Porsche Lithium LW Battery Charger getting really Hot !
Porsche Lithium LW Battery Charger getting really Hot !
Author
Discussion

RSVP911

Original Poster:

8,192 posts

162 months

Friday 21st August 2015
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Hi there I have the Lithium Ion LW battery in my 997.2 RS and I use the official Porsche trickle charger to maintain charge - it is relatively new , It is branded Porsche , but it's made by CTEK and its a special charger that works on normal batteries , but also has a Lith / Ion setting. It is a simple , plug into the cigarette lighter type.

I went on holiday and came back after 2 weeks and the battery was flat (I didn't put it on charge as I didn't want to leave it unattended for that long - I'm sure its safe to do this , but you never know ? ) I tried to re charge it today and it wouldn't work on the Li-ION setting - the red info light kept coming on , on the charger meaning a connection wasn't being made .I then tried it on the normal battery setting and this kicked it back into life and very soon after I switched it back to the Lith / ION setting and it carried on charging fine : all good .

Only thing that seems odd is that the charger got really really hot - I can't remember (or just didn't notice) if it was like this on previous occasions and as such , this may be normal ? Has anyone else got one of these and if so have they experienced the bottom of the unit feeling properly hot to the touch ? Cheers smile

Oso

241 posts

180 months

Friday 21st August 2015
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Hey, I have experienced the high temperature thing with both my official Porsche CTEK charger and with a larger one I got direct from CTEK that i can connect straight to the battery and charges quicker. I think it's probably just because of the high current it's passing when it's charging a flat battery. I've also experienced with a really flat battery the smaller charger hasn't been able to get the charging cycle going but the larger one can. So might be nothing to worry about but I'd be tempted to get it checked out as these Lithium batteries (whilst of course superb in terms of performance and weight) scare me a bit when they go wrong. Not sure it should have gone flat after only two weeks so that might be another sign of a possible developing issue?

RSVP911

Original Poster:

8,192 posts

162 months

Friday 21st August 2015
quotequote all
Oso said:
Hey, I have experienced the high temperature thing with both my official Porsche CTEK charger and with a larger one I got direct from CTEK that i can connect straight to the battery and charges quicker. I think it's probably just because of the high current it's passing when it's charging a flat battery. I've also experienced with a really flat battery the smaller charger hasn't been able to get the charging cycle going but the larger one can. So might be nothing to worry about but I'd be tempted to get it checked out as these Lithium batteries (whilst of course superb in terms of performance and weight) scare me a bit when they go wrong. Not sure it should have gone flat after only two weeks so that might be another sign of a possible developing issue?
Cheers - did yours get properly hot - not too hot to hold but not far off ? Assume you had the LW battery too ? smile

Edited by RSVP911 on Friday 21st August 23:33

anonymous-user

83 months

Friday 21st August 2015
quotequote all
Porsche batteries are cack, had to change the one in my Cayman after 30 months , I could leave my Wife's Volvo lying for weeks on end and never had to change the battery or had any starting issues in 10 years.

ttdan

1,113 posts

222 months

Friday 21st August 2015
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Oso

241 posts

180 months

Friday 21st August 2015
quotequote all
RSVP911 said:
Cheers - did yours get properly hot - not too hot to hold but not far off ? Assume you had the LW battery too ? smile

Edited by RSVP911 on Friday 21st August 23:33
No matey I just have the lead acid - sorry should have made that clear - more a CTEK observation than anything else.

HokumPokum

2,089 posts

234 months

Friday 21st August 2015
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i have a liON battery for my 7.2 RS as well. When it is low on power it emits a beeping sound, did you hear that or has it gone beyond that?

been using it for the last 5 years. I use a CTEK lithium charger and it does get hot but nothing out of the ordinary.

Keep an eye on the battery and let us know if everything is ok.

RSVP911

Original Poster:

8,192 posts

162 months

Friday 21st August 2015
quotequote all
Oso said:
No matey I just have the lead acid - sorry should have made that clear - more a CTEK observation than anything else.
Ok cheers , good feedback either way smile

RSVP911

Original Poster:

8,192 posts

162 months

Friday 21st August 2015
quotequote all
HokumPokum said:
i have a liON battery for my 7.2 RS as well. When it is low on power it emits a beeping sound, did you hear that or has it gone beyond that?

been using it for the last 5 years. I use a CTEK lithium charger and it does get hot but nothing out of the ordinary.

