458 - Moving a car with dead battery | FerrariChat

458 Moving a car with dead battery

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by versamil, Dec 21, 2019.

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  1. versamil

    versamil Formula 3
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    Apr 28, 2013
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    Gaston, Oregon
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    Brian Healy
    Despite leaving my 458 on the battery tender, the battery seems to have given up. The car is tucked in next to other cars, so I can't open the passenger door. I've never had good luck trying to get the car into the car wash mode, so I can push the car. Is there another location to JUMP the car so it can start? With the automatic parking brakes, and the car in park, this is the ONLY car I never can push around. Really irritating. Trying to replace the battery from the DRIVERS side isn't something I want to do. I may just use my car dollies, which lift up every wheel, but they're also NOT very easy to use. I DON'T think they will fit, as they're challenging to get under the Testarossa's and 328's I bought them for.
     
  2. action-ant

    action-ant Karting

    Nov 16, 2015
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    San Francisco, CA
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    Anthony
    Hey Brian,

    I think the tool kit allows you to disable the parking brake at the passenger rear wheel well, and disable transmission parking from the top of the engine. Keep us posted!
     
  3. flash32

    flash32 F1 Veteran

    Aug 22, 2008
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    Dominick
    Not sure if you can - but wouldn't be easier to go thru the drivers side and hard wire a new battery to the terminals of the old while leaving new battery on passenger floor .. i believe the battery panel is just velco and you can use jumper cables to tie the two batteries together ..or better yet remove terminals and connect direct to jumper cables that are connected to new battery on passenger floor ? Maybe be a little difficult getting /laying down to get to battery but not impossible ??

    Maybe not understanding issue well enough
     
  4. up4speed

    up4speed F1 Rookie
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    Feb 16, 2012
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    Chris
    I like your idea of getting a new battery, then disconnecting old battery, and using jumper cables to connect from the terminal ends to the new battery, just to start it and back it out so you have more room to install battery properly. Be careful if you jump start the car, it can cause damage. It's always better to charge, or change the battery, rather than jumping it.
     
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  5. flash32

    flash32 F1 Veteran

    Aug 22, 2008
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    Central NJ
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    Dominick
    Thanks ! - Whichever way it is done please make sure disconnect switch is off before doing anything
     
  6. versamil

    versamil Formula 3
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    Apr 28, 2013
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    Brian Healy
    I'm pretty nimble and skinny, but working under the dash of the car from the opposite side of the car, seems like an invitation to do damage to the console.
    Unlike MOST cars, there is no apparent place to easily jump this car. Doing a search on Ferrari Chat, I've come up with an Interstate battery I'll order on Monday.

    I have seven cars in a fairly small spot, and the fact that I can't get this car to park and shut off without the brakes on and trans in neutral has been frustrating. Very easy to safely park a car in tight quarters when you can push it around and SEE what you're doing. I've always been concerned about the battery dying with the windows UP all the way, and then not being able to open the door without slightly damaging the rubber molding. I've left my window down a half inch for the entire time I've owned the car. This also gives my battery tender a place for the power wire.

    Maybe I'll try charging the battery with a real battery charger instead of the tender. I have TWO Ferrari battery tenders, and I installed the second one, just to make sure my first one hadn't failed.Still just lights up the half charged battery light after another day of charging. Everything in the car APPEARS normal until I try starting the engine, then it drops in power.I'll just squirm my way into the passenger footwell and do some diagnosis. No easy solutions from the Ferrari Chat Brain trust! I can't imagine there's some tool in the tool kit that magically gets the transmission out of park. I can hardly SEE any part of the engine or transmission with the hood up, as this is a spider. Shame the car on the passenger side CAN'T be moved until the 458 is out of the way. I THINK that the carwash mode can only be set from an engine RUNNING condition, not just ignition on. So a non- starting car is stuck in park. My 80's Ferrari's are starting to look pretty good! All manual transmissions.
     
  7. RayJohns

    RayJohns F1 Veteran
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    May 21, 2006
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    Usually it's best not to jump the 458 like you would a Honda or Toyota. If you own a normal battery charger (not the factory tender), you can always try charging the battery over night. However, it's best to disconnect the negative terminal while charging, in order to help isolate the rest of the electronics. Personally, I would disconnect both the positive and negative leads and charge the battery totally isolated from the car. Gaining access to the battery is a bit of a hassle, for sure.

    The 458 also has a manual gear box - it just doesn't use a manual shift lever or clutch like the older cars. Despite what many people seem to think, it's not an automatic transmission; there is no torque converter. It's just a manual gearbox like any other, except it's a DCT design. At the end of the day, if you crack it open, it's not all that much different than the gearbox in your car's from the 80's. The best way to think of the 458 is a manual transmission, but the shift lever is now paddles and the car's ECU is actuating the clutch for you. Once you understand that - and take the car out of the 'auto' mode - then you can drive it much better usually.

    Refer to page 204 in your owner's manual if you need to manually disengage the parking e-brake stuff, using the tool in the took kit. There is also information in there for opening the front hood latch without power as well. Just keep in mind that it will start rolling, if it's on a hill of any sort.

