Battery Problem

First thing.

I think in the couple of discussions here we have come to the conclusion that Ferraris eat batteries. (JK, sort of.)

Second. How old is your battery? And realize that your charging system may not be giving it a full shot of electrons.

Trickle charge it to full. Does it crank better than it did the last time you started it? If so, you may not be getting your battery fully charged by your alternator.

Also, 5 years is about max life for a battery, at least in my experience, and in my Dino, it ate a battery in it's 1st 12 months with me. It's better now, we've got the alternator working a little better, but, I always leave my car on a battery tender, just in case.

DM

 

Get a hygrometer. Most auto parts stores carry them and they are cheap. They allow you to measure the specific gravity of the acid in each cell. b They have a float that indicates green, white or red as cell condition. Be careful, is the acid is strong even in bad cells.

If you can start the car, then measure the voltage across the battery posts. Should be 13-15 V if the charging circuit is OK. If you measure that and the S.G. in one or more cells is off, then it's the battery.

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that once you have killed a battery one or two times you really should replace it. Also try to charge it with a battery charger, not by driving it. Trying to recharge a REALLY dead battery by driving it can be very hard on an alternator especially if it's your original. I don't know how difficult it is to R&R one on a TR but I am sure it's much harder and more expensive then just letting it sit overnight on a charger or just getting a new battery.

 

Battery or alternator voltage is not a good test of the system. The only good test is going to be a load test. That finds a lot of problems and weaknesses in Ferrari electrical systems. A Sun VAT 40 is the best piece of equipment ever devised to do the job. On a TR to start with you want the batt to be charged to 12.5 or more, load it to 125-150 amps for 15 seconds and make sure the batt voltage does not go below 10.5v. If it does, put it out to pasture. Next read the battery voltage on the new battery, start the motor and load the alternator until the battery voltage is back down to what it was with everything off. You have just read what the max output is for your alt minus whatever current is required to run the car. For a TR that is about 20A. Your measured output should have been very close to 100A. All these tests should have been done at the battery to also test all the connections between the alt and battery. Alt output is of no value unless it is getting to the battery. Next close up the car and turn everything off, take the neg cable off the batt and put an amp meter between the cable end and the batt post. I did this on mine today and got 23MA. That is about what it should be but in any case it should be below 40MA. If you do not test the system in the way I have just outlined you will be just giving yourself a false sense of security.

 

having just changed my battery, and agonising over the various reasons it may have died, i can tell you - just replace it. forget about trying to figure out why it died.....leave that to later if need be.
just buy the new one, if it goes dead in a couple weeks without explanation, then look into the possible reasons. however, it is more than likely the battery in question was old, had been abused etc.

just buy the new one, and talk to us in a month

 

I've had numerous battery issues (both on f-car and p-car). Most of them due to a combination of : 1) lack of frequent use, 2) alarm, tracker system pulling on the battery.

To solve the problem :
- I change the battery every two / three years
- When changing I always carefully choose the type that (at correct amp and volt) will give the longest performance (all battery not created equal)
- Drive the thing at least once every two weeks. In case I know it is going to be longer, I just disconnect the battery

Battery tickle charger is a good idea if you have you private garage but I keep my cars in shared car parks so I can do it