sandwedge

Gone for exactly 18 days and only enough juice left to produce the popular klicking sound when you turn the key. A little surprising since I left the car under identical circumstances last year, only 4 days less and it cranked strong when I got back as if I never left town. Guessing another year on the battery is the culprit rather than 4 more days in the garage.

Jumped it from wife's Z4 which worked but got PCM and PASM failure flags. PCM fixed itself once I got the car moving but the PASM took 3 restarts to clear itself. Put about 50 miles on it today but it still cranks as if it's tired. Going in for the annual $650 oil change this week so maybe a deep charge of the battery to bring the tab to an even $1K or maybe $2K if they talk me into a new battery. Looking forward.

Either way, food for thought if your car is a couple of years old and you're going on vacation without it.

Restless

I recently left my 2005 in the garage for 6 weeks while away in Europe on work assignment. When I came back, the car started as per usual. Sounds like the battery may need replacement.

Frino

SW, don't mention the part about going on vacation when you bring it in and perhaps they'll warranty the battery replacement...they did for me (after 22 months of ownership).

wetstuff

My Boxster battery: muerte in 4ys ... ML320's in 7. Sears has them for about $120. Just don't wear your Armani sweater changing out one. ...and trickle chargers for garage queens!

pl

did u lock your car?

Kevin K

Is there any issue at all with leaving the trickle charger on for several weeks in a closed garage while the family is away. Something in the Porsche Trickle Charger instruction sheet said "proper ventilation, etc." req'd.

The instructions also say to use the 12V power supply and not the cig lighter. Can anyone tell me why that is?

Kevin

AP997S

The Porsche charger/maintainer I have came w/ the cig lighter interface already attached so it must not be an issue.

I suspect the ventilation requirement relates to the converter unit that plugs into the 120v outlet. It can get warm.

jhbrennan

My Battery Tender does get warm but only when the red charging light is on - when it goes to maintenance mode (green light) the heat goes away - even in a garage over 100 degrees! Maybe ventilation refers to battery "gassing" during charge, although I can't think it would be that much for that long assuming the battery is in good shape to start with.

sandwedge

That was the plan although I didn't think I stood much of a chance. Got a good relationship with the dealership though so if you pulled it off......

sandwedge

Can't recall. What makes the difference? Activating the alarm?

pl

if u lock the car, it goes to sleeping mode after 5 days.

InTheAir

I've left my old 993 on a Battery Tender (brand name) for 6 months in a garage. No problem with ventilation.

OCBen

I never leave the 997 for more than two days without a battery maintainer plugged in. Because of the electronics, this car uses more juice than any I've ever owned while just sitting there in my garage. My battery maintainer of choice, the Sears Diehard unit - about 30 bucks or so and it's worked reliably for the past 3 yrs. I usually plug it in on Sunday night - the end of my weekend driving - and leave it plugged in until I take her out again - it's so easy to plug in with the cigarette lighter adapter that it's really effortless to do, so there's really no excuse except laziness.

Be sure to check the water level in your battery at least twice a year, and make sure to use distilled water. I've had my original battery for over 3 yrs and it's still strong. I've only had to add water just once. All it takes is proper battery maintainance.

DJ23

I agree with OCBen. However I plug mine in after every time I go driving. My dealer recommended that I do that because of all the electronics in use and I've never had a problem.

Jay

OCBen

There's a special notched section on the rubber molding along the bottom of the door that makes it convenient to run the power cord underneath it. When you close the door you can easily move the cord back and forth to see that it's not wedged or jammed, but free from being pinched. It only takes me a minute to plug the adapter in, position the cord underneath, close the door, check to see that the cord's not pinched, and plug the maintainer in to the extension cord I have for it.