986 Battery Group - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Jaak · 06-25-2012, 07:50 PM

I have had a problem with my Battery for about a year now and decided to finally replace it. It would not hold a full charge over time and I had to keep charging it monthly. It was constantly at 35% after a month - 11.7 VDC. Since I did not drive it daily I thought it was due to the part time use. Now that I have retired, I use it almost daily. The battery dropped back down to 35% after 2 weeks and
I did not check it before that to see how it was dropping. My 2010 F150 has been sitting for a week and it's battery was at 85%. I also checked the charging voltages and they are within spec. Battery would not hold a proper charge.

Off I went to find out what battery I needed. The one in the car was a Napa 48-6 which a PO had installed some time in the past and it seemed "shorter" than what had been in there in the past as the bolt hole had signs it was used. It seems that the Group 48-6 is the wrong battery for the 2002 S with TIP. Research I had done indicated that a Group 94R is the CORRECT battery for my TIP. What I finally decided on was the WalMart brand EverStart® Battery MAXX-94R which had received excellent reviews from multiple sources including Consumer Reports. There are others out there, I chose the Maxx as the price was right, has a 36 month replacement warranty as well as a 108 month adjustment warranty as well. Special thanks to Mike Fockes Web page for setting me in the right direction!

The Battery has 790 CCA (cold) and 960 (warm), fits correctly into the battery tray and the hold down bolt fits in the correct hole (according to previous battery before the Napa). It seems the pre 2005 Boxster need the "optional" listed battery which is the Group 94R VS the Group 48R which the basic battery in most lookup books. If you have a TIP, you need the 94R and as Mike has stated any amp installed as well. Those with a group 48R may want to upgrade to the 94R if they have any issues. Mike also recomended those in colder climates should move up to the 94R. The battery does come with covers over the terminal and the POS. terminal cover has the plastic plug "punched" to seal up the unused vent port. You reuse the existing vent plug. After I replaced the battery the car does seem to run a noticably stronger with faster starts etc.

A curious thing is my CEL would come on indicating Secondary Air Injection issues. I had gotten the system fixed at my friend P-Car Indy shop. No Vacuum leaks and all devices are working well. It may be the the reference voltage is low due to the bad battery causing both the left and right banks to indicate a failure. The CEL would disapear after a while (after the battery was charged from 35% to 100%. I will keep an eye on this.

Hope this helps others out as well. It seems the Group 94R is the correct battery for the 986 series of cars. Post 2005 cars all have 94R as the standard battery from what I have seen online and severl lookup books. Pre 2005 should also use the same Group 94R battery.

Jaak · 07-18-2012, 07:39 PM

Update: I replaced the battery and the CEL disappeared ... till the next day. Went to friends Indy P-Car shop, connected their Durametric PC to the car and cleared the Fault codes. I guess one needs to clear out the codes in memory. The CEL has not come back on since the reset which is almost a month. The car does run better and smoother with this battery installed.

It seems that 94R is the correct battery for Tip equipt cars; recommend others to upgrade to the 94R if they are having issues. Listed as "Optional" when looking through battery lookup books. Hope this helps.

Jaak · 08-09-2012, 06:29 PM

Update: Codes have not come back and the cars still runs great!

milliemax · 08-12-2012, 06:52 AM

Glad I read your post !!! Same codes off and on. battery discharging. I thought it was from the draw of the computer. My wifes Volvo v 70 requires charging monthly. When we bought it new there was a "voltage log" in the car . The dealers are required to check voltage and charge monthly on the lot ,then the mechanic must log the results. That tought me a lesson. Thanks again.

Jaak · 08-14-2012, 07:21 PM

Glad to help!

aclark133 · 08-14-2012, 07:32 PM

This is a good post, thank you!

Jaak · 08-23-2012, 08:57 PM

Update: Codes have NOT come back.

The cars runs much better and my gas milage has improved slightly. There is a noticable difference when I am driving with less effort required to get to speed. A few quirky items such as the radio volume dropping when I came to a stop is gone. This is one of the more noticable corrections. The headlights at night seem to be more brighter as well; Philips X-treme which were brighter than stock when I upgraded.

Hope this helps.

Jaak · 08-23-2012, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aclark133

This is a good post, thank you!

Your welcome!!!

stateofidleness · 09-14-2012, 02:10 PM

Jaak, were you seeing 1128 and 1130 codes?

Jaak · 09-14-2012, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stateofidleness

Jaak, were you seeing 1128 and 1130 codes?

They were P0410 for cylinders 1-3 and P1411 for cylinders 4-6. They have NOT come back since I replaced the battery. It seems the 48R was faulty (low voltage) and the TIP requires the 94R.

stateofidleness · 09-14-2012, 09:06 PM

ah ok... was hopin it was the 1128/1130 combo as that's what im encountering. im getting the battery replaced free next monday though. dont think itll solve my problem, but probably doesnt hurt to have the right one in anyway.

Thanks!

Jaak · 10-15-2012, 08:36 PM

Update: Still no CEL ... Car runs great.

milliemax · 10-16-2012, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaak

Update: Still no CEL ... Car runs great.

Daily driver ? Weekender?

Paul · 10-16-2012, 06:54 PM

I bought a Wal-Mart 94r this evening. How did you guys hook up the vent hose? All this battery has is a vent hole in each end and a plug for one of them.

Jaak · 10-18-2012, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milliemax

Daily driver ? Weekender?

Since I retired on April1, 2012 (early retirement, 57YO), it is my daily driver now ... I drive the F150 once or twice a week. Put on 3,000 KM since the battery change.

Jaak · 10-18-2012, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul

I bought a Wal-Mart 94r this evening. How did you guys hook up the vent hose? All this battery has is a vent hole in each end and a plug for one of them.

Take the tube out of the old one and plug it in. Place the plug on the other hole. If you do not have the tube, most places sell a kit for about $10.

Jaak · 12-09-2012, 09:55 PM

Update: Have put on ~6,000 km and the temps have dropped below freezing on a few days and the codes have not come back. Car still runs quite well with the wrenches at friends shop say it's one of the stronger runiung Beepsters they have seen. Looking to get it into winter storage soon before the snows (salt) comes.

thstone · 12-10-2012, 10:27 AM

Jaak - I am experiencing the P0410 and P1411 codes for Secondary Air Injection. Did you actually fix or repair anything in your SAI system or just replace the battery? Thanks.

Paul · 12-10-2012, 04:00 PM

A simple vacuum leak in the secondary air injection system can trigger these codes. BTDT.

Jaak · 12-10-2012, 08:23 PM

I did have a few faults that we though were fixed. The codes kept coming back, used Durametric tool from friends shop. It kept coming back after reset until I decided to check the battery. Used a tester/charger that kept telling me I had 35% of the battery charge.

Did some research and it was noted that my car needed the 94R battery. "Wrenches" thought there may have been an issue with voltages and wanted to trace it out. I replaced the battery before they started and cleared the codes. They have NOT come back. It seems the 94R is what's required for the Beepsters of all stripes which is also listed as an optional battery in many listings. Earlier in this thread I did list some addional sites to check out.