Paul902

My car has been resting for about 4 weeks with the trickle charger plugged in. I left the doors on the first "click" and the bonnet lid down but not clicked closed in an effort to preserve the life of the rubber seals. Yesterday I was tinkering around and noticed that the battery was flat. Turns out that the trunk light was on and the draw of that light must be more than the trickle charger provides. I closed the lid for now, but I think I'll look at disconnecting the light (perhaps its fuse) so I can still have the trunk lid not fully closed.

Bruce SEA 993

Just close the trunk latch...it turns off the light. You have to open the trunk to open the latch to be able to then close the trunk.

Preserving the seals...is that a cold weather storage thing? Hmmm...never heard of it.

Cheers

cabrio993

Just close the trunk. It is closed almost 99.99% of the time anyways, regardless of the season, same with the doors. Keeping the doors open and trunk open or closed during the winter is not going to make any difference on the seal IMHO.

If you want to keep them in top shape, just clean all of your seals and lube them good with silicone, Vinilex, or rubber/plastic conditioner/lubricant of your choice every 3 months or so.

kkim

Hmmm... doesn't your trunk light turn off after awhile? Mine does. You are talking about the "frunk" at the front of the car, correct?

Avenger6

That light eats a lot of juice. I had been working on the headlights last week, and just put the lid down without latching it when I was done for the evening. My '75 didn't have a light there, so I didn't even thing of it. It killed the battery by late afternoon the next day. DOH!! Had to ask my smartass neighbor to borrow some cables, and he greifed me about having an old unreliable car.....

Paul902

Bruce - thanks, I'll have a try when I get home.

Cabrio993 - I'm in the camp that if it might help I should try it, so I thought I would. On my '92 VW some of the seals are shot already so I thought anything that could help preserve "the machine" was worth it. I was using glycerin on the seals per the manual but it is weird and sticky. This year I started using 303 Aerospace. And yes, this is winter storage.

KK - yeah the frunk! I think my light stays on. Scientific testing required when I get home. I checked it and it was still on before it disappeared out of view from the closing of the trunk. I'll check again tonight when the garage is dark.

Thanks guys!

Bull

It will stay on, as will the interior lights if they aren't manually positioned to not come on at all. The rubber seals deteriorate from exposure to dry air, UV rays, polutants, etc. I would think that by leaving the lids, doors, etc. open, you would only insure that the seals deteriorate in a uniform manner. Treating the seals with a proper preservative is the best thing you can do.

Paul902

Bruce, what is "Self Induced Motor Sound"? Does that mean you make the sound of the car going through the gears as you drive, like I used to do when I played with dinky cars in the sandbox?

paultje

Had the same problem with my old 3.2 Carrera, so I took the bulb out!! Have done the same with my current rave (1994 993C2) and it seems to work OK. This has the advantage of being fail-safe if you should forget. Have fun.....

kkim

Okay, I did some testing on the frunk light and here is what I found. If the door is left open, the frunk light will not go out, even if you have the interior lights set to either of the three positions. With the door closed, the frunk light will go out after 10-20 seconds. Obviously there is a timer circuit in conjunction with the door pin switch, somehow.

The fact that you are leaving your door not fully latched is most likely the cause of your frunk light not going out after a timed period.

993Maineiac

Well of course the light beat the trickle charger-everyone knows that the speed of light is faster than the speed of electricity!

Al

Sorry-couldn't resist

AOW162435

Paul,
Further to a comment made earlier - once you've opened the trunk lid and the rear deck lid, stick your finger into the latching mechanism and depress solidly. You'll hear a 'click' indicating that the latch is in the closed position. Now you can leave the trunk and engine cover open as long as you wish as the latch also controls the light switch. Just make sure to pull on your trunk and deck lid releases before attempting to actually close the lids - in other words, you'll want to unlock the latches before closing the lids.

Hope that helps.

Andreas

Bruce SEA 993

Paul902,

Naw. the self induced motor sound is the drilled airbox! But your guess is not far off as I do make a lot of sound effect noises. Just a grown up kid!

Cheers

Paul902

Thanks all - as soon as my battery recharges (and they let me leave work before I am asleep) I am going to try if with tthe doors open and the frunk latch closed the light will go off within a short period of time. We'll get this licked one way or another!

Paul902

I'm just a grown up kid too!