360 battery drain | FerrariChat

360 battery drain

Discussion in '360/430' started by BillGammon, Nov 24, 2003.

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  1. BillGammon

    BillGammon Karting

    Sep 30, 2002
    93
    Preface: I did use the search function but I didn't come up with anything and then another time it didn't seem to work at all.

    With the coming winter I felt this would be a handy thread for others as well.

    The 360 I have been babysitting seems to seriously drain its battery. I have been using a high quality battery tender and have even driven the car around to keep the charge up, but after less than a week it is nearly dead again.

    In my first readings on Ferrarichat last year, I seem to recall some discussion about the 360 being unduly hard on its battery when it is left unattended.

    Does this make sense and, if so, does anyone know the current draw of the 360 while everything is off? The owner is one of those prickly engineers (who designed and marketed his own battery tender) and he doesn't believe that this is happening.

    The 360 in question is a 2003 with approx 3000miles.

    Any assistance is appreciated.
     
  2. tonyh

    tonyh F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Dec 23, 2002
    14,372
    S W London
    Full Name:
    Tony H
    Bill,
    this happened recently to a fellow U.K. F-chat member,360spider.I've placed this thread in the U.K. section and i'm sure Joe will see it and respond .
    Tony
     
  3. jimpo1

    jimpo1 Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Jul 30, 2001
    24,510
    Dallas, TX
    Full Name:
    Jim E
    I got tired of wondering where the battery drain was on my 328, so have just started disconnecting it when it's going to sit a while. Easy to do, just unplug the connector behind the drivers side headlight.

    I'm surprised the 360 is draining even when you've got a tender on it, that sounds like a pretty serious draw. Good luck.
     
  4. 360CS

    360CS F1 Rookie

    Nov 1, 2003
    2,641
    Kent
    Full Name:
    Joe J
     
  5. JRocks

    JRocks Karting

    Sep 17, 2003
    206
    California
    Bill,

    I have a 2003 360 F1 (800 miles). I have let it sit for over 2 weeks with no battery problems. It sits for at least 1 1/2 weeks between drives with no problems. It sounds like you might have an abnormal drain going on.
     
  6. BillGammon

    BillGammon Karting

    Sep 30, 2002
    93
    thanks for the input so far.

    I can see where I wasn't as clear as I should have been though.

    An example would be that I will leave the tender on the car for a day or two and then remove it for a week or so. After those 7-10 days unattented the car will have lost a considerable amount of its charge.

    The car hasn't sat without being driven or having the battery tender for more than 20 days since we got it. It just seems like an awful lot of drain in such a short time.

    I hate to leave it with the tender all the time because the the car is, sadly, left alone and I can't bring myself to leave it plugged in the wall without someone there to monitor it.
     
  7. racedecknc

    racedecknc Karting

    Nov 24, 2003
    198
    Winston Salem
    Full Name:
    Ed
    If you unhook the battery, does it drain over time (suspect a battery with a bad cell)?

    Ed
     
  8. 360CS

    360CS F1 Rookie

    Nov 1, 2003
    2,641
    Kent
    Full Name:
    Joe J

    Bill

    My 360 would be on charge constantly, even so after a 2-3 hr drive the battery began to go flat, overnight without the tender and it was a no-go.

    Sounds like a similar Bad Battery prob
     
  9. BillGammon

    BillGammon Karting

    Sep 30, 2002
    93
    Honestly, I haven't just unhooked it and let it go unpowered. The dealer and the manuals put such fear in me about the alarm and other "stuff" that I didn't want to be the first one to just disconnect it without a good reason.

    With others claiming somewhat similar battery problems, I guess I will try a full disconnect and see how long the battery hangs around on its own.

    Great service guys. I really appreciate the input. At least the battery is somewhat easy to get to.

    Still looking for a challenge grill if anyone has one collecting dust.
     
  10. jeff

    jeff Formula 3

    Feb 19, 2001
    1,924
    North America
    Bill
    I just started having the same problems you have described. The car is one year old with 3000 miles. When the car was new, it would sit for 1-3 weeks without ever being driven or started. I never had any battery problems. A year later I drive the car more often but now I am experiencing a battery drainage. The dealer tells me that I am not driving enough. The car came installed with a Battery Tender Plus that I am now using. It's connected 24 hours 7 days a week. It's solved the problem for now. The dealer offered me a new battery which I will probably have installed when I get some free time. I still think there is some inherent problem with 360's and batteries.

    As an aside. I called Battery Tender to ask if these Ferrari batteries were just plain junk. The service person said even the best batteries will lose half their charge if a car is not driven in 2-3 weeks. Even cars that are driven 3 times a week for short runs, 15-20 minutes will lose half their charge.

