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Interstate battery issue

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by RossoCorsa22, Aug 25, 2023.

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  1. RossoCorsa22

    RossoCorsa22 Karting

    May 11, 2022
    160
    Oakland, CA
    Full Name:
    Kareem
    #1 RossoCorsa22, Aug 25, 2023
    So my '19 488 Spider came with an Interstate battery (age unknown). It sits on a tender 24/7 when not bring driven. I've read tons on this forum about the 488's battery issues and somewhat unique charging system logic.

    Anyhow, last night I forgot to close the frunk. Realized it a few hours later. Turned on the electrics and got all the error messages... Car wouldn't start and the windows wouldn't move. Figured I'd killed the battery.

    This morning though, tried it again and everything was fine. Took her for a drive to charge the battery, tried to keep the voltmeter as close to 14 as possible. Put her back on the tender after the drive and now I have a green light again on the tender.

    I'm guessing my next steps should be:
    1. Buy a start pack
    2. Proactively replace the battery. I'm sort of tempted to just keep the current one for a while longer, but I understand that if you drain an AGM battery even once, it'll never be the same. Thoughts?

    The other question: it's amazing to me that a decent battery could take such a hit from just two small frunk lights being on for two hours. I once left one of my Porsches' overhead lights on for 3 days and the car started right up....
     
  2. SD455TA

    SD455TA Formula Junior

    Sep 11, 2021
    584
    Western Suburbs of Chicago
    #2 SD455TA, Aug 25, 2023
    Start pack is a nice "peace" of mind thing to have (I don't have one yet). As for the battery, have it load tested. If it passes the load test, keep it, if not junk it. I too own a Ferrari with the battery at an unknown age. At this point I am figuring mine is probably 4 years old (guessing). All I have done is pay attention to it, and so far it is performing like it should even when being stored for 6 months at a time. So, in my case the minute I can smell that the cranking ability changes I will replace the battery. However, I am not just going to do the old throw parts at it because that usually doesn't solve anything. By the way, I also agree that it is amazing that the battery took that kind of a hit from just the frunk being open for 2 hours. Seems to me that most cars have circuit breakers built in where if you do leave something on, or open for that matter, that the circuit breaker will shut it off after about 30 minutes, not the case here I guess. So, this seems to be a warning sign presented to you. If that is true that draining an AGM battery even once has a negative impact on it, I will take a pass on using them. To be honest, with tenders, and traditional batteries, I probably average 10 years or more for a batteries life span.
     
    RossoCorsa22 likes this.
  3. mike32

    mike32 F1 Veteran

    May 13, 2016
    5,944
    Isle of man- uk
    #3 mike32, Aug 25, 2023
    Buy one of these to test present battery, very cheap Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
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  4. 05F430F1

    05F430F1 F1 Rookie
    BANNED

    Oct 22, 2005
    3,600
    Fort Lauderdale, Florida
    Full Name:
    Todd
    #4 05F430F1, Aug 25, 2023
    Doesn’t the Ferrari tender check the battery to see if it’s able to accept a charge? I understand that it does as one of its 7 or 8 steps. So if it’s making it to green again and charging, it has already checked the battery. I finally just checked my battery and see that it is still the original Ferrari battery. It seems perfectly fine thankfully. 2.5 years old on a 2021 Tributo and just turned 5,000 miles last night. I did buy a starter per recommendation from Mandalay. Have never used it; it’s in the bonnet for emergency.


    Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
     
  5. flash32

    flash32 F1 Veteran

    Aug 22, 2008
    6,801
    Central NJ
    Full Name:
    Dominick
    #5 flash32, Aug 25, 2023
    I think you are fine .. interstate agm is more resistant to killing it once, twice etc vs a red top which really isn't
     
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  6. Kent Adams

    Kent Adams F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 11, 2020
    3,160
    #6 Kent Adams, Aug 25, 2023
    Interstate is a good battery, but why not go lithium?
     
  7. SD455TA

    SD455TA Formula Junior

    Sep 11, 2021
    584
    Western Suburbs of Chicago
    #7 SD455TA, Aug 25, 2023
    Are those lithium ones subject to a fire that you can't put out? Like a Tesla for example......
     
  8. Viperjoe

    Viperjoe F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    May 20, 2016
    2,663
    Washington Crossing, PA
    #8 Viperjoe, Aug 25, 2023
    I've pondered this question many times, but it remains unclear if the battery is actually charged during a drive. Gotta love "Smart Alternator" systems; pretty dumb I'd say.
     
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  9. RossoCorsa22

    RossoCorsa22 Karting

    May 11, 2022
    160
    Oakland, CA
    Full Name:
    Kareem
    #9 RossoCorsa22, Aug 25, 2023
    Thank you all! I'm gonna order that battery tester and see what's up. Fortunately it happened at home, rather than in a parking lot somewhere. Makes me think having a start pack would provide some good peace of mind.

    I agree though, you'd think there would be a timer on all interior lights, not just the cabin overhead light.

    And the charging "logic" (as far as I can tell, the car charges the battery under very light or no engine load, but significantly decreases the charge rate under any kind of engine load) is completely opposite to what I'd expect. I mean, ok, I get the idea that you want to minimize nonessential loads on a performance car's engine during acceleration, but we're not trying to take pole at Imola here. We're just trying to keep our cars running...
     
  10. flash32

    flash32 F1 Veteran

    Aug 22, 2008
    6,801
    Central NJ
    Full Name:
    Dominick
    #10 flash32, Aug 25, 2023
    Given the IBS - I would keep whatever came in the car - same rating, same type etc .. a flooded battery, agm, and lit all have different voltage parameters ( charging, standing) and may confuse the IBS .. I haven't look at the IBS on a 488 to see if it can be programmed
     
  11. Kent Adams

    Kent Adams F1 Rookie
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    Sep 11, 2020
    3,160
    #11 Kent Adams, Aug 25, 2023
    The only load that is put on them, as far as I know, is when you crank the car up. I've been using one for 3 years, and no issues so far. I've never heard of one burning.
     
  12. Solid State

    Solid State F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 4, 2014
    10,509
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    Maximus Decimus Meridius
    #12 Solid State, Aug 28, 2023
    Forget the rest and replace the battery with the same one in the Porsche that can power headlights for three days and still start the engine. :)
     
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  13. MANDALAY

    MANDALAY F1 World Champ
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    May 23, 2013
    14,525
    AUSTRALIA
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    ANGELO
    #13 MANDALAY, Aug 28, 2023

    Steps
    1. Yes
    2. Yes

    Other question : Most likely happened before and the battery has damaged cells.
     

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