LT1

My battery charging efforts are taking longer than expected because the interior lights are stealing energy from the charger. How do I keep the hood open and not have the hood/interior lights on?

paradisenb

It seems surpising to me that that light could draw enough to make a difference in charging. Why not remove the bulb or the fuse?

Phil

why not just take the battery out of the car?

Andy Roe

I beleive you can unplug the switch for the hood light (well you can on a 964 anyway). The connection is near the left hood shock by the switch.

Racer944

Can you not just close the hood to the first catch? The gap left is enough that the battery cables would not get pinched and I believe the hood light will be off at this point... but I could be wrong since I'm new to 993's.

Eric

STLPCA

Just push the trunk latch down w/your finger until it catches (w/the trunk lid up). You'll have to remember to pull the trunk lid release before you close the lid. I do it all the time.

No. The light will not go off until the latch locks if it's properly adjusted.

cladd

Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner!

BIG-BRO

The interior lights (over doors) are like most "dome" lights - you can manually turn them on or off or to "door" position. just "rock" the light itself to switch. I routinely do this when working on the interior of car. And yes, pull the plug or bulb for the trunk light.

Racer944

Thanks Dan;

I learned something new as well with this thread. Guess the light contact is in the latch mechanism itself. I'll use your latch trick if I ever need to do this.

Cheers;
Eric

amfp

As info, you can also push with your fingers the latch for the engine compartment to shut light off.
I sometimes keep the hood, trunk and door latches ajar when car is in storage.

TheOtherEric

If the dome lights are having an affect on your charging, you need a new charger. Good chargers are rated from 20-40 continuous amps. 2-4 amp chargers are a waste of money, if that's what you're using.

Ray Calvo

As "BIG BRO" sez, overhead/interior lights should be able to be manually turned off by rocking the housing - works on every 911 I've had thru my '95 993.

For the trunk light, gotta find a way to get the lid closed or tape the switch in the closed position. Otherwise, I believe even though you remove the bulb in the trunk, the engine compartment light will still come on (trunk/engine/interior lights all seem to be wired together).

Why these lights are making a difference in a charging effort I haven't a clue, unless you're using a trickle charger (which you're liable to burn out trying to do a full charge) or have one real junky charger.

LT1

[QUOTE=Dan 96C2 St.Louis]Just push the trunk latch down w/your finger until it catches (w/the trunk lid up). You'll have to remember to pull the trunk lid release before you close the lid. I do it all the time.

That was the trick I was looking for! I think it took me between 1 and 2 seconds to turn off my trunk light and interior lights in one move! Thanks, LT

911pcars

Some misnomers.

A large capacity charger, if it doesn't have any temperature sensing or automatic current charging adjustment capability, can overheat and damage a battery.

A trickle charger will not destroy itself in an attempt to revive a dead battery. It'll just take longer (assuming the battery can take a charge). In fact, make sure the trickle charger has a "float" circuit that reduces the charge level after the battery is fully charged.

Another option is to remove the ground (neg.) battery cable when charging. This is a good idea if you're using a large capacity charger. Electronics are sensitive to high voltage and current.

Sherwood

chris walrod

EXACTLY as Dan says. I do it all the time while working on these cars. Just have to remember to -open- the latch before trying to close the lid (front or back). Never a problem!