    Good luck man! Let us know how it works out.

    Ray
     
  8. versamil

    versamil Formula 3
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    Apr 28, 2013
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    Another issue has occurred that's a little disconcerting. Both rear view mirrors decided to go to the lowered position, like what happens when you put the car in reverse. BUT for some reason the motor on the drivers side continues to run even with the key off. Rotating the mirror adjusting knob has NO affect. Not wanting my mirror motor to self destruct, I had the choice of disconnecting the battery, or trying to stop the motor by pulling a fuse. Carefully going through the operators manual, checking it at least four times, there appears to NOT be an outside mirror fuse. So I decided to unscrew the plug in the door jam. That worked, but in the process, the internal part of the connector popped into the interior of the door. I could NOT get it snapped back out, and get the harness plugged in, so I removed the door panel for access. My motor is currently NOT running, but I need additional information before I proceed. BOTH mirrors are currently pointing towards the ground, NOT very good to drive to the dealer.

    I frankly worry about disconnecting the battery completely without providing voltage to the car. MAYBE all the ecu's are fine without a supply of power, but the dealer is a two hour round trip each time. After the Christmas holiday is past, I'm at least going to figure out how to get the mirrors oriented correctly and be able to turn off power if it wigs out again. I certainly don't want to drive an hour with the mirror motor running , trying to lower the mirror to the ground. I suspect the fuse for the left hand door, must run both the window AND the electric mirror, but haven't spent the time yet to verify that. It's MORE than a little irritating, that Ferrari doesn't provide some sort of manual for the car, for people that are REALLY mechanically inclined. I owned an independent repair shop for twenty years working on Ferrari's and Maserati's, so I'm not an amateur at this.

    At 3500 miles, my drivers window regulator cable completely shredded in this car. I replaced the window regulator with a new one. At eight hundred dollars just for the part, I don't want to burn out any other motors if I can prevent it. I DO like the design of some of the electrical system in this car.The MAIN power fuse box is physically attached to the positive battery terminal. A design that's LIGHT years ahead of my Testarossa's that burn out their PC board fuse box. Getting most of the high current draw accessories mounted on a heavy duty terminal strip is SMART! The battery IS accessible from the drivers seat. Probably as easy as trying to work through the open passenger door. I can see Ferrari NOT having an easy place to jump start the car. Probably WAY too many expensive computers can be destroyed in a split second if the polarity was reversed, or using a battery charger that charges at a MUCH too high voltage.
     
  9. Melvok

    Melvok F1 World Champ
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    Jul 25, 2008
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    Well Brian …. solved by now ?
     
  10. versamil

    versamil Formula 3
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    Mel, no I haven't made any progress.I was playing phone tag with the dealer, and then when I finally talked to someone, they didn't call back with any information on rear view mirror fuses. I'll try again tomorrow. Using my second battery tender, my light went to green and I was able to start the car, but the mirror motors running constantly is NOT something I want to ignore. So I'm just letting it sit, until I can figure out how to at least turn power off to the mirrors. Of course, leaving the door connector in the jamb disconnected, made numerous alarms go off, with the dreaded, take car to dealer. Drivers door airbag unhooked, car doesn't know whether the door is shut, windows up, and who knows what effect the mirrors have. NOT having any sort of schematic is a HUGE pain in the butt. One would think with the key off, mirrors would be dead. The only thing that I can think is if a relay points were burned to where they stuck closed. Would mirrors have a relay? No schematic- who knows. I'm NOT going to mess with it, until I have more info.
     
  11. RayJohns

    RayJohns F1 Veteran
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    Disconnect the battery for a while and follow the reconnection procedures in the owner's manual.

    I'd also check the battery voltage using a digital meter to see what it is.

    Ray
     
  12. versamil

    versamil Formula 3
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    Ray Johns - I think I WILL unhook the battery. I did get the engine to start after charging with my second battery tender, and the light on the tender had turned green, so moving the car was easy. BUT if my mirror motors stay running I'll just disconnect the battery. Way easier than removing the door plug in the door jam. I was surprised to see the part of the connector on the DOOR side so easily go into the door. Try as hard as I could I could NOT get the connector back together, without having my hand on the opposite side IN the door. Fortunately removing the door panel is NOT very hard, when I've already removed it the first time to replace the window regulator and motor. For anyone needing to take off their door panel, the center part of the door panel just SNAPS out, exposing all the other screws that need to be removed to get the rest of the panel off. Ferrari uses the same snaps to remove the Drivers side fuse panel. Pull hard and it just pops off.
    Irritating I'm having to learn this on a car with JUST 11,000 miles on it!! I WOULD have preferred to remain ignorant of these things for at least thirty or forty thousand miles.
     
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  13. RayJohns

    RayJohns F1 Veteran
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    May 21, 2006
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    Usually resetting the car by disconnecting the battery solves most of strange things, such as your mirror issues, etc. Also it usually corrects windows not going up correctly sort of issues. Makes sure to follow the steps in the owner's manual when you reconnect.

    Once my car started operating the exhaust valves backwards for no apparent reason; resetting the car by disconnecting the battery cured it straight away.

    Good Luck!

    Ray
     
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