I didn't drive my GTS for 12 days and now the battery needs replacing!

[Rags]

Opened up the car when I got back from holiday and it wouldn't start with a number of warning lights showing and flashing. Maserati recovery (RAC) point blank refused to jump start the car or charge it up. They recovered it to my local dealer - thats all they are ever allowed to do according to their contract with Maserati.

The dealer then calls me and tells me that the battery is dead and I have to pay for a replacement as its not covered under warranty. Annoying. Anyway I stuck to my guns and point blank refused. All of my other cars started up without any problem on my return. They have now kindly agreed with Maserati HQ that it would be replaced under warranty. At least they came through in the end.

Cant help but feel that I should have left it on charge but I really think any battery should survive 12 days.....

Anyway they have recommended and I have agreed to install a trickle charger called Accumate which I need to plug in every time I switch off the car.

Italian sports cars and their foibles or am I expecting too much?

 

[lofty]

Mine went flat over night and never recovered, it was replaced under warranty with no hassle, but they do seem very weak.

 

[Gixerboy]

The Batteries are fine normally my QP lasted 6years before replacement.

The normal cause is battery drain caused by an aftermarket tracker or imobilser..?
Also if the car is left unlocked, this can cause a higher current drain due to standby circuits not shutting down fully.Short journeys with frequent turn off & restarting, may not allow the battery to fully recharge.

Cheers

Dave

Hope that helps..

 

[Felonious Crud]

Glad you got it sorted, Rags. Unless mine gets a good run - 30 to 60 mins minimum - every week I stick it on charge for a day or so using a CTEK 5 conditioner.

 

[dem maser]

They run out easy......mine is good...4 years now and it goes 8 weeks with no start up

 

[richardstrudwick]

Shouldn't need trickle charge every time, that is rediculous! I leave my car a week no problems.

However, my battery often drops below 11.8 volts (engine off) which doesn't seem right. Dick Lovett drain tested the battery and say it is fine.

Never thought about the tracker draining power, maybe I'll remove as it's not activated (a yearly subscription is twice my insurance!)

I installed a second battery (connected to the generator) for my cameras as they kept dropping out with the low battery voltage.

 

[Felonious Crud]

You *shouldn't* need to keep charging the battery but considering how inconvenient a dead battery can be, especially with the after-shocks of electronic gremlins, I'm happy to spend a few minutes plugging it in.

 

[mowlas]

I am pretty sure there is an inherent battery (parasitic) drain problem on the GTs that are not on the QPs. There's a US forum where I constantly hear of people receiving their brand new GTs and then the battery going flat within a few days - they almost all go and swap their batteries for a high power, super resilient alternative.

This is definitely a warrantable item - I'd be interested to hear who your dealer was. I think Maserati need to offer a permanent solution to this problem for GT owner as it's been reported many times across UK and US forums.

 

[roger102]

it does seem a little weird though I've left mine for 2 months before and it was ok. Not too keen on repeating the experiment.

 

[Felonious Crud]

I flattened mine once and would rather not do it again. I know it'll go a couple of weeks ok, but don't want to see just what the limits of its endurance are. Use it or charge it, is my approach. Buy a condiotiner and keep the battery in top-top condition.

 

[bigbob]

Battery conditioner is what you need. These cars do flatten batteries quickly especially if your use is local before a long break. Unacceptable really but condition it or sell it.

 

[dem maser]

Thats bad, they run down quick

 

[bigbob]

Trouble is you can think that you are using it before you go away but if each start up is for less than a 30 min run then you are draining the battery despite feeling that you are using the car. It's a design flaw - If I lived in a city and used on street parking it would wind me up.

 

[CatmanV2]

I really struggle with that 30 minute number. I know I only have a 4200, but I do 6.6 miles to the station each morning (according to google maps) That takes me about 15 minutes.
The trip back takes rather longer, cos the traffic is pretty grim, so not really running at any speed for more than about 5 miles of that.

I very rarely have battery issues. I get some slightly odd behaviours sometimes, like windows dropping to far and mirrors not setting themselves right, but the car has never failed to start unless I've left it for a week.

It should be pretty easy to work out as well:
Random stat:

Bosch Silver CCA on the big one is 850A
CCA is the amount of current the battery can supply for 30 seconds while maintaining overall voltage of 7.2 v

Let's assume we don't want the cranking voltage to drop below that (although I suspect it gets nowhere near)
That gives us power of 10.2kw (given by power = voltage x current)


According to wiki: 'A discharged battery draws a high charge current of typically 20 to 40 A'

So say you crank your car for 5 seconds at 850A, the energy used is 51kj (10.2kw x 5 seconds)

If you're charging at say 20A, then the power there is 240W or 240 joules per second.

51kj = 51000j
51000/240 = 212.5 *seconds* or 3.5 minutes

Granted I've assumed 100% efficiency there.
Further in wiki we find:
As the battery becomes charged the charge current typically decreases to 2—5 amperes

So even if we assume the absolute worse, that your battery is virtually fully charged, and your charging circuit is only capable of delivering 2ish amps, then yes, 30 minutes is not unreasonable. I find it very very unlikely though. Partly because my car cranks for about a second before it fires, so you're looking at dropping everything by 80% (even the worse case) and I strongly suggest that other than exceptional circumstances the electrical system should be able to supply far more than 2A 'spare' for charging.

Happy, as ever, pleased to be proved wrong.

C

 

[hodroyd]

Installed trackers can flatten batteries..!! One train of thought is to leave the car unlocked in the garage so that the alarm and tracker do not switch on, although others believe this is the reverse and systems are still on when car is switched off..!! The best way is to check what drain on the battery is when the car is locked and unlocked, that should clarify it for you..!!

 

[dem maser]

Trackers stay on whether on or off

 

[dem maser]

I should say mine does anyway

 

[bigbob]

My 4200 was fine once I had disconnected the tracker. GranTurismo is more awkward.

 

[hodroyd]

If the car is off at the mains switch, does your tracker still remain on Dem..??

 

[dem maser]

Has its own battery, when its battery goes flat the company let me know....was previously connected to car battery but new tech