Help! Maserat gt problem!

[Nadya08]

Hi everyone,
Im here again as i have had another problem with my maserati battery! I had gone on vacation and the car was not turned on for about 2 months. The battery has completely died and i tried to jump start it but it only went on for a minute and made a funny sound and died again. I called up giallo who told me never to jump start the maserati as it can blow off the electrics. in the past when i had a battery problem i had jump started the car and taken it to giallo. They're advice was to take out the battery and charge it at home as i have no electric socket at the car park where my car is parked. I was recommended another mechanic here by a friend who told me he would jump start my car and see what the problem is and that i should never take the battery out as its like messing with the whole system to disconnect it. I don;t know what to do and whether to let the mechanic to come and have a look at the car. I don;t even know what options i have as i live in central london and don;t know who to ask for help!

 

[Carpetman]

Why not use the other car to chsrge your battery will take 20 or 30 mins just connect as you would jump but after say 25 mins disconnect the leads and start as normal if it does not start then battery has had it.

 

[Nadya08]

Thx for responding martinadianhall, i didn't know i could do that…the only other person i know who'll help me in this has a lexus four wheel drive, can i connect it to her car and charge it? Would the cables be the same as the jump start cables?

Why not use the other car to chsrge your battery will take 20 or 30 mins just connect as you would jump but after say 25 mins disconnect the leads and start as normal if it does not start then battery has had it.

 

[Felonious Crud]

Giallo are correct about not jump-starting - don't do it! There's no issue at all with removing the battery but my advice would be to replace it. They're never the same after they've been completely flattened. If you have AA or RAC membership I'm pretty sure they do good batteries for a good price, fitting included. Failing that go for a Bosch. Good luck!

 

[Carpetman]

If you are worried that even charging the battery on the car with the jump leads disconnect the earth can not damage anything if not conected.
the battery may or may nor recharge if it does not then the battery had it anyway, if the battery is over 3 years old I would replace. Date stamp should be on it with month and year

 

[whereskeith]

Some battery companies may even fit the new one and take away the old one as part of the service.. That's how mine was changed, but as I don't live I the UK I have no idea who to recommend.
I would also trust Giallo over the other guy as they know these cars.
Hope you get it sorted

 

[Nadya08]

Thank you Felonious…I do have RAC membership and i think it covers breakdown at the place its parked too…i didn't know i could just contact them and ask them to replace the battery though! I will do that first thing in the morning

 

[Nadya08]

i had the battery changed at halfords about a year and a half ago..i guess the battery they fitted was fine but it was my fault in not disconnecting it before travelling

 

[Nadya08]

Thank you whereskeith…I'm just going to go with RAC as i don't really trust independent mechanic's unless another maserati or sports car owner has used them!

 

[hoyin]

What do you mean you jump started it and it only ran for a bit and then died??

Did you drive it around after you jumped it?? Or did you just turn it off and try to start it again?

You need to drive it for at least 30 mins to charge up the battery.

If it is only 1.5 years old I doubt there is anything wrong with it. It has just run out of juice as you have not turned the car over in 2 months.

Connect it up to another car battery using the jump leads and start the doner car and leave it for 30 mins to give you own car enough juice to start.

Start your car and drive it. With any luck when you get back home the battery should be charged.

 

[Nadya08]

Hi Hoyin, when i jump started the car, we pulled out the cables and the car was running for about a minute and some strange clicking sound came on and it just stopped working completely. My key also got stuck inside the keyhole but the ppl at giallo told me how to take it out. I remember the last time i jumpstarted the car the other car driver revved their engine saying it would give my car more power. However this time, there was a guy walking around and he offered to help by putting the cables on and took it off the second my car went on and then walked away. I don;t know much about cars and neither did my other friend who has a lexus, we were just trying to find anyone to help us and were using the videos on youtube on how to jumpstart a car..i think we might have messed up

 

[Nadya08]

Hoyin, how do i charge the battery using the other car? is it exactly the same leads as the jump start cables and do i place the cables in exactly the same way and just leave it like that for half an hour? (ps i'm worried that the guy who came around to help might have put the cables on incorrectly now…)

 

[CatmanV2]

To charge the battery
Disconnect *your* battery
Start the 'donor' car
Connect positive to positive, negative to negative (or a ground point)
Leave for 30 minutes.
Disconnect donor car.
Reconnect your battery
Try to start.

Or that's how *I* would do it.

He can't have connected the 'wrong' as there would have been lots of sparks and noise, but it does rather sound like some electronics have had the magic smoke let out.

C

 

[hodroyd]

It sounds like your battery iss just not holding any charge and there is not enough power in it to keep the engine running. For up to £100 you can get a new battery with a 5 year guarantee, that should solve all the issues for you..!!
Either that, or your Alternator has gone and it's not charging thew battery at all..??

 

[BigR]

Suggest you get a Ctek or similar for when you're leaving it unattended for long periods. I plug mine in when not using it for more than a week or so, just to be on the safe side.

For note, I jump started my old 4.2 a couple of times soon after I first had it (it transpired the battery was on the way out), but it didn't do any harm at all. It came on with the fan inside blowing away and the dashboard lit up, 10 secs later all was calm again. That's not to say I would necessarily recommend it and if I got caught out again - and it was practical to do so - I'd plug in the trickle charger.

 

[Nadya08]

hi bigR …today i got the battery back after getting it charged at a mechanics…i started the car and theres no engine sound at all.. i called giallo and they said they had to see it to know what to do…does anyone know what this means? the key functions and electrics are working but theres no sound of the engine at all?!?

 

[StuartW]

Are you saying that the engine is not firing or that it's not even turning over when you turn the key?

 

[hoyin]

Think you need to get a mechanic to come and look at it. If the lights are coming on in the dash and the engine is not turning over you need a mechanic to come and look at it.