Trickle Charger for 360

I have the deltran units for several years now (the Battery Tender) and have never had an issue nor heard of any.

 

I have a Battery Tender hooked up directly to the battery on the passenger floor board. Still looking for a way to get the wires through the firewall and to the front trunk or front bumper area. Advice???

 

I found that lowering the driver window only a 1/2" and bringing the cord through the gap prevents the car moving without disconnecting the charger. We use to have electric carts where the charger plugged in on the passenger side and lots of streched wires after people drove off. Try to keep the charger outside the car just in case something goes wrong. And if something happens and the battery is completley dead, the door is easier to open with the window down. Note also that the trunk must be shut completely in order for the electronics to go to sleep, even though the trunk light is off the open trunk will keep systems drawing current. I spent a week troubleshooting and even bought a new battery to figure that out. FWIW.

Jeff Pintler
89 348tb, 86tr, 99 360 3-pedal

 

Would still love to find a way to get the wire through the firewall and through one of the front ducts.

 

Something to consider, that nobody mentioned. It's not a big deal, but just a thought. The longer you run the charging cable, the more chance you can have it damaged, or pinched creating a short and a potential hazard.
I just hooked it up to the battery directly, and tucked the connector behind the carpet on the side of the kick panel. I just reach up and grab the connector, plug it in to the battery tender and run the wire out of a slightly lowered passenger window. It's simple, and works great.

A quick warning. The older Battery Tender pig tails don't have a fuse on them! If you have one of those, make sure you get a new style pig tail, or add a fuse as close to the end of the wire as possible, just in case it gets shorted out, you can blow a fuse instead of starting an electrical fire!

 

Why not just leave it loose (but neat) in the wheel well? I've seen many hooked up that way. It might not be pretty, but it seems relatively safe and affords easy access.

 

I don't feel comfortable running in through the bottom door edge when the door is closed.

Can't leave the window down a bit to run it there due to the car cover while in the garage.

 

I recently bought a used F430 Spider, and found out how quickly the battery can go dead. What a bummer. The car has battery tender leads coming from the passenger side foot panel, but the car came with no tender/charger. I went to the dealer for a tender/charger to match the leads, and he wants $400. I must be missing something here. Who in the world ever heard of a $400 battery tender. It's for tending a battery, not someone in assisted living!

 

Hog:

Take a look at Ebay. I have seen some significantly cheaper!

Another alternative would be to purchase a $30.00 Battery Tender. Pick up the extension accessory and use it to splice into the wire coming out from behind you seat. Very simple to do...2 minutes max!

 

I also use a Battery Tender Plus and 12' extension to keep the 430 battery ready. Yes, the extension cable does get slightly pinched beneath door but (IMHO) not enough to cause a problem.

The original "old-style" Ferrari charger is neatly packaged on a shelf because I am not using that "dumb" charger.

 

The factory battery charger has three pins and I think it functions with a relay behind the driver seat to charge the battery while the battery switch in the trunk is off. On the 360, the connection is under a panel for brake fluid/master cylinder. As I am sure all of you have seen in your automotive adventure, many professionals use crimp splices to wiring repairs and think nothing of drilling holes in stuff that should not be messed with. Two wires squished in a door seal is not a big problem. So once you find a way to get the cable to the trunk, then you have to get garage power also into the trunk, with the trunk completely closed so the systems go to sleep. So maybe a cord sticking out out below the bumper like most trucks? We are trying to help you solve your problem by explaining simple is safe, fast, cheaper and a little fun. FWIW

Jeff Pintler
89 348tb, 86tr, 99 360 3-pedal
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Sure be nice if we had a schematic not a drawing of a harness!

 

Jeff, I agree...sticking out the front bumper would be ideal. Any recommendations how to get the wires there?

 

I can not speak for the Ferraris, but my Elise used to have some parasitic electronics problems and leaving the car more than a week would drain the battery to completely dead. I replaced a lot of batteries. I put the cheapes battery tender on it, and wheneverI went into my garage I would just plug it in. No more dead batteries, ever! I have to admit for such a small device it saves a lot of headaches. I've heard not-so-great things about the ferrari "dumb" charger... so it will be my first purchase

 

While a Tender is a great thing to have, and a must for lenghty non-drive periods, you might consider attending to the root issue as well. A 430 should not drain the battery in a week or two of sitting. Even in the winter, mine takes very little charge when I hook up after two (hated) weeks on non-use.

 

Problem solved!

Went looking for a way to get my Battery Trickle Charger wire through the front firewall to the lower front intake grill....the previous owner had already installed one! Problem solved...not passing wire through firewall.

Looks like he wired it directly into the battery cutoff swith in the front trunck and then fed the wire down to the front side vent opening. Super cool!

Maybe something for other to consider???

 

Make sure there's a fuse on that wire.

 

The battery is more than 5 years old, so it has to go.
A battery tender would be nice. Even better if it has the Ferrari logo

 

I'm a little baffled. At one point a few year ago I had three Ferraris, two Cadillacs and a Maserati and winter-stored all but the Cadillac CTS, all on small Deltran battery tenders clipped to their batteries. Never had a single issue. ???

 

I guess the immobilizer or a draw plays a roll how a battery is. Im in the process of removing my immobilizer to help with that. Thanks trev for the help