Battery problems?

[Dr. Kill]

So I went away on vacation for a week – when I got back, the Box wouldn’t start. I jumped it – ran no problem. Then I drove the car around for 10 minutes thinking that would charge me up enough, but the next morning when I came out to start my car, it was dead again. So I jumped it again and drove around for a little more than 30 minutes, thinking that would surely be enough to charge the battery, but sure enough the car wouldn’t start again the next morning.

Does the Boxster need more running time to charge up than I am used to with other cars? Is there some trick to this?

The car is an ’05 987 with only 6000 miles. There are no idiot lights on when the car is running either.

Any advice?

[MrNiceGaius]

you have a dead cell in your battery.

[Uncle Bob]

It should be under warranty, isn't it?

Do you have anything plugged into a power outlet left in after shutdown (cell phone charger, radar detector, etc.)?

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

You could be suffering from a Variety of issues. I'm inclined not to blame the Battery since it's got so little Service Life (although to be fair, most Mass Produced Goods fail either early in their Life or Very Late, an indicator of how well they were made).

Possible causes could be:

A Short somewhere in the Charging Circuit which causes the battery to drain.

A Loose Drive Belt, although the Accessory Belt also drives other Ancillaries besides the Alternator, so you would probably either hear it or see it manifest itself in other faults such as running HOT as this also powers the Coolant Pump.

Battery Cables not properly tightened.

Failed Alternator.

There are a variety of easy Tests you could perform to narrow the cause. But, since it's definitely still a Warranty Item, I'd simply make it the Dealer's Problem. Charge up the Battery and bring it in. But, insist that they check out those things mentioned above and not simply slap a new Battery in the Car as this could just cause a repeat of your current dilemma...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[Dr. Kill]

Thanks.

Yes, I figured I needed to take it to the dealer, I was just hoping to avoid that. Of course if they will give me a 911 turbo loaner I think it will all be OK.

[Dr. Kill]

Wow. I just got off the phone with Paul Miller Porsche to make an appointment for tomorrow morning. The guy on the phone was already telling me that this would not be covered under warrantee. Apparently, he said that I don’t drive the car enough – I have never heard of this. I bought the thing in October and have put 6,000 miles on it since then. Plus, we don’t even know what the problem is yet.

Poor service at that place. I should have expected it – we went there originally to buy the car (it is close to our house), but the salesman was so rude we wound up buying elsewhere.