Familiar story, same for me, just in 2021.

My battery had failing cells, so just got worse and worse, until I didn't want it anymore. Failed starts, recovered twice, supposedly checked and with a clean bill of health from dealer.

Try and get them to replace with a better quality, higher rated battery like an Odyssey. My dealer was supposed to do this, but never got round to it.

 

Definite first move is to replace the factory battery before taking delivery.

I agree with the sequence @Chizz. I started mine with my door open Saturday and may have put her in gear before the engine icon disappeared but then it did a few seconds later. Only to get the icon to reappear 5 min later in my drive along with the ‘Engine Control System Failure-Return to Dealer’ message and a second engine icon. I pulled over and turned the engine off and restarted in the correct sequence. Everything reset but came back a couple minutes later. I then pulled over, shut everything down, exited and locked the car, then started the correct process all over again and it worked fine from then on.


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It seems to avoid this problem is to replace the battery before taking delivery. I think cars are stuck at stage 90 for months without being started or on a tender that it kills the battery. I’m at stage 90 with my F8 and wondering if changing the battery before delivery will be covered by the warranty. And how many owners have had no problems with their factory battery since taking delivery?

 

My story is a little different, but I only use the Ferrari battery maintainer sometimes. I bought a CPO 2016 488 GTB with 5,000 miles from the San Francisco Ferrari, in May of 2021. The dealer installed a new Odyssey battery(the battery was about about a month old). I used the Ferrari battery maintainer almost all the time the car was not in use. This May, about a year after owing the car and about 3,000 miles of driving, I drove down to my vacation home (75 miles away). I parked the car in the garage. The next morning the battery was dead. The car would barely turn on and it would not crank. I did not have jumper cables and I had to go to an event with a friend. I did have a Battery Tender brand charger and connected it directly to the battery with alligators clips. I also have a video camera in my garage which I pointed at the charger. I left the car on the charger and my friend drove me back home. The next day, I returned with a SuperStart branded AGM battery. I have been using the same battery and size in my Corvette for the past year and other cars and they work great. When I returned to 488, I took it off the battery charger(which completed its cycle) and the car started fine, but with a bunch of warning lights. I restarted it a few times and the warning lights went out. For lack of a better idea, I swapped out the battery since I already bought it. I drove the Ferrari home and brought the Odyssey battery back to the parts store for the core charge. I had them load test it right in front of me and it tested good.

So I now use the Ferrari branded (Ctek)maintainer every few days after the car sits idle and then take it off when it is all lit up. I do not use it all the time the car is parked. I also have Ctek MXS 5.0 that I use on my Corvette. Same process there. I do not use the battery maintainers all the time, I only use it to top off the battery for about 1 day.

I now keep an auto booster pack in the Ferrari. If I have to jump start it, next time I can do it without another car or jumper cables. In retrospect, If I had the boost charger, I would have kept the Odyssey battery and just chalked it up to a glitch, because I could have easily jumpstarted on the road. After reading all the threads on batteries, it seems like a booster pack or jumper cables are our only options. Once you jump start car, I would drive it for 10-20 minutes then put it on the maintainer to top it off. My Battery Tender was able to bring my battery up to full charge, so it was above the 3 volt minimum. I do not keep booster pack in any of my other cars, but they all get driven daily or at least every other day. I do think Ferraris are finicky(like most exotics) and letting them sit a lot seems to make the problem worse.


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any similar size AGM. It sounds odd, but walmart has the cheapest prices and best replacement warranty of any of them. At the end of the day, they all come from a handful of factories and get relabeled to whomever is the retailer.

 

The 488GTB uses a common size 48 H6. I don't know what size the F8 uses. I would recommend using a locally sourced AGM battery unless your particular car has to register the battery to the computer(I don't now if Ferrari does this) or is a factory lithium battery(Pista). As I said in my post above, if the battery is relatively new, I would jumpstart the car with a booster pack and wait for the problem to occur a second time before replacement. Also, at the auto parts store, the batteries have a sticker that says the month on them. I would assume that is when it is made.

 

I can't find the F8 battery listed in the local auto parts lookups. The 488 GTB takes a size 48 H6 which is about $225-$250 for an AGM battery. I would not replace it unless the problem happens a second time. The catch is this is not confidence inspiring to drive the car with a chance of getting stranded. Hence carrying a boost pack until the second failure which may not occur.

 

That this is even an issue in 2022, on a high-end exotic car is patently absurd. Waiting for my 3 month old F8 battery to fail and leave me stranded at the soft-serve just as my 488 did. I carry a booster pack because the battery will inevitably fail despite keeping it on a battery conditioner/float charger 24/7.

 

I agree with you. It's ridiculous to carry a boost pack for a high end exotic. But my point is not to use the battery maintainer all the time. IMHO, I use it maybe once a week for a day, if you drive the car at least once a week and that should be sufficient.

So the question is, how many people use their battery maintainer all the time and still have a no start problem? I was one of those people.

 

Wow. Sounds like starting an old school English POS. Do this, pump that, click this, get angry and stomp off because you flooded the damn thing.


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H6/Group-48 Lithium Car Battery – Antigravity Batteries
https://antigravitybatteries.com/products/starter-batteries/automotive/ag-h6-rs/

 

Lol!!

 

Ahh I laugh at the dealer telling you the battery is excellent. Fact is it isn't.

IMO regardless what the dealer says change the battery. They might not take the tab but do it. Stretched out deliveries without being on the tender crates bad cells in the battery. They will fail prematurely and at the worst time.

1) change the battery
2) get a starter. Make sure it has reverse polarity protection AND no spark connection. Cheap units dont have these 2 features.

 

https://antigravitybatteries.com/products/starter-batteries/automotive/ag-h6-rs/

 

Not available in Australia. But any battery will do as long as it is new and always on the tender.

I also had the same issues and quickly learned. Forced Ferrari to put a new battery in after 6 months regardless of them telling me that the battery was excellent and whether they would pay for it.

They did at their cost and now 3.5 years no issues.

 

This is absurd and Ferrari should have some sort of warranty on these defective batteries!


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One of the very few predictions that a crystal ball is not needed. Bitten once twice shy . So keep the jump starter in your car.

Can I point out thats why I stated a jump starter that WILL NOT SPARK. Being at the gas station I wouldn't want any sparks if you know what I mean.

 

Is there a brand / model your recommend?
T

 

I have the Noco. There are many others at cheaper prices but this one had what I wanted. Bigger jaws and cable gauge with the no spark and reverse protection feature.

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And then I found a great carry box on E-Bay.

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How long would it take to jump start a dead battery with one of these portable jump packs?


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