patdonahue

Hello, this is my first post here, I was wondering if the folks here could indulge me with a few questions although possibly they have been answered before ? I just recently found this site.
I just took delivery of a 2015 Cayman S the car will be infrequently driven I also have a 2001 Boxster S that has been has been sometimes not driven for a month, the OEM battery lasted almost 10 years ( since replaced by the dealer )before I had to do the jumper thing to get the hood open. The cars are kept in a secured garage, no alarm set with the keys out of the ignition. The cars are dealer maintained under a low milage use program.
I do not have a load of the tech gadgets in the Cayman really just the basic car for fun driving no nav system, Bluetooth, etc.
Is it unreasonable to think that the Cayman can sit for up to 3 weeks without a battery problem with out a trickle charge?
I have bought a battery trickle charger from Porsche, just in case of a problem. Can the charger cord have the window or door closed on it with out a cord pinch OR weatherstrip pinching problem?
Lastly, is there a custom made cable that will fit on the fuse box point I can obtain IF I have to pop the hood that can hook up to my portable jump starter/compressor, rather than dragging the heavy cables into the car interior and negative ground to the door hinge?
I live in a very rural area and am 150 miles round trip from the dealer, so I am trying to get some solid ideas. Due to commitments I cannot drive the cars as frequently as I would like, I try to get then out every couple of weeks for some exercise. The Cayman seems a bit different than the Boxster in the electrics and I do not know if what has worked for the infrequently driven Boxster will also work for the Cayman. Thanks in advance, Pat D

TTRob

Save yourself a lot of aggravation and use the battery maintainer. These modern cars have a lot of draw while sitting...various ecu's, the alarm, keyless entry, etc. You may get away with leaving it for two or three weeks a few times without issue, but as the battery ages and/or it's not sitting at full charge, eventually it will likely go dead. Driving a car with a low battery can also cause system warning lights/messages to come on. Plus, it stresses your alternator having it constantly charging a low battery. Keeping the battery on the maintainer will also make it last longer. I used one on my previous car and the battery was still going strong at 6 1/2 years old.

BE455

I use a trickle charger in the winter... no issue at all with running the cord out along the bottom of the door frame - no pinching.

And if it will frequently be 2+ weeks between drives, I'd agree with above that you'll be far better off using the charger all the time. It takes just a few seconds to plug in both ends, and will save you quite a bit of headache.

patdonahue

Gentlemen, thank you for your replies, most helpful! One last question: the Cayman S has an electric park brake ( seems to be a pretty smart device being it will deactivate itself when it detects you are going to drive off). I was wondering if the electric park brake draws from the battery when the car is "off" or if it just sets a relay that holds the brake in position when the car is shut down? Thanks again for your help today. Pat D

TTRob

I don't know for sure, but I don't think the electronic parking brake draws current after it engages. To me, it sounds like a motor engages the brake(s) then stops. It's probably no different than a power window motor; after moving the window up or down, the motor is stationary and is no longer drawing power.

patdonahue

Ahhh...that does make a certain amount of sense. Thanks again for your help with my questions, Pat D.