Greetings Guys, Long time F-car owner here. I recently sold my 365 GTC/4 and missed having a Ferrari in the garage, so I just bought a very nice, low mileage '99 F1 Berlinetta. Two quick questions here: I recall my Stradale and Scud being prewired with a little pigtail for connecting a trickle charger. I was hoping to find a similar pigtail for keeping my 355 charged, but don't seem to have one. What is the recommended protocol for keeping these cars charged? I recall that there is a positive terminal conveniently located with a ground source right next to it. Can somebody please tell me where this terminal is, as I am away from home and don't have access to the manual? Secondly, the gas struts that hold my rear decklid up have discharged (quite common problem with my older Porsches). What is the best source for procuring these struts? Also the ends fit over little ball heads attached to the retaining bolts. Do the struts come fixed to these bolts or are the struts supposed to be popped off the balls? Thanks in advance. I will try to limit my stupid questions from here on out. Best regards. Rob
Can't you plug a trickle charger into the cigarette lighter socket? Never had to charge mine, driven at least every week though.
Essentially the points are on the right hand side of the engine bay under the long plastic cover There are photos in previous threads covering this (as with most questions) or you could travel with a pdf manual from here : All Ferraris The cars do not come with charger pigtails and I cannot recall for sure but the 355 may be one of the models for which charging thro the lighter socket is not recommended (see manual)
Adding the trickle charger connection to either the battery terminals in front of the right front wheel or to the remote terminals under the right engine bay valance is a simple task. If it is on the battery it would be most likely in the trunk area . Look in the cut off switch opening? I have mine routed to behind the front grill so I don't have to open either the trunk or engine lid to get to it. It is suggested to use a tender especially if you infrequently drive the car.
I plug my battery tender in via the cigarette lighter socket. Works perfectly and no need to modify the car.
From the parts interchange thread; Stabilus factory OEM gas struts for engine lid and front trunk lid Part #SG437007 - $26 – RockAuto Parts Catalog Stabilus gas struts from Ford Focus – Slightly more pressure, they do not appear to last much longer than the oem gas struts. Part #SG404018 -$10 – RockAuto Parts Catalog That's said the F-tax not too steep on these. I just bought 4 from the dealer. Ricambi also has for $30 ea.
http://batterytender.com/battery-tender-plus-12v-at-1-25a.html http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-0128-Plus-Charger/dp/B00068XCQU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411060922&sr=8-1&keywords=BATTERY+TENDER+PLUS
I put the cheap ford ones on my 355 and although the right length they are too strong. Over the past couple years they have pushed the rear deck lid up out of alignment bending the hinges. My 348 needs new ones and I will pay extra for the oem pressure ones.
I just bought this one for my car. CTEK Multi US 4.3 | CTEK Battery ChargersCTEK Battery Chargers I bought this one 2 years ago for my 993TT after I was tired of buying and installing a new battery at the start of EVERY season; CTEK Multi US 3300 | CTEK Battery ChargersCTEK Battery Chargers I have been very satisfied with it and I believe the 3300 is the exact same one as sold by Ferrari without the Ferrari branding and associated tax.
This was just discussed on the 360 Forum. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/360-430/460696-battery-tender.html
My 355 had an aftermarket pigtail in the battery compartment but it did not fit my C-TEK charger so I pulled it out. You are welcome to if if you show up at Stoogeapalooza this Saturday (PM me for the address). I have the cig lighter adapter for my C-TEK charger. Just plug it in when I need it and easy to move to another car.
