Battery conditioner

[Alan Mackew]

Hello Boxsterphiles,

getting to grips with my new acquisition (2003 2.7 Tip) one surprising design flaw seems to be that if the battery goes completely flat you can't open the fronk to access the battery.

I have a battery conditioner and thought I could put suitable connector on the leads to connect to the cigarette lighter socket when the car is not to be used for a while The cigarette lighter works with the ignition turned off so I assume this would work.

Anyone think this would work without damaging the car's electronics? I know I could open the front and connect to the battery that way but there is a light on in there when open so it's a bit counter-productive,

Any comments would be welcome

Cheers, Alan

[rick3000]

I'm not 100% sure about using a charger designed to be attached to the battery via the cigarette lighter. But you won't have any trouble using one designed for the cigarette lighter, and you will find the doors have a small indent to accommodate the cable. Also, your '03 should have a way to provide power to unlock the trunk by attaching jumpers to the door frame, and a small piece that pulls out inside the fuse box.

If you plan to let the car sit for a long period of time it's always a good idea to leave the hood popped. Also, there is a manual release cable for the hood behind the right front wheel (passenger side in the US), but it is a pain to access. A lot of people route the cable to the back of the front tow cap for easier access, however that requires removing the bumper.

[JFP in PA]

Porsche designed the car to use a battery maintainer plugged into the cig lighter to keep the battery charged when not in use; you won't have any problems.

[Gilles]

Originally Posted by rick3000

Also, your '03 should have a way to provide power to unlock the trunk by attaching jumpers to the door frame, and a small piece that pulls out inside the fuse box.

Rick,

I am not sure why but last week I tried to open the hood of a friend of mine '07 Carrera, and Monday night my own '07 (yes, when it rains it pours..), using the red thingui on the fuse box and the red thing turn out to be a fraud.. ha.

However maybe was me, but is not too much science connecting the jumper cable, just didn't work. On my car, as soon as we applied 12VDC to the lighter the hood open right away.

I am planning to leave the plug for the lighter inside one of the compartments inside the car just in case I need it again.

[Alan Mackew]

Thanks for the info, just bought a suitable unit on EBay $50 Aus

I also found a post on YouTube by a U.S Porsche dealer spruiking a genuine accessory to charge through the cigarette lighter socket.

Just need two rear tyres and let the good times roll.

Cheers, Alan