salraf

My 996TT with about 39K miles requires battery charging every 2-3 weeks if the car is not used. I usually drive the car for shorts periods on the weekend. Even after charging (full charge shown on charger) battery sensor in the car usually gets to about 14 but not 16.

I am not sure how old the battery is as I purchased the car about 6 mo ago. Interesting that I checked the car on friday anticipating a drive on sat. and I started. Went to start the next morning, no go.

I am wondering if I will run into the same pain in the a$$ problem with a new battery given that my driving pattern will not change and therefore do not know if BT or TC will be more optimal.

thanks

WPOZZZ

I leave my car on a tender as I drive it 15- 40 miles every 3 weeks or so. Get your battery load tested and see if it is still good. If so, get a tender.

Shadetree930

Battery tender for the win.

Carsly

I'd put in a new AGM battery and get yourself a battery tender. car batteries require regular use, if you aren't daily driving it then keeping it on a tender is cheap insurance to keep your battery ready every time that you are.

golfnutintib

you're in norcal - weather is mild

if it started friday then would not start less than a day later i would say the battery is on its last legs, but it may be save-able if you want to squeeze some more use out of it

battery tenders are cheap - a Black & Decker, BT Junior or small NOCO is 30 bucks. A new battery is 200-300. If it were me I would start fresh with a new battery, then put a tender on it.

but you could also get a tender first, see if it will take a long slow charge and work well again instead of just replacing it.

spooltime

I just went through this with my recently acquired 996TT, the only difference being that I already knew from the PPI I had done that the existing battery has failed a load test.

This weekend I just installed a new Bosch AGM 800CCA battery bought at Pep Boys. The really good news is that they're running a 25% off promotion on car batteries, so I ended up with a great battery with a 4 year free replacement warranty for a very favorable price. Install is simple, so my advice is replace the battery and then keep the new one on a trickle charger (I recommend a CTEK unit). You'll be free of battery troubles for years to come.

Nico911

My 2001 TT ate 5 batteries in 14 years. The previous owner didn't use any charging device... which I started to do this winter. 996 TT are battery eaters, so I recommend you use a tender with your new battery.

salraf

Mind telling me cost? Also did you look at others?

Thanks

Berra

Don't use anything during the summer, not even if the car is in garage for 2-3 weeks. Fires up perfect!

spooltime

I looked at several; there are many available. Here's a link to the CTEK site:

http://smartercharger.com/


Really just depends on what features matter to you. Then you spend accordingly. I have a permanently mounted harness on my battery that extends into the luggage area that the trickle charger plugs into. It's an easy quick disconnect when I'm ready to use the car.

"02996ttx50

the car is a voltage hog like no other internal combustion motored vehicle. get a ctek for 60 bucks and trickle it overnight every couple of weeks. those short trips are not enough to reimburse the battery for it's motionless drain. i use the ctek with the cig lighter adapter. the ctek 3300 is the same as the porsche *logo* branded one they sell for over 100. fully charged w a good alternator it should sit at 13.5 ( ish ) once car has run for awhile. yesterday i saw 14 on the gauge for a long time as the car had been on the trickler for about a week straight.

Shadetree930

I just keep mine on the trickle charger whenever it is in the garage. It can go a few weeks without, but I hate when I go out to fire her up after a few plus weeks and get nada. Less frustrating to know it is always topped off.

Kevinmacd

I put in a larger battery, did minor change to the battery tie down, and use the small battery tendor. Works well.

Macster

With my Livermore 2003 Turbo about 14V on the battery voltage gage is about right.

I can tell you a short drive once or twice every weekend ain't enough to keep the battery up. You will have to either drive the car more or get a good battery charger/maintainer.

For my situation I can't use a battery charger so I drive the car more often. I have found the minimum to be about 30 to 40 miles a couple times a week. I go over this by driving the car to/from work a couple of times a week. My work commute (round trip) is 60 miles (I work in Hayward.)

That the car failed to start is a sign the battery is on its last legs. I'd replace it with a new battery. Be sure you get the right AH and CCA rating for the car. Check with the parts counter at the dealer for what the latest news is regarding battery rating. (Porsche sometimes ups the rating.)

But even a new battery won't hold up given your low usage. So you will still need a good battery charger/maintainer.

You could while you are at the dealer checking the lasted on what battery recommended check with the service department to learn the brand name of the battery charger/maintainer it uses. It is a pretty sophisticated unit that can work wonders on batteries.

NoogaSparrow

Sounds to me like there's a more common parasitic drain happening. A car battery shouldn't need a tender just because it sits for a couple weeks... even a month shouldn't be a problem if it's in a garage! There has to be something more widespread going on...