Is a batt tender necessary?

[Chills]

I haven't driven my Box for 2 weeks, but have started her a couple of times a week and let her idle for a few minutes. When I started her today it took a few cranks to get 'er going. It's incredibly cold in Chicago so I'm thinking that's why it took a few to start. She's kept in the garage and I will be driving her around when it warms up this week.

My question is do you guys think I need to get a Porsche battery tender to charge the battery back up or will the Box's battery be okay once I drive her more regularly?

I wouldnt know about the battery tender, but its not good for your car to start and not get to operating temp before shutting it off. While it may charge your battery a little it will not benefit the engine. Just leave it alone and and let it sit, while a tender will be good, your battery shouldnt die by just sitting there for a week or two.

[wanna986]

I don't use one. Not to say that it might not be good or good for you.
With the cars I've got in storage, all I've ever done was give the batteries a bit of a trickle charge every now and then. I've fared pretty well.

I guess it's a matter of convenience.

[Chills]

Originally Posted by boggtown

I wouldnt know about the battery tender, but its not good for your car to start and not get to operating temp before shutting it off. While it may charge your battery a little it will not benefit the engine. Just leave it alone and and let it sit, while a tender will be good, your battery shouldnt die by just sitting there for a week or two.

I guess saying "a few minutes" is incorrect. I let it get up to operating temp before shutting it off again.

Thanks for the advice.

[Adam]

I'd get a tender if it's sitting more than a couple weeks. Also, it takes about 15+ minutes for the car to get to operating temp just sitting there at idle. You are basically just increasing wear and tear on your engine. I would either let it sit on a charger or drive it more often.

[z12358]

It's a very bad deal for your car overall to be wearing off your engine (frequent cold starts) just to fill up your battery. Chargers/maintainers are a much cheaper way to do it over the long run, if you feel that the battery needs it.

[Ronzi]

I have my '99 in an unheated storage garage during the winter, with no battery tender.
Because we have had snow up to our eyeballs, and virtually no days above freezing since mid-Dec., I have not driven it since at least the week before Christmas. About a week ago I tried to start it and the battery was dead ... so that was probably six-seven wks without cranking it up.
The battery gave no evidence of being weak before that.

[Chills]

You guys in Denver have been slammed by snow storms. I feel for you. Did you disconnect the battery before putting it in storage?

Thanks for the advice, guys. I didn't know it was so hard on the engine starting it and letting it idle like that. And it doesn't take 15 minutes to get to operating temp. Even in my unheated garage with the door open it took about 8 minutes go get up there. I'll quit doing that.

I'll go ahead and order a tender, just in case. I'm off for the next 3 days and I plan on driving the car unless it snows.

I did a search on the board and most recommend the tender that plugs into the cigarette lighter. Is this still the case?

[MikenOH]

I've had 2--for our 06 and 99 Boxsters; I highly recommend them. Our 99 had the OE battery when we sold it and I think part of the longevity is due to the tender we kept it on. I got it from wally world for $25.

The 06 has the porsche tender with the cigarette light adapter; it works equally well but is more expensive--about $60.

BTW, you'd be suprised how much starting the car in cold weather and short drives can drain the battery; I did that a few times last month and the trickle charger was charging for nearly a day.

[Ronzi]

Originally Posted by Chills

You guys in Denver have been slammed by snow storms. I feel for you. Did you disconnect the battery before putting it in storage?

The battery was left connected, as I did not particularly want to deal with the radio/security code issues, but now I don't have any choice in the matter.
A perusal of the owner's manual says that disconnecting the battery will not affect the security code settings, which is not what I had been led to believe.
Anyway, I have charged the battery, but not reinstalled it.

Maybe I shouldn't say the battery was "dead", as it was not a total flatline. It just didn't have enough juice to start the car.

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

A battery maintainer is necessary for any seldom driven car. You do not want to cause Wear & Tear to the engine by using it to charge the battery. The engine doesn't deep charge the battery, and you're using about $0.30 in fuel to do so where a maintainer would use about $0.02.

Every time you wear down your battery, it loses 15% of it's ability to hold a charge due to sulphating and scaling (so you get about 6 discharges and the battery will be shot). Sulphate crystals form on the plates insulating them from the electrolyte, reducing the chemical reaction and the power it can produce(and/or reducing the contact area of the plates) and pieces of the plates fall off (scaling) which also reduces the area of the plates in addition to collecting in the bottom of the battery case, in which case, it may short circuit between some of the plates reducing the battery's capacity. The same thing is true (though to a lesser degree) for a battery which isn't up to full charge. It too will sulphate and scale at an accelerated rate.

Get a quality maintainer (not recommending Porsche - the Cig lighter attachment may be convenient, but I'm not sure it's the best maintainer for your battery) of 1 to 1.5 Amps max. Also, be sure it has a Float circuit which will turn the charger off once the battery is fully charged and come back on if the battery experiences a one volt drop. Avoid using high amperage chargers such as 10-15 Amp or more. These get the battery too hot and can cook-off the electrolyte. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[Chills]

That's really good info, Jim. Thanks for the post.

I had read in a different thread where you don't recommend the Porsche-Cig lighter tender because of all of the electronics the juice has to go through before it hits the battery. I'll keep that in mind.

I am a motorcycle guy, and I have my '04 Kawi 10R on a Battery Tender Plus right now. It's an awesome device and my bike fires up on the first crank each spring.

Would the same tender be okay for the Porsche? I like the quick disconnect wire harness it has.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by Chills

That's really good info, Jim. Thanks for the post.

I had read in a different thread where you don't recommend the Porsche-Cig lighter tender because of all of the electronics the juice has to go through before it hits the battery. I'll keep that in mind.

I am a motorcycle guy, and I have my '04 Kawi 10R on a Battery Tender Plus right now. It's an awesome device and my bike fires up on the first crank each spring.

Would the same tender be okay for the Porsche? I like the quick disconnect wire harness it has.

Hi,

As long as it's the 12-volt model, it would be an excellent choice as it only outputs 1.25 Amp. - the ideal amperage. Deltran makes an excellent product as does Schumacher. Porsche's is probably OK, but I don't know who makes it for them. That's the problem - I don't know. It could be fine, but I'll stick with Deltran and Schumacher - respected names in the Biz for years.

I'm averse to using the lighter receptacle because you're involving the car's wiring harness. If the thing shorts between the Battery and lighter plug, it can take out the wiring harness before any fuses trip. You don't even want to know how expensive that could be. A remote possibility to be sure, but the ri$k is just too great for me, especially for the sake of a little convenience...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[NickCats]

Chills,

I have the Harley sitting on the Battery Tender Plus and the Boxster on the Porsche Battery Maintainer and I am very pleased with both :

http://www.epiqautosport.com/pro_battery_maintainer.php

Nick

[G_Anders]

Stupid question where is the battery on these cars? Just curious

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by G_Anders

Stupid question where is the battery on these cars? Just curious

Hi,

It's not a stupid question at all. The Battery is located in front of the Front Firewall under a black ABS cover. You'll see two knobs on either side of the cover. Turn them 90° and carefully lift the cover off from the front. You'll see the Battery underneath. See below...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[Chills]

Thanks for the advice, all.

I ordered the charger Nick recommended.

[NickCats]

EPIQTodd,

I will be expecting my commission check soon

Nick