Car battery (drain?)

[citychap26]

Hello all,

So my car battery is being drained at the moment, had home breakdown come out (last week) and charge the battery and test it, they said it’s okay and the alternator was working. I have a 2004 Turbo “S”.

Anyone have any ideas of what it might be? I’ve not seen and lights etc on, there are no electrics left plugged in.

Cheers

Sunil

[Mogul]

The stereo head unit can cause a drain if it doesn’t shut down properly for some random reason. The way to reset it is to find the appropriate fuse and pull that. Worth a try.

[citychap26]

Mogul said:

The stereo head unit can cause a drain if it doesn’t shut down properly for some random reason. The way to reset it is to find the appropriate fuse and pull that. Worth a try.

Hi Mogul,

Good call, I’ll try that when the green flag man comes out.

Cheers

Sunil

[Scrump]

I had a tracker fitted to my 996. It had been fitted for many years and was causing a drain on my car.
Apparently the internal battery dies on them and then they keep relying on the car battery (rather than just recharging itself when the car is running).

[KPB1973]

I'm struggling with this at the moment too on my 986.

I did a 'key out' battery drain test yesterday with a cheapo multimeter. I found that the stereo and amp were the biggest culprits. Once I took their fuses out, the drain went down by 60%.

I'm not sure i've completely sorted it yet, but my next checks will be to see if the lights in the storage areas go out when they're shut, and then the voltage regulator on the alternator.

Good luck.

[996TT02]

Scrump said:

I had a tracker fitted to my 996. It had been fitted for many years and was causing a drain on my car.
Apparently the internal battery dies on them and then they keep relying on the car battery (rather than just recharging itself when the car is running).

There was this for me, battery long dead, but being "charged" by the car's battery. Remove frunk upholstery and look for one, that's where mine was.

Then another thing - do you lock the car with the fob, or do you garage it and forego? You MUST lock the car even when garaged, else the drain will be higher. Locking puts the car to sleep.

Do you leave the car unused for many days? I just disconnect the battery (if garaged of course). No issues. Key in ignition with car "aware" of it (turn forwards and back), drivers side door open, (so window is in the retracted position) disconnect, and obviously don't slam shut the boot lid. Remove key and done.

Finally. There is the possibility that the car's alarm battery - within the alarm unit - may also be a problem. Note this is just my theory. But the alarm battery does discharge. I know for a fact that it discharges because if the car has had its battery disconnected for some time, I often do not use the car for weeks, when I reconnect I must wait for 10 minutes prior to starting else the voltage drop on starting will set the alarm off. Else I must rev the engine as soon as it cranks, not something I enjoy doing.

Stereo etc - I know nothing about.

Basically - if unused and if possible, I would always disconnect.

Oh, and a couple of serious discharges and the battery is more than a little bit fooked, so the problem only gets worse.

[KPB1973]

Thanks for the contributions regarding Tracker. According the to the history in the car, mine has a NavTrack fitted and I wonder whether that's contributing to my battery drain. It had never occurred to me before now.

[gsewell]

Scrump said:

I had a tracker fitted to my 996. It had been fitted for many years and was causing a drain on my car.
Apparently the internal battery dies on them and then they keep relying on the car battery (rather than just recharging itself when the car is running).

This

[Richard Hamilton]

You have to wait at least an hour, with the car locked, to check the true current drain. Various modules shut down over that period. Here is the proper method of checking for a 996T:

http://www.richard-hamilton.co.uk/misc/porsche/996...

[jakesmith]

Silly question but have you changed anything, had anything installed - could be anything like a phone charger, valved exhaust system, any audio gear etc?

[citychap26]

Hi All,

So an update, I’ve noticed that the footwell behind the drivers side is very wet as is to floor on the drivers side nearer to the centre console. Therefore “iz gotta a leak!!!” My car is a convertible, how an earth does one track where it’s coming from?

I did have to roof replaced several years ago.

Cheers

Sunil