B-Line

Hey Folks,

Ok, so I need to get a battery maintainer for my 2 porsches.
I want one that plugs into the cigarette lighter.

Are all battery maintainer's created equal? Is there any reason to buy the Porsche battery maintainer besides the Porsche logo on it?

Any recommendations on what battery maintainer to get?

I went to Pep Boys and the only ones they sell are the ones that need to be clamped to the battery. Again, I want one that can plug into the cigarette lighter.

Thanks,
B

NorthVan

It works well and is warranty will cover you if it does cause any problems. A little pricey but it does say PORSCHE on it.

cvazquez

+1

Try Suncoast for quote...

InTheAir

B -

Why does it have to plug in to the lighter?

I used to have a Porsche maintainer and didn't like it. The version (old?) did not have a status light, so when plugged in, you just had to assume it was working.

I eventually bought (when we were both on the 993 board) a Battery Tender (R) and really like it. It has various status lights to let you know when it is charging and when it is just maintaining. It also has the alligator clips to connect to the battery directly and even an extra attachment to permenantly attach to the battery so you just plug the cord into that instead.

Just some food for thought.

Rolf Stumberger

I bought the Black & Decker unit from Amazon .com

It plugs into the cigarette lighter, has 2 power settings and is fully automatic (turns on/off as needed to keep the battery charged )
It's been working great for over a year now ( cost $29 incl. shipping )

akrenz

I've used Battery Tenders for years on various cars (including my 997) and motorcycles. They work great. I always hard-wire the short cable to the battery; being careful to get the polarity correct. The other end has a polarized plug which connects to the main charging cable from the Battery Tender. If/when I'm not going to be driving one of my vehicles for a few days or longer, I plug in. With the 997, the charging cable (which is essentially a lamp cord), under the hood by the windshield wiper to the battery.

wross996tt

I have something like this, made by Interstate. I used the hard wire connections and then just plug it in...has lights that indicate if it is charging or full...works great.

B-Line

Hey, I'm still on the 993 board.. I could never sell my C2S

And the reason I prefer to have a plug that goes into the cig lighter is purely convienence. I don't want to have to pop the hood and hook up a connector everytime I get out of the car. I'd rather just have a cable sitting on the floor that I can just plug in, as needed..

B

Rick in Colorado

Actually, if you're going to drive it often enough where popping the hood seems a chore, you don't need to put it on a tender. Just make sure that you don't leave the key in the ignition - that runs down the battery much quicker.

jnx

I have the Porsche charger and needed another one but did not want to pay the premium. I went to Sears and bought one that has the lighter adapter for $29.99 and it has a 3 year warranty. I have used it for a month now with no problems.

cole328

I have the best charger possible...I drive that son o' bitch every single day.....

tkids

Check with Sunset porsche out of Portland oregon. great service/prices!!

here is what they helped me with a year ago.

"There are two different styles of maintainers. Both versions plug
into a wall socket and have a lighter plug on the other end that goes
into the vehicles cigarette lighter socket. The 955-044-900-15 for
104.98 can do motorcycle (m/c) batteries and car batteries, but the
104.98 one puts in up to 3.3 amps and trickles down from there. This is
good for older batteries to help keep them fully charged as older
batteries tend to be less apt to hold a charge the older they get in my
opinion. The 980-611-981-00 maintainer for 47.10 puts out a max of .5
(half an amp) so it's meant to only keep the battery at the state of
charge it was in when put up for winter storage for example. It doesn't
even TRY to charge the battery, where as the more expensive one has the
capability to put out more than a half an amp it can actually charge a
battery if left on for a couple of days. Although it wasn't designed to
be a charger it will charge up a dead battery but will take longer than
the higher amperage variety sold elsewhere."

Hope this helps out.

jnx

I was supprised to see that when I plug the charger in after a 50-70 mile drive, it charges for about 6-8 hours.

Zookie

How long is the Wire on the Wall Plug OEM BATTERY CHARGER that plugs into your Light Plug? in Feet...

rdstemler

The BMW model works and is less $$. Lighter plug in. No adapter needed. Not as pretty.