Dead battery, need help? | FerrariChat

Dead battery, need help?

Discussion in '365 GT4 2+2/400/412' started by pks41805, Mar 1, 2008.

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  1. pks41805

    pks41805 Formula 3

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    What is the proper way to attach a trickle charger to my 400i?
     
  2. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ Owner Rossa Subscribed

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    disconnect the battery 1st.
     
  3. Pcar928fan

    Pcar928fan Formula 3

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    Why??? A trickle charger is only delivering like .3A or something really small like that... If the key is off I don't see how hooking a trickle charger up to a hooked up battery could have any impact on any system other than the battery it is charging. Please enlighten me master Dave, as I am certain I will need one for any 400 I end up with too.

    Thanks,
    James M
    Austin, TX
     
  4. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ Owner Rossa Subscribed

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    Its a matter of not taking a chance; or risk vs reward.
    The ignition units are famous for blowing when they get a spike from the car being jumped or from an errant spark. Those units are NLA and a rebuilder will charge well over a grand to rebuild one.
    Someone here will argue and say it doesn't matter and they are probably right. But again, its a question of risk/reward. Call me a conservative, I like it that way.
     
  5. koisokok

    koisokok F1 World Champ Rossa Subscribed

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    woulndt call you conservative..ill call you right!!..
     
  6. pks41805

    pks41805 Formula 3

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    Thanks Dave. Here is a second question; why wouldn't disconnecting and reconnecting the battery cause a spike to the ignition units?
     
  7. Pcar928fan

    Pcar928fan Formula 3

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    That is my thought too. The battery itself can deliver a HUGE amperage, the little trickle charger hardly any at all. I would think there would be a much bigger risk to hooking up and disconnecting a battery than a maintainer...

    Not trying to be argumentative here, just trying to follow the logic on this one.
     
  8. blkprlz

    blkprlz Formula 3

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    +1 on the battery disconnect! I always remove earth cable first when disconnecting, connect earth cable last on reconnect + I always disconnect the battery for trickle charging even though I have a battery disconnect switch, and have had no troubles w/Elec. Ign. unit (the original one is still running strong).
     
  9. judge4re

    judge4re F1 World Champ

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    Why not just replace it?
     
  10. b3tech

    b3tech Karting

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    Dave is right. Electronic ignition modules of this vintage are all notorious for ground buss bias issues. Pull an arch on the ground plane and you run a risk of damage. When using a trickle charger I recommend that the battery cables be removed for two reasons. First, if you have any electrical leaks you run the risk of overloading the charger, running the risk of having a short to ground...... and #2 it takes no time at all to remove the cables. Always remove the ground before removing the positive, and replace the positive before finishing with the ground.
     
  11. pks41805

    pks41805 Formula 3

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    I will go with what the expert say, thanks Dave and Boyd.
     

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