Keep an eye on the battery and let us know if everything is ok.
Cheers - yep , I did get the beeping , but only after it started charging , so I guess it had gone further than that - beeping now gone as it charged back up again. It's not got as far as full / onto trickle - only on the second semi full icon , it got so hot I whimped out , turned it off and started this thread.

Do you just leave yours on trickle all the time - I know you are supposed to , but it worries me - paranoid I know !

I'll give it another go tomorrow and let you know how it goes smile


RSVP911

Original Poster:

8,192 posts

162 months

Saturday 22nd August 2015
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ttdan said:
Cheers - that will need sone digesting !

mhh

1,567 posts

271 months

Saturday 22nd August 2015
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This happened in my home town last year.

http://m.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/c...

996TT02

3,342 posts

169 months

Saturday 22nd August 2015
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Waitforme said:
Porsche batteries are cack, had to change the one in my Cayman after 30 months , I could leave my Wife's Volvo lying for weeks on end and never had to change the battery or had any starting issues in 10 years.
Porsches are cack (if you look at it that way) not the batteries. Many models seem to suffer from persistent battery drain, no battery will survive that.

Unlocked, mine is flat in 3 days, locked, around 10 days, disconnected, still enough charge to easily start the car after 4 months (longest it's been, probably last much longer).

If you are not using your car for more than a week just disconnect the battery. Much simpler and ultimately safer than hooking up any charger.

red997

1,304 posts

238 months

Saturday 22nd August 2015
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Definitely disconnect the battery if it's good bt to sit for protracted length.
Lithium batteries do not like being fully discharged.
And be very careful charging back up.
If the battery temp rises I'd be taking it out of the car very quickly !
Maybe it's me b int paranoid but I have seen many accidents with lithium batteries
Most of these were polymer tho, rather than ion, which is more stable.

HokumPokum

2,089 posts

234 months

Saturday 22nd August 2015
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RSVP911 said:
HokumPokum said:
i have a liON battery for my 7.2 RS as well. When it is low on power it emits a beeping sound, did you hear that or has it gone beyond that?

been using it for the last 5 years. I use a CTEK lithium charger and it does get hot but nothing out of the ordinary.

Keep an eye on the battery and let us know if everything is ok.
Cheers - yep , I did get the beeping , but only after it started charging , so I guess it had gone further than that - beeping now gone as it charged back up again. It's not got as far as full / onto trickle - only on the second semi full icon , it got so hot I whimped out , turned it off and started this thread.

Do you just leave yours on trickle all the time - I know you are supposed to , but it worries me - paranoid I know !

I'll give it another go tomorrow and let you know how it goes smile
actually i don't. in the summer it stays on the car because i normally drive it for about 45 minutes every 2 weeks. It'll hold charge until then.
In the winter, I run a normal battery and once i charged it up, i just store it in a cool dry place for the next 4 -5 months. It'll hold charge or if i feel like it charge it up intermittently

It's been on this cycle for the last 5 years.

Now i'm getting the new one for the Gt4, we'll see how long that lasts.
Guess what I don't like to leave batteries on triple chargers, i rather let them slowly leak down and charge them up fully again.
It also forces me to drive the car.

HokumPokum

2,089 posts

234 months

Saturday 22nd August 2015
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I agree with being careful about lithium batteries and fire hazards... which is why i go oem.

if the damn thing catches fire, I know who to go to........ the extra cost? worth every penny.

if it fails, well, tough. replacement cost is $$$$$

BertBert

21,226 posts

240 months

Saturday 22nd August 2015
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red997 said:
Definitely disconnect the battery if it's good bt to sit for protracted length.
Lithium batteries do not like being fully discharged.
And be very careful charging back up.
If the battery temp rises I'd be taking it out of the car very quickly !
Maybe it's me b int paranoid but I have seen many accidents with lithium batteries
Most of these were polymer tho, rather than ion, which is more stable.
Isn't that why they don't use li-po batteries in cars?

RSVP911

Original Poster:

8,192 posts

162 months

Saturday 22nd August 2015
quotequote all
Ok , drama over - car now maintaining charge and the charger has no heat in it what so ever - all back to normal - I assume the heat was due to it re charging flat battery at a pace - who knows , I certainly don't smile

RSVP911

Original Poster:

8,192 posts

162 months

Saturday 22nd August 2015
quotequote all
mhh said:
This happened in my home town last year.

http://m.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/c...
Thanks for this - made me feel so much better smile