My daily driver (15k miles in 15 months) just got a 5 day rest while I attended a meeting in d.c. Came home and found her DOA. So here's what happens next.

I use the key to manually open the door. I then stick the key into the ignition to try to start (don't ask me why--the car had no power at all). The key gets stuck in the ignition. I try to open the front compartment and learn that it is battery operated and will not open manually. I read the manual "jumped" the fuse box to open the front compartment. Tried to jump her with another car, then a range rover, then a free standing jumping device and finally the tow trucks battery. Only the tow trucks battery worked to jump it. Car is in the dealer now getting a new battery and an entirely new Cd/Nav system (I will find out more on this later)

What I learned that I did not know and some friendly advice.

(1) NEVER leave your jumper cables in the front compartment because you need them to jump the fuse box to get to the battery so that you can jump that.

(2) 997's go into "sleep mode" at 5-7 days of no use to preserve the battery. If your car is parked somewhere that it gets bumped or irritated it will exit sleep mode and ready the alarm. Apparently going in and out of sleep mode is a big battery drainer and can kill the battery permanently. My car was in my quiet garage so this was not the problem.

(3) To exit sleep mode you must put your key into the door and manually open it. Then you push the key fab to awaken the car. btw the manual does not use the term "sleep". My dealer uses that.

(4) If your 997 is acting dead do not put the key in the ignition or you will not get it out until the car has juice.

(5) Porsche service quoted me 90min-2 hours to get to my house (and I live 5 miles from a dealer in a Los Angeles suburb). Call early and cancel them if you resolve your problem.

(6) See #1 again because although I leave the cables in my wifes range rover I could easily see leaving them in the front compartment that you will not have access too.

Happy motoring!!

 

Hats off to another daily driver!

Thanks for the tips, #1 sounds totally like something I would do. But I should never run into that problem because I try to drive my car everyday! Otherwise I get withdrawal symptoms.

 

I picked up a Porsche brand battery maintainer on eBay for $55 including shipping. I used it for winter storage, but based on this, I might use it if I fail to use the car for a week at a time. That just doesn't seem right to lose a battery charge in 5 days... I wonder if there was an issue with the radio / nav that was draining the battery (I don't have Nav, so please post if that was the source).

 

Did you have anything plugged into the DC charger?
A cell phone charger left plugged in would drain the batt (even if no phone is attached)

 

Having suffered through the mystery battery issues on a C6 and having read of the potential problems with the P-car, I installed an Optima Yellow Top and use a battery tender when I'm gone for extended periods.

 

)

So, what was the issue with the Nav system and did the dead battery cause this issue?

 

i don't lock my car in garage at home.
the longest i let me "sleep" for 4 weeks, it still fires right up. ok there's some rattle and little white smoke (water in the exhaust pipe while it siting).

 

When the battery is completely dead, jumpstarting it doesn't always work as you found out. However, you do not need to take it to the dealer. You can use a battery charger (not battery tender) to recharge the battery overnight and the battery will work again. I've also been told to lock the car even if it's in the garage as this reduces the number of systems draining on the battery.

 

I can't say for sure if they're the same, since I don't have my 997 yet...

My Boxster has a manual release cable in the left front wheel well for the forward trunk. It's tucked behind the plastic splash guard, and one good tug will open the trunk. If the battery is ok, this sets off the alarm. If the battery is dead, it just pops the front trunk so you can access the terminals to jump the car.

 

I sometimes heard the CD spinning inside the headunit even after I closed the door. So that might be the problem.

 

Can the battery be charged while connected, or should one or both cables be disconnected before charging?

 

You can recharge the battery while connected.

 

Is that a bad idea?

I leave a charger plugged in 24/7, but i drive my car everyday (yes I am an addict too).

 

Yes. bad idea.
It's always using some power.
5 days may be enough....

 

I find losing the juice to the battery in 5 days not acceptable. Either the battery is defective or you have some other device plugged in that drained the battery.

I have battery tender devices (from Wally World ... $20 a pop) all over the place in the winter months connected to 3 motorcycles, 3 cars, and 2 lawn mowers. None have ever needed a new battery in 6 years.

I had a new Vette that lost the battery in a month in my unheated garage. But, the battery was defective.

So, I'd have the car trailered to a Porsche shop and have them run a diagnostic on the battery/charging system. Perhaps you can get a new battery at no charge. Hope you have towing in your policy, too, m'friend.