Is 11.8V low volt battery normal?

Mine has read 11.8 every day since I got it six months ago. No issues. Always starts, even on several overnight trips.

 

IMHO that is low and likely prone to an issue as you have little margin before it is too low to power all the systems – something I sadly have experience with at 11.5v.

As @Retail indicates you might well be ok but I would look to get it above 12v using a discrete 12v charger – which sounds like what your dealer is going to do. Once I charged mine to 12.5v it has never dropped below that.

Of course YMMV on this.

 

where is the LV battery and how do you charge it up? like a regular car? do we have to deactivate or disconnect any of the battery cables on the large battery attached to the engine?

 

Mine is also on 11.8 v since delivery and I had tons of gremlins as mentioned in other posts

 

From personal experience that is TOO LOW.. you need to be above 12V and closer to 13V ideally. These cars draw a lot of charge from the LV battery and it will lead to other fault codes being thrown up.

The issue is the way the alternator and charging system works on the 296 is so complicated it does not automatically charge the LV battery when you drive like in a normal IC car.

if you can’t get the voltage up and the battery is not faulty trying taking it for a few hours of hard driving or else connect a trickle charger directly to the 12V battery which is in the passenger footwell (obviously not when the car is plugged into a HV charger).

 

11.8v is standard. Mine was just in for service. No issues.

 

Whilst that may be a quick fix have you read page 78 of the manual ?

This is the direct quote copied and pasted this is mainly written in red in the manual( that formatting does not copy across).

I have highlighted in Bold and underline the warning that may be relied upon to void your warranty if something goes wrong. Yes most people know how to charge a 12 v battery using a trickle charger , I do it on my non hybrid vehicles both two and four wheels however they have owners manuals that go through the process.

The fact is whether you like it or not Ferrari do not want you to do it


Here is the extract :


Warning

Like all batteries, the high voltage battery should also be kept at a good charge level. If you will not be using the vehicle for over a week, you must connect the vehicle to the mains using the charge lead supplied with the vehicle.

For further information on charging, refer to the special manual included in the on-board documentation.

12V battery

The other type of battery installed on the vehicle is a maintenance-free sealed 12V battery located behind the passenger side footrest.

This battery is part of the low voltage system and is used to power onboard auxiliary equipment (airbags, lights, windsereen wipers, audio systems, etc.) without having to use the internal combustion engine.

Warning

Do not place the battery near sources of heat, sparks or naked flames.

Warning

Never disconnect the 12V battery from the electrical system or remove it from the vehicle, see label "D" in the chapter "Identification, homologation and warning plates and labels". This must only be performed exclusively by the FERRARI SERVICE NETWORK.

Warning

Connect the vehicle to the mains using the charge lead supplied with the vehicle to keep the 12V battery at a sufficient charge level when the vehicle is not in use.

For further information on charging, refer to the special manual included in the on-board documentation.

Warning

The only way to charge the 12V battery, without removing it from the vehicle. is to use the supplied power lead and conneet it to the mains.

Do not use battery chargers connected to the 12V battery terminals.

Emergency starting

Warning

The 12V battery CANNOT be used for emergency starting of the engine.

 

Mine shows 11.7