[407guy]

Just this week the battery in our 2018 SQ completely died. Prior day no issues, drove like a gem. No warnings, no nothing, the next day. Doors not open the prior night, no lights left on.

Anyway this was our second battery. The one that died this week (battery #2) was replaced almost 3 years ago. At the time of its installation we did not have a battery booster and the experience was a wake-up call as we began our Alfa Romeo ownership journey. We purchased a Noco Genius Boost+ GB40 (12V 1000A, 7000 joules.) If I recall I based this purchase on reviews on how great it is. Another lesson learned…

The GB40 could not start our SQ with a completely dead battery. Went through all the drills and no luck. Called Alfa Care. The Alfa Care tow truck arrived 8.5 hours later (truth) with their commercial grade booster and it started the vehicle on the second try.

Posting to ask if anyone has needed to use a battery booster - that started the vehicle - for a completely dead battery in a Quadrifoglio. Make, model, etc. of the booster would greatly be appreciated.

The tow truck driver said the high compression engine of the Quad may be why the booster we had did not start the vehicle. 🤷‍♂️

 

[pocholin]

First time my battery died I was able to start it with my wife's Honda Fit....however, it took about 20 minutes before I could start it. I thought about getting something larger but, in all honesty, for how often it is supposed to happen, it isn't worth the expense. Second (and last) time this happed a mini van was hooked to my car for about 10 minutes before I gave it a try and the car started. So, next time (hopefully in a few years) just keep the jumper cables hooked for a while and save the money of a big charger...my 2 cents.

 

[407guy]

^ Fair enough. The battery booster pack fits under the seat so there's no need [well, shouldn't be] for another vehicle. At least that's what I thought...

 

[pocholin]

I forgot to mention that both times I tried jumping the car with a portable battery booster (only 400A though) and the car didn't start...it was good enough to make the alarm go off when first hooked up. The same battery booster works well in the wife's Honda, so yes, small power boosters work on other vehicles with less power demand for start up.

 

[407guy]

Our other rig is a 2019 Honda Passport (3.5 V6). Maybe what we have would be enough for that otherwise we have a phone/device charger. Doh!

 

[Kannassee]

Also you should connect the cables directly to the battery, not to the connectors by the engine. Those are only for light stuff like opening the trunk etc
Not for starting the car. At least thats what I was told

 

[jwq2]

Also you should connect the cables directly to the battery, not to the connectors by the engine. Those are only for light stuff like opening the trunk etc
Not for starting the car. At least thats what I was told

I doubt it..... After all, they are specifically "jump start" terminals, that's what they are for

 

[ttaidapos]

On a completely dead SQV, I had to use 2 GB40s that were fully charged. After jumping they were nearly drained. For some reason, my SQV turned on the cooling fan right of way which drained the GB40s quickly. I would recommend a 2,000 rated GB and ensure they're fully charged often. The weird thing is, after the battery (original MY18) was fully charged, I never had a problem. Plan on replacing it soon proactively.

 

[R Leong]

I doubt it..... After all, they are specifically "jump start" terminals, that's what they are for

I have safely used the two posts both to charge battery and jump start.

 

[R Leong]

Just this week the battery in our 2018 SQ completely died. Prior day no issues, drove like a gem. No warnings, no nothing, the next day. Doors not open the prior night, no lights left on.

Anyway this was our second battery. The one that died this week (battery #2) was replaced almost 3 years ago. At the time of its installation we did not have a battery booster and the experience was a wake-up call as we began our Alfa Romeo ownership journey. We purchased a Noco Genius Boost+ GB40 (12V 1000A, 7000 joules.) If I recall I based this purchase on reviews on how great it is. Another lesson learned…

The GB40 could not start our SQ with a completely dead battery. Went through all the drills and no luck. Called Alfa Care. The Alfa Care tow truck arrived 8.5 hours later (truth) with their commercial grade booster and it started the vehicle on the second try.

Posting to ask if anyone has needed to use a battery booster - that started the vehicle - for a completely dead battery in a Quadrifoglio. Make, model, etc. of the booster would greatly be appreciated.

