997 turbo battery drain

[RAWENG]

Hi
I bought myself a 2007 997 turbo a month ago, love the car but the battery goes flat after the car has stood for 3-4 days, the previous owner had replaced the battery before I collected the car and we confirmed that the alternator was giving full charge on collection of the car. Anyone else had similar problems, the vehicle is fitted with the porsche vcr tracker and I am told that this is responsible for the battery drain. Anyone care to comment. Before I waste time with ammeters measuring current drain.

Cheerio

[SalesManager]

The standard battery isn't very good. I whacked a couple of tablets in mine when I 1st got it and it fixed it. It always seems feeble on a cold day.

This is the daddy. Same as the Bosch Silver but cheaper.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-A3-3-2-V6-quattro-2...

[RAWENG]

The new battery is the Bosch Silver 85Ah and it still goes flat. I visited the Porsche centre in Aberdeen when I collected the car and was surprised to see that must cars were hooked up to a battery conditioner, indicated to me that there must a problem with battery drain. What is causing this problem?

[Rockster]

RAWENG said:

The new battery is the Bosch Silver 85Ah and it still goes flat. I visited the Porsche centre in Aberdeen when I collected the car and was surprised to see that must cars were hooked up to a battery conditioner, indicated to me that there must a problem with battery drain. What is causing this problem?

Cars on the showroom floor have a tough time of it. They are unlocked most of the day, doors are being opened, left open, along with trunk lids. Lights are being turned on and left on or the radia/stereo turned on, windows raises/lowered, brakes being applied, and so on.

Dealers often (make that in my experience always) believe moving showroom vehicles about helps spur sales so these cars are started and driven outside, then back in in a different arrangement. The cars never see any real usage -- which of course the dealer doesn't want as they are new cars -- so the batteries tend to go flat.

It doesn't suggest there is any real abnormal drain on the battery only the car batteries are getting abused given the circumstances in which the cars exist.

A car battery has to be kept charged. Usually this is done by driving the car often enough and long enough to recharge the battery for what it has lost just sitting and to recharge what it lost in supplying the voltage to start the engine.

If the car is not driven often enough the battery can go down. If it goes down too low or too often this shortens the battery's life.

Even if the car is used often, if the car is not driven long enough to put back what the engine start took out of the battery the battery gets depleted over time and the result is the same.

[RAWENG]

Thanks ROCKSTER what you posted makes sense. So either I have a duff battery or there is some parastatic loss . Anyone know what the normal current drain is on the battery when a 997T is at rest with the car locked and a VCR tracker fitted ?

Edited by RAWENG on Thursday 15th August 08:05

[mib484]

dont supose its got a denon gateway fitted for ipod/blutooth?i had an audi q7 that did the same thing the unit was staying live when ignition was off disconected the gateway and cured the problem

[Martian O]

Top lurking mib!

[RAWENG]

Ok I have taken some measurements. Current drawn on battery with car locked 40 to 60 mA with a 20 sec pulse of 88mA then back to the 40mA constant state. Voltage measured across the battery terminals when engine running max voltage 14.7Vdc so the alternator is working . Some rough calculations it should take up to 55 days to totally flatten the battery taking the average current draw of 60mA and the bosch 77AH battery. Conclusion the battery must be knackered and have an internal discharge.

[RatBoy M3CSL]

..I got fed up with mine too, it had a brand new 80AH battery on it, and had to live on a solar trickle charger, it would kill the battery in 17 days from full charge to pancake and I put up with it for a year.

Then I got so pissed off I bit the bullet and changed the alternator, the old one was clearly working, but not enough to keep the battery topped up as it should, I also put the biggest Bosch battery I could find on it @ 100 A/H, that was at Xmas 2012, and I've not had to charge it since. The car stands for a week sometimes, but typically gets used every other or 3rd day.

It was a £750 fix, but it's fine now..

Edited by RatBoy M3CSL on Thursday 15th August 18:30

[996TT02]

996 here, but with key in ignition (never leave it there) battery will go flat in 3-4 days, and key out, say 3-4 weeks tops.

Simple solution, just disconnect battery. Remember to leave key in ignition or alarm goes off.

Another thing. If you leave it unused for a long time, the alarm battery depletes too, perhaps not completely.

When you start the car up, the voltage drop will fool the alarm into thinking that the battery is being disconnected and the alarm will sound! At least that's my theory.

Fix, connect the battery, and charge battery with it connected, for a few hours, so the alarm battery gets a chance to charge up.

[RAWENG]

My insurers have not insisted that my car has a working tracker and I am not interested in paying £215 for the tracker service, so anyone know which fuse can be removed to kill the supply to the tracker on a 997T?

[asman0161]

Hi guys

Im Having the exact same problem past 3 weeks, I've had my car just about a year now. I drive it regularly if anything it's parked up 2-3 days tops in a week.

So 3 weeks ago got into car after it had been parked up for 3 days and battery flat, so got booster pack and got it started, was fine for about 2-3 days until I came to start it one morning after it had been parked up for 2nights and it was so drained the booster pack couldn't even get it going,

So took battery out and replaced with a brand new bosch one, its been good for past 2 weeks, so I came to start it this morning and dead again..... Last time I drove it was on Sunday.

Checked if alternator was charging its reading was 13.40 volts.

What I don't understand is when cars in use everyday it's fine, soon as its parked up for few days battery dies.

Checked for drain and reading was 0.0

Regards

[RAWENG]

Asman your measurements are suspect the car must have a static current draw, immobiliser , alarm circuits and tracker if fitted must all draw a small amount of current. Also the figure that you measured for your alternator output voltage is too low should be around 14.7Vdc with the engine revs 2000 and above

[996TT02]

I believe that the best way to avoid this other than disconnecting the battery, is to remove the key from ignition (always!) and lock the car via the remote. This way the electrics eventually shut down/sleep.

[asman0161]

I think the alarm is the culprit, as its gone off randomly twice, also the measurements taken were with engine running at idle,
I've got somebody looking at it tmrw, so will update.

I always remove my key from ignition and lock with remote.

Regards

[RAWENG]

This problem seems to be widespread I know of two other 997 owners local to me that have the same problem , one of them had to access his car with the manual key last week after his car had stood unused for a week. Having taken measurements from my own car earlier today the parastatic current drain is what I was expected and not in any way excessive. It is a mystery to me why this new battery is going flat and a problem that I am determined to sort out.

[996TT02]

RAWENG said:

one of them had to access his car with the manual key last week after his car had stood unused for a week.

On the 996 this is normal, after 5 days the remote "receiver" shuts down so you have to insert the key in the lock (oh the hardship! )

Probably the same in the 997.

[RatBoy M3CSL]

..One point just mentioned on another thread, is to make sure the light switch is working properly under the bonnet, if the light isn't going out, there's your drain, put your phone on video record and close the lid to check..!

[Martian O]

996TT02 said:

On the 996 this is normal, after 5 days the remote "receiver" shuts down so you have to insert the key in the lock (oh the hardship! )

Probably the same in the 997.

The 997 goes into sleep mode after 7 days and all it requires to awaken it is to lift the door handle, no need to insert the key.

[Curt911]

RAWENG said:

Hi
I bought myself a 2007 997 turbo a month ago, love the car but the battery goes flat after the car has stood for 3-4 days, the previous owner had replaced the battery before I collected the car and we confirmed that the alternator was giving full charge on collection of the car. Anyone else had similar problems, the vehicle is fitted with the porsche vcr tracker and I am told that this is responsible for the battery drain. Anyone care to comment. Before I waste time with ammeters measuring current drain.

Cheerio