njcycleguy

I've read thru some of the battery drain issues, but most seem to point to the 997. Haven't heard of any with the 991 - that is, until mine started.

Since I took delivery of my '13 991 in August of 2013, I've had ongoing battery drain issues. The car is stored in a heated garage. Since the winter months, I was driving the car sparingly, once every week or so (or at least trying with this horrific Northeast winter we had). But every now and again, and for no specific reason, the battery would just be completely flat. Example - one week, I'd drive the car Monday, then wait a week, and drive the car the following Tuesday. The car would have no issues. The next time, I might drive the car on a Wednedsay, and by Saturday, the battery was completely flat. This would happen at random.

Come early March, I got fed up with this routine, and brought it to the dealer (towed actually, since I was so disgusted Ididn't want to jump it again). They replaced the battery and told me it was definetly faulty.

So here we are again, I've been driving it 2 - 3 times a week. Last Thursday night, went to the Auto show in NYC, came home, went out next morning, battery was completely flat.

So now my question is - has anyone had any similar battery drain issues and what was the root cause? My dealer didn't seem to have a clue other than the battery was shot, but I can't imagine my new one is defective is as well. They claimed they tested the charging system and everything was fine.

One thing I do notice - each time I start it, I get a message in the display "Battery Protection Active during parking" or something like that. Is it possible that the system is sensing a small drain in the battery, and then shutting the electrical system down until it's jump started to protect itself? Because after I jump it, it seems to be fine - I don't have to wait to let it charge.

TIA for any insight,

rnl

there was a recent report on another forum about a bad alternator leading to a dead battery. perhaps you should ask them to check it along with the possibility of an open circuit somewhere.

LexVan

Any electrical mods or additions like radar detector or laser jammer?

njcycleguy

No, nothing.

beebalm

i suggest you read this post

BeeBalm
_____________________________________________________________________

You know you own a Porsche when she has her own laundry hamper for all her colorful microfiber towels

duxsi

How far away is your key from the car when it is in storage?

dday54

Bob Z.

Slightly off topic but I had a 2008 Boxster S that I bought new and I started experiencing a dead battery, multiple times, after just 2-3 days of sitting. It was flat bedded to the dealer a few times and several new batteries later I had the problem escalated and it turned out to be a faulty radio. Even though it was turned off an internal problem resulted in it not actually turning off so it drained the battery - when the radio was replaced the problem went away. On a separate note, hot weather is worse for a battery than cold weather.

eagle1960

If you are on the original battery you need a new one. Common occurrence with these cars. Starts fine one day then either dead or strange electrical gremlins show up the next.

_RS_

Very old but worthy thread. Similar to Bob Z, I had a faulty headlight switch in my Macan which drained the battery. All the accessories are powered, and controlled by a data interface. So a light switch isn't just a switch anymore. It was still a suck-it-and-see troubleshoot. even though I said "order a new light switch" when I took it in.

Porsche_nuts

You may have a short somewhere

LexVan

Your battery could be coming up on 6 years old.

This.

PCA1983

I put the CTEK on mine anytime it is going to sit more than 3 days. That keeps the battery healthy. And my keys are kept inside the house to minimize battery drain.

Pep!RRRR

dday54

I totally understand this....I checked the battery and it seems to be the original. I put a charger on the battery and it charged OK., but I'm going to replace it anyway because I don't want to have problems during the winter months. I'm planning to do the job myself.

Next question is...what is the best brand and battery model (Sealed - AGM) to get for 991.1? I don't want to go to Porsche for this due to price. In reading some for the forums, I'm concern about 3 things:

1) Original does not have a vent that I can see. Is having a non-vented battery very important when shopping for a replacement?
2) Some forums discussions talked about having to reprogram the vehicle when changing a battery...is this necessary on the 991.1?
3) The car has a 750 CCA battery right now...If I install an 850 CCA (95 ah) for example, will this cause any problems (electrical) ?

And thanks to everyone that responded.