Which battery for 981?

[DJMC]

2014 2.7 PDK - came up with "Low battery - start engine" today after 4 days in the garage.

Might be the beginning of the end for the battery? It seemed fine after a 100 mile run.
Last used Saturday for a daytime 50 mile run. Prior to that, not a lot over the Christmas break.

As for a new battery, if it needs one, what would be recommended? Car's under warranty so I need to be a little careful it's a decent one my OPC won't snub.

Thanks for your suggestions.

[Olderandwiser22]

If you want to keep the warranty you have got to fit a oem battery.

From what I remember it was near £400 fitted😩

[gtsralph]

I doubt battery failed, just needs more regular use or connecting to a CTEK battery conditioner when not being used.

[xjay1337]

Olderandwiser22 said:

If you want to keep the warranty you have got to fit a oem battery.

From what I remember it was near £400 fitted??

That is absolutely ridiculous.

[Maxym]

Ridiculous but true.

Is it the battery or is it not being charged properly by the alternator?

[7184c]

gtsralph said:

I doubt battery failed, just needs more regular use or connecting to a CTEK battery conditioner when not being used.

Do you know if the CTEK has to be plugged into mains to work or is the 12v socket an alternative to this? I should really get one as my driving is restricted to 40/50 mile weekend blasts at the moment. The problem I have is no power supply to my garage.

[edc]

7184c said:

Do you know if the CTEK has to be plugged into mains to work or is the 12v socket an alternative to this? I should really get one as my driving is restricted to 40/50 mile weekend blasts at the moment. The problem I have is no power supply to my garage.

Of course the CTEK or any battery conditioner/charger has to be connected to the mains. They come with a 3 pin plug just for that

[curley]

If the cars in warranty and the battery has died tough it out with Porsche .

I ended up getting the cost of the OEM battery refunded by Porsche GB after some firm but polite correspondence with their customer services dept .

They argued that their cars don't get used much which can lead to battery drain . They failed to show me where in their literature or manual there was a warning to this effect .

[m999psw]

718c4,

I have mine plugged into the cigar lighter socket near the glove box which works fine.

Paul

[bcr5784]

m999psw said:

718c4,

I have mine plugged into the cigar lighter socket near the glove box which works fine.

Paul

Doesn't the socket switch off after a time? On my 981S the TomTom I have plugged in there switches off eventually. I've not investigated how soon or if the car notices the current drain and switches it off.

[Maxym]

m999psw said:

718c4,

I have mine plugged into the cigar lighter socket near the glove box which works fine.

Paul

What powers the 12V socket?

[m999psw]

I have seen the topic on whether it switches off or not but my 987 didn't, which caused a flat battery and RAC visit when I left the Snooper plugged in. Neither does the 981, CTek plugged in to lighter socket under glove box, window down slightly and car locked, charges,tops up and runs regular tests.

Paul

[7184c]

m999psw said:

718c4,

I have mine plugged into the cigar lighter socket near the glove box which works fine.

Paul

So not connected to any kind of mains power? I was hoping that this was possible but from a bit more reading this morning including the CTEK manual and as edc noted it seems this is a requirement.

http://www.ctek.com/Archive/ProductManualPdf/MXS%2...

As I understand it the 12v/lighter socket connection is an alternative to connecting directly to the battery - the comfort connect option.

I'm not too technical but I somehow thought the CTEK worked by pulsing it's own charge.

Seems someone also had this problem a while ago with an F430. http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=119...

Does anyone have any other ideas on options? The garage is en bloc there is power to security lighting but I have some tricky neighbours who would probably insist on me bringing in my own metered supply which is not worth the cost/admin.

[DJMC]

The 981's three standard 12v sockets switch off after 30 mins approx. I timed the one under the dash as I have my dash cam plugged in there and wanted to check how long it would record when parked up, key out.

No idea about how this affects charge going the other way TO the battery?

Thanks for the info so far. It seems to be behaving itself but I'll keep an eye on it naturally.

