Just picked up my Boxster. 2 days later battery died
 

Hi All,

I write, hoping it would have been better news. Just bought myself my first Boxster. Its a clean '97 model, that had a full PPI check. Received the full bill of health. Now its been two days where the car has not been driven and the battery is completely dead

Interior lights dont work, when I try to start the car, nothing happens, not even the click click click noise of the starter motor. The dash warning lights are all dim, so I'm not able to start my car now! *sigh*

Now my only suspicion is with the side mirror demister. I only say that because even when the key switched off and taken out, the demister light was still on.

I even tried pulling out the fuse, but the light remained on.

Since I have no idea about Porsche's I thought this was normal, but suspicious. But could this be the root cause? The car was sitting off and idle for 2 days like this.

Sigh, any comment would be greatly appreciated, as I've been looking forward to owning one for ages, I just wish the car would start!

As a side note, does anybody know what Optima battery model would fit a Boxster? Or what battery size I should get. I want to start afresh, once the problem is found. I'm located in Australia if that helps

Thanks!

My Boxster is not my daily driver. It is just a hobby car for spring and summer. I will go as long as two months in the winter without driving it and it starts up immediately. So the battery should not go dead from not driving it for only two days.

I do not have the side mirror demister so I can't comment on that but it's sounds like a logical conclusion. How old is the battery that the car came with? They usually only have a life of 4 to 5 years.

Batteries are consumable items... meaning - they do wear out. Eventually, your battery will not be able to retain a charge. Replace it and move on! ;)



What I would do is open the trunk and disconnect the positive lead. Charge the battery overnight, then use an ammeter between the positive contact on the battery and the positive lead. See if any current is being drawn. A couple milliamps would be OK, as the alarm system and radio draw a little power. If it's something significant, it could be that something is not turning off like it should.


If you get another battery, go with the Optima Yellow Top. I don't know what size, but check around for some online vendors. They are a little smaller than the OEM battery, but usually come with a small plastic adapter. Some local retailers toss the adapters, so be careful if you get one. Do a search here for 'Optima' and you'll probably find a few threads discussing these batteries. They are recommended because they have a very good capacity, and you could operate your top with the engine off, and not worry about draining your battery too badly.