Weak battery problem - no dials working!

[jezworld]

My daily driver Boxster 2001 S sounded a little weak this morning when I put the hood back for the first time - so maybe the battery was a little weak. The car then refused to start (ticking starter motor) and the alarm sounded a few times (pain).

I put the battery on charge (I have a mains charger) and got the car going again after an hour of trickle charge.

However - the dials dont seem to be working - the speedo, revometer, clock and fuel guages do not move. I hope I havent done something to mess these up but cant think what?

Any ideas? The car is charging at the moment - I'll have to look about getting the battery replaced (I have my radio code etc just in case).

Please help!

[Paul]

Check your fuses (by your left ankle).

[70Sixter]

If that is the original battery replace it. And be thankful it lasted so long. If not check the water level in the battery and fill with distilled water as needed. Then full charge-trickle charge, then load test.

After a longer charge and some road time everything should return to normal if the battery was seriously run down. Or time for battery replacement.

I keep my Box on a battery maintainer because I never know how long it will be between starts/runs.

[ARModen]

I think 76er is probably right.

The instrument cluster is a computer. A noisy power supply from a bad battery will definitely throw it for a loop. Relax, check the fuses, make sure the battery is both good and charged, then start the car up and give the cluster a few minutes to reset itself. If you just have a battery maintainer or trickle charger it may not be enough to restore a deep charge on a battery that's been sitting for an extended period of time. You'd need a good hour of driving or a higher amperage charger to see if the battery is still good. Most autoparts stores will do that for free (hoping to sell you a new battery).