[Rallyman]

Dear all,

I have noticed that my Scuderia's maintainer is dead. Is there any internal fuse or serviceable parts inside?

You know, it is the CTEK basic version (I think it is called XS800), with the Ferrari connector on one side.

This is quite frustrating, because I am using cheap maintainers for my other cars, and they have never given me any trouble.

If the Scud maintainer has no fix, and until I get I get a new one, can I simply cut the Ferrari connector and attach it to one of the other trickle chargers? I guess I will have to take the polarity into account, right?

[StefVan]

Sorry to hear your F battery charger died. You can easily use any trickle charger on your Scud. Just make sure they are real trickle chargers and that they will stop charging when the battery is full. I never used the OEM charger but a real cheap one. Never had any issues and it's bullet proof. My stock battery is over 5 years old and never let me down. Sure, you can cut off the specific Ferrari connector but be careful to not cut both wires at the same time with a conducting tool...if you have doubts, just disconnect the battery before cutting the connector off. Make sure that you respect the polarity when connecting the new connector. Last but not least, if you disconnect the battery, make sure to respect the ECU relearn procedure.

Good luck

[tazandjan]

Stef- I think he is talking about cutting off the connectors from his dead CTEK and splicing them on one of his other maintainers so he can use the OEM connector. That should work fine. Those chargers are about $250 from Ferrari dealers.

Before you do anything, if your Scud is still in warranty, take the charger to the dealer and ask him to replace it. Several owners have had theirs replaced under warranty. Must have had a bad batch at one point, because normally the CTEKs are pretty reliable.

[Rallyman]

Thanks for your replies. Here is an update on the situation:

The battery is absolutely DEAD! I had to use the key to open the door because the central locking would not work.

I connected one of my cheap trickle chargers directly to the battery and it would not even charge. Then I also connected one of those devices that supposedly start a car in 15 minutes after you connect them via the cigarrette lighter with a 'good' car, but still nothing.

To make things worse, the doors don't close now: due to lack of electric power the windows do not retrace to facilitate the doors closing, as they normally do, so in order no to force them I had to leave them open (!). Lucky that once the car cover is on, you can barely tell they are open. Note that the car sleeps in my apartment building underground garage, which happens to be open during the day... The good thing is that I live in Switzerland, and things are relatively safe still here.

So the next step is to buy and fit a new battery. Luckily it looks quite accesible (as opposed to other modern cars). I will make sure I follow the ECU relearn process (I will search for it in FL).

Any recommendation on batteries? I guess I will try to find the same one the Scuderia currently has (Optima 34R). Any of the Swiss residents knows where to source one?

Regarding warranty, being an Ocotber 2008 car, it is expired. I am disappointed that my CTEK-Ferrari charger failed, while my cheap trickle chargers ($20) work flawlessly Even more disappointed about the Ferrari mark-up on the cheapest CTEK (XS 800) which retails well below $100, even in Switzerland.

[Rallyman]

By the way, I made a quick search and it should not be difficult for me to find the Optima battery. However, if someone has a good recommendation about another brand, I am happy to follow it

[Rallyman]

StefVan, you mentioned you never use the original charger, and use one of the cheap ones (I buy mine at Lidl or Aldi, and always keep a stack of them at home, just in case I ned them in the future...)

May I ask how do you you connect yours to the F430 battery? I assume you don't use the car's connector, and connect the leads directly to the battery. However, cheap chargers normally do not have a connector in the middle of the cable to facilitate operation when the battery is hidden, like in the F430 case. Can you explain your set-up?

[StefVan]

I simply installed a wire directly on the battery and is going from the battery to the area under the glove box. I installed a connector on this wire which can be connected only in one way to avoid any polarity inversion issues. I added also a 5Amp fuse + fuse holder just in case of. My trickle charger plugs in there and I leave the passager window a lit bit open to pass the trickle charger wire (my car sleeps in my garage). Just as you, I have several charges on my shelf in case of

[StefVan]

If you want some pictures, I can take some this evening

[StefVan]

Regarding the relearn procedure, I wrote something about this in the Knowledge Base but I can't access it. In a nutshell, here are the steps:


. Reconnect the battery and wait at least 30secs
. Power off everything including radio and especially the A/C (button OFF pressed)
. Put the ignition key in position II and wait at least 30secs
. Start the engine without revving. Let idle for at least 10min.
. You're ready to go

[StefVan]

Regarding the battery, not many options are available in Switzerland and we can't import them. The simplest is to stick with the OEM battery you can buy at your dealer. Batteries are a bit like lottery, any of them can go wrong quite fast. Mine has been very reliable though.

[tazandjan]

RM- It may not be your charger, it may be your battery. I do not recommend Optimas because of all the reliability problems they have had since Johnson Controls bought them and moved production from the US. Think about a Bosch, FIAMM, or some other Euro manufactured battery. If you want one that is really tough, find an Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) battery by a good manufacturer. Here in the States, that is Odyssey and Braille.

[Boxer]

It does sound more like a very dead battery than a blown CTEK. I have had very good experiences with both the Bosch and FIAMM batteries.

