Not driving the Boxster for 6 weeks

[AXCM2]

Any advice on how to prepare my Boxster for not being driven for about 4-6 weeks? It's in a garage, so I'm not concerned about dust or UV, but I'm not sure if this is a long enough time window to require a battery tender. Any other things I could do to get it ready to just sit for a while?

[Mike1960]

Definitely need a battery conditioner.
Tyres should be OK for that time period.
I also throw a cover over the soft top of mine. Don’t know about your garage, but my roof gets the odd spider and spider poo on a black roof is not best practice.

[Quadcammer]

disconnect the battery and leave it sitting.

6 weeks is nothing.

[edc]

I wouldn't worry about 6 weeks. Stick it on a battery conditioner if you have one then just leave it.

[AXCM2]

Thanks all for the advice. I'm going to use a battery tender, as I do with my other vehicles, and leave it at that.

[rick3000]

I unfortunately have not been driving much lately, and in my experience 6 weeks isn't a problem. Just make sure you lock the car, the battery will drain more quickly if you leave it unlocked. A tender isn't a bad idea.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by rick3000

I unfortunately have not been driving much lately, and in my experience 6 weeks isn't a problem. Just make sure you lock the car, the battery will drain more quickly if you leave it unlocked. A tender isn't a bad idea.

A potentially stupid question...why does the battery drain more quickly if the car's left unlocked?

[986 Boxster]

Originally Posted by Frodo

A potentially stupid question...why does the battery drain more quickly if the car's left unlocked?

If you don`t lock a car now a days, the car wont go into sleep mode. You should lock it and activate the alarm whenever you don`t plan on driving it for a few hours. Car electronics will still think that you are driving it and wont shut off completely (going to sleep), therefore draining your battery slowly.

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by 986 Boxster

If you don`t lock a car now a days, the car wont go into sleep mode. You should lock it and activate the alarm whenever you don`t plan on driving it for a few hours. Car electronics will still think that you are driving it and wont shut off completely (going to sleep), therefore draining your battery slowly.

I never lock any of my cars. Never had or heard of such a problem.

But I guess this theory can be proven or disproven by looking for parasitic draw when the car is locked vs unlocked...

[986 Boxster]

Originally Posted by piper6909

I never lock any of my cars. Never had or heard of such a problem.

But I guess this theory can be proven or disproven by looking for parasitic draw when the car is locked vs unlocked...

I never use to lock any of my cars when they were parked in the garage until I bought my 535. I would park it in the garage unlocked and the next day or a couple of days later the battery would be dead. I thought I was leaving a light on or something else. It continued doing it until I took it to the dealer and they replaced the battery, the same thing continued happening, then a service tech asked me if I was locking the car and turning on the alarm, I said no, because I was parking it in the garage. That`s when I was told to lock it and turn on the alarm so the car could go into sleep mode. Guess what? The battery was not dead the next day or a few days later after that. Coincidence? Maybe.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by 986 Boxster

If you don`t lock a car now a days, the car wont go into sleep mode. You should lock it and activate the alarm whenever you don`t plan on driving it for a few hours. Car electronics will still think that you are driving it and wont shut off completely (going to sleep), therefore draining your battery slowly.

Yeah, I suppose that could be true, though like piper, I hardly ever lock mine. And my battery is about 6.5 years old and still crankin' great.

Of course, the fact that I use one of these at least part of the time probably helps

[blue62]

Originally Posted by 986 Boxster

If you don`t lock a car now a days, the car wont go into sleep mode. You should lock it and activate the alarm whenever you don`t plan on driving it for a few hours. Car electronics will still think that you are driving it and wont shut off completely (going to sleep), therefore draining your battery slowly.

With all the electronic wizardry and various computers on the "newer cars" battery drain is very likely to happen when not locked and put into alarm mode.

But the OP'S Boxster is a 2000 as is mine. Very unlikely that there is going to be a problem with battery drain on a twenty year old car over a period of four to six weeks.

The OP lives in Calif. So no cold weather affects on battery drain and if the car has no underlying issues with the car he should be fine.

I live in Wa. state and I leave my Boxster untouched for two to three months at a time and have never have a problem.
A battery tender is a great idea as they prolong battery and batteries are expensive these days.

