Flat battery....?
Discussion
david hype said:
Dont expect to jump start it, then take it out for a run and all will be fine...Because it wont!
You need to trickle charge the battery for standing periods of more than a couple of days or so. Your new battery will last a little longer, but eventually the same will happen to that as well.
Suprised that your alarm didn`t pre-warn though...
You need to trickle charge the battery for standing periods of more than a couple of days or so. Your new battery will last a little longer, but eventually the same will happen to that as well.
Suprised that your alarm didn`t pre-warn though...
David, how would the alarm warn you ?
I've been having intermittant problems with my alarm going off when I unlock the car..
alarm goes off, no response to keyfob, have to sit the noise out, and then been putting the battery on charge before trying again..
is this the alarm warning me ?
nimbus said:
david hype said:
Dont expect to jump start it, then take it out for a run and all will be fine...Because it wont!
You need to trickle charge the battery for standing periods of more than a couple of days or so. Your new battery will last a little longer, but eventually the same will happen to that as well.
Suprised that your alarm didn`t pre-warn though...
You need to trickle charge the battery for standing periods of more than a couple of days or so. Your new battery will last a little longer, but eventually the same will happen to that as well.
Suprised that your alarm didn`t pre-warn though...
David, how would the alarm warn you ?
I've been having intermittant problems with my alarm going off when I unlock the car..
alarm goes off, no response to keyfob, have to sit the noise out, and then been putting the battery on charge before trying again..
is this the alarm warning me ?
Toby
The alarm on my 993 made an intermittent "beep" when it was getting low on charge, this was before I started using the trickle charger.
It didn`t do it for long and it was only just audible, as the car was in a detatched garage with the door closed.
Come to think of it I think my old Carrera 3.2 SSE did it too...Can`t swear by it!
mm, well, thats definately not whats happening to me 
oh well, its only happened twice before I bought a new battery and not happened since.. just have a nagging feeling I might have an alarm 'problem'..
best try the alarm people next I think, as I can guarentee the next time it happens will be even more inconvienient than the last..
oh well, its only happened twice before I bought a new battery and not happened since.. just have a nagging feeling I might have an alarm 'problem'..
best try the alarm people next I think, as I can guarentee the next time it happens will be even more inconvienient than the last..
Well, by way of update on this, the problem has recurred. The car was fine when I took it out on the Saturday after it first occurred, so it was holding the charge fine 5 days after jumping it and taking it for a long run. Strangely, it then refused to start a further 3 days later.
It's fair to assume that either the battery is shot (not sure how long it has been in there, but it's a Bosch Silver as recommended on here so I'm guessing it's not the battery that Porsche fitted as new nearly 10 years ago!) or it's just the usual problem of the tracker and PA1000 alarm drawing too much charge between its weekend runs.
So, it looks like a battery conditioner/tricker charger is in order. I've got a few recommendations for brands (CTEK and Accumate seem to be popular) having done a search on here, but I have one more query.
I assume that most of these work by clipping onto the battery terminals. To do that, presumably I'm going to have to leave the car in the garage with the boot lid up. Isn't the drain from the boot light going to be too much for the charger to keep up with? Or is there some way of connecting it which means I can close the boot lid and avoid that problem?
(I've never had to use one in the past so I've no idea how they work!)
It's fair to assume that either the battery is shot (not sure how long it has been in there, but it's a Bosch Silver as recommended on here so I'm guessing it's not the battery that Porsche fitted as new nearly 10 years ago!) or it's just the usual problem of the tracker and PA1000 alarm drawing too much charge between its weekend runs.
So, it looks like a battery conditioner/tricker charger is in order. I've got a few recommendations for brands (CTEK and Accumate seem to be popular) having done a search on here, but I have one more query.
I assume that most of these work by clipping onto the battery terminals. To do that, presumably I'm going to have to leave the car in the garage with the boot lid up. Isn't the drain from the boot light going to be too much for the charger to keep up with? Or is there some way of connecting it which means I can close the boot lid and avoid that problem?
(I've never had to use one in the past so I've no idea how they work!)
Edited by Lurking Lawyer on Wednesday 29th November 16:20
Bought a Oxford 360T maximiser trickle charger. Keeps battery in tip top condition apparently. It can be hooked up to the battery and the lead fed through near the windscreen, allowing the lid to be shut. The other alternative I was considering was yanking the fuse on the interior light, just didn't know which one to pull.
Guys - it's been said before and I'll say it again - A 'long run' will NOT charge a flat battery properly !
The Alternator is simply designed to provide enough power to run the electrical systems in the car any surplus power is indeed used to charge the battery. The only time the battery should be 'used' is when starting the car.
The only way to re-charge a flat battery is to charge it using a decent 6-10A supply for a minimum of 16 or so hours until the battery acid is bubbling (if open cell) or charge current has dropped to 1-2A. An automatic charger is best as this will turn off the charge otherwise you may damage the battery further.
A trickle charger will NOT fully charge a flat battery - 16+ hours or not. It is designed to provide a very small (<1A) supply to the battery to cover the alarm etc and keep the battery 'topped up' - it would probably take 1-2 weeks to fully charge a battery using a trickle charger... :-(
The Alternator is simply designed to provide enough power to run the electrical systems in the car any surplus power is indeed used to charge the battery. The only time the battery should be 'used' is when starting the car.
The only way to re-charge a flat battery is to charge it using a decent 6-10A supply for a minimum of 16 or so hours until the battery acid is bubbling (if open cell) or charge current has dropped to 1-2A. An automatic charger is best as this will turn off the charge otherwise you may damage the battery further.
