458 in a garage with no power
Discussion
Has anyone owned a 458 and managed without a trickle charger? Lack of power in my parking space probably puts me out of 458 ownership...
Seems like a recipe for disaster, but wondered if there was a way round it?
The 360/430 have kill switches, making it a lot easier when away for a couple of weeks.
Seems like a recipe for disaster, but wondered if there was a way round it?
The 360/430 have kill switches, making it a lot easier when away for a couple of weeks.
I don't have a garage so keep mine in an on-street residents bay.
I had a few problems if I left the car for more than 10 days or so if I was away but recently started using a plug in solar-panel battery conditioner. You stick the panel in the windscreen (or leave it on the dash) and plug the other end in to the cigarette lighter socket between the front seats. I had my car in for it's annual service with the dealer before using the charger so got them to check it out and flag if there might be an issue using it. Once they confirmed it was all good, I've been using it without a problem.
The other thing I'd say it to turn the car on slowly when left for a period of time. Turn the igntion, let the petrol fill meter fully display and press the ignition a few seconds after that. If you get any "Return to Dealer", "Mannetino Failure" etc warnings, these usually reset after a few decent runs of the car once all is warmed up.
I had a few problems if I left the car for more than 10 days or so if I was away but recently started using a plug in solar-panel battery conditioner. You stick the panel in the windscreen (or leave it on the dash) and plug the other end in to the cigarette lighter socket between the front seats. I had my car in for it's annual service with the dealer before using the charger so got them to check it out and flag if there might be an issue using it. Once they confirmed it was all good, I've been using it without a problem.
The other thing I'd say it to turn the car on slowly when left for a period of time. Turn the igntion, let the petrol fill meter fully display and press the ignition a few seconds after that. If you get any "Return to Dealer", "Mannetino Failure" etc warnings, these usually reset after a few decent runs of the car once all is warmed up.
JW82 said:
I don't have a garage so keep mine in an on-street residents bay.
I had a few problems if I left the car for more than 10 days or so if I was away but recently started using a plug in solar-panel battery conditioner. You stick the panel in the windscreen (or leave it on the dash) and plug the other end in to the cigarette lighter socket between the front seats. I had my car in for it's annual service with the dealer before using the charger so got them to check it out and flag if there might be an issue using it. Once they confirmed it was all good, I've been using it without a problem.
The other thing I'd say it to turn the car on slowly when left for a period of time. Turn the igntion, let the petrol fill meter fully display and press the ignition a few seconds after that. If you get any "Return to Dealer", "Mannetino Failure" etc warnings, these usually reset after a few decent runs of the car once all is warmed up.
Thanks! That’s a great idea with the solar charger. My parking spaces are underground which is a pain.I had a few problems if I left the car for more than 10 days or so if I was away but recently started using a plug in solar-panel battery conditioner. You stick the panel in the windscreen (or leave it on the dash) and plug the other end in to the cigarette lighter socket between the front seats. I had my car in for it's annual service with the dealer before using the charger so got them to check it out and flag if there might be an issue using it. Once they confirmed it was all good, I've been using it without a problem.
The other thing I'd say it to turn the car on slowly when left for a period of time. Turn the igntion, let the petrol fill meter fully display and press the ignition a few seconds after that. If you get any "Return to Dealer", "Mannetino Failure" etc warnings, these usually reset after a few decent runs of the car once all is warmed up.
I’m in the wrong post code to park on the street, sadly, plus have major tree sap issues in the residents parking bays.
Nice to see someone relaxing and parking their Ferrari on the street. Makes me think I should chill out and park my boxster Spyder outside a bit more :-)
You could put a 2nd battery in parallel, while parked up, and this will double your battery life. Alternatively, do a search for Portable Battery Pack Car. This is a more manageable version of a normal battery. Plug it into your power socket or even on to your battery. This will then top up your battery and act as a parallel power source. You can swap it out weekly.
I left my 458 off trickle charger for a few days (it was plugged in but was accidentally turned off at the mains). The next time I started the car it started fine, but I pretty much had Christmas lights on the dash, including manettino failure and "return to dealer", as mentioned above. I called my dealer who said "yeah that can happen", and it went away after I restarted the car. Not something I'd have wanted to repeat on a regular basis though.
No battery cutoff switch on 458.
That, and the fact you get a conditioner with the car, suggests to me that disconnecting the battery for any length of time is a seriously bad idea.
That said, I've never personally done it - but having had experience of what happens when the voltage just drops a bit from lack of use, I wouldn't want to be the one to test it out.
That, and the fact you get a conditioner with the car, suggests to me that disconnecting the battery for any length of time is a seriously bad idea.
That said, I've never personally done it - but having had experience of what happens when the voltage just drops a bit from lack of use, I wouldn't want to be the one to test it out.
Edited by Durzel on Wednesday 4th April 14:21
ThePrincipal said:
BobTurner said:
ThePrincipal said:
You can retrofit a battery cut off switch very easily.
Not ideal given the auto window drop?Have to say I agree with Durzel on all counts
My 488 battery was flat within a month without a battery conditioner. Ferrari have not mastered the art of reducing static power consumption to an absolute minimum and much of this will be down the central locking listening for a signal from the key. In older Porsche 911s, the remote locking was disabled after 7 days for this reason and required a physical key to unlock the door and wake things up. New 911s have it sorted and seem to be happy to be without a conditioner for weeks.
Not so a 488 and I expect 3 weeks at an airport (if you were ever brave enough) would leave you on the edge. Indeed, the manual says the conditioner should be connected if you are leaving the car for more than 72 hours.
The conditioner attaches to a magnetic connector above the number plate instead of through the cigarette lighter which is now only powered when the ignition is on. Presumably, too many people left a USB charger in there permanently and came back to find the battery dead.
My conditioner as delivered was faulty. It looks like the magnetic connector may be added by someone other than CTEK (since they say they know nothing about it) and in my case have got the polarity mixed up since an error light on the conditioner flashes when the connection is made.
They don't make it easy; jump starting the car requires you to grovel around in the passenger footwell and space is limited. In the F355, there was a connection point in the engine compartment once you had removed a side shield.
I'm waiting for a new conditioner... without it, you get every error message under the sun when you try to start the car.
Not so a 488 and I expect 3 weeks at an airport (if you were ever brave enough) would leave you on the edge. Indeed, the manual says the conditioner should be connected if you are leaving the car for more than 72 hours.
The conditioner attaches to a magnetic connector above the number plate instead of through the cigarette lighter which is now only powered when the ignition is on. Presumably, too many people left a USB charger in there permanently and came back to find the battery dead.
My conditioner as delivered was faulty. It looks like the magnetic connector may be added by someone other than CTEK (since they say they know nothing about it) and in my case have got the polarity mixed up since an error light on the conditioner flashes when the connection is made.
They don't make it easy; jump starting the car requires you to grovel around in the passenger footwell and space is limited. In the F355, there was a connection point in the engine compartment once you had removed a side shield.
I'm waiting for a new conditioner... without it, you get every error message under the sun when you try to start the car.
Leave my FF without the trickle charger regularly for a week or longer (have never attempted more than 2 weeks I think) - seems fine to me, although I am used to various warning lights which it seems to throw up regardless of charge. Usually disconnect the battery and reconnect if they annoy me too much. Surprised you can’t do that on a 458
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