360 Modena battery

1. Be very VERY veRy careful jumping or starting on a high current charger-starter. Transient voltages can easily destroy vehicle electronics worth several orders of magnitude more than a battery.

2.a Charge battery fully, preferably without the car connected, and definitely with car ignition off.

OR

2.b Install charged new battery.

3. Start car.

I would never jump anything with expensive parts.

You likely just have a failing battery, possibly just low water levels. Replacing for $130-2xx (depending on source [Costco, Sears, to Ferrari]) is cheap insurance. Batteries are maintenance items. I keep them on a trickle to make them last, and replace at the first sign of trouble.

 

It sounds like the battery is toast.

My CS supposedly has a new battery when I got the car. It was dead 3 months after I got the car. I took the pretty battery with the horsey on it out and went to AutoZone. They matched it up. For less than $100 I was back in business....... That was over 3 years ago.

Just get a new battery and be done!

 

When AutoZone "matched it up" did they simply select a 12 volt battery of the proper size?

Remember, the 360 Modena uses a VRLA battery (valve regulated lead acid). Typically, this means an AGM (absorbed gas mat) battery. These batteries may or may not have a vent tube connection. The advantage is that they don't spill acid when inverted, they recharge quickly, they have a very low self-discharge rate, and they vent little or no hydrogen.

When you consider that the battery is, in effect, mounted in the passenger compartment and, perhaps more importantly, your car is made mostly from aluminum, using an ordinary lead acid battery is definitely NOT a good idea. Anyone with long term experience dealing with a conventional, vented, lead acid batteries has run across a battery mount which has nearly been dissolved by corrosion. This is not something I want to happen to the interior of my Ferrari.

Yes, you can save some money in the short term, but it could easily be a cost cutting maneuver that will prove to be regrettable. Bottom line: Insist on a VRLA battery.

Hint: Chances are if you find a battery of the proper size to fit the mount, but it costs less than a hundred bucks, you almost certainly have the wrong battery. It should cost around two hundred bucks, more or less, if you get a decent deal.

 

360s did not use AGM batteries.

 

Well mind did and it still does. The owner's manual specifies a Fiamm ECO Force VR70 battery which is an AGM battery.

The workshop manual specifically calls for a VRLA battery. That typically means either AGM or Gel Cell technology. Because of the price of Gel Cells, most people opt for AGM.

I have an Italian car and I live in Italy, but a quick check of the U.S. version of the owner's manual for the 360 shows that the Fiamm ECO Force VR70 is also the correct specification for U.S. cars. I assume they were shipped with that battery. Is the owners manual in error?

Around here, at least, mounting a conventional lead acid battery in the passengers compartment is considered very poor practice.

Where exactly did you get your information?

 

I'm using an Exide DIN66 battery, if that helps.

 

I am going all Optima on all my Ferraris when the batteries go.

 

I've used an Interstate mtp-91 for over 3 years with a vent tube and no issues whatsoever..

 

I replaced mine with the Interstate battery with the oval vent tube which the rubber vent hose connected perfectly. My owners manual specifies a FIAMM EcoForce VR760 battery which is a valve regulated lead acid battery (basically a sealed lead acid battery) but I don't know why Ferrari installed a vent hose for a sealed battery. Also I guess Ferrari didn't subscribe to the comment about putting a lead acid battery in an aluminum car as being a bad idea.
Alan

 

+1. Over 8 years for me. Just throw an Interstate in there and be done with it. Make sure you connect the vent tube.

 

AGM batteries aren't "sealed". Although they typically don't regularly vent hydrogen gas like conventional lead acid batteries, they can do so in case of a battery malfunction or overcharge condition via a built in valve. That's why many AGM batteries have a provision for a vent.

Ferrari isn't worried about lead acid batteries. In fact, they recommend them but only if they are the VRLA type. As far as I know, no other types are approved for the 360. AGM batteries use a different way to control the electrolyte than conventional lead acid batteries but they're still lead acid batteries.

I have never seen any document which says that Ferrari recommends a conventional lead acid battery (non VRLA) for the 360 Modena. The fact that they don't specifically say that conventional lead acid batteries are a bad idea, is not significant. They don't warn against putting risotto in the cooling system either, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Of course, people can do whatever they want. I'm simply pointing out that Ferrari doesn't recommend using a conventional lead acid battery, at least in the 360. If you have evidence that they do, I will happily stand corrected.

 

Mozella- The standard FIAMM Ecoforce VR760 is a conventional, sealed lead acid battery. It is not an absorbed glass mat battery or it would not need a vent tube like the one on your car. You could also mount it upside down or sideways and it would work fine if it were an AGM design. Do not recommend that on your VR 760.

