Which battery for 981?

Which battery for 981?

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Discussion

CEREC1

31 posts

193 months

Tuesday 4th December 2018
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Over over under steer said:
DJMC said:
Since I posted this thread almost two years ago my battery is still alive!

What I did was to buy a Ctek 5.0 and extension lead, as here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Battery-Automatic-Tempera...

Plus, a 12v cigar lighter attachment: https://www.amazon.co.uk/CTEK-CTE-56263-Cigarette-...

I believe the Ctek charger does a better job of conditioning the battery than a simple charger would do. It certainly seems to have breathed new life into my battery, now coming up 5 years old. I've used the Ctek 3-4 times in those two years when I get the feeling the battery is low, typically when not used for 4-5 days in winter time.

In March of this year I also had the "fan stuck" issue during a freezing 100 mile drive. This cured itself when I stopped for 10 minutes and simply turned the car back on after that time. Although under warranty, PGB would not do anything but make a note of this "intermittent" fault.

I think your issue is the sticky fan, not the battery, but naturally you'd think the latter to be the cause. After your 90 minutes, did the fan start working whilst driving or had you stopped and turned the car off?
The sticky fan issue is easily remedied by hand. Open the bonnet, take the plastic cover off above the front boot space. On the right hand side you'll see an air box, unclip the top cover and then reach in the void under the windscreen where you'll see a turbine style fan. Simple spin it a bit by hand, one turn will be fine. Replace plastic cover, turn car on, all should work fine again.

By god make sure that the key is out of the ignition whilst you do this!!!
Porsche Assistance turned up today, actually The AA. Guy confirmed no charging issues with the car and suspects the battery is coming to the end of it’s life. Four and a half years old seems disappointing. I’ve owned the car for 6 months so it’s possible Porsche May cover it under warranty.
Been quoted £180 for a Varta battery with 5 year warranty but reading stuff suggest this may invalidate the Porsche warranty so there may be a bit of a fight on the horizon.
Reference my fan. The fan was inoperative for a 75 minute drive to work. Parked up all day and it came back to life 15 minutes into the return journey.
To the AA guys credit he guessed it might be a sticking fan and showed me how to release it.
Not sure it’s what I’d want to do on a cold, wet winters morning.
AA guy thought there was a recall on this fault. Anyone heard have any knowledge on this matter?
Seems I might end up getting my car back with a bill for a battery and a ‘ they all do that sir’ explanation for the fan.
AA guy did organise a hire car as my car had a fault that was considered a safety issue.
Not loving a Mercedes 220D though.

DJMC

Original Poster:

3,431 posts

102 months

Tuesday 4th December 2018
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When I last looked, design911 had the correct battery for my 981 advertised on their site. I took a photo of the top of mine so I could compare the part number.

When I phoned design911 the chap checked the item on the shelf and it was slightly different, so I'd suggest doing the same and phoning them. Battery has to be coded in I seem to remember, not just DIY connected.

Have a look here: https://www.design911.co.uk/fu/pt259_261_-cma81-cm...

There was no recall for the fan issue back in March. Many owners have reported having a replacement under warranty prior to this, but that may have been for a repeatable failure whereas intermittent faults aren't covered, even when you know it's happened, have recorded the odd clicking noise it makes on your dash cam, and you KNOW what the issue is and the remedy (replacing the fan unit).

gtsralph

1,186 posts

143 months

Tuesday 4th December 2018
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A Porsche OEM Banner battery has a serial number which is used for informing the car that it has a new battery. The outrageous price of said Porsche battery includes an hour or so's labour for fitting and coding.

I replaced mine (981CS) with an equivalent spec Banner (no serial number) from Design911 for about £150 less than Porsche. It was not coded in, the world did not end, no problems.

PaulD86

1,651 posts

125 months

Wednesday 5th December 2018
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When Porsche told me that my Cayman needed a new battery to pass the 111 point inspection (battery had been working perfectly...) they wanted £180 for fitting. My response was that if that was the case I'd come up and fit it myself. They waved the fitting fee. Bad enough paying a fortune for a battery worse than a Bosch one at half the price....

Xfe

256 posts

75 months

Thursday 6th December 2018
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CEREC1 said:
Four and a half years old seems disappointing
Sadly that seems to be fairly typical. My 981's battery lasted around 4.5 years

CEREC1

31 posts

193 months

Thursday 6th December 2018
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Xfe said:
Sadly that seems to be fairly typical. My 981's battery lasted around 4.5 years
Update
OPC said fan was fine,’ the often stick sir’
Battery was only 50% charged and said it was ok and even if it wasn’t, because I’ve changed the PCM for a Pioneer Apple CarPlay unit the battery wont be covered along with other electrical issues that might arise!
I might have guessed this would be the response but as both OPC and the AA said there is no battery drain detected I fail to see the logic of their argument.
OPC recommendation was one of their trickle chargers at £87. They were adamant that it can’t be connected to any of the 12 volt power points in the car. This appears to be at odds with a good few opinions on this forum.

b2tus

952 posts

258 months

Friday 7th December 2018
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Reference to some other posts on here.

I have a November 2012 981 Boxster and for the past 4 years, has had the battery looked after by a Ctek 5.0.

The Ctek is plugged into the centre armrest 12v socket and has a permanent feed. It does not switch off after 30 minutes as some have suggested.

Another poster opined that if a socket recognises that a battery conditioner has been connected, it will stay live. I know the socket stays live as I was away for 4 months last year and on my return, the car started first turn. Other times, it has been left for up to 10 weeks and never failed to start first time.

I have not tried the other 12v sockets so cannot comment on those.

SV_WDC

679 posts

88 months

Wednesday 31st May 2023
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Reviving an old thread but can someone tell me whether 981 GTS uses an AGM battery?

Want to ensure I select the correct option on the CTEK charger.

Sturminator911

49 posts

151 months

Wednesday 31st May 2023
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Yes the 981 GTS has an AGM battery.

7184c

415 posts

90 months

Wednesday 31st May 2023
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Mxs 5.0 is the ctek you need