Porsche16V944

I figure its better to ask here seeing as most of us probably store our cars in the winter...

My 944S has been sitting for a few months at a time and everytime i go to start it, the battery is dead... if i drive it every day its fine. I've have the charging system/battery tested and all is ok. I figure its just not getting driven enough and loosing its charge.

I've looked into the "Battery tender junior" (I like the fact its very small and compact) but i was also told that the swedish company "CTEK" makes very good chargers.

Anyone have any recommendations for a good automatic trickle charger?

Battery Tender Junior:

CTEK:


Thanks,
Jeff

raspberryroadster

moto master - auto trickle charger from Can Tire...was on sale last spring
for $50

pongobaz

I have both of those. Ctek (with optional cig lighter adapter - check ebay) for the Porsche. The Tender that I've have for 10 years on my daughter's VW.

Porsche16V944

i checked that out on ebay... thats a pretty sweet function.

I can get the CTEK for $50. After some research i think im going to go with that and buy the cigarette lighter plug like you mentioned (assuming my cigarette lighter socket works, never tried, dont smoke)

haha look what i just found:

If its good enough for Porsche to sell as their factory charger, thats a good enough reason for me to buy it

DHI

Porsche branded CTek with cigarette lighter attachment.
(got sucked into it when bought car.... thought it was gifted)

Get a CTek fron Canadian Tire when on special.

Porsche16V944

canadian tire wants $89.99
I can get it for $50 everyday... helps when you're in the auto parts industry

Bergamasco

Canadian Tire sells the Ctek on sale for less than $50. It is a great unit. I always have mine plugged in as it rarely gets driven more than once per week.

bavorak

haha look what i just found:

If its good enough for Porsche to sell as their factory charger, thats a good enough reason for me to buy it[/QUOTE]


Thats the one I bought from Pfaff. Works great. Other sources will be cheaper though.

Andy E.

I bought the Ctek from Crappy Tire for about $75 'on sale' last year. It was also on sale a few weeks ago.

The Porsche unit is outrageously expensive and does not come with the spare wire loom and lugs for a direct battery connection as does the Ctek. This way, anytime you want to trickle charge or top off the battery, all you have to do is plug the charger connector to the loom's connector. Just make sure that you're fused on the '+' side. I ran the connector out into the rear cargo area and capped it (928's battery is over the fuel tank).

Before that, I used a Crappy Tire 2-amp plug-in accessory charger with alligator clips directly to the battery. Looks like crap but does the job well. Total 'on sale' cost usually runs monthly under $10 but doesn't look as snazzy as the Ctek does. Guess where it's made?

A few words of advice:

1) If using your charger to charge thru the cigarette lighter, not all Porsches have a 'live' cigarette lighter as most need the key to operate.

2) If you have a factory alarm and arm it in your garage along with a 'Lo Jack' or 'Boomerang' device, chances are that these two along with other parasitic draining components may draw close to what you're attempting to charge at making your charge times much longer and placing undue stress on the charger.

Imo000

First check to see how much of a drain do you ahve on the battery. If it's more than the factory spec than start looking for the cause and only after use a battery tender.

My battery tender is the locak wrecking yard. They have skids and skids of good used battereis of all sizes CCAs. If I need one, I go and dig through them for the size I need and the newest I can find. For $25 and 3 month waranty and getting $5 for the old one, it's hard to beat.

PPo

In my racecar I have a battery cutoff switch. Everytime I park the car, I switch it off. I have never had a battery last soooo long, without needing to charge it. In the winter I let the car sit 6+ months without even looking at it, I am always surprised how much cranking power it has after it sits....

For this reason, any car that I now purchase that sits for a long time has a well installed, and somewhat concealed main battery cut off switch.

Another small advantage is that if you have the kind with a removable key, it is somewhat of a theft deterrant. But I also have other ways of keeping the car safe from thieves. ;-)

oups59

I use a Motomaster Eliminator Intelligent Battery Charger, 2A/4A. I bought it for 30$ last year. So far so good...

Andy E.

You must have a deep-cycle, marine or Optima battery. All lead-acid batteries, including unplugged ones will eventually die if not attended to. They love attention.

Seriously speaking, if the battery is left too long unattended the plates will sulfate and the battery will not be capable of holding an adequate charge. Trickle charging reduces this risk.

pongobaz

+1. I've seen brand new batteries sitting at dealerships too long without being maintained that have sulfated and are toast.

Andy E.

LOL! That's so true and I do remember buying at least one from my Porsche dealer that was a DOA many years back!

Now, PAG direct ships them dry units and the dealership only adds the battery acid when you buy one. Being one of the largest sellers of car batteries in Canada, I don't know if Crappy Tire has yet to follow this train of thought on their own units.