355 Battery conditioner | FerrariChat

355 Battery conditioner

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by felix66, Apr 11, 2004.

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  1. felix66

    felix66 Karting

    Feb 21, 2004
    175
    London
    Hi all

    anyone know if a battery conditioner can be used witht he 355 through the cigar socket?

    Thanks
     
  2. MarkCollins

    MarkCollins F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Jul 2, 2002
    3,202
    South England
    Full Name:
    Mark Collins
    Works on mine :)
     
  3. felix66

    felix66 Karting

    Feb 21, 2004
    175
    London
    Thanks Mark - will give it go!
     
  4. BigHead

    BigHead Formula Junior

    Oct 31, 2003
    995
    Outside of Boston
    Full Name:
    Dennis
    I've used the Deltran-made Battery Tender on motorcycles and cars (including 348, 355) for several years, with no problems. More info can be found here: http://www.batterytender.com/index2.html

    It comes with two methods of attachment to your battery -- regular alligator clamps (like on jumper cables), or a connector where the ends terminate in metal o-rings (like a washer). Each method connects to the charger through a little plug-together connector. The o-ring connectors, intended for semi-permanent mounting, slip right through the bolts used to attach your terminals to your battery. Then simply tie down the length of the wire, until you have only the other connector poking out into the trunk. Thus, when you're in the garage, pop the lid, snap the two connectors together, and voila! For the 355, instead of connecting it to the battery directly, I attached them to the "jumping" points under the right cover in the engine bay, then zip-tied the connector. So now I can just pop the rear lid and plug the charger right in.

    Alternatively, one can get the Ferrari "factory" charger (manu. by Schumacher, or just the plain old non-factory Schumacher), which piggybacks onto your battery; the 120v plug is located inside the car; you just have to connect an extension cord when needed.

    Why do I consider the Deltran method better? Aside from the MASSIVE price difference, the primary advantage, in my mind, is that you don't have the charger sitting in the car -- only the wiring. Thus, (a) it's lighter, (b) you can use one charger for more than one vehicle if you alternate, (c) the wire coming out of the trunk is thinner and you can in fact close the lid with the wire dangling out, if you wanted to so you can put the cover over the car, and (d) I guess if the car gets stolen, you didn't lose the charger as well. Nothing particularly compelling, but, hey, it's a good alternative.

    Dave Handa added two points: (1) he prefers the Battery Tender; if the circuit breaker (or whatever) inside the Schumacher fails, I want the thing to melt down outside my car, not in it!!, and (2) "Another "clean" method of attaching a battery tender, is to go to Radio Shack (aka Radio Scrap) and buy a cigarette lighter adapter with a 9 foot cord attached. I then wire this into the "hard wire" connector kit, by removing the o-ring connectors and splicing in the cigarette adapter instead. No having to pop the hood anymore, just remove cigarette lighter and plug in!" -- you can buy the cigarette lighter plug, or you can save a few bucks by making one yourself in the Handa tradition!

    vty,

    --Dennis
     
  5. felix66

    felix66 Karting

    Feb 21, 2004
    175
    London
    Thanks Dennis
     

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