    Now I don't trust the car. I don't want to go on too far from home and turn the car off and not have it start again.
     
  11. teak360

    teak360 F1 World Champ

    Nov 3, 2003
    10,065
    Boulder, CO
    Full Name:
    Scott
    The first thing my mechanic did when I got my 360 is provide me with a good battery tender. He claimed rapid battery drain-down is a typical problem with the 360.
     
  12. paulie_b

    paulie_b F1 Veteran
    Consultant Owner

    Jan 13, 2003
    6,823
    Jupiter, FL
    Full Name:
    Paul Bianco
    my battery tender is on the car whenever it is not driven. also did the same for my TR for 4 1/2 years. no problem there either. keep the tender on. nothing worse than wanting to go for a drive and having a dead battery!
     
  13. Hubert888

    Hubert888 F1 Veteran
    BANNED

    May 14, 2003
    5,441
    Manhattan & LA
    Full Name:
    Hubert
    Sometimes during the winter....I do not drive my 2000 360 Modena for 2 weeks. However, everytime the car starts. * knock on wood *

    But during the winters in NYC...the car may not start in the first ignite but definitely on the 2nd try.
     
  14. Brian C. Stradale

    Brian C. Stradale F1 Rookie
    Lifetime Rossa

    Mar 17, 2002
    3,612
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Yes, the 360 sucks more power than your average car. With a fresh battery, 3 weeks should be no problem. With a battery subjected to this drain for a couple years, 1 week may become a problem.

    To disconnect the battery, do NOT unhook anything. Just pop the trunk lid... on the upper left of the back wall is a big black knob... turn it to "OFF". Battery is disconnected from car. HOWEVER, before you do this, make sure you know the code for the stereo, or you'll never be able to play it again.
     
  15. thomas_b

    thomas_b Formula Junior

    Sep 15, 2003
    765
    also remember the location of the manual release if you close the trunk with the battery off as well as that the car needs to re-learn its parameters for a few seconds once power is on again
     
  16. BillGammon

    BillGammon Karting

    Sep 30, 2002
    93
    Excellent info guys because my next question was what the pitfalls were with just disconnecting the battery.

    I am heading to the car in the morning and I will disconnect it and check the status of the battery over the weekend.

    I do believe that regardless of the car, the battery is discharging way too quickly. I have several other cars that are unattended for weeks, even a month, at a time and there is little loss.

    thanks again

    bill
     
  17. Mitch Alsup

    Mitch Alsup F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    9,252
    I chased a battery drain in my F355 to the aftermarket stereo. It was wired directly to the battery so even when the car was off, the stereo was on.
     
  18. paulie_b

    paulie_b F1 Veteran
    Consultant Owner

    Jan 13, 2003
    6,823
    Jupiter, FL
    Full Name:
    Paul Bianco
    for whatever its worth; it was advised to me not to shut off the battery with the black nob since the car has alot of computer/data. makes sense to me, thats why I use a battery tender.
     
  19. Brian C. Stradale

    Brian C. Stradale F1 Rookie
    Lifetime Rossa

    Mar 17, 2002
    3,612
    Dallas, TX, USA
    The manual recommends turning off the car via the black knob for extended periods of disuse. Much of the computer data is held in non-volatile memory, so its a non-issue. The rest is data that need not be preserved.

    However, I am not saying anything against the battery tender... but if that's not working for you, the black knob is a fine solution... and the solution Ferrari recommends.


    Brian
     
  20. jimpo1

    jimpo1 Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Jul 30, 2001
    24,510
    Dallas, TX
    Full Name:
    Jim E
    Brian, did you learn about the stereo code the hard way? :)

    Check your PM's.
     
  21. becker

    becker Formula Junior

    Feb 20, 2001
    339
    Arlington VA
    Full Name:
    Becker Cuéllar
    My 02'360 is about 18 months old and never had a problem with the battery(yet?) I have made it almost a religion to drive it at least once a week, but a couple of times it has been sitting for 3 or 4 weeks, I talked about it to the service people and they advised me to switch it off just in case. But everytime I left everything (alarm armed), and when I got back thirsty to drive it it fired up everytime(so far).

    There must be some sort of a leak in your car.

    Cheers
     
  22. Willis360

    Willis360 F1 Rookie

    Aug 4, 2001
    3,928
    Redmond, WA
    Full Name:
    Willis H
    There was a TSB for the alarm system power cord replacement a while back. This was done on my car during a service even though I've never had the battery drain problem. I use the car regularly and have racked up about 23K miles so far.

    Were any aftermarket electronics installed in that car? that might be the culprit.
     

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