Any ideas?

[heathview]

i bought a boxster 3.2s manual 2002 with FPDS with only 32,000 mls in Aug 2010. Had an service 6 months ago at Porsche ast London, i use the car not every weekend maybe one weekend a month on average. I have a battery conditioner plugged into the cigarette holder when its parked in my garage.
I live on the outskirts of south east London and this weekend i visited my son in Canterbury and stayed overnight.
I left my house on Saturday morning and noticed a couple of times that the battery light flickered on on revs between 1500 and 2000rpM. I thought it was strange but once on the motor way it seemed to clear. I left Canterbury on Sunday evening all was fine very heavy traffic on the motorway but temperature gauge was showing normal. Arrived on on the drive left the car ticking over a few minutes whilst i unloaded the car prior to putting the car in the garage. Closedf the roof and switched off the car as a neighbour called me over to have a chat. On returning to start the car i noticed some water patches on the drive and on turning the ignition on i noticed the trip milometer had reset to zero and the clock and reset to midday. Car wouldn't turn over all i kept hearing was a clicking as i tried to turn the car over. The water i lost was about a cupful, i eventually pushed the car in the garage and plugged the conditioner in. When i bought the car last year the chap i bought it from had a battery fitted by Porsche of Chiswick. Any idea's please?
Regards,
Martin

 

[jdpef356]

Several issues. The water under the car could well be A/C if you had on.

Sounds like you need a new battery - but should not if what previous owner has told you is correct.

If you have the History and invoices you should have invoice for the Battery - suggest yo contact prev owner* if no invoice.

If you have invoice return with battery to Prosche Centre for replacement.

* When contacting prev owner you might like to ask him for the radio code if you don't have it []

 

[heathview]

Thanks John,
I had the roof off as it was so hot my wife asked to have the heater on! i switched from a / c to heater as i was driving along. I checked all the invoices from the previous owners but i couldn't find a mention of a battery change in the invoices i received with the car. Should i ring Porsche at Chiswick to enquire if the battery was changed?
Regards,
Martin

 

[jdpef356]

That has to be worth a go - see if it was serviced (look in the service book) at Chiswick.

If you find the stamp for a service and don't have the invoice you could give them the date Reg Number etc and they could look
up what was done and what items were replaced

 

[Buddy]

If you have climate control the A/C will often be running even when you crank up the temp which makes it great for demisting/dehumidifying in the winter or damp conditions. Hence the dribble of water.

If you get a new battery from Porsche and have to pay for it as no proof of purchase then a) ask for Porsche Club Discount & b) fit it yourself Porsche charges for fitting are a bit extreme!

c) after you get the new battery charge it fully before fitting it. They're filled at the dealership and not fully charged.

On the other hand if you have no Porsche warranty buy a battery elsewhere and save even more money.

 

[heathview]

Went to the garage last night checked battery terminals and they were tight loked at the battery and it was a genuine Porsche one. Checked with my meter and it was reading 12.08 vdc, i would of thought that it would be higher than that. I'm off to Porsche East London this morning to buy a small bottle of anti-freeze to top up the fluid that i lost. Will check battery voltage tonight, it's been charging on a battery conditioner so it's only a trickle charge. By the way couldn't find a date on the Porsche battery should they have one?
Regards,
Martin

 

[Nick_USA]

You should ideally check the battery voltage 1 hour after a charge and without any load.

 

[jdpef356]

I'm not sure if the Battery has a date - I've not got on to well with Porsche Battery's. For approx the same price you can purchase from Halford's a Bosch Battery with a five year guarantee for the same money.
http://answers.halfords.com/answers/4028/product/161078/questions.htm

 

[Buddy]

Changed mine a little while ago and can find no date mark although possible makers code somewhere on the case maybe.

But the Moll Batteries as sold by Porsche are generally acknowledged to be pretty poor, and for an 80 Amp I paid around £165 with Club Discount.

 

[jdpef356]

As a side about Battery's

Don let your new Battery supplier charge you or even say he will dispose of your old battery safely.

Take it to the scrap metal merchant and you should get at least a fiver []

 

[heathview]

Had a Ferrari 308 GTS for 18 years prior to getting the Porsche boxster. I found that the average life of the batteries was 3 years. Spoke to a proper family run battery supplier in Blackheath, who told me to buy a Varta battery and an airflow conditioner in the ensuying 12 years never changed the battery. Incidently checked my Porsche battery and you were right it does say Moll batteries.
Regards,
Martin

 

[heathview]

My trickle charger charged my battery fully in 5 days started the car up no problem last night. However checked the battery with a volt meter and found that the altenator wasn't charging couldn't hear any belt slip and found power steering working, so it's seems that something on the alternator has gone. Any ideas?
Regards,
Martin

 

[Buddy]

Not had this problem on any Porsche but from previous experience on other cars I'd say likely brushes or diode pack, other than that I don't know if these are easily available or for that matter accessible so many items are sealed for life these days.

 

[Mike_Pollock]

Alternators going is an occasional problem on 944s now, usually the brushes or rectifier (same part on a 944).

 

[heathview]

Checked with Porsche East London and it's not just telling them that the altenator is faulty. They charge you an hours labour to test the system which is £114.00+vat and then whatever else they replace. Found a local auto electrician whose fitted altenators on all types of Porsches including Boxsters. I was told that they check the system and the cost will be £300.00+vat which includes a new Bosch altenator car will be ready to-night.
Regards,
Martin

 

[Buddy]

As you have no warranty transferred from the previous owner and I would hate to guess how much the OPC would want for an alternator, check system and such so £300 for a new Bosch item fitted and tested isn't too bad, probably about half the bill it would be at the OPC.

Incidently, a friend of mine who is Porsche trained took about 5 minutes to test my system and explain his findings so for Porsche to want to charge £114+vat is steep to say the least!

 

[adamos]

Got invoice for £800 from Porsche Hatfield for recon alternator!

 

[heathview]

Sorry to hear that adamos, The Auto shop i went to in Welling in Kent was called Charge N Start. Really helpful has fitted loads to boxsters and 911's. Apparently it's a common fault on the Bosch W124 type altenator the diode pack fails. It's easier to replace the unit as a whole, access is behind yhe seats by lifting the carpet and removing the panel.
Regards,
Martin