488 electrical / start failure

That is total bull @%#$.... where I live, 6 months out of the year mine will be sitting. But it has started up immediately at the push of the button so far even after sitting for that 6 months. Good luck to you.

 

Your what?

SV

 

I should just cut and paste the reply on this issue as it gets asked so many times.

There is absolutely nothing relevant to how old the battery is

Fact is you Ferrari uses power even when it is off
A point will come that you know you battery is stuffed when even though on the conditioner all the time , driven all the time it won’t start
BUY A STARTER and if you did you would not have towed your car

 

Remember the add for American Express ?

Never leave your home without it

BUY A STARTER and avoid the tow and total embarrassment

 

Actually this problem in modern Ferraris is fairly straightforward.

Lead acid batteries have float voltages and load voltages that can vary wildly depending on battery manufacturer and amount of parasitic load (off load) in the individual car. Each car can be different depending on the options installed and the selection of battery.

Some folks can have a great experience in a newer car whereas others can have a genuinely crappy experience. Even on a tender. Oh and tenders can vary as well as some just maintain a voltage where others condition and charge. But most everyone just refers to them as tenders. Even the act of activating security features like locking the car will affect parasitic current draws. So can installed options like Navs or radios or radar detectors. Even exhausts.

I have both a 458 Spider and an FF I installed an Antigravity Lithium battery because the regular batteries would routinely discharge to getting all kinds of errors even tho I spent a considerable sum in installing an electrical outlet to the garage and couldn’t get regular interstates to work consistently.

My experience with Antigravity batteries has been perfect for more than 3 years. I never have to plug in a tender of any kind. I can leave for a week or more and return with no issues and no startup errors. Truly a liberating improvement!

Ferrari’s problem with regular lead acid batteries is they set the threshold too high for the batteries to maintain a clean startup ability. Lithiums float higher and degrade slower so they maintain an optimum range for use even when the parasitics are higher as in a modern Ferrari. Since they have a lower internal resistance they can sustain higher startup currents as well.

For those that experience what Marcus has it's likely your battery just had enough voltage to start well but then starting AND driving a relatively short distance discharged the battery below its useable threshold. Probably waiting a few hours possibly would have helped. But you are fighting a very difficult balance of issues. My solution was to switch battery tech and I would never change back.

Indeed, in May the spider went to the dealer for its yearly service and warranty renewal and their inspection revealed the lithium battery, which had been there for three years previously, and sticky seat belts, I was informed it was no longer eligible for a power 15 warranty. Even tho the warranty doesn’t cover the battery or the seat belts! Sticky seat belts I can live with, but getting stuck due to a battery issue I won’t.

My Roma has intermittent startup problems. I’m fairly certain it is the battery even tho it stays on the charger 24/7 at home. Once all the normal warranties run out, it gets a lithium.

SV

There is an alternative BTW. Evidently Braille makes a Lead acid battery that floats at a higher voltage so it takes much longer to signal a discharge. I have no experience with it but it could be an option for some folks who worry about a lithium battery.

 

And here Ferrari has the gall to build hybrids. Production mass produced hybrids, no less.

Good grief.

 

This is the real issue. 488GTB car off , alarm whether on or off same thing. Current IS ALWAYS moving with the car. Battery is being used.

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3rd brake light and the dash led alarm .

Issue is the factory battery a) is crap b) the cars are not on a tender with the traveling so its being discharged.

You want your power warrantte just get Ferrari to install an interstate and thats it.

Get a starter and leave it in the car and you will NEVER be stranded.

The day you end up using the stater is the day you immediately get a new battery , Simple ?

 

Can you hear me laugh on the other side of the planet

I wonder why Ferrari has just introduced the new LaFerrari extended warrantee on their battery ?

Do they know something we dont ?

 

They know alot of somethings we don't.

 

you mentioned that 3rd brake light being on before... I even went and tried the same test on mine as you recommended lol.... It wasn't lit at all in complete darkness on mine... that is so strange to see! lol.. craziness. -- wonder if it's only when alarm is set or doors are locked.... I never do either of those but now I'm curious if it has something to do with it.

