Should my 7 year old Cayman be on a trickle charger?

[SkinnyPete]

I've always used my cars every day so never had any battery problems, but given the current situation it probably won't be turning a wheel for another few weeks, maybe even a couple of months.

I'm guessing after a couple of weeks the alarm and other parasitic losses will drain the battery, and an AGM battery can't be recharged once ran flat?

[Twinfan]

Either use it occasionally or trickle charge it IMHO. It'll last several weeks if the battery is in good condition though.

[David W.]

Yes, I had a battery die in a Boxster at 5yrs.

[Ajj1503]

The other unique feature of a flat battery in the Boxster/cayman is that when it does eventually die you can’t open the fronk to get at the battery.

How about one of these.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...

[CanAm]

Surely those guys at Porsche put a charging point in another accessible part of the car?

[SkinnyPete]

CanAm said:

Surely those guys at Porsche put a charging point in another accessible part of the car?

I believe you can plug it into the cigarette socket but that only works if you have a garage, in any case, I've left my CTEK in the frunk and threaded the extension lead through the gap where the bonnet meets the windshield, and then plugged it into an outside socket. I've also wrapped the power cable in microfibre clothes so it doesn't rub against the paint.

[David W.]

SkinnyPete said:

I believe you can plug it into the cigarette socket but that only works if you have a garage, in any case, I've left my CTEK in the frunk and threaded the extension lead through the gap where the bonnet meets the windshield, and then plugged it into an outside socket. I've also wrapped the power cable in microfibre clothes so it doesn't rub against the paint.

Or see below.
And
If you really want to do it properly watch Harry’s Garage latest vid on YouTube.

Edited by David W. on Sunday 5th April 19:57

[MrVert]

My Cayman R loses charge after a week (max).

It's permanently on a trickle charger at this time of year.

So yes, with no foreseeable usage in the the next few weeks, I'd be getting it hooked up.

[anonymous-user]

I have a Ctek, I wonder is it preferable to leave permanently connected, or is it better to do a full charge every couple of weeks or so then disconnect it?

I only ask having seen a garage fire on one of the other Ctek threads...

[SV_WDC]

Technically speaking it is probably better for a car battery to leave it hooked up to a trickle charger 24/7, however if that is not an option or one you'd prefer not to then giving it a top up every once in a while is unlikely to cause long term damage, in my opinion.

We are lucky going into the warmer weather, as that will reduce the natural wear & tear on the battery being left unused for weeks on end.

[David W.]

Schmed said:

I have a Ctek, I wonder is it preferable to leave permanently connected, or is it better to do a full charge every couple of weeks or so then disconnect it?

I only ask having seen a garage fire on one of the other Ctek threads...

If you’re worried get one of these babies.
https://www.ctek.com/products/vehicle/ctx-indicato...

[STiG911]

I've said this many times before, but I'll say it again - I've used 2 Halfords Maintenance Chargers on mine and missus garaged cars for the last nine years with no issues whatsoever.
They're only £25 each and a doddle to wire directly to the battery. (As someone else said, route the lead out the windscreen end of the bonnet where there's no seal) They also now do a matching £10 Battery Monitor lead just like the CTEK one.

[SkinnyPete]

Schmed said:

I have a Ctek, I wonder is it preferable to leave permanently connected, or is it better to do a full charge every couple of weeks or so then disconnect it?

I only ask having seen a garage fire on one of the other Ctek threads...

Interesting.

I've left mine permanently connected, and I was wondering if I simply turned the switch off at the wall (but left everything plugged in), would it drain the battery?

[Shnozz]

Schmed said:

I have a Ctek, I wonder is it preferable to leave permanently connected, or is it better to do a full charge every couple of weeks or so then disconnect it?

I only ask having seen a garage fire on one of the other Ctek threads...

Have you got a link? I thought a trickle charger was the preferred choice for long term semi-retired cars. Rather concerning as I had planned on running a few of these and don't fancy any fire risk as a result.

[anonymous-user]

Shnozz said:

Have you got a link? I thought a trickle charger was the preferred choice for long term semi-retired cars. Rather concerning as I had planned on running a few of these and don't fancy any fire risk as a result.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Rick101]

Just bought a 5 Amp and have it permanently connected to a 30ah battery.

The car isn't getting used and it's too much of a faff disconnecting the power each time to block the immobiliser.
Small 30ah battery goes flat pretty quickly.

I think the risk of a fire as referred to above is pretty minimal.

[ttdan]

SkinnyPete said:

Schmed said:

I have a Ctek, I wonder is it preferable to leave permanently connected, or is it better to do a full charge every couple of weeks or so then disconnect it?

I only ask having seen a garage fire on one of the other Ctek threads...

Interesting.

I've left mine permanently connected, and I was wondering if I simply turned the switch off at the wall (but left everything plugged in), would it drain the battery?

Ctek are designed to be left connected 24/7. That’s the whole point of it.

[ATM]

Ajj1503 said:

The other unique feature of a flat battery in the Boxster/cayman is that when it does eventually die you can’t open the fronk to get at the battery.

There is a procedure to get back into the car if your battery goes flat. If you have a 981 the door will open with the blade from the key. The window wont drop but you can open the door. You cant then close the door with the window up so you need to be sure of what you're doing once you start. The key blade door opening procedure isnt simple so I suggest a trial run if you want to be well prepared. Once the door is open you remove the cover from near the throttle to expose a fuse panel and then you can see the red battery terminal which pulls out and accepts a crocodile clip. Connect a negative somewhere and then your car will have power and the frunk can be popped.

I've read that these cars need the battery coding to the car and that it shouldn't be removed for charging. Well I've removed my battery and even used a different battery while the Porsche Banner one is in the house charging and the car behaves just fine. So dont believe this waffle. The car does forget some settings like how to park the windows but you can reset them easily enough.

If you battery is low these cars can throw all sort of errors. I had all manner of coolant and PSM errors which disappeared once the battery was swapped for another one which was tip top. You dont even need to use a correct battery - any will do. I am using one from a Jaguar.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[jimbo761]

Useful info ATM, many thanks. Having just gone through the whole flat battery / donor battery fuse box workaround with emergency key manual unlock I suggest leaving it plugged into the CTEK permanently is probably the easiest option.

Also remember not to leave your jump leads in the frunk if you’re going to need them to connect a donor battery... Doh!

Why they couldn’t just put a manual bonnet release switch somewhere I don’t know.

[TVR4US]

When my 997.2, battery went flat, after looking on the internet I found out that you just took off the near side wheel and there is a piece of wire sticking out of the inner wing, you just give it a sharp tug and up pops the fronk.
I wonder if this is the same in Cayman

Edited by TVR4US on Monday 13th April 22:25