She sucks the life out of my battery....

Tom, how do you like your 512TR? I have given some thought to purchasing one or even a 512M. How long have you owned car? Could you compare it to other Ferraris? Thanks!

 

Disclaimer: I observe more than I know.

Interestingly, the few 512's I've seen in showrooms have trickle chargers hooked and running more often than other F-Cars. Optima seems to be the battery of choice 'round these parts. If you do go with Optima - make sure you get the correct top - some F-cars function best with Red or Orange top battery for a variety of reasons.

 

Had problems with all the cars & bikes for many years until a good friend introduced me to an "Optimate" trickle charger; now if I leave any of the vehicles over 6 months, they are never drained & usually fire first time.

Best investment I ever made....

 

My 512TR killed my battery once. Turned out to be a switch behind the starter was on all the time sucking the juice out

 

I have the cord for trickle charger wired onto the battery terminals, when my 512 is going to set for more than a few days I just plug in the charger into the quick disconnect on the cord and leave it. Before I did this the car was good for about 2 - 3 weeks sitting in the garage before the battery would go dead.

 

Tom, I see that you have had a Diablo. How would you compare the Diablo to the 512? Thanks, Jerry.

 

I've heard that some TR's have 2 batteries. Is this true?

 

I love the Optima gel batts. I have them in all my cars except my old truck. I too have a slow drain problem in the 308 that I have yet to track down. In the meantime I purchased a batt isolator switch and I disconnect the batt after driving.

 

They nare all hard on batteries; F-cars, Lambos, Lotus, etc. You do not need a trickle charger. You need a battery protector which keeps you at 14.5 volts and prevents sulphating. Deka and Allstate make them for around $50.00. I keep my 360 plugged in just like I used to do with my boat. It always starts no matter what the outside temperature. I put my trickle charger on the shelf where it belongs. My classic Corvette and cycle friends all use BPs, and their batteries last for years. Cheers

 

unfortunately i have to leave my 512tr sit for weeks at a time, and i simply turn off the battery with the switch installed by the factory for that purpose on the inside right side of the trunk. i have been doing this for years and it seems to work very well.

 

If you do use battery kill switch on TR make sure you remember your radio code before you do. Gel cells work well. Trickle chargers are fine but gel cells can be regular charged every two weeks with no problems. Make sure you check trickle chargers every once and a while. They can cause fire if they malfunction.

 

I do the same for my car, except I don't have a switch. It's easy enough to just take the ground off when it sits for a while. Works fine.

 

yes but my switch doesn't kill all the ecu mapping etc. i lose my preset radio stations, but everything else stays ok.