[Granucci]

Originally Posted by Boxer

It does sound more like a very dead battery than a blown CTEK. I have had very good experiences with both the Bosch and FIAMM batteries.

I agree. Should be easy to check the output of the charger.

[markjayw]

I don't know why Ferrari uses the cheaper CTEK's. Optima's require a charger with higher voltage. Search CTEK, they have a charger specifically for Optima and Stinger type batteries. About $130 USD.

[Rallyman]

Thanks for all your replies.

As it has been mentioned, there is a chance that the battery is the one causing the trouble, and not the charger (lucky I have not cut the cable with the Ferrari connector from the OEM trickle charger yet!)

Anyway, I am going to look for a quality battery. I am not giving such a dead battery another chance.

I will keep you posted. In the meantime, the car has both doors open. I can't imagine what I would do if a battery fails like this in a trip and I am not even able to close the doors!

[Rallyman]

I finally replaced the battery and after installing the new one, the maintainer works fine. So in the end, the battery had failed during winter, while connected to the OEM battery maintainer. Al my cars are connected to maintainers during winter, but this is the first time it happens to me.

Unfortunately, I had to replace the failed Optima battery with another Optima unit, because the car's battery tray has the shape of the Optima, and a standard battery would not fit (I unsuccessfully tried with a Bosch).

I did the ECU reset process as described in the forum, but now I have another question: I assume that during its reset process, the ECU 're-learns' the octane level of the gasoline. It is well-known that the gasoline loses some of its octane rating during storage, and given that the gasoline has been sitting in the tank since I stored the car in December, it is fair to assume that the current octane rating is lower than that of 'fresh' gasoline. In this case, the ECU may not let the engine deliver its full potential.

Would it make sense to do another ECU reset process after topping-up next time, or should I assume that the ECU will constantly analyze the octane rating and will self adjust once I fill-up the tank again?

[Brian]

Originally Posted by Rallyman

I finally replaced the battery and after installing the new one, the maintainer works fine. So in the end, the battery had failed during winter, while connected to the OEM battery maintainer. Al my cars are connected to maintainers during winter, but this is the first time it happens to me.

Unfortunately, I had to replace the failed Optima battery with another Optima unit, because the car's battery tray has the shape of the Optima, and a standard battery would not fit (I unsuccessfully tried with a Bosch).

I did the ECU reset process as described in the forum, but now I have another question: I assume that during its reset process, the ECU 're-learns' the octane level of the gasoline. It is well-known that the gasoline loses some of its octane rating during storage, and given that the gasoline has been sitting in the tank since I stored the car in December, it is fair to assume that the current octane rating is lower than that of 'fresh' gasoline. In this case, the ECU may not let the engine deliver its full potential.

Would it make sense to do another ECU reset process after topping-up next time, or should I assume that the ECU will constantly analyze the octane rating and will self adjust once I fill-up the tank again?

The battery tray can be easily modified to take a different battery and I strongly suggest it. Ferrari got conned into using Optimas for a short time but they were the cause of so many troubles that they quickly abandoned use of them. I strongly suggest you do too. They have been the cause of many software issues. Terrible product except for possibly something as electronically complex as a forklift.

Forget the reset process. More disinformation about that out there than there is timing belts. The system constantly learns and adapts, it never stops and requires no action of any kind from you. Just hook up the battery and drive the car. Thats all Ferrari does and it seems to work well enough for them.

[StefVan]

Relearn steps from the F430 WSM :



And knowing pretty well the Motronic 7.1.1 firmware, it's far from being "disinformation" and I can tell that this relearn procedure is very important to apply...DON'T DRIVE OFF BEFORE THESE MININUM 10 MIN. INTERVAL.

As for the octane level, no need to reset, the Motronic ECU's are constantly adapting their internal variables to avoid engine knocking. But I can advise a regular overnight reset to oblige a full relearn. You'll be impressed each time how your engine will run better after.

[Brian]

Originally Posted by StefVan

Relearn steps from the F430 WSM :
Attachment 43645
Attachment 43646

And knowing pretty well the Motronic 7.1.1 firmware, it's far from being "disinformation" and I can tell that this relearn procedure is very important to apply...DON'T DRIVE OFF BEFORE THESE MININUM 10 MIN. INTERVAL.

As for the octane level, no need to reset, the Motronic ECU's are constantly adapting their internal variables to avoid engine knocking. But I can advise a regular overnight reset to oblige a full relearn. You'll be impressed each time how your engine will run better after.

Right.

[tazandjan]

RM- Optimas suck, as you discovered. Many of them brought into the dealers can be brought back to life by using a really heavy duty charger, but who wants to go through that? If this one dies on you, try something else. You can buy the battery holder for the FIAMM VR760, the OEM battery early in production, but it is a bit expensive. Part number 67943100 and you may be able to find one from a wrecked car for way less money.

There is a heavier duty CTEK, the 7002, available for ~$100, that may do a better job of keeping the Optima alive. Swedish made, and widely available. The attachment points would not match your factory connector, though.