1080iAddict

Today I purchased the Porsche Battery Maximizer in anticipation of extended parking situations. I plugged it into the main cigarette lighter (the one that usually houses the real cig lighter) and found that the pilot light on the Maximizer did not illuminate as expected. Apparently this cig lighter is a switched cig lighter which I indeed confirmed. I did not know that - I thought that socket was 'always on'.

So I tried the cig lighter inside the center console. That cig lighter is apparently unswitched because the light on the Maximizer illuminated.

I also tried the cig lighter under the passenger footwell. That cig lighter is also apparently unswitched because the light on the Maximizer illuminated.

I am assuming it does not matter which cig lighter is used for the Maximizer so long as it is NOT the 'real' cig lighter that is switched, i.e., the other sockets both light up the Maximizer light.

Are your cig lighters wired the same, i,e., some are switched and some are not? Any difference between 2005 and 2006 (other than 2005 does not have the footwell socket)?

tnunnery

Hi 1080i.

I was told that, like the air compressor, the battery maintainer should ONLY be plugged into the cig lighter in the center console, not either of the two 12V power outlets.

Did you get the Porsche Charge-o-Mat II or the original Porsche battery maintainer?

I use the socket in the center console (the one with the actual lighter, beside the ashtray) with the Charge-o-Mat II and it works great.

1080iAddict

???

But that regular cig lighter is a switched outlet - - the red light does not illuminate on the Maximizer (the original Porsche charge-o-mat)

Is your regular lighter socket switched or unswitched?

p.s. Should I consider exchanging the original charge-o-mat for the charge-o-mat II? What is the difference?

1080iAddict

HOLD - IDIOT ALERT

Thanks Tnunnery. Based on your post, things were not computing. Why would your regular cigarate lighter work unswitched and not mine? Hmmmm... could it be.....maybe... a FUSE?

Yes it could and yes it was. My cigarette lighter 15 amp fuse was blown. Must have happened when I was sticking the meter leads into that socket during my V1 install testing at 3:00 am a few weeks ago - I must have shorted it. I replaced the fuse with the spare and sure enough the outlet works as designed - unswitched - and the Battery Maintainer works in that socket.

BTW... there are 2 fuses - one for the "12 volt socket" and one for the "cigarette lighter". So, Tnunnery, you may be right that the 'real' cig lighter is the right socket as they are appparently on different circuits.

Sorry for the waste of bandwidth everyone.

tnunnery

Excellent. I'm glad you were able to figure out the problem!

AeroSmith

I know this may sound silly, but sometimes when I get back to the garage after a nice drive (in my 996...haven't done this in my 997 yet) I like to just sit in the car with the parking lights on listening to the stereo. And I'll make a point of hooking the maintainer to the car to keep from running down the battery.

Sometimes its nice to just sit in the car in the garage and survey the dash, even nicer in the 997 I might add. I should probably keep a flask of some sort out there.

JFScheck

Good place to hide while unwinding!

uzj100

Wondering how often to hook up the maintainer? Maybe use it every day you don't drive the car or every other day?

Just wondering what others do

bronco6

Just an FYI: my 2005 997 has a footwell socket. Do some of them not have that?

tbill

as mine is parked in a warehouse and only driven every other w/e or so, I use the maintainer, but have been using the passenger foot well outlet. Guess I need to change to the main one.

Sands

I was told to use only the console unit.

ltc

From your first post:
"Apparently this cig lighter is a switched cig lighter which I indeed confirmed"
Someday you're going to have to tell me how you confirmed the cig lighter was on switched B+ with a blown fuse

1080iAddict

I think what happened was that it was working when the ignition was on, and then I blew the fuse at that point without knowing it. This led to the false assumption that when the key was off (and hence it was 'already' dead), that it would had to have been a switched outlet. I never switched the key back on and re-tested it to see that it was still dead......until after I posted the first post, of course.

lawjdc

My 2005 997S has one also. I use the battery maintainer II (and use the center console outlet) when I won't be driving it for 3 days or more.

uzj100

Thanks! That seems about right to me. I think MMD posted some "stats" on here about the battery being and 80 amp and the charger is .5 amp, so a totally drained battery would take 160 hours to charge ? First time I used the charger it took about 12 hours, now it seems to charge things in about 4 hours.

Been parked for about 2 days now and I won't be driving it until Thursday or so, so I just plugged in the charger in the center console cig lighter--that's the only one I've been using.