Nicolaasdb

Okay I am sick of it....left my XM radio charger in the lighter and my battery completely discharged!! "jumped" it and drove for about 6 miles....lights and radio off. Did what I had to do....and battery was dead again.

Questions:
1. should I have driven more than 6 miles for a better re-charge?
2. is my battery just old and need replacement?
3. what is the better battery to buy for my 99 996 cab?
4. should I just sell the car....there is always something wrong: tired lose their tread, oilchanges, washing/waxing because car gets dusty and dirty, new battery...when I buy a BMW I don't have to pay anything for the next 4 years of 50K miles.

maybe question 4 is a joke.

GeoT3

I sure hope 4 is a joke

gota911

Nicholaas - SELL the damn car!!!! Oh BTW, I'll give you 6K for it!

Seriously, what George said above. You didn't drive the car long enough to recharge the battery. Next time, pull your head out of your *** and remove the XM charger!

Nicolaasdb

6K.....Tim you are a true rennlist "friend"

quesiton 4. was a joke....the (knock on WOOD) maintenance on my P was/is a JOKE !! I think I spend about 3K in 2 years and over 20K miles.....and this includes a 60K service and 6 new tires (6 wheels on my 996??? must be a tip!)

gota911

I know that #4 was a joke.

Oh ****, I forgot your car was a Tip! humm, I have to reconsider my initial "generous" offer. Ok, I'll give you $3k for it.

Chuck Jones

Nickolaas: You have to figure that a regular car battery usually has around 100 or more amp hours in it. Most chargers are set to trickle in at 10 amps....that would mean that you'd have to charge it for 10 hours to get it back up to snuff. I know on my motorhome, I have to run the charger steadily for three days to get the house batteries back up. It's no wonder your twenty minute ride didn't do much for you.

Also...if that battery is more than four years old....it's time to replace it.

I see you show your location as "California". PM me...I have a new 84 month Porsche battery that I took out of the 930 that's sitting in the garage gathering dust. It has the two vent orifices on either end for the vent tube. If you're close to Sacramento, I can make you a righteous deal on this one. I can't see keeping it around for posterity.

Nicolaasdb

thanks for the info guys.....I think I got to get new battery.
Thanks for your offer Chuck...but you are about 450 miles from my location... I like the excuse to go for a drive but don't think my wife will let me go.

Barn996

A slow charge may allow you to use the existing battery a little longer. I had this happen after last winter, but have managed to still retain the same battery for almost another year.

apterr

Sounds like you got this one solved Nick....
On a similar line, My battery charger has a switch for 2 amp and 10 amp. When would someone ever use the 2 amp trickle charge? Thanks, Andy T

Chads996

Sounds to me like that battery was already on the way out. You just finished it off. Go get a new one and if it does it again, get the ole girl checked out.

C.

Tonger

I did the Optima red top "starter battery" replacement. I think the main advantage is that the battery is completely sealed (you can even mount it upside down) which is peace of mind against a venting problem and acid leaks since the battery compartment is out of sight and out of mind. I don't worry about having to refill it or whether it's going to leak at the track. I wound up making my own mounting plate out of 0.25" aluminum but it looks like there's an easier way.

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...optima+battery

I also second the idea of the battery maintainer. I was cheap and got the Battery Tender Plus with the cigarette plug adapter (like half the price of the Porsche branded unit). I'd be willing to bet that the Battery Tender Plus has a higher capacity than the Porsche unit as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...5049272&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/BatteryTender-...5049272&sr=8-2

I think the Porsche unit is probably more like this one with lower charging current (0.75A):

http://www.amazon.com/Deltran-022-01...5049272&sr=8-2

I don't commute in my car if it's peak traffic hours and it can sit a week or so. Fully discharging a normal lead acid battery can drastically shorten it's life. The only batteries able to cope well with full discharge are the "deep cycle" or marine type batteries. I have a third car with a Optima yellow top (deep cycle) for just this reason since it'll sit with the alarm and passive electronics on. It's never failed to start. As with all things in life there's no free lunch, the "starter/red top" battieries have more CCA than the "deep cycle/yellow top". You can even get an Optima through the mail since they don't leak. I found mine on the web. The added benefit is that the Optimas are lighter than the regular vented lead acid batteries, that's gotta be good for at least 50 hp right?

Good luck,

Tonger

gota911

If you put your car in winter hibernation you might want to use the 2 amp setting. That is assuming the battery had a full charge when you put the car to bed.

hwk72

+1 - same happended to me 2 years ago (after only 3 weeks of ownership ). Got a charger; charged for 10+ hours; since then no issue at all - starts like a champ! Car sometimes sits untouched for 2 weeks.

I'm still hoping my battery dies soon so I can get a light weight one; hard to justify a new battery if it works.

redridge

Porsche battery suck!

Rob in WA

Here's how I mounted the Optima, no need to buy a plate:

Weight Shavings - Optima Battery

Your ignition switch might be bad, a fairly common problem.