A trickle charger will NOT fully charge a flat battery - 16+ hours or not. It is designed to provide a very small (<1A) supply to the battery to cover the alarm etc and keep the battery 'topped up' - it would probably take 1-2 weeks to fully charge a battery using a trickle charger... :-(
melv said:
Battery in 993's and 964's has to be 100%.
With the length of the cabling to the starter motor there is a huge current loss anyway.
Use a battery optimser and also ensure that underbonnet/engine lid/glovebox lights aren't staying on.
I only realised underbonnet light staying on on my C4 when it melted the snow that had fallen on it!!!!!!
You can get higher amp hour batteries than standard -just takes a bit of searching -Bosch Gold?
Rgds
Mel
With the length of the cabling to the starter motor there is a huge current loss anyway.
Use a battery optimser and also ensure that underbonnet/engine lid/glovebox lights aren't staying on.
I only realised underbonnet light staying on on my C4 when it melted the snow that had fallen on it!!!!!!
You can get higher amp hour batteries than standard -just takes a bit of searching -Bosch Gold?
Rgds
Mel
A huge current loss from the battery to starter motor ? The cable must only be a three metres, max. The current loss would be negligible over this length.
richardb.jones said:
The Alternator is simply designed to provide enough power to run the electrical systems in the car any surplus power is indeed used to charge the battery. The only time the battery should be 'used' is when starting the car.
plus you'll end up burning it or the bushes out
sleep envy said:
richardb.jones said:
The Alternator is simply designed to provide enough power to run the electrical systems in the car any surplus power is indeed used to charge the battery. The only time the battery should be 'used' is when starting the car.
plus you'll end up burning it or the bushes out
- another reason not to jump start either. The rectifier in the alternator will be overloaded trying to run the car as well as supply a charge to the battery. If you do have to jump, then leave the leads attached from the donor car on the flat battery for 10-15 minutes if you can BEFORE starting, that should take the edge off the charge current for your flat battery and preserve your alternator ...OK, thanks for the above - all news to me and helpful to know. It looks like a full charge is going to be required, and then keep it attached to a battery conditioner to stop it happening again.
Yet another question then. Does anyone know whether disconnecting the battery is going to pose any problems in reltion to the alarm (PA1000) or tracker on reconnection. I don't think I've got a stereo code either - it's a Sony cassesste head unit so don't know whether it's the original fitment one or whether it needs a code at all.
Yet another question then. Does anyone know whether disconnecting the battery is going to pose any problems in reltion to the alarm (PA1000) or tracker on reconnection. I don't think I've got a stereo code either - it's a Sony cassesste head unit so don't know whether it's the original fitment one or whether it needs a code at all.
Lurking Lawyer said:
It looks like a full charge is going to be required, and then keep it attached to a battery conditioner to stop it happening again.
That said, it does look like I can kill two birds with one stone with the CTEK 3600 that I've seen recommended on here - it will recharge the battery and then keep it conditioned once it has a charge again.
www.calamander.co.uk/batteryconditioners/ctek3600.htm
Looks like I'll have to treat myself to an early Christmas present.....
Lurking Lawyer said:
OK, thanks for the above - all news to me and helpful to know. It looks like a full charge is going to be required, and then keep it attached to a battery conditioner to stop it happening again.
Yet another question then. Does anyone know whether disconnecting the battery is going to pose any problems in reltion to the alarm (PA1000) or tracker on reconnection. I don't think I've got a stereo code either - it's a Sony cassesste head unit so don't know whether it's the original fitment one or whether it needs a code at all.
Yet another question then. Does anyone know whether disconnecting the battery is going to pose any problems in reltion to the alarm (PA1000) or tracker on reconnection. I don't think I've got a stereo code either - it's a Sony cassesste head unit so don't know whether it's the original fitment one or whether it needs a code at all.
I took the battery out of my 993 turbo a couple of months ago and I have a PA1000. I had no problems putting it back in. The only thing that happened is that the alarm went off as soon as I reconnected the battery, so have the key fob very handy so you can blip it off
M@verick said:
FlatEric.biz said:
Just a note - not sure if 993 is same, but my 996 'shuts down' after about 5 days of not being used. The remote alarm locking etc all shuts off and I have to open the door with a key. You have then re-activated the remote alarm etc and have to use it as you would normally within 10 seconds or the alarm now goes off. It's a battery saving device, according to the manual. They must know that many of these cars do become 3rd cars.
Well as an aside thats answered another question for me cheers FlatEric !, this has happened the past two times ive gone to unlock my car, and i was beginning to think it was something to do with the battery in the alarm key fob <doh!> i really, really should RTFM.
Thanks chap.
R.
R
If we all did the sensible thing and read the manual we would have no questions to post on PH......
i wonder if there is anything in the manual coverng which babyseat to use in a 997
richardb.jones said:
.. you haven't got to disconnect it to charge it btw ... Just make sure you get your + and -'s around the correct way
It looks like the CTEK charger I linked to above (now ordered!) comes with the usual crocodile clips but also with separate eyelet connectors. I was hoping that the latter would have a wire that is thin enough to allow me to feed it out of the boot lid and then close the lid, thus getting round the problem of how to charge a battery that's left in the car without having to leave the boot lid up and so have the boot light constantly on.
But I assumed I would still have to take off the existing connectors before I could put the charger eyelet connectors on, hence losing all power.
(Anyone know how I can tell whether the light is going off, BTW? I noticed someone posted earlier in the thread to make sure that this isn't the source of the drain....)
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