Battery dead after a 2 weeks in the garage

[lurky]

Hi
I recently posted on here about storing my 2007 boxster for the rest of the season.
What I came away with was that the best plan was to just garage it, and start it up every other weekend to keep the battery charged.
I tried to start it up this weekend and the battery was dead. (its a fairly new battery)
So now I've bought a trickle charger and my plan is to start using the car again in three weeks, so Im thinking about taking the battery completely out of the car, and start the trickle charger in 3 weeks.

I was warned to not remove the battery from the car before because i would loose some information in the memory but that's got to be gone by now anyway.
Is there any downside to my plan? Thanks

[JFP in PA]

Yes, a battery maintainer lacks the current output (read amperage) to properly recharge a dead battery. But if left connected to your car after the battery is either recharged or replaced, it would prevent it from happening again.

[recycledsixtie]

I understand where you are coming from. I don't have a battery maintainer but use a regular battery charger and put it on low charge when the weather is really cold or if I am going away for a week at a time then I charge it up for about 6 hours before leaving.

I use my car pretty much every second day. I believe that if you disconnect the battery then you need the radio code after you reconnect the battery. What else you lose I don't know.

Another thing I have started doing lately especially in winter is to unlatch the front trunk so if the battery goes flat then I have easy access to the battery. For security the car is in the garage so it does not matter if the trunk is unlocked for me.

I have never had trouble starting the car even though I have been away from the car at least a week. A lot depends on the condition of the battery and how often it is driven.

Cheers, Guy.

[always porsche]

Another thing I have started doing lately especially in winter is to unlatch the front trunk so if the battery goes flat then I have easy access to the battery. For security the car is in the garage so it does not matter if the trunk is unlocked for me.


I do exactly the same but i also remove the frunk courtesy light as mines lit when the lids open and on the safety latch

[nieuwhzn]

Huh, everyone seems to miss the fact that the battery was dead after 2(!) weeks in the garage. Even with a not so great battery that shouldn't happen! Something is draining your battery. Or you left your lights on or you have a short somewhere.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by nieuwhzn

Huh, everyone seems to miss the fact that the battery was dead after 2(!) weeks in the garage. Even with a not so great battery that shouldn't happen! Something is draining your battery. Or you left your lights on or you have a short somewhere.

Depending upon the condition of the battery, and assuming he has no other items drawing on it, two weeks in the cold that Northeast has been suffering is more than enough......

[dmairspotter]

My car has been in the garage in Maine all winter. I start it up about every 2-3 weeks. No battery maintainer, and as far as I know it's the original battery.

When I do start the car, I make sure to drive it around town until it reaches normal running temperature. This also gives the battery time to regain the charge it lost to starting the engine. If you just start the car and let it idle for a few minutes, I doubt the battery is getting recharged.

I would suspect a parasitic load on your battery somewhere.

YMMV

[keysguy]

I have found my battery only last about two weeks sometimes too. I had to get a battery maintainer. The reason I think my battery life is so short is that I only put about 20 miles a week on my car. I don't think with using the alarm and only driving it for 20 miles a week is enough to keep the battery charged. The one I use is from Battery Tender. http://batterytender.com/products/automotive/battery-tender-plus-high-efficiency.html

I plug it into the cigarette lighter/ accessory outlet and run the cord outside the door then shut the car door. I put the charger/maintainer on a brick under the car and run the extension cord to it.

[kindlethespirit]

My S has been parked since October here in PA. I haven't used a tender and typically I start the car once a month and allow it to run for 30 minutes to get the oil hot.

I've never had any issue with a flat battery even when we've had minus zero temps for weeks at a time.

On another note, Keysguy---I have a house in K.W, but haven't been able to get there this winter. How long have you been in the Keys?