[Inkedupfatboy]

Okay, I talked to my mechanic today...

 

He said the 968 seems to be a very low voltage car. Porsche probably felt the cars were going to get driven.

In his mind if you are not going to drive the car, it is just better to pull the negative terminal and put the battery in storage. It is his feeling that the battery suffers long term by having a trickle charger on it being up and down - draining down, then getting charged constantly.

 

He feels that is shortens the life of the battery in the long run. He said he really doesn't have any empirical evidence, just his own experience getting on average 7 years out of his batteries.

 

So.. that is that. I don't know if we are any better off one way or another. I keep trickle chargers on my bikes, but I really don't ride them, so I do tend to go through batteries faster it seems. The beetle can sit for three weeks and start right up. The Honda too. I think I am going to pull the center console and yank the leads off the clock. That should help.

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[Bulti]

In my case it's foremost the alarm that drains the battery.

 

Don't know what a 'low voltage car' is really.  It could be that the capacity of the OEM battery is a little on the low side, but that can easily be fixed by using a higher amp one.

I believe that the battery's lifespan is mostly affected by how many times the battery gets drained/recharged and how hot it gets.  Batteries do not like heat.  Car batteries especially are not meant to get drained and recharged too, they should be kept at a more or less constant level.  That is why I would think a trickle charger would increase the lifespan, not decrease it.  Pulling the negative lead is also an option, but only if the car sits for a long period of time.

 

My 2 cts.

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[type968]

I don't know. I have jumped dozens of cars with Pos to Pos and Neg to Neg. Never had any kind of issue.

 

When I bought this car, the windows were up, and I had to connect a battery to battery to get the windows down to steer it as I pushed it up on the trailer - then again to get the windows closed after it was on board. I knew that I didn't want to try to start it as it was sitting for 5 years - all that happened was it triggered the alarm once. Other than that no ill effects.

 

Its a safety thing if I recall.  If you hook up the negative on the chassis last, away from the battery, saves you acid burns if the battery explodes in your face.  There are a lot of reasons a battery can go dead, it it is not always because it drained.  

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3bu0TN_0eE

 

 More than likely user errror.

 

Yes, car batteries explode:

http://articles.latimes.com/1999/aug/26/news/hw-3902

 

I have used chainsaws and tablesaws without goggles hundreds of times too and have not lost an eye yet

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[ds968]

Regardless of what type of car it's in and regardless of battery brand I never get more than 4 years life out of any of them. Interstate has been the best so far but that's only by a margin of half year or a year at the most over the others . And yes , heat does kill batteries faster so I wonder if any of our members in Arizona or Nevada or New Mexico can chime in as to how much life they get out of their batteries..?

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[94SilverCab]

My 968 sat from 2/8 until yesterday...turned the key, and away I drove, no trickle charger...

I'm more horrified that my car sat for 7 weeks without being driven, but we've had a tough winter.

JMO,

Jay

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[Inkedupfatboy]

I have had Interstates not last as long as Advance and Auto Zone batteries. I don't think they are "all that" anymore.

 

I just put the second battery into my wife's Element (two months ago) since we bought it in 2007 and last year I replaced the battery for the first time in my Ridgeline and it's an '07 as well. They sit outside...

 

Third battery for the 968 and I have had the car two years next month. It is in the garage. My garage is not any hotter than the rest of Florida.

The beetle never fails to start and I forget what I put in that. It also sits outside.

 

I think the 968 is just a prissy piece of useless. New battery cables and a voltage regulator and labor - $1000.00. At least I got to drive it for a few hours Sunday. In a month it will be too hot outside to drive it as you bake in the leather seats in the sun. So far I have averaged 166 miles a month since buying it. I don't think the battery issues are me or the heat. I think it's the car. We will see if the new Deka lasts any longer. Between the battery issues and the tires flat spotting...seriously...arrrghhh....

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[94SilverCab]

"Third battery for the 968 and I have had the car two years next month. It is in the garage. My garage is not any hotter than the rest of Florida."

I'm sorry, that is not the battery. You definitely have a drain on the battery somewhere. Glove Compartment? Under Hood or Trunk lid? After Market Stereo? Security System?

I've had my car 15 Years and have only had 2 batteries.

Jay

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[Ryan]

I just got a mailer from Rural King and they now have AGM batteries for $79.00 with a 7 year warranty and 3 year free replacement. That is a deal.

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[ds968]

Yeah,what's up with the aftermarket stereos ?! Everyone to whom I have spoken about this said that those things have a tendency to draw a lot of current from the battery, and they're never really " off " when you turn them off . Btw, I disconnected my hood light , I can always plug it back in if I really need it which is ...never. + 1 on the glove compartment, make sure that's not on.

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[Inkedupfatboy]

I'm sorry, that is not the battery. You definitely have a drain on the battery somewhere. Glove Compartment? Under Hood or Trunk lid? After Market Stereo? Security System?


 

 

I don't think so. Stereo is original to the car. I never turn it on as the only speakers that work are the rears. I don't know if the amp or the head unit is bad and no way to test it. I have checked everything possible and found nothing wrong.

 

Glove box closes nice. Under hood light housing has been replaced. Security system is original to car and never used. When home, car stays in garage with top down and I don't go anywhere that I have to put the top up and lock the car. I have only driven the car with the top up twice and the only time I put it up is when I wash it.

 

I just had the voltage regulator fail, so I am assuming that is what took out the second battery. Actually the one I just replaced was the third, because the original battery we put in the car failed while the mechanic had it so he warrantied it out with Porsche. So I am betting it is the junk OEM Porsche batteries. I just replaced the original battery cables which still look good, and I am going to replace the alternator cable next as it has a small amount of corrosion on it.

 

I need to get inside the center console and disconnect the clock. I think that is actually my biggest drain other than the one this car puts on my wallet.

 

Again, we will see what happens...

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[Waylander]

The little plastic clip breaks on the bonnet light switch which is part of the lock mech, and the light stays on with the bonnet shut.


The drained my battery twice before I found the problem.


The only real way to check is put an a meter between the battery and the car and measure the drain, with everything connected on my car it's about 180ma goes up and down as the door pins flash.


And we have fitted as original an immobiliser as well as the factory alarm.

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[Inkedupfatboy]

No, that's brand new. I replaced it last year.

 

Thanks.

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