chuck911

It seems to me that a properly functioning electrical system will keep a full charge even in winter even with such a very short commute. Even starting the car with everything on and barely getting above idle the whole drive, the charging capacity should be so great as to rule this out. In other words don't just get a battery and charger. Have your alternator, etc checked out as well.

911searcher

Uh oh.
I was assuming that whatever voltage is displayed will be a good marker for "able to start the car"


What happens ...
my car drives amazing (happy)
then randomly ... the battery is totally dead .... and I'm out of luck (not happy)

Surely there could be some ways of warning me my battery isn't doing well (ie. is at risk of not being able to start my car).

My car has the world's most advanced oil measuring system. And it never drops and hasn't "helped me" once.
My battery has died twice ... and puts me out of luck ... and there is no warning system whatsoever.

Just seems odd to me.

Maybe cars dont want to display battery information .... because it isn't accurate ?

For my "short driving, in cold weather" situation .... wouldn't there be a way of warning me my battery is draining and I'm at risk for it not starting ?

Racetwin2

Just checking but I guess you know that the 12 volt cigarette sockets are always ON!

It is easy to forget a 12 volt phone charger or GPs etc plugged in the 12 volt socket. That could help drain the battery. Even though there is a software that should close everything off after 10 minutes or so.

Or do you have a gps theft alarm or other things directly connected to the battery terminals? That is even worse in terms of battery consumption.

911searcher

My battery issues are mostly (1) cold, (2) short commute, (3) excessive electrical use during my short commute (heated seats, defrost).

The mechanic performed some tests overnight and didn't find any sources of battery drain.

I am sure if I used the suggested battery chargers ... I would be doing much better. But I don't think I would be compliant with hooking up the charger. I usually park in the driveway. What will I screw up if I drive away with it hooked up ? I would buy one for sure .... but what I would like is maybe some warning system that would tell me .... YEA ... your battery really needs it now .. because .... X and Y are low.

I'm not sure such a warning system is possible.

But I can tell you .... I would find it useful to possibly get *SOME* warning my battery is starting to go. It seems I never do. It works, and then is dead.

There is a fuel gauge. Oil gauge. Temp guage. Driving range guage. Brakes getting worn out warning system. etc. etc.
None of which I've needed so far.
And my battery has died twice and I get no warning.
Why don't cars have battery warning systems ?
Do electrical cars have Battery Health indicators ?

911searcher

I think the mechanic checked all that.

Maybe two years and 2 months is acceptable for a battery life ? That is what I got out of mine.

Maybe my battery was a dud ?

I will say the battery was dead the Auto Assoc. tried to jump the battery twice and both times failed. I'm not sure what fails when a battery can't even be recharged at all (to at least get the car to turn over and drive) and recharge the battery.

I was surprised how the Porsche seemed to "Freak out" when the battery was low. alarm go off. drivers window go all the way down. tail went up. turn signals flashed for a while .. etc. It felt like electrical Armageddon, not a low battery.

Anyway ... it drove fine today so far :0

ADias

You asked about monitoring battery condition... You can use a voltmeter. I posted one above. You can have that in your glove compartment and periodically check the battery by plugging it in the cigarette lighter plug.

Procedure before you start the car in the morning:

1 - Turn on the car headlights for 5-10 sec.
2 - Turn off the headlights
3 - Read the voltage

A fully charged battery should read 12.6V. If the reading is between 12.4V and 12.6V it is fine. If it reads

Racetwin2

The best thing I can recommend is the CTEK trickle charger COMBINED with the quick connector with LED indicators.

The quick connector is always hooked up to the battery and when disconnected you always see the level of the battery. See pics below.

When it is not connected I always have it tucked just under the bonnet so I always can see if charging is needed or not.

kenza

Voltmeter is not going to help much. There are other battery characteristics that are more important.

You need something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/281901470861

Fahrer

If your car battery goes dead, you will not be able to open the trunk. In that case the procedure would be to open the fuse panel near down by the dead pedal and charge the battery from there. After that you will be able to open the trunk.

JAGMAN1

Two thoughts. The maintainer idea is a good one, but doing it every day would be a drag. But a healthy battery and charging system should be able handle your commute with a weekly charging. So I'd try a maintainer for one night a week.

Thought #2: A voltmeter can give you a decent idea on voltage. Search the internet and you'll find tables that equate voltage to charge state. 12.6-7 is 100%. 12.0=25%. 11.9 or less is nearly dead. I think 0 is around 11.7. All of this is no load of course.

danquick

What make is the battery? My 09' is on its third battery, 2 Porsche batteries (nothing but problems) now a Walmart replacement. No problems since. Just a thought, also I'm sure you've cleaned and re tightened the battery connections?

nwGTS

Do not charge your battery from there. Those contact points in the fuse box are only to trigger the frunk so you can then access the battery. This procedure is in the manual.

911searcher

Sure.
That looks great.

But why doesn't my Porsche already have that ... so I can see it on my dash ?

Has anyone seen a car that displays the above items ? Does a Tesla ?

As well, I don't want to be manually testing my battery with that. That's too much work.

I bought the suggested Walmart battery my last one. It lasted 2 years 2 months.

jhbrennan

3 years free replacement right? Try that with the OEM battery

Philster

Imagine if all your problems could be solved by driving your car.

Imagine having a problem like that....

Imagine...