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993 Winter Problem: Trickle Charger doesn’t work OR is the battery dead
Hi guys,
993 newbie here..! please help me figure out whether I got a dead battery or my trickle charger isn’t functioning properly. Before I tow it to shop I want to learn what’s happening to solve this myself if possible.
Got the car 2 years ago and each winter I just plugged in the trickle charger for 3 months to let it rest for the season, never has a problem. Last night, I entered the garage and found out the red inferior light wasn’t flashing. Looked at the trickle charger, the light is only on the car part but battery level didn’t show (see pictures).
I
thought about whether the cigarette lighter fuse might have been blown out so I checked. Everything seemed fine.
So in your experience is this an obvious case of a dead battery or something wrong with the cigarette lighter / trickle charger? And if I need to replace the battery ( I’ve found another post with the details), you got a favorite battery brand?
Mine is currently Interstate MTP-91. And gonna guess it’s at least 5-6 years old. There was only 1 owner before me.
Easy enough to check the Ctek to see if it’s putting out 12 vdc with a multimeter. If ok then it’s an old and dead battery that won’t take a charge anymore. The battery may have a date code on it and I bet it’s older than you think. I use a Sears Diehard Gold which is probably an Interstate.
checking voltage with a multimeter is the next step.
Not only is the charger putting out >12V but also what is the battery voltage with and without the charger plugged into lighter socket.
Those numbers will tell a tale.
If it is the battery take a marker or grease pencil and write the month and year on the new battery for future. Anything over 4 yrs is potentially ready for replacement and that is just a rough guestimate. I've seen them last only 3 yrs and my dad got one to last 9 yrs.
Generally speaking, most batteries are all done by their 5th year so this one at 5-6 years is suspect.
I would definitely recommend checking battery voltage with a DVM to see if its at least 12.66 VDC at the terminals.
12.66 is a fully charged battery
12.45 is 76% charged
12.24 is 50% charged
12.05 is 25% charged
11.89 is DEAD
If you have at least 12.5 VDC at the terminals and it still won't start, I would remove the battery clamps and clean the posts and clamps so they are bright, shiny & clean.
First of all why are you using that charger? It's not for the 993. It specifically states 996 and up. The cigarette plug doesn't fit the 993 properly. Secondly, go buy a C-TEK ....and hardwire it to the battery. From there you can connect or quick disconnect it.
The trickle charger was given to me by a Porsche dealer as a gift, you’re right it’s not the best fit for the cigarette lighter, did work though for the previous two years. Feel free to recommend a good one please. Or next time I go to one of those meet up I will ask others ( IF I CAN GET THE CAR RUNNING!!)
This weekend I will check everything with a multimeter, the may be able to solve the mystery.
Have you all replaced the battery on your own? And I’ve read that by unplugging the battery it would reset the whole system. Aside from the radio code which I had to reset that a year ago so I know how- is there anything else it will “reset”?
CTEK MUS4.3 works on all the latest battery types as well as conventional. If you want to remove the battery and take it to a shop for load testing which will definitely tell you if it's "over the hill" or not, you can save your ECU and radio settings by taking a smaller battery like a lawnmower battery and connecting leads in parallel across the car's + and - leads before removing the car battery....or you can use a 9V. battery and cigarette light plug but it won't last but for a few hours. Don't forget to remove any ring/s before working around batteries. Good way to burn off a finger!
This was recommended by regular on this forum (sorry, can't find the thread to give due credit) I got one and it's working fine so far. I did not by the optional cigar lighter cable because it no doubt won't fit our sockets. Hooking up directly is not that much of a hassle, IMO.
North American chargers are a bad fit for the German cigarette lighter but my CTEK 3300 flashes when the connection is inadequate. Sometimes you have to play with it to get a good connection. As I recall there are only 3 battery manufacturers in North America and all of them are fine. I buy the cheapest battery with a full 5 year replacement warranty. I find batteries not treated well last about 7 years but trickle charged ones last up to 10. They're so cheap I throw the Porsche battery - on a trickle charger all the time - away at the 7 year mark but on my totally analog Z let the abused battery die a natural death at 7. Good luck.
The trickle charger was given to me by a Porsche dealer as a gift, you’re right it’s not the best fit for the cigarette lighter, did work though for the previous two years. Feel free to recommend a good one please. Or next time I go to one of those meet up I will ask others ( IF I CAN GET THE CAR RUNNING!!)
This weekend I will check everything with a multimeter, the may be able to solve the mystery.
Have you all replaced the battery on your own? And I’ve read that by unplugging the battery it would reset the whole system. Aside from the radio code which I had to reset that a year ago so I know how- is there anything else it will “reset”?
Many thanks to you!
By the way - beautiful car! Not sure where you picked up on forum etiquette but kudos to you for introducing yourself and including photos. It's surprising how many new posters start out with a first post that pretty much says nothing more than "I need this info - now!"
By the way - beautiful car! Not sure where you picked up on forum etiquette but kudos to you for introducing yourself and including photos. It's surprising how many new posters start out with a first post that pretty much says nothing more than "I need this info - now!"
Welcome to the forum....
Hey thanks!! I thought it’s important to do that since all of you here are experts and I am just learning more and more everyday about the car. I’d eventually like to learn how to do most things myself not relying on the shop. This will mean I’d be reading this forum a lot!
02-11-2018, 06:13 PM
993 Winter Problem: Trickle Charger doesn’t work OR is the battery dead
I've seen them last only 3 yrs and my dad got one to last 9 yrs.
