488 Battery - how long does yours last?
Discussion
My experience is exactly the same, Ferraris drain the battery more quickly then others.
You can buy a portable battery pack which people with camper vans use and it will run a 10A CTEK charger which you can connect with an adapter cable to the magnetic connector to top up the battery. That connector runs directly to the battery through a fuse.
The standard Ferrari conditioner is pretty feeble. Better to go for a higher current CTEK because a higher proportion of the current you draw from the battery pack goes into the car battery. With a low powered charger, you are running the inverter (which creates 240v) for longer and there’s an overhead. The 10A charger will happily top the battery up with one charge of the battery pack and overnight.
If you want to leave the car for longer then a couple of weeks without power, the only real option is to disconnect the battery (passenger footwell), better that than paying for a new battery. You will get all sorts of error messages but the car should sort itself out. Of course, you lose the tracker and remote locking.
DIY battery replacement is more difficult these days but I have found if you use a small battery pack connected to the conditioner connector, you can remove and replace the main battery and it should settle. These days, batteries have a device in the battery ground lead which monitors current in and out and that is all to do with “intelligent” alternators to avoid charging the battery when it doesn’t need it on the one hand and overcharging it on the other.
FWIW, my 296 is proving difficult. It comes with a big conditioner which really does have to be connected after a week or so. The hybrid battery runs down when not in use so you do need access to power. It connects using the same sort of connector as an electric car, the magnetic one is gone.
You can buy a portable battery pack which people with camper vans use and it will run a 10A CTEK charger which you can connect with an adapter cable to the magnetic connector to top up the battery. That connector runs directly to the battery through a fuse.
The standard Ferrari conditioner is pretty feeble. Better to go for a higher current CTEK because a higher proportion of the current you draw from the battery pack goes into the car battery. With a low powered charger, you are running the inverter (which creates 240v) for longer and there’s an overhead. The 10A charger will happily top the battery up with one charge of the battery pack and overnight.
If you want to leave the car for longer then a couple of weeks without power, the only real option is to disconnect the battery (passenger footwell), better that than paying for a new battery. You will get all sorts of error messages but the car should sort itself out. Of course, you lose the tracker and remote locking.
DIY battery replacement is more difficult these days but I have found if you use a small battery pack connected to the conditioner connector, you can remove and replace the main battery and it should settle. These days, batteries have a device in the battery ground lead which monitors current in and out and that is all to do with “intelligent” alternators to avoid charging the battery when it doesn’t need it on the one hand and overcharging it on the other.
FWIW, my 296 is proving difficult. It comes with a big conditioner which really does have to be connected after a week or so. The hybrid battery runs down when not in use so you do need access to power. It connects using the same sort of connector as an electric car, the magnetic one is gone.
oharedm said:
In your situation I think you should seriously consider this option.
https://www.antigravitybatteries-uk.co.uk/automoti...
The 40 A is more than enough.
The key feature for you is that it will shut down to prevent a complete drain.
I put a 40Ah anti gravity lithium ion battery on my 458 and can attest that the emergency feature works exactly as advertised. I left the car off trickle for around three months over winter and when I tried to unlock the car it was, as expected, dead. Quick press of the button on the anti gravity remote and I was able to unlock and start the car.https://www.antigravitybatteries-uk.co.uk/automoti...
The 40 A is more than enough.
The key feature for you is that it will shut down to prevent a complete drain.
Other benefits of these batteries, they save 16+kg and they hold higher steady voltage which means the 458 cranks and starts more promptly than with the LA battery.
I had my 992 GT3 Touring on a CTEK Lithium charger but after 2 months the car was dead even with the charger connected a showing full battery. Apparently the Lithium battery shuts down if the charge falls below a certain level and then needs to be woken up again with a proper starter battery pack. The same is the case for the front trunk which houses the battery. If the battery is dead the frunk can‘t be opened. (Idiotic design). Only a 12V battery connection to the fuse box in the drivers footwell activates the switch.
hornbaek said:
I had my 992 GT3 Touring on a CTEK Lithium charger but after 2 months the car was dead even with the charger connected a showing full battery. Apparently the Lithium battery shuts down if the charge falls below a certain level and then needs to be woken up again with a proper starter battery pack. The same is the case for the front trunk which houses the battery. If the battery is dead the frunk can‘t be opened. (Idiotic design). Only a 12V battery connection to the fuse box in the drivers footwell activates the switch.
My 987 was like that but I found that the arm rest cigarette lighter socket was always live so it was easy to connect a 12v battery via a cig plug to open the frunk.Caddyshack said:
My 987 was like that but I found that the arm rest cigarette lighter socket was always live so it was easy to connect a 12v battery via a cig plug to open the frunk.
