Optimate 6 Trickle Charge
 

Is it safe to connect the optimate leads to the battery whilst the battery is still connected to the vehicle, thereby allowing the alarm to be permamently active whilst over wintering?

2001 986

These cars were designed with a battery maintainer (not a trickle charger) in mind; and in particular, the car is set up so you can connect the maintainer by plugging it into the cig lighter socket and running the cord out through a slot left in the weather stripping near the front edge of the door. This way, the car can be left locked and alarmed while the battery is being maintained.

Have had my car on a maintainer for years without issue...sometimes for six months at a time.

Slot?
 

Hey, JFP, where exactly is this "slot left in the weatherstripping"? Would you have a pic of this?

Nimrod, my 2004 986 (Australian right-hand drive model) does not allow charging via the cigarette lighter socket, and this is correct according to Porsche Australia. Apparently later models do permit charging through the socket. So perhaps you have the same problem. I maintain my battery with a Ctek MXS 5 charger via a quick-disconnect harness permanently on the battery, without disconnecting the battery itself, and have been doing this for at least 2 years without problems. Usually I set the charger to 800 mA, but may use 5 A if in a hurry. So you should be OK doing what you say. If still unsure, try asking a Porsche service centre?

Slide your hand along the bottom of the door straight down and slightly foward from the outside mirror, you'll find it. There is even a recess in the door metal there as well.

This must be an RoW thing; in North America, all year Boxsters can use the lighter socket.

I am with JFPinPA. I leave my Boxster on a Battery Tender 24/7. I only average 2000 miles a year so it will sit for days at a time. My last battery lasted over 7 years which (correctly or not) I attribute to its use.

JFP, it may only be an Australian issue. Here we have what are known as 'Australian Design Rules' which sometimes I think are dreamt up by a bunch of seriously constipated individuals who think they know what is best for the rest of us. My Subaru Forester also has this limitation. In the past I had cars which allowed charging via the socket. These rules are a major reason why the Australian car market, being small, does not see many models available elsewhere in the world.