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981s battery question

GrahamW

GrahamW

PCGB Member
Member
Have you thought about connecting the car to a battery tender whilst it's not in use? Ctek battery tenders are available on Amazon etc. and can be connected to the car in various ways. I use the cigarette plugged into the arm rest socket, other use a direct connection to the battery live pole and use a nearby earth point.

Hope this helps.

 
I suggest a trickle charger. You can plug it into one of the 'cigarette lighter' sockets, which remain live even with the ignition turned off. If the engine turns over in a lively way when you start it with a fully charged battery, your battery is probably ok.

However! A trickle charger won't stop the factory-fitted tracker's battery from going dead and if that happens you have to get an OPC to reset the tracker. Simply driving around will re-charge the tracker/alarm battery but the tracker will still need resetting, for which they'll charge you an hour's workshop time. Or do what I did and buy the one advertised in the magazine.

Hope that helps.

Chris (2013 981)

 
hi guys, i have a 981s (2012)
a few months ago the car totally went dead, no tick over at all, wouldnt bump start, nothing. (probs due to lack of use during covid)
long story short i had to get it on the back of a flatbed and taken to porsche.
they got it working somehow (even they dont know how, they replaced the alarm of all things and messaed around with the battery and it worked!)!!!!
NOW, im paranoid about my battery as the stop start hardly EVER works unless i have a long journey....
• is there a way to check battery life?
• is there a warning light that comes on if its low?
• any other advice more than welcome

cheers all :)
 
hi, thanks for this reply, just a quick question : if its plugged into the fag lighter to charge, how does it not run the battery down, as it will be taking the power from the battery? iAm I being really stupid here!!???

 
hi, thanks for this info.... will this product you have linked here plug straigt into the cigerette lighter then or do i need to attach it to the batter terminals?

 
thanks for all the info guys :)

is there a cheapish device that i can plug into the dig lighter port in the car that will give an indication of the charge levels AND charge the car if needed, if so how would it plug in to get the power? (AC MAINS?)

 
jamesp said:
hi, thanks for this reply, just a quick question : if its plugged into the fag lighter to charge, how does it not run the battery down, as it will be taking the power from the battery? iAm I being really stupid here!!???
Click to expand...
The fag lighter turns into an input socket for the Ctek tender and tops up the battery as and when required by monitoring the status of the battery. No drain on the actual battery in fact quite the reverse.

 
+1 on the recommendation for you to use a battery conditioner James. The cigarette lighter socket is just used as a charging point … the cigarette lighter is inactive. You could use the alternative 12V charging socket.

Any reputable battery supplier will be able to check your battery FOC for duff cells, etc. Battery condition is critical for modern cars with stop/start AGM batteries and a slightly below par battery can lead to all sorts of seemingly unrelated problems.

Jeff

 
mmm...so the CTEK thingy-mi-bob plugs into the fag lighter and into AC mains then?

you got a link to one thats defo compatible with a 2012 981s please matey?

 
Hi.

I use a CTEC MXS 5 and with the optional “connect cig plug" into the passenger foot well socket of our 981 (2012)

Works very well.

Hope this helps.

Stuart

 
thanks all... im gona get a CTEC MXS 5 with fag lighter connector!... i will update when i get it if anyone is interested, thanks!

 
The best option is the CTEK it's what Porsche sell under their own brand.

It comes with eyelet connectors which is by far the best way of connecting the battery.

Put the + to the positive connection on the battery and the negative to the spare bolt hole on the N/S strut top.

Then just plug it in and close the bonnet, no possible issue with the fag socket not working.

Connector exits nicely through the finger opening in the battery cover.

 
hi guys,

thought i would report back after all your great help :)

so, i got the CTECK 5.0 MSX

plugged it into the cig lighter (couldnt be any easier!)

it started on stage 2 (yellow light) and within 1.45mins it had gotten all the way up to stage 7 ( green light) and when i started the car the stop start worked straight away! (its not done this for AGES)

so im pretty hopeful it will hold its full charge now ( i will update again if it doesnt)

im just not sure about the 'RECON' mode.... lots of conflicting info as to wether it should be used on a porsche battery (AGM)?

Anyone got any experience with using the RECON mode on a porsche battery?

cheers

 
Result! Good to hear that it’s fixed your stop/start issue James and the fact that as I mentioned above, the battery needs to be kept in tip-top condition at all times on these cars. With the approach of winter which will be putting additional loads on the battery, if you can I’d try to keep the car on the conditioner for as much time as possible to avoid starting and other issues.

Sorry I can’t help with the RECON question but you can contact CTEK directly for technical advice at support.ctek.com and they will be able to give you a definitive answer.

Jeff

 
Ah thanks mate👍 id just like to say what a great community this is, all friendly even if a question seems silly!

thanks again and I will update with anything further on this matter👍

 
Recon mode is a.last ditch battery recovery mode. Designed to resurrect dying batteries if they have suffered some chemical effects of being completely discharged. Doesn't sound like that's applicable to you so there's likely nothing to be gained.

As a general principal there's nothing special.about a Porsche battery vs any AGM battery, so.If it were mine and the battery was dying then industry the ctek recon but only as a last resort.

 
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