Probably sulphated as I suspected on the shelf reducing its capacity to deliver current. Good on the shop, in refunding your moneyJust checked the date on the Yuasa battery that was fitted and suspect I have the source of the problem. I can't see a manufacturing date, but the battery has stamped on it a "recharge due" date of September 2016. Considering that it was fitted as a 'new' battery in August 2018, that might well have something to do with the problem I had. Lesson learned - will be checking dates on batteries in future!
As I say above, there was no quibble from the supplying dealer, Hills of Lymington, on refunding me the price of a new Bosch battery.
This one, its been brilliant:
EA1000 Exide Premium Car Battery 12V 100Ah - 017TE
EA1000 Exide Premium Car Battery 017TE Exide are one of the leading battery manufacturers companies in the world and have been delivering quality in the automotive and infrastructure sectors for more than 130 years! Exide premium car batteries are Exide's leading wet lead acid battery range...www.tayna.co.uk
Cheers, was just about to pull the trigger on a Bosch S5 019, is this better then? The price certainly is lol!
Its Exide 100amp....nuff said. Mines been brilliant. Personally I have heard of the Yusa going up the swanie so this or Bosch.
If you’d taken that to Maserati your gearbox, clutch and actuator would be out on the workshop floor by now.
Coming back to this thread with a few further thoughts almost a year into my ownership of the car. Bought a second new battery - the Exide one recommended above - which still didn't solve the problem.
I'm away in the week so generally leave the car connected to a CTEK charger (MXS5 or MXS10). I had even tried completely disconnecting the battery (both positive and negative terminals) during the week. Strangely that still didn't solve the problem completely (so it appeared it wasn't just a simple battery drain problem). Which is when I had a thought... I wondered whether there was something about the battery chemistry that meant it wasn't giving full output immediately after being disconnected from the charger. So I am now disconnecting the CTEK the night before taking the car out for the weekend, and it seems to have made some difference. Incidence of the errors on start-up is now much reduced.
The car has also been in for its four year service this week, and after I had a debate with the main dealer that installing the Maserati standard battery (for 'only' £489, fitted) was not an acceptable solution, they claim to have cleared the errors, updated software and not to have been able to reproduce the problem. I pick up the car on Friday and will see how we get on...
Good call - all the QP and many GranTurismo are int he window where alternators might be failing. Well worth getting alternator checked at the same time as battery is replaced.I had a new battery about 12 months ago that died recently. It was an exide premium one. Turns out it wasn’t the fault of the battery but the alternator that was slowly killing it. No alternator light on dash but was clearly not charging it correctly. I think it was actually overcharging it. Whatever it was the alternator was the issue so throwing batteries at it would just kill each battery in time.
My own alternator was packed off for a refurb - thought better than cracking it open myself. Few skinned knuckles and many expletives involved in the task. Price of new one is proper Trident Tax.From memory, the alternator should charge the battery no higher than 14.4V (please correct). There's actually two parts to the alternator. The generator bit (fairly reliable) that creates electricity as alternating current (not a dynamo) and a rectifier.
It's the rectifier's job to convert the AC to DC, these usually consist of a bridge rectifier (4 diodes in a certain configuration). Over time the silicon diodes break down causing voltage fluctuations.
My old SEAT Ibiza had this issue and a replacement diode pack sorted the issue, more cost-effectively than replacing the whole alternator.
Whether the Maserati rectifier pack can be replaced, I've not looked into but they are fairly standard parts. Probably off an iveco van.
It may not be the issue in this case as I was getting no warning lights at all, but yes, certainly worth checking.Good call - all the QP and many GranTurismo are int he window where alternators might be failing. Well worth getting alternator checked at the same time as battery is replaced.
two or three dead batteries buys one alternator refurb.It may not be the issue in this case as I was getting no warning lights at all, but yes, certainly worth checking.