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Old 12-11-2015, 10:00 AM   #1
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battery tender

Just hooked up my battery tender and the red light stays on which suggest there is a draw on the battery somewhere.I am wondering if the front trunk has to be pushed all the way down for the light to shut off,is there some kind of button somewhere to make sure the light is off.I am not sure this is what is causing the drain,I will leave the battery tender on overnight and see if that helps and the green light comes on.I do not want to leave the battery tender on with the red light on all the time
also if I remove just the negative cable on the battery to hook up the battery tender will I have any problems with loosing all kinds of set ups.any problems with removing just the negative cable.Thanks Again Jimbo

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Old 12-11-2015, 10:18 AM   #2
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Save yourself all of the problems you are anticipating by using the cigarette lighter connector. And yes, you will lose data and settings by disconnecting the battery.
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Old 12-11-2015, 11:26 AM   #3
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Pop out the trunk light and pull off one of the wires they are just slip on connectors. When done charging slip the wire back on and snap the light fixture back in place.
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Old 12-11-2015, 12:45 PM   #4
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No need to disconnect the frunk light (or the rear either). There is a timer that shuts off the lights after ~ 2 hours. Just make sure you remove the ignition key.
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Old 12-11-2015, 12:59 PM   #5
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It'll stay red for about 24 hours. After that it will turn green assuming you have the battery tender Jr or pro. This is normal.
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Old 12-11-2015, 01:39 PM   #6
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Battery tender

Thanks everyone,the green light just started blinking
Will the trunk light eventually come back on after I close the hood permentaley,thanks again Jimbo love all the information on this forum.just learning and enjoying my new to me boxster
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Old 12-11-2015, 03:12 PM   #7
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solid red=charging, solid green=maintaining fully charged. If it's flashing either color, recheck connections and try again or battery tender/battery might be bad. Also make sure to keep the car shut but unlocked.
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Old 12-11-2015, 04:59 PM   #8
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I use the battery connector that bolts on the terminals and rout through under the hood and up right below the wiper blade. No need to open the hood when I connect the batt tender. This also helps when your battery dies and can't open the hood.
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Old 12-11-2015, 07:19 PM   #9
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Save yourself all of the problems you are anticipating by using the cigarette lighter connector. And yes, you will lose data and settings by disconnecting the battery.
+1 That's how I have mine set up. Worked great the first Winter. The second Winter (last year), I noticed it was flickering green. Not bothering to read the manual again, I assumed that meant the battery was at full charge and just trickling as needed. Uh, no. When plugging into the cigarette lighter, you have to make sure the contacts are extended just a bit because the diameter is slighter larger than on U.S. and Japanese autos.

Within two weeks after bringing it out of storage this year, the battery died.

I remembered this Autumn when wrapping it up again, and the light is showing a steady green.

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Old 12-12-2015, 03:14 AM   #10
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No need to disconnect the frunk light (or the rear either). There is a timer that shuts off the lights after ~ 2 hours. Just make sure you remove the ignition key.
I have never kept the trunk open that long to see if the light goes off but I do know on my car after about 5-10 minutes the light fixture is quite warm. I'm not sure I'd like to leave it on for an hour or two before automatically turning off.
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Old 12-12-2015, 03:57 AM   #11
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battery tender

well it finally is on green no flashing,I do not understand why running the bt wires under the hood by the wipers makes a difference.If the bt stopped working and your battery went dead how would you open the trunk to jump the battery.Wouldnt it be better to just leave the trunk open a little
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Old 12-12-2015, 05:16 AM   #12
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well it finally is on green no flashing,I do not understand why running the bt wires under the hood by the wipers makes a difference.If the bt stopped working and your battery went dead how would you open the trunk to jump the battery.Wouldnt it be better to just leave the trunk open a little
No if that happens you use a jumper pack on the power spot to open the trunk. Not a huge issue and if your battery tender is green, you won't have that issue anyway.
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Old 12-12-2015, 05:29 AM   #13
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One tip....

....batteries like to "take a charge" after they are drained just a little bit.

Battery tenders work best, when the battery has been drained just a little bit down from full charge.

When you park your car, turn the headlights on after you shut the engine off and let the lights burn for about five minutes before shutting everything down and plugging in the battery tender.

The battery will then "accept the charge" and the circuitry inside the tender will recognize the state of charge and enter the proper charge/maintain cycle.

FWIW, the "Porsche" branded cigarette lighter chargers work great and can be found pretty cheap online.

Good luck.
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Old 12-12-2015, 10:15 AM   #14
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I leave my hood on first click for the winter. Just in case the battery does fail I then don't have to do a bunch of dicking about to open the hood. It stays on the battery tender all winter and, to date, I have not had a problem.
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Old 12-15-2015, 03:13 AM   #15
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....batteries like to "take a charge" after they are drained just a little bit.

Battery tenders work best, when the battery has been drained just a little bit down from full charge.

When you park your car, turn the headlights on after you shut the engine off and let the lights burn for about five minutes before shutting everything down and plugging in the battery tender.

The battery will then "accept the charge" and the circuitry inside the tender will recognize the state of charge and enter the proper charge/maintain cycle.

FWIW, the "Porsche" branded cigarette lighter chargers work great and can be found pretty cheap online.

Good luck.
Why in the world would you need to go through that procedure? I don't put mine on charge unless it's going to sit for 2 weeks or more. Just plug it it, close the door ..... done !
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Old 12-15-2015, 04:39 AM   #16
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Stephen...

....it's hardly a "procedure", just leave the lights on for a few minutes before you shut everything down and plug in the tender for the season.

I'm not saying you do it every night on a daily driver.

It's just a little trick to make sure the battery takes a full charge if you are putting the car away for a few weeks on a tender. You just unload the car and get the garage ready while the lights are on and then turn off the lights and put her to bed.

Didn't mean to lead you to believe it was a big production.

Forgive me for not being more clear.

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Old 12-15-2015, 07:55 AM   #17
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....it's hardly a "procedure", just leave the lights on for a few minutes before you shut everything down and plug in the tender for the season.

I'm not saying you do it every night on a daily driver.

It's just a little trick to make sure the battery takes a full charge if you are putting the car away for a few weeks on a tender. You just unload the car and get the garage ready while the lights are on and then turn off the lights and put her to bed.

Didn't mean to lead you to believe it was a big production.

Forgive me for not being more clear.

If you are using a decent maintainer, none of that is necessary; the maintainer should be able to figure out what is needed.
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Old 12-15-2015, 04:06 PM   #18
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Again...

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Last edited by 10/10ths; 12-15-2015 at 04:19 PM.
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Old 12-16-2015, 02:38 AM   #19
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....it's hardly a "procedure", just leave the lights on for a few minutes before you shut everything down and plug in the tender for the season.
It's just a little trick to make sure the battery takes a full charge if you are putting the car away for a few weeks on a tender. You just unload the car and get the garage ready while the lights are on and then turn off the lights and put her to bed.
Fair enough, if it works for you, that's all that matters

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