[bcr5784]

DJMC said:

The 981's three standard 12v sockets switch off after 30 mins approx. I timed the one under the dash as I have my dash cam plugged in there and wanted to check how long it would record when parked up, key out.

No idea about how this affects charge going the other way TO the battery?

Thanks for the info so far. It seems to be behaving itself but I'll keep an eye on it naturally.

That sounds very plausible - I've never had a flat (or even low) battery even when the car hasn't been used for more than 2 weeks. I did just check and the armrest socket is live as soon as you get in the car (key NOT in the ignition) so it looks like it automatically switches on. As you imply, if a CTEK works then presumably the socket must remain live if current is going TO the battery.

Updated - yes my armrest socket goes off after half an hour or so when charging a phone.

Edited by bcr5784 on Saturday 7th January 15:11

[Green1man]

The sockets detect a charger and stay active if one is being used (or at least one of them does, not 100%sure on all of them). My glove box socket goes off after 10 mins.

[ooid]

My colleague's 981 boxster (2012) had a battery issue. Her battery kept draining and yes she was not driving as often as you are actually. OPC basically said, she does not drive enough. She changed the battery, no OEM, not sure about the brand, I can ask her tomorrow, but it's much better now.

It's a bit known subject also among (986) and 997.1 owners, -most of us at least-, replacing the OEM with Bosch, it's much better.

[dreamcar]

bcr5784 said:

DJMC said:

The 981's three standard 12v sockets switch off after 30 mins approx. I timed the one under the dash as I have my dash cam plugged in there and wanted to check how long it would record when parked up, key out.

No idea about how this affects charge going the other way TO the battery?

Thanks for the info so far. It seems to be behaving itself but I'll keep an eye on it naturally.

That sounds very plausible - I've never had a flat (or even low) battery even when the car hasn't been used for more than 2 weeks. I did just check and the armrest socket is live as soon as you get in the car (key NOT in the ignition) so it looks like it automatically switches on. As you imply, if a CTEK works then presumably the socket must remain live if current is going TO the battery.

Updated - yes my armrest socket goes off after half an hour or so when charging a phone.

Edited by bcr5784 on Saturday 7th January 15:11

This has been discussed quite a bit on various forums. The fact is (confirmed by my dealer and in practice) is the socket in the rear arm rest does NOT shut down if it detects a battery charger connected to it. This is the only socket that does this, your battery charger will not work if connected to any other socket. My dealer was quite specific with regards to the connecting sequence, connect charger first, switch on BEFORE locking the car. In order that the charger is detected.This procedure has worked on all the Porsche's I've owned, ( 2 x 987 Boxsters, 987/2 Cayman S, 997/2 Carrera S and 981 Boxster GTS.), none of which are used much during the winter months and rely on Charge-o-mat life support.

Edited by dreamcar on Monday 9th January 09:27

[DJMC]

My dealer principal has confirmed "Batteries are not covered by the warranty as they are considered wear and tear, the cold will affect the battery but you could also have a cell down which would cause this problem, do you have a charger or conditioner for the battery? If not we could carry out a battery test for you."

The car is kept in a warm garage. I'll just keep an eye on it and if it fails I'll replace it. Or does anyone think the make/model/capacity of an "aftermarket" battery (shock, horror) could really enable Porsche to defend a warranty claim? What fault could be put down to the battery? Melting wiring? An overworked alternator? I can't imagine.

[bcr5784]

DJMC said:

My dealer principal has confirmed "Batteries are not covered by the warranty as they are considered wear and tear, the cold will affect the battery but you could also have a cell down which would cause this problem, do you have a charger or conditioner for the battery? If not we could carry out a battery test for you."

The car is kept in a warm garage. I'll just keep an eye on it and if it fails I'll replace it. Or does anyone think the make/model/capacity of an "aftermarket" battery (shock, horror) could really enable Porsche to defend a warranty claim? What fault could be put down to the battery? Melting wiring? An overworked alternator? I can't imagine.

I think that is extremely shoddy of Porsche. Any car battery at a fraction of the price of the Porsche one would have a 3 year warranty. Porsche could, I suppose, reject a warranty claim if it related to an electrical component.