The tow truck driver said the high compression engine of the Quad may be why the booster we had did not start the vehicle. 🤷‍♂️

I use a NOCO Genius GB70 on a (Q4, not a Quad). The higher up you go in boost power, the very much more expensive the system becomes. Not sure about compression issues, but on a totally drained battery or when nothing else works, there is a manual "override" button to use as a last resort. I have used it with the "override" on my Stelvio in the early days before the AGM battery when it was completely drained and on other cars with batteries completely drained (nice to be considered a hero lifesaver). It's in the manual (that you need a microscope to read) and it is a safety override without much instruction but it worked for me as a last resort. You have to decide if the extraordinary expense of the higher boost power is worth it.

 

[407guy]

Thanks everyone. I was just looking at the GB70. Saw a video with someone using the GB70 to jump a Quad. $200 USD though.

 

[407guy]

I use a NOCO Genius GB70 on a (Q4, not a Quad). The higher up you go in boost power, the very much more expensive the system becomes. Not sure about compression issues, but on a totally drained battery or when nothing else works, there is a manual "override" button to use as a last resort. I have used it with the "override" on my Stelvio in the early days before the AGM battery when it was completely drained and on other cars with batteries completely drained (nice to be considered a hero lifesaver). It's in the manual (that you need a microscope to read) and it is a safety override without much instruction but it worked for me as a last resort. You have to decide if the extraordinary expense of the higher boost power is worth it.

Yes, with the GB40 I used the "manual" mode to get some juice flowing to open the rear hatch. But that was about it.

When the two company came and jumped the vehicle the sunshade opened itself and the mirrors would not open out so there was no way to drive it to the dealership (well, I guess I could but wasn't comfortable). And there were all kinds of alerts on the display. Maybe if I drove it for a bit and charged up the battery it would have opened the mirrors but the flatbed was there and it was on AR's dime to get it to the dealership.

 

[ttaidapos]

Yes, with the GB40 I used the "manual" mode to get some juice flowing to open the rear hatch. But that was about it.

When the two company came and jumped the vehicle the sunshade opened itself and the mirrors would not open out so there was no way to drive it to the dealership (well, I guess I could but wasn't comfortable). And there were all kinds of alerts on the display. Maybe if I drove it for a bit and charged up the battery it would have opened the mirrors but the flatbed was there and it was on AR's dime to get it to the dealership.

You did right, let them dean with the Xmas lights. You're absolutely right though, one or two cycles with the car running and everything would go back to it's place. I've had luck picking up new GBs from eBay for a discount or Amazon when they run random sales.

 

[ViscontiVerde 164L*]

Tenders avoid most of these issues.......

 

[407guy]

^ Possibly but our SQ is driven daily 50-60 miles at a minimum, and that's mostly on the highway. Every so often it will not be driven on the weekend so I'm not sure a tender would help. Willing to learn/understand if it would with our situation and how often the vehicle is driven.

 

[jwq2]

^ Possibly but our SQ is driven daily 50-60 miles at a minimum, and that's mostly on the highway. Every so often it will not be driven on the weekend so I'm not sure a tender would help. Willing to learn/understand if it would with our situation and how often the vehicle is driven.

apparently the "intelligent" charging system however favours stop/start traffic to achieve maximum charging at max fuel efficiency, so continuous highway speeds are not optimal ......

 

[ViscontiVerde 164L*]

This not that hard. A 3 yr old battery that spent a good part of its life chronically partially discarded has died. Esp if it lived in a climate where heated seats, wheel etc where used a lot........ Replace battery, keep it tendered when not in use.
Nowadays I never cease to be amazed on ALL my vehicles that they love being topped up after local usage....esp both Lotus. Last battery issue I hads was ??5yrs ago on a 5yr old battery............
Sure you can keep a jumper setup in car, but isn't it easier to just give the battery some love in the first place???

 

[407guy]

apparently the "intelligent" charging system however favours stop/start traffic to achieve maximum charging at max fuel efficiency, so continuous highway speeds are not optimal ......

Really? I'd think the stop/start would lead to a shorter battery life; and thought it is in place for "better" fuel economy numbers and emissions.

 

[jwq2]

Really? I'd think the stop/start would lead to a shorter battery life; and thought it is in place for "better" fuel economy numbers and emissions.

It's not so much the start/stop, but the fact the alternator is programmed to generate more current during braking etc., thus improving economy

 

[lost1750GTV]

"current during braking" or off throttle coast down, so fuel doesn't have to be used to generate electricity.
Potential problem, if you use A mode and revs barely go up, and you use startstop maybe using more electricity than was created (along with other stuff like ac radio etc) then maybe ...
Just a theory from someone who doesn't use A or start/stop - and doesn't use a tender, and doesn't drive daily.