cobalt

I have been neglectful of my poor 928. Haven't had the time to drive it in the longest. It usually gets started regularly and bring it up to temperature if I can't drive it. But this time it has sat a little longer than I care to let it.

I know shame on me.

I pulled the fuel pump relay and fuse and I cranked the engine to build oil pressure after a few runs I replaced everything and she stated up with no problem I shut it back down and started it a second time. Got a call and had to run to help someone but noticed the battery was low. So I put a charger on it and came back 3 hours later .

I went to start it again and i heard what sounded like a loud draw and then it started clicking really fast and the gauges on the dash either went to full or the lights cut out as though the battery was dead.

The difference this time is it is a fast click and the battery doesn't appear to be dead. The car is sandwich behind others and I can't access the battery right now but my question is the fast clicking indicative of a bad ECU or is it possible the battery is just toast? It is from 2009 and the car has a history of eating batteries.

polecat702

Get a new battery.

928 at last

Correct. Shame on you.
1st - New Battery.
2nd - Unless you're going to drive it far enough to get it heat soaked, not just "up to temperature", take it out for a good highway run, then straight to an oil change and then park it. All you're likely doing is recirculating a bunch of warm condensate through your oil system...water...acids....etc. Guess what that's doing to your engine....
Stabilize the fuel before the highway run to circulate thoroughly through the system, top up the tank prior to parking to minimize condensation.
If it's going to be more than a few months, do a serious "decommission" to prevent a major issue when you decide to re-enjoy the car.
There's some threads on here about the long-term parking concept.

MainePorsche

Exactly on point.

worf928

Battery. It's probably lost one of the cells. So, it will appear to have a full charge but won't be able to produce full cranking current unless it's 100% topped-off. And, your starter is probably getting 'tired' from cranking to build oil pressure (but, I do that too since starters take a lot less time to R&R than crank bearings.)

cobalt

I understand your point and I would drive the car more often if I could. Winter caught me off guard this year and she was left in the corner of the garage blocked in by the others. Normally I put everything into winter storage but this year other priorities took over. One of the problem of owning more cars than I have time to drive.

I wouldn't hesitate leaving an air-cooled this long they are pretty basic but I was always concerned about the timing belt of the 928 sitting in one place for too long. I don't like to start a car and run it unless it gets up to operating temperature. No doubt it is a trade off; which is worse I don't know. I do run the engine up and down in the revs and never just heat it by letting it idle. This should get rid of most of the condensate although my garage is climate controlled to 70 degrees so it has less of an impact. I am assuming just cranking the car occasionally would move the belt enough vs starting and running it?

There is only one solution. Drive it more often. LOL

I will start with the battery. Unfortunately it won't be until Monday and I was hoping to take it to big C&C for Father's day but the weather doesn't look good anyhow.

I will let you know I was just surprised it cranked fine and then 3 hours later it started doing this after a charge. My one complaint about the 928 is getting to the battery. It is a PITA to access especially when I have limited access to the car.

Thx

Alan

If you will be leaving it for much more than a week at a time without driving you would benefit from having either a good quality battery maintainer attached or add a battery isolation switch on the battery ground strap side (or of course both).

Alan

cobalt

This is the reason I questioned myself and started the thread. I switch a charge between two cars about every two weeks. It was fine when I removed it about two weeks ago. It cranked over fine before I left.

I was able to pull the other car out and push the 928 forward. I pulled the battery and put a load tester on it and it tested good for a 6 Volt battery LOL. I am assuming there is a bad cell as Dave said. I did not put a maintainer back for the charge but I have an industrial 200 AMP charger I figured I would be gone for an hour it turned out to be three. Although it was set to 10 AMPs I have a feeling it is pumping out more than it should be. I can't think of a reason why the battery would go from good to dead like this unless it died when I tried to start it after I returned.

I'm on the fence about kill switches unless they are for safety purposes or long term storage. Once I drive the car I want it to recognize any faults without needing to dive a while.

The 928 uses the same battery as the 911's so I pulled a battery and threw it in and started up without a problem. Took it for a ride after checking everything out. The car was stiff upon initial drive but after driving the Boxster GTS all morning a 928 feels heavy and sluggish unless you get on it. The two couldn't be more different. Both are enjoyable but in completely different ways.

Thanks

19psi

Had a similar issue last year. Car started fine and I drove 5 miles/5 minutes to the eye doctor. I was there for about 1 hour and when I went to leave the car barely started...one more crank and I'd have been calling for a jump.
When I got home, I stopped and started the car multiple times. Starter whipped the engine over every time no problem.
Little while later I went to pull the 928 into the garage and it was completely DEAD. About 2 volts and my smart charger wouldn't even recognize a battery. Put an old charger on it and it came back to life. For fun I torture tested it for days and not another issue.
Still bought a new battery. There must have been a broken plate inside that possibly shifted while going around corners.

I always felt it was the easiest/best setup of any car I've owned. Now the Cayenne is a PITA!

928 at last

Never heard of a problem with a timing belt sitting in one position too long. Heard of many issues with improper storage.....your call my friend.