[986 Boxster]

Yeah I was referring to newer cars with all kinds of gadgets. Like I said, I never use to lock my cars when they were in the garage until I had a problem with the 535. I don`t know if OP`s car has any extra gadgets, just a suggestion .

[10/10ths]

....When you lock the 986 it goes into “Deep Sleep” after 72 hours. This will significantly lower the battery draw.

You can test this yourself.

Lock your Boxster, then leave her for a week. When you return to drive her, try to unlock her with the remote control on the key fob.

You will discover that the car does not respond. You will have to physically insert your key in the door to unlock her.

Of course, you could also invest five minutes and read your owner’s manual. Just a thought. You spent a bunch of money on a semi-exotic German sports car, the least you could do is spend a lunch break with a cup of coffee and read your owner’s manual.

Good luck.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by 10/10ths

....When you lock the 986 it goes into “Deep Sleep” after 72 hours. This will significantly lower the battery draw.

You can test this yourself.

Lock your Boxster, then leave her for a week. When you return to drive her, try to unlock her with the remote control on the key fob.

You will discover that the car does not respond. You will have to physically insert your key in the door to unlock her.

Of course, you could also invest five minutes and read your owner’s manual. Just a thought. You spent a bunch of money on a semi-exotic German sports car, the least you could do is spend a lunch break with a cup of coffee and read your owner’s manual.

Good luck.

Good points, though I would also point out that I, for one, have read much or all of my owner's manual, for the most part 14 years ago when I purchased the car. But I have not committed it to memory. At 224 pages, it's not exactly a "five minute" read. I tend more to refer to it when I have an issue, or want to better understand some specific topic. Had I had issues with inexplicable battery drainage (which I haven't), that's the first place I'd check. I suspect that's the approach utilized by most car owners.

[blue62]

Originally Posted by 10/10ths

....When you lock the 986 it goes into “Deep Sleep” after 72 hours. This will significantly lower the battery draw.

You can test this yourself.

Lock your Boxster, then leave her for a week. When you return to drive her, try to unlock her with the remote control on the key fob.

You will discover that the car does not respond. You will have to physically insert your key in the door to unlock her.

Of course, you could also invest five minutes and read your owner’s manual. Just a thought. You spent a bunch of money on a semi-exotic German sports car, the least you could do is spend a lunch break with a cup of coffee and read your owner’s manual.

Good luck.

Interesting.
I would have never thought that a twenty year old car had a "deep sleep" feature.
Always something new to learn about these cars.

[10/10ths]

...did you know there are cutouts in the door seals on the bottom of both doors to allow battery maintenance charger cable to fit through the closed door to the cigarette lighter?


And as far as the 200 plus pages of the owner’s manual, there is a handy thing called an “index” in the back that shows you what page number the info you are searching for is located on. Actually less than five minutes to look up the deep sleep mode.

Reading. Pass it on.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by 10/10ths

...did you know there are cutouts in the door seals on the bottom of both doors to allow battery maintenance charger cable to fit through the closed door to the cigarette lighter?


And as far as the 200 plus pages of the owner’s manual, there is a handy thing called an “index” in the back that shows you what page number the info you are searching for is located on. Actually less than five minutes to look up the deep sleep mode.

Reading. Pass it on.

Hmmm…taking a look at that handy index I’m not seeing anything about any ‘deep sleep mode.’ (Nothing under ‘sleep mode’ either.)



While the manuals themselves can be helpful, many/most people would acknowledge that car manual indexes are often not all that complete. Besides, if you’re not familiar with the term ‘deep sleep mode’ how you gonna know to look it up…assuming it was there to be looked up in the first place…which it plainly ain’t.

Give it up big guy. I wasn't being a jerk. Instead of researching 224 pages of a poorly-indexed owner’s manual I simply asked a question about why locking your car saves the battery. That's what forums like this are for.

[10/10ths]

...Our Boxsters go into “Deep Sleep” mode, which the owner’s manual refers to as “Load Switch-Off”, after FIVE days, when locked, not 72 hours as I previously posted.

Cheers!

[SMK Shoe]

First time mine went into "deep sleep mode" scared the heck out of me. I drive Over the road and was out for the better part of a week. Back to the yard late Friday nite, and went to unlock the Boxster to put my stuff in it and nothing. Twang of, " not a dead battery", tried the key and as soon as it was unlocked, all the lights started working as should.