FF battery dead after sitting one day

Yeah, driving a California rather than an FF must be just about all the hardship you can bear.

The battery on my FF went dead overnight once. As it turns out, the switch for the rear hatch open/close had gone bad, continuously drawing current. The dealer replaced the switch, and battery, and no more problems.

 

Just spitballing here, but perhaps you left the reading light switched on, or the radio?
Happened to me a few times. I don't think a car will drain its battery overnight,
My bet is that some accessory, like radio, or side lights whatever was left on by mistake and it drained the battery overnight.

 

My guess is the battery itself has some bad cells and you will just need a new battery. I've seen this behavior on several new cars recently- from a range of marques- the common trait is the batteries act like they are full but then dont have enough charge to crank the car. The good news is it sounds like you were not left stranded anywhere but were safe at home.

I've been sticking these in my cars lately...

Amazon.com: Jackco ZT50400 Zeta Pocket Jump Starter: Automotive

 

My 458 got to a point where leaving it overnight would give a no-start. The voltage dropped below threshold for the starter motor. New battery cured it and it has been fine ever since. Suspect your battery is defective.

 

Nothing worse than 1st. world problems. You have my sympathy.

Solution? Order an extra FF while you're at the dealer for backup. Problem solved.

 

+1

Rick, a Ferrari-label battery tender (it's not a full-blown charger) won't fully recharge your dead battery in 6 hours. The green light is often incorrect when charging a damaged battery.

Did you do an open-circuit check on the voltage level of the dead battery after it failed to start your car? What was the voltage?

BTW, after the car starts, it will begin to run off the charging system's current, not the battery's capacity. The battery really serves as a filter after you start the car with it. That the car seems OK after you manage to start it does not mean the battery is OK. To test this, try raising your windows with the headlights and stereo on while just idling the engine, do the windows move very slowly? Do they go faster when you rev the engine?

A battery will sustain some damage if discharged beyond a certain point, I said in an earlier message that AGM batteries should not be discharged past 50%. BTW, I quoted 12.2V as the 50% discharge level which is correct for regular sealed or flooded lead acid batteries, but it appears AGM batteries will indicate 12.3V at 50% discharge.

You should always plug in the battery tender because that's what the car-battery design calls for if you want to maximize the battery's life. The battery tender is not meant to be only used when you have a dead battery. It's a battery TENDER.

BTW, do you ever drop the top on your California or is it just a beater for the FF? IMO, nothing beats hearing the car with the roof off.

 

Good God I hate that hackneyed phrase......

 

++1

 

Rick--> So what was the problem? Do you know yet?

 

As related earlier, my 458 had the same symptoms: no start after an overnight; the tender would charge it to the point where it would start. The guys at the shop (not a Ferrari dealer) said that the battery drain current with the ignition off was excessive, indicating that the battery would not hold its charge.

 

Rick any updates on the electrical/ battery issue on your FF?

 

Ooops, another 4-letter F-word.

Good to see your Cali serves as more than a foil for the FF. I love hearing my Cali30 without sheet metal getting in the way. Of course, the haunting wail of the V12 adds altogether another dimension. I'd love to have one of those at some point.

Your dealer shouldn't have any problems replacing the AGM battery but perhaps it's taking longer to figured out why the new battery died so quickly.

Good luck with it and please fill us in on what you learn from the experience!

 

Don't understand. The CEL SHOULD go on for a minute at every start up while the system runs through its checks.

 

Rick, had any changes to the FF when you bought it or after? Anything installed after factory...?

SV

 

Sounds like a bad battery and/or a bad connection.

Good luck!

SV

 

Good news that the battery pooped out in their possession. They now have something to diagnose.

Just a thought. Sometimes when there seem to be two electrical computer problems at the same time, they are different manifestations of the same issue. I had a devil of a time with my old BMW X5M that was throwing fault signals on the dash display and refusing to start on the first shot. It turned out that it was a single short causing both problems.

 

Rick, if you have to spend any more time in the Cali you should put in one of those bada$$ Fabspeed ECU/exhaust upgrades so you won't have to suffer any more.

I just took my Cali30 around the neighbourhood because I had to swap places with my truck and woke up a few people with it. Luckily the cops had already called it a day before I came out.