 

On the 488GTB and Pista it certainly happens. Dont know anyone with a F8.

Its whether the alarm is on or off, whether the tender is connected or not. You need to look at in complete darkness.

I did make it an issue with Ferrari the first time the car never started. Interestingly Ferrari replaced the battery with no charge.

This happened when I went to start my car after putting petrol in it. Luckily there was a guy in the next pump and said if I needed help. Interestingly he had a starter and upon starting I immediately drove to a shop and bought a starter.

 

OH BTW when I mentioned it to Ferrari and showed them a picture, they still didn't believe me but as soon as we went upstairs to their inventory stock and low and behold, they saw it themselves.

 

I still can't get myself to get a 'starter' as you call it-- doesn't feel right to do (or even know how to do it lol) but I'm hoping to change my mind one day.... with the previous Ferraris, each time the battery died, it was in my garage so I'd just go to Ferrari, buy the battery and install it myself in the garage.... they're a pain in the ass but seems like a safer option than trying to hook up a jump box to it (since there is no place to hook it up properly)

 

You should be lucky if it happens in your garage. 99.999% CHANCE it wont

Mate its easy drop the flap infront of the battery and then connect the +ve and -ve posts to the starter. Wait a minute and start the car.

FWIW the tow truck will have a starter and most likely try that first before they pick up your car.

BTW chances are that even if you change the battery yourself you have a greater chance for a spark. You know when you reconnect the new battery . With a good starter you will have no spark. And as i have always advocated a unit with proper sized cable and connectors makes it even easier.

Think of the starter as another battery put in parallel with the battery. I only wish these things were around 30 years ago !

 

I push start mine.

 

Had the same issue on my 2017 488 Spider. It was about 5 months old and had always been on the tender while in the garage. When it died it was towed to the dealer. They said the battery was dead and since I wasn’t on track to meet 2,000 miles/year it would not be replaced under warranty. After a lot of bitching they relented and replaced the battery. About a year later it died again. The dealer claimed it was due to the Ferrari branded battery they used and suggested I go with an Interstate battery instead.

After being left stranded twice I sold the car and picked up a 812 later. Never had a battery issue with it.

 

sold the car cause you didn't want to buy a good battery............. lol ferrari owners are nuts

 

#Tautaulogy

 

Hum sold a car to spend another $200,000 plus because of a $200 battery ? Somehow the maths doesn't work.

 

This guy makes less sense than me! And I make zero sense.... and zero cents. <----- see?

 

Try getting stranded late at night and maybe you will understand.
Oh, I only had to pay $60K over what I got for the 488 to get the 812. It was a win/win.

 

Thats the point I was making , advising to get a starter.

FYI i was stranded at the petrol station after filling up. I was lucky enough to have a guy pull up beside me to fill up his car and asked if I had a problem after seeing me trying to crank my 488GTB.

I said yes , he pulled out his starter a NOCO and started my car. Went and bought a NOCO immediately and drove home. So yes it has happened to me and with that I researched and now advocate a starter so it doesn't happen to anyone else.

Truthfully if you saw these threads and were well versed that it could happen to you would you change the battery and buy a starter ? I highly doubt you would say no but if you did because you thought it would never happen to you , you must of kicked yourself with the response I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT the starter

Glad you got a good deal however still strand $60,000 instead of a $200 battery. Why dont you just say that you wanted a 812 ? Sell / trading a car because of a battery doesnt seem logical and given its another Ferrari. You do know that you will be in the same boat with the 812 ?

Ill say it again buy a starter and one day you will thank me

 

After being stranded twice I was not confident it was just the battery. At that time there were several posts on FChat with 488s having similar problems even with Interstate batteries.

For me once I lose confidence in a car it’s time to move on. Hopefully the new buyer had better luck.

 

I do hear you about losing confidence in a car, while I would at first give it the benefit of the doubt, sorta like going through a learning curve, but after that, I would move on too. I have a 1969 Camaro that I have owned for 42 years that NOT ONE TIME EVER did it not start for me. It gives you all the confidence in the world that when you turn the key, that it will respond. GL with future endeavors