From the 360 Spider WSM:

FIAMM
ECOFORCE VR760
(Ermetica a ricombinazione)
(valve regulated lead acid battery)

I take it back, I was wrong.
A VRLA battery (valve-regulated lead–acid battery), more commonly known as a sealed battery or maintenance free battery, is a type of lead–acid rechargeable battery. Due to their construction, they do not require ventilation, can be mounted in any orientation, and do not require constant maintenance.[1] The reduced venting is an advantage since they can be used in confined or poorly ventilated spaces.[2] They are widely used in large portable electrical devices, off-grid power systems and similar roles, where large amounts of storage are needed at a lower cost than other low-maintenance technologies like li-ion.

There are two primary types of VRLA batteries, gel cells and AGM. Gel cells add silica dust to the electrolyte, forming a thick putty-like gel. These are sometimes referred to as "silicone batteries". AGM's, short for "Absorbed Glass Matt", forces fibreglass mesh between the battery plates with the same basic outcome. Both designs offer advantages and disadvantages compared to conventional batteries, as well as each other


Hundred of Ferrari owners have used American conventional lead acid batteries in their 360s. Interstates work great.

 

I couldn't make sense of your post except this last part. You are the boss of your own battery. As far as I'm concerned, you can use any kind of battery you want.

As I said before, I'm just pointing out to those who might not have read the owner's manual, that Ferrari doesn't recommend using a conventional lead acid battery in the 360.

You are certainly free to say that doing so is a great idea.

 

Check out post #105 of this thread to see the corrosion that can occur with the wrong battery.

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/360-430/150885-battery-360-a-6.html

Lots of good info in that thread too, also about installation of the different battery brands.

 

That corrosion is caused by fitting a conventional battery without the required vent tube.

 

Post #105 does indeed demonstrate the kind of corrosion you can get with a conventional lead acid battery. However, unless the pictures don't show the truth for some reason, I would assume that the battery which was leaking is the one in the first picture and the replacement battery is the one in the last photo.

That battery in the first photo is actually the correct battery for that car (AGM type) and I would assume it was the one causing the damage. It appears that either the case failed or perhaps it was overcharged and acid was released into the battery compartment. Remember, AGM batteries do NOT like charging above about 14.8 volts.

No matter the cause of the acid release, the referenced photos make a good argument for taking a peek behind the battery cover once in a while just to make sure everything is OK.

 

I would like to keep my 360 as pure as can be :<)
where do I buy a Fiammeco force vr70 in Southern California/

 

To keep your new Optoma battery going, keep the car on a Battery Tender when not in use for more than a day. You can get a Battery Tender at your local auto parts store (get a maintenance tender, not a trickle charger or full power charger). Pretty much standard on Ferraris as they are almost always second cars and don't see much use, so the battery needs to be kept on a float charger to keep it going. When properly maintained with a tender, you will get years and years out of one battery.

 

I would rephrase quote from another member of the forum whose id i can't remember:

"what's really not pure is the italian air that was lost when you replace the tires, even those
p zeros were made on the same batch as your car's original tires"

 

If your supposedly new battery is just 6 months old and is shot, before you throw in a new battery I would think you ought to check your alternator ,charging system, check if you have excessive drain eg.(bad ground first). My original battery lasted 5 years before weak cell caused failure. Before replacement I wanted to know the reason for the failure as not knowing may damage other expensive components plus the new battery. For the most part service was not expensive including the new Interstate Battery. I currently recommend the Interstate as many others have mentioned and have had no problems what so ever. If your not going to use your car for 5-7 days why not plug it into a Tender of sorts. Battery's die for many reasons. Excessive cycling for whatever reason can be the culprit. All batteries have a limited number of cycles of charge/dischge in their lives., Cheaper batteries obviously less.

 

Am I the only one without a battery tender of some kind? All of my rolling stock is equipped with AGM batteries. I try to not let my 360 sit for more than 6 weeks at a time during the winter, but only because I get a strong urge to drive it on the occasional nice winter's day. But it always starts up just like it does in the summer time.

My motorcycles sometimes sit for months at a time, but they also crank right up without charging. My riding mower has a small flooded lead acid battery which sits for up to 5 months at a time, and it usually gets a charge mid winter and again in the spring, but other than that the very low self-discharge rate of the AGM batteries I use in the rest of my stuff eliminates the need for hooking up a battery tender or charger.

Of course, I don't clay-bar the inside surfaces of my wheels either, so perhaps I don't deserve to own a Ferrari.

 

i live in a 10 million + population city and i don't have a garage here hence no battery tender. and I never need one I guess.

however, I do put 8000 miles annually on the 360 and yes, its my daily driver.

I frankly admittedly treated the car like a toyota.