Cayman R not starting so gracefully

[lukeyboyuk]

I use my Cayman R as a daily which includes a 5min each way to the station every day but quite often longer journeys on the weekend. Now the cold weathers arrived it seems to struggle starting up. Today has been the worst, turned over a few times, almost sounded like it wasn't even going to start, PCM took 30 seconds post-startup to come on and early on the headlights flickered.

Would this indicate the battery is on the way out or the spark plugs?

If I fork out for a battery charger/conditioner is the battery recoverable from this sort of state if it is indeed the battery?

Cheers

[Porsche911R]

has it had a battery yet, is it a Moll ?

if no/ yes to those just buy new battery, I use a Bosche S4

[V800MJH]

Take it for a good run this weekend and see if it improves come Monday.

If not then likely to be the battery. I had similar issues.

Replaced with a Bosch battery from ECP and it's been lovely since.

[lukeyboyuk]

OK will do It's still using the original lightweight battery so it's done well I guess

[stevebu916]

lukeyboyuk said:

OK will do It's still using the original lightweight battery so it's done well I guess

If it's a Porsche Lithium Ion battery, they have a lower temperature limit of 0 deg C so the operation will fall off very quickly below this level.

http://press.porsche.com/news/release.php?id=510

[SV_WDC]

Another thing you can do is turn off the PCM before you turn the car off. If you're only doing 5mins each way maybe don't need the radio on.

Otherwise when it starts up it's gotta power the PCM etc too.

[PaulD86]

lukeyboyuk said:

I use my Cayman R as a daily which includes a 5min each way to the station

Drive to work instead

But seriously, as others have said, battery. I had to fit a new one a few weeks ago as mine failed the 111 point inspection for the extended warranty. This was especially annoying as the car fired first time no problem....

[lukeyboyuk]

PaulD86 said:

Drive to work instead

But seriously, as others have said, battery. I had to fit a new one a few weeks ago as mine failed the 111 point inspection for the extended warranty. This was especially annoying as the car fired first time no problem....

Ha would love to drive to work but not sure I want to drive into the city every day! I have my service and potential look at extending the warranty in February so I'll have a look this weekend at a replacement Battery. Are they easy enough to replace yourself or is it better to get someone else to do it? Any particular recommendations for a battery on a Cayman R? I'll give up the lightweight one.

[stevebu916]

lukeyboyuk said:

Ha would love to drive to work but not sure I want to drive into the city every day! I have my service and potential look at extending the warranty in February so I'll have a look this weekend at a replacement Battery. Are they easy enough to replace yourself or is it better to get someone else to do it? Any particular recommendations for a battery on a Cayman R? I'll give up the lightweight one.

I suspect your problem is the lightweight battery not working due to low temp. Once temp rises it will probably work ok.

Why not keep lightweight battery to install to pass 111 point inspection and buy Bosch lead acid for year round use?

[nw942]

I have a fairly short commute in mine so put it on charge each weekend during the winter. Usually charges to full within a few hours.

Still quite sluggish this morning though.

[The_Doc]

nw942 said:

I have a fairly short commute in mine so put it on charge each weekend during the winter. Usually charges to full within a few hours.

Still quite sluggish this morning though.

Replaced my Moll with a Bosch 12V 85Ah Type 110 S5010 for £85 a few years ago. This on a 2008 997, I'd be very suprised if your battery enclosure was a different size, check.

Now put it on CTEK MXS 5.0 (£65), (with terminals hardwired to battery for ease of use) if I'm not driving it for >4 days. The "RECON" cycle on this claims to recover a Lead battery from complete discharge, which I am dubious of. Why not buy both?

Car started yesterday at -4.5 C like a dream.

(also swapped to Sottozero tyres 2 weeks back to deal with >350hp and minus 4 !!)

Edited by The_Doc on Friday 1st December 14:01