Need to pick up a battery maintainer -
 

any suggestions / recommendations...?

I use the Porsche brand maintainer which plugs into the cigarette lighter. Have done so successfully for two years now. I understand you can get the same maintainer from CTEK. (http://www.ctek.com/EN-US/home/default.aspx) for less money. It's the same maintainer, but without "Porsche" written on it and we all know what that costs. Do a web search for CTEK and you can find it in many places for less money than the one from the stealership.

I've used the "Battery Tender, Jr" on my cars for the last five or six years...work perfectly and inexpensive. Has loop terminals that attach to the battery posts, with a quick disconnect.

Battery Tender Jr
 

A nice little maintainer for very little money.

Norm

I'd go with Ctek over Battery Tenders for a couple of reasons: All Ctek's have desulfation cycles built into their normal charge profiles, no Battery Tender's do. With sulfating being one of, if not the principal reason batteries die prematurely, regular desulfation capability is a definite plus. Some Ctek models also have "supply" and "recondition" modes as well. "Supply" is the feature mentioned in the recent "Excellence" article about why you should not disconnect the battery on some Porsche models without an alternative power source connected to prevent unintended issues. "Recondition" is used to recover a battery that has been totally discharged; while this will not bring a battery that has run its course back from the grave, it will recover an otherwise good battery that has been mistreated.

Battery Tender is a good basic unit, but there are much better units in the same general price range...............

My CTEK 3300 gets used year round on one vehicle or another. Seems good so far!

+1 for CTEK, that's what I am using.

Thanks all.
 

I picked up the CTEK 3300 on Amazon today as I had a $20 off coupon. Plus 20% off and free shipping. So $40 all in, including the cigarette adapter.

Got my car cover last week, now just need to fill up the tank and it is nighty - night till May.

I'm just curious about why you are packing it away so early. Do you have snow already? I'm asking as I'm a quite a few degrees north of you and we haven't seen snow yet and daytime temps are still above freezing most days. I'm hoping for at least another 3-4 weeks of driving time.

for two years...
 

I've used a schumacher batt. tender on my boxster and motorcycle. I got it at autozone for like $24. I'm very satisfied with the quality of it! Here's a link to what they look like.

http://www.technooutlet.com/egle9345.html?mr:trackingCode=B3631332-53C5-DF11-907B-002219318F67&mr:referralID=NA

Is there any verdict out there as to whether we can pull our batteries for the winter? I just did as I have no outlet near by for power. I am in 2000 S with no codes or apparent problems.

jaykay: I don't pull my battery, but I do disconnect it for the winter. I put the charger on for a day, then disconnect it for the winter, leave it in place. My 98 has cables for the trunk latch, so I don't have to worry about "not popping" the frunk without a battery.
Remember that the radio will need to be re-set in the spring, so have your code handy. I wrote my radio code on the backside of the faceplate to keep it accessable.

As for disconnecting the battery...
 

there are those who say it can be dangerous to your engine's health. Read the Excellence mag article in the November issue page 131. From my experience and reading, I've about concluded that there is not likely to be an issue if there are no codes present or pending when the battery is disconnected on a 986. It is only when the ECU loses its adaptive vales that are compensating for some defect that the normal values on electrical restoration will hurt you...but it can hurt you badly $$$$.

So read the codes before you pull the battery and get all problems addressed before you put it away.

I have a schumacher batt. tender and a CTEK 3300 and both will serve you well.

IMHO the CTEK is much better in built quality and it had every possible connection with the kit. I also got it on eBay for half of what a Porsche one costs. If I had to by one this would be it.

Thanks Mike. I had the codes checked and cleared. I am sorry to say that I don't know how to do myself yet. I have an Oddessy so it is too expensive to just replace if goes bad. My ctek is great but right now I have got a solid green and blinking charge light so it may be pooched after only two years