NO...!

Danger, DANGER, DANGER...!!


Disconnecting the battery with the engine running will result in a working alternator voltage going into ORBIT, maybe as much as 30-40 volts after most of the electrical loads are "removed", all the electronic components have BLOWN...

 

Just to add to this, that is reinforce that no one should disconnect his Porsche's battery while the engine is running is the factory manual (at least the 996 Turbo manual) cautions against disconnecting the battery when the engine is running.

As in: "· Never disconnect battery with engine running!".

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

Ok guys, my indie wants 600 for the job(parts + labor), rushed shipping on the alternator adding $30. He's going to clear my airbag warning light as well, since I installed racing seats. He's quoting me 3 hours of labor for the alternator + airbag warning.

Now the thing is, I called sunset porsche following a lead on another thread. The guy on there got the alternator for around 300 it seems.

Sunset said $775 for the cheaper model, over 1k for the more expensive one!!!
I thought I could have done the job cheaper diy, but where the hell are they getting those prices from? I thought sunset was considered a good source for parts? At those rates, my indie looks like a steal.

 

Autozone list the part cheaper then $300 last time I check and had a lifetime warranty. You could get yours rebuilt for under $100 I bet. As long as you don't tell them it came out of a porsche.
Link to basic rebuild.

 

The regular OEM is 95 amps. a cheaper one may only be 70 amps.

 

Just got off the phone with my indy. He pretty much refused to put anything else in, claiming that anything other than Bosch would be highly prone to failure. I think I'll just stomach the expense in favor of peace of mind.

 

Oops. Disconnecting the battery with the engine on is a baaad idea- particularly with the sensitive electronics on these cars. I sure hope that nothing else got fried. You may have dodged a big bullet here. Keep us posted on the results.

This kinda reminds me of when I was in High School working on my newly- rebuilt 69 Z-28 302 and was starting it for the first time. Since it wouldn't start after cranking for a while, my buddy recommended pouring fuel directly into the carburetor to "prime it." "It's safe," he assured me. Needless to say, at 17, who was I to argue? It cost me a hood repaint and a whole lotta pride... I was lucky it didn't cost me a trip to the ER.

Pouring fuel into directly into a large carburetor- PAINFUL
Telling the story 25 years later- PRICELESS!

LOL

Sorry for your misfortune- I'm sure that it will come out fine.

Best regards,
Tom

 

Hi guys,
Just wanted to post back. My indy replaced the alternator and checked all of the electrical/electronic systems on the car. Everything checks out. The driving voltage is now just under 14 volts...higher than it has been for awhile. I think the old alternator had been on its way out for some time.

Luckily it looks I did in fact dodge a bullet pulling the battery from the running engine. My mechanic couldn't find anything wrong other than the alternator.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

I don't know what it is with Porsches and the battery. I bought a 2004 Anniversary Edition, and it barely cranked over when I bought it. This was my first experience with a Porsche, so I didn't know if the way it was turning over was normal.

Turned out it was not normal - they gave me a brand new (OEM I think - it was made in Germany - I forget the name that was on it). We get to this late fall and start to enter Winter - I hurt my foot and could not drive the car for about 6-8 weeks. The battery was dead. I had to jump start it, and then it was OK.

We then got a big snow storm, and I don't drive around in the Winter when the ground is wet or there is still snow out, so it was in storage again for about a month. Battery was dead again. Jump started it 2 weeks ago, and it has been fine since with drives 2-4 times a week now.

Other cars don't do this (even with alarms) - like my G37 - when I stored that for 2 months it started right up like nothing.

What is it with Porsches? I wish I had electricity in my storage garage - I would get a battery tender. Porsches are probably the main item that keeps the battery tender people in business!