I have my 987 on a ctek connected directly to the battery. Even when the car shuts itself down it seems the ctek manages to keep the battery topped up - which I'd expect with it being directly connected. It's a good old fashioned lead acid battery though, not one of these newfangled lithium ion ones.
I thought I'd give an update on this.
I bought a Ctek XS Free. It is similar to a booster, but doesn't do it in 1 big jolt which could upset some of the electrics, it doers a 15 minute slower charge so the battery has the power to start on its own. It doesn't work as a trickle charger without being connected to the mains or to a slave battey.
I've just come back from 12 days in South America and I made sure the XS Free was full and an old spare TVR battery I had was fully charged. The TVR battery was actually the same spec as the 488 by coincidence but they battery is used and a good 5 years old. I linked it up so it was using the spare as the source for the trickle charge and while I was away for 10 days the battery was reading 13.3v/13.2v so the trickle charge was working as expected. Day 11 it jumped to 13.5v so I'm guessing that the spare battery was out of juice to work as a trickle charge source. I'm presuming then the XS free used its internal battery to boost charge the car battery until empty. Now a full 12 days after leaving the car is reading 13v and the XS free is empty and they spare battery is drained showing 11.1v with a meter.
So there you have it, an old car battery and an XS free will keep everything going fo 12 days and then your car will drain as normal, so with a bit of luck you could leave the car 3-4 weeks and still be ok.
I bought a Ctek XS Free. It is similar to a booster, but doesn't do it in 1 big jolt which could upset some of the electrics, it doers a 15 minute slower charge so the battery has the power to start on its own. It doesn't work as a trickle charger without being connected to the mains or to a slave battey.
I've just come back from 12 days in South America and I made sure the XS Free was full and an old spare TVR battery I had was fully charged. The TVR battery was actually the same spec as the 488 by coincidence but they battery is used and a good 5 years old. I linked it up so it was using the spare as the source for the trickle charge and while I was away for 10 days the battery was reading 13.3v/13.2v so the trickle charge was working as expected. Day 11 it jumped to 13.5v so I'm guessing that the spare battery was out of juice to work as a trickle charge source. I'm presuming then the XS free used its internal battery to boost charge the car battery until empty. Now a full 12 days after leaving the car is reading 13v and the XS free is empty and they spare battery is drained showing 11.1v with a meter.
So there you have it, an old car battery and an XS free will keep everything going fo 12 days and then your car will drain as normal, so with a bit of luck you could leave the car 3-4 weeks and still be ok.
R11ysf said:
I thought I'd give an update on this.
I bought a Ctek XS Free. It is similar to a booster, but doesn't do it in 1 big jolt which could upset some of the electrics, it doers a 15 minute slower charge so the battery has the power to start on its own. It doesn't work as a trickle charger without being connected to the mains or to a slave battey.
I've just come back from 12 days in South America and I made sure the XS Free was full and an old spare TVR battery I had was fully charged. The TVR battery was actually the same spec as the 488 by coincidence but they battery is used and a good 5 years old. I linked it up so it was using the spare as the source for the trickle charge and while I was away for 10 days the battery was reading 13.3v/13.2v so the trickle charge was working as expected. Day 11 it jumped to 13.5v so I'm guessing that the spare battery was out of juice to work as a trickle charge source. I'm presuming then the XS free used its internal battery to boost charge the car battery until empty. Now a full 12 days after leaving the car is reading 13v and the XS free is empty and they spare battery is drained showing 11.1v with a meter.
So there you have it, an old car battery and an XS free will keep everything going fo 12 days and then your car will drain as normal, so with a bit of luck you could leave the car 3-4 weeks and still be ok.
So what you are saying is that a Ferrari actually needs three batteries nowadays? lolI bought a Ctek XS Free. It is similar to a booster, but doesn't do it in 1 big jolt which could upset some of the electrics, it doers a 15 minute slower charge so the battery has the power to start on its own. It doesn't work as a trickle charger without being connected to the mains or to a slave battey.
I've just come back from 12 days in South America and I made sure the XS Free was full and an old spare TVR battery I had was fully charged. The TVR battery was actually the same spec as the 488 by coincidence but they battery is used and a good 5 years old. I linked it up so it was using the spare as the source for the trickle charge and while I was away for 10 days the battery was reading 13.3v/13.2v so the trickle charge was working as expected. Day 11 it jumped to 13.5v so I'm guessing that the spare battery was out of juice to work as a trickle charge source. I'm presuming then the XS free used its internal battery to boost charge the car battery until empty. Now a full 12 days after leaving the car is reading 13v and the XS free is empty and they spare battery is drained showing 11.1v with a meter.
So there you have it, an old car battery and an XS free will keep everything going fo 12 days and then your car will drain as normal, so with a bit of luck you could leave the car 3-4 weeks and still be ok.
Gassing Station | Ferrari V8 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff