any recent 'Porsche Assist' experience ? ..... garage stranded 997.2

[91127lux]

Despite being always hooked up to a high spec C-Tek charger when not in use my 997.2 Carrera PdK (kept in a dehumidified garage) refused to start this weekend. That accompanied by a flashing dash display, lots of warning texts, un-requested spoiler deployment and the drivers window incrementing down and staying down in a fully open position. From the OPC service history I know the battery was changed not long before the start of my ownership term and is therefore less that 24 months old > the car is fully covered by Porsche Approved Warranty and Porsche Assist. A call to my local and supplying OPC was not conclusive and given they have no recovery service I am left with Porsche Assist. It was suggested that no attempt be made to start the car without an OPC diagnostics check and therefore recovery is the only option ? However the car is nose first into the garage ( I cannot see any rear bumper access to a towing eye ? ) and the entrance to the garage is down a slope !
I am unable/unwilling to make contact with Porsche Assist until I can plan a time/date for recovery to suit my work commitments meaning the car will remain stranded and garaged for the next few weeks alongside its much older sibling (which always starts !). Before I make that call is/are there members out who can share their experience of a Porsche Assist recovery ?
Many thanks

 

[RCS]

Sorry to hear of your difficulties. I suspect it will be the battery. Porsche batteries are notorious - even on maintainers. I cannot comment on a rear tow position

I have had occasion to use Porsche Assist. I found they were very efficient, it is actually a 'rebadged version' of the AA. They have some patrol people who are in silver vans with no AA logos (think it says 'Customer Assistance' on the side, no manufacturer branding), and they apparently have extra training to make them familiar with Porsches and the other premium brands they cover. If they are all busy and you are really stuck then they may send an ordinary AA van (as told to me by the guy who came to us). When one attended us and determined the car needed to go to an OPC he then arranged for one of their recovery vehicles, which will come AA branded. Whether these again have 'enhanced' training I don't know but this chap certainly seemed to know the marque and certainly in my sight was very careful with the car. They are only allowed to winch them on the truck even if it is running, and he should go all around the car and point out any scratches etc on the bodywork and get you to sign a report before he goes - presumably to avoid arguments around who did any damage. After being fixed car came back same way. He did come quite quickly after the request even though like you the car was at home and garaged - think I actually said leave until the next day as there was no rush to have it recovered.

It is worth noting that the Porsche Assist guys had not actually booked it into the OPC and they seem to expect you to tell the OPC its coming.

Whether like the AA they will actual send a recovery truck without one of their roadside guys first checking the car I cannot say. It might be worth doing that because they at least should be able to tell if the battery has failed. However, ring Porsche Assist and explain your predicament I have found their Customer Service team very helpful at the phone. Be possibly prepared for an argument with the OPC around who pays for the battery, especially if you've had a maintainer on it. When I mentioned to an OPC I was looking to put a maintainer on mine they seemed very confused around it and said it may invalidate warranty of electrical items etc etc, even though I had pointed out they have them on most of the cars in the showroom!! Rather than getting into a long drawn out argument I left it at that and acted accordingly regarding using the CTEK []

I hope all works out well for you.

 

[ralphmusic]

My experience....


1. Make sure the CTEK really is connected and charging (I have a CTEK 5.0 which has 8 stage lights, if the first four do not light on this model the battery is indeed irrecoverable and can't hold a charge)
2. It is best if Assist send a Porsche trained technician
3. They will not call out recovery before their technician in a van has checked car
4. Make sure you and they know how to get car out of Park and into neutral (Manual shows how)
5. The technician will require mobile signal or WiFi to load his computer's system with his "what to do" instructions

Good luck

 

[guitarplayer63]

Hi,
agree with all the remarks above. They are pretty decent at recovery, but you should tell OPC so there are no surprises.

It likely is the battery & the car should jump start (it may have to get a boosted charge for 15/20 minutes), The AA can then tell if the battery is accepting any charge and will probably advise replacement (they have massively long jump leads). Not sure what the warranty is on a new Porsche battery, no doubt it will be less than whatever you claim for.

make sure anything Porsche Assist say or agree to is fully documented in the event of any disagreements.
Good luck in getting it sorted.

 

[tscaptain]

I had exactly this a couple of weeks back. Phoned PA, AA van turned up 10 minutes later, took battery pack into garage, started car. While running did a diagnostic on the battery which was fine. Excellent service. The reason it went flat was because I hadn't properly checked the Ctek cigarette lighter connection! My battery is nearly 7 years old and still good. Remember they are not 'maintenance free"!
All I had after the jump start was a PSM light which sorted itself after a short while. All other systems are fine.

 

[91127lux]

Grateful thanks for the comments and feedback ..... your experiences with and recommendations for PA are most encouraging and somewhat put my mind at rest before making that call in a couple of weeks times after this business trip is completed.
My Ctek is indeed a 'full fat' type 5 version and is connected to the car via a trailing lead permanently attached to the battery terminals ..... at the time I disconnected the charging lead prior to my failure to start experience the unit was showing a full suite of lights including the final green illumination as per usual. I did later reconnect the charging lead and the first 3 then the 4th light illuminated almost immediately so I now assume that even if the battery is caput ( failed cell or something ) the charging / recon cycle will continue without interruption irrespective of it's status or condition ?
I will provide further updates once the saga is over.

 

[91127lux]

Finally found a gap in my work schedule during this week to 'close off' this issue.
For the record and in summary :
- pre booked Porsche Assist (AA) and a knowledgeable, experienced AA guy arrives on time with past and recent 'Porsche experience/s'
- eventually starts the car via jump leads to his van ( wing covers to avoid damage from the leads etc ) .... battery pack inadequate
- battery judged dead and showing only 10.5v ( cell failure much as I expected )
- judgement made to use recovery for the journey to OPC ( shared concern that electronics may be at risk if the car was run with a checked ok charging system and a dead battery that was incapable of accepting any charge ! )
- ( for reference my C-Tek was still showing a full suite of 8 lights so it was not recognising the actual condition of the battery ? )
- recovery turned up on schedule, driver was very sensitive to the product he was loading and did not need directions to the OPC !
- car checked out by OPC , spoiler setting etc. reset , new battery fitted and all now ok
- measureable OPC contribution towards the cost of the new battery .... records show it was just over 2 years old
- clear and strong OPC message never to leave the car unlocked when garaged and on charge ( confession here that on this occasion and for the first time ever I had decided to leave the car unlocked and on charge given my expectation not to be using the car for an extended period )
All is well that ends well ..... exemplary service from "Porsche Assist" .... 'unlocked' OPC comment noted

 

[AndrewCS]

clear and strong OPC message never to leave the car unlocked when garaged and on charge

Why ?

 

[plherbert]

Nice, relevant thread for this time of year. Couple of points on batteries. My battery was changed when I bought my car by the OPC in Feb this year. Car is 997.2 (2010). Having read many discussions on the quality of the OEM batteries, clearly of concern is that some people have had such limited lifespan on their batteries.

My car gets reasonably regular use and have so far had no issues starting the car, however I've noticed in this cold snap we've just had it has seemed to have taken a little longer to crank the engine. I realise short journeys will drain the battery but my driving routines are about 40 mins - 60 mins each time, 2-3 times a week with the odd short journey thrown in.

Today when the engine had just started I plugged a compressor for a tyre inflator into the cigarette lighter and noticed a screaming noise from I presume the alternator. I immediately unplugged and it stopped, so, would this be indicative of an alternator on its way out or simply too much strain on the battery! I haven't done any maintenance to the battery and I don't have access to plug in a battery maintainer (CTEK), my understanding is they require a mains plug connection!

Would an alternator, new battery be covered under Porsche Warranty which I have active and what is a typical lifespan of these batteries without a conditioner and an alternator, assuming it's performance is detiorating? I can't believe a CTEK is necessary when my car is being used frequently.

Not sure these Porsche's are enjoying the winter months!! Thoughts/comments appreciated.

 

[AndrewCS]

Limited Porsche experience but ...

Cranking ... engine oil will be slightly thicker plus there is additional demand on the battery in these conditions

Screeching ... has it done this before when using the compressor, did the ignition light illuminate ? ... try again with some throttle applied

CTEK ... yes, mains supply required. Do you have access to a multimeter to check the battery voltage ?

Warranty ... ?

Use the car more often / for longer []

 

[Rodney Naghar]

A screeching sounds like the polyrib belt moving off centre. That may be a sign of an imminently failing water pump.

Alternators are covered by the warranty, and so are new batteries for 2 years I think.

Open up the battery cells and top them up with distilled water. (Do a search, I wrote a how to guide on this last year) If properly maintained this way Moll batteries will last a long time. If you don't. They tend to fail after 2 years.

 

[paulbarlow]

clear and strong OPC message never to leave the car unlocked when garaged and on charge

Why ?

It would be interesting to get an answer to this question. I kept our (now gone) 2007 C4S on the Porsche battery conditioner whenever it would not get used, even for just two or three days, and did this for over three years of ownership and never locked the car while parked in the garage and connected to the conditioner. Not one battery related issue with the C4S during the time of ownership - hence my interest in the logic behind the OPC statement above.

 

[Rodney Naghar]

I suggest their logic is leaving the car unlocked means the car won't go into 'sleep' mode after several days. Thus the car will still be drawing significantly more current for the entire period than it otherwise would, somewhat negating the trickle charging effect. (notwithstanding the safety reasons)

 

[paulbarlow]

I suggest their logic is leaving the car unlocked means the car won't go into 'sleep' mode after several days. Thus the car will still be drawing significantly more current for the entire period than it otherwise would, somewhat negating the trickle charging effect. (notwithstanding the safety reasons)

Thanks Rodney, I hadn't thought of the 'Sleep' mode effect.
Do you know if it would it be safe to conclude that an unlocked car and a locked car in the period before 'sleep' mode becomes active would place the same demand on the battery conditioner?
Paul

 

[Rodney Naghar]

Good question. I don't know the facts, but I'd say the current draw in both scenarios would be very similar with locked drawing marginally less than unlocked perhaps.

 

[Timbo2]

When locked the car activates the alarm system, in my experience this will often flatten the battery in a couple of weeks or less, whereas, leaving it unlocked doesn't.

 

[plherbert]

Limited Porsche experience but ...

Cranking ... engine oil will be slightly thicker plus there is additional demand on the battery in these conditions
"Fair point"

Screeching ... has it done this before when using the compressor, did the ignition light illuminate ? ... try again with some throttle applied
"Never done it before, ignition light didn't illuminate, to be honest, just not going to use the compressor off the cigarette lighter, or if I do off my other car"

CTEK ... yes, mains supply required. Do you have access to a multimeter to check the battery voltage ?
"Dont have access to a mains supply really, no multimeter, think I'll just keep monitoring how it starts, seems to be starting easier now it's been milder and clearly I need to maintain the battery from what I'm reading. I'll maybe make it an annual check"

Warranty ... ? "Yes, full warranty"


Use the car more often / for longer [] "Tends to get fairly regular usage as is"

 

[plherbert]

As an aside, I've just noticed that having recently purchased a Viseeo Tune2air WMA1000 product which was recommended on a couple of threads for creating wireless connection off the OEM audio interface connection on the PCM, that the blue light on the device seems to stay illuminated after I take the keys out of the ignition. I wonder if this has a permanent electrical feed and the adapter maybe taking a slow drain off the battery beyond the norm, hence creating a lower level of power in the battery when I go back to start the car after a while.

Anyone any thoughts!

 

[plherbert]

A screeching sounds like the polyrib belt moving off centre. That may be a sign of an imminently failing water pump.
"Thanks for the suggestion, it's not happened since, is it true the power output varies from console to footwell 12v adapter? Found some suggestion in the handbook, compressors should only be attached to footwell point!"

Alternators are covered by the warranty, and so are new batteries for 2 years I think.
"Apparently new batteries are only covered if you purchased, apparently approx £400+ supplied and fitted, when paid for by dealer which mine was prior to purchase they arent covered under the warranty!! Go figure!!"

Open up the battery cells and top them up with distilled water. (Do a search, I wrote a how to guide on this last year) If properly maintained this way Moll batteries will last a long time. If you don't. They tend to fail after 2 years.
"I asked about this specifically today and although the dealer agreed maintenance is something that can be considered, distilled water or acid is not available through an OPC, and when asked about maintenance, it was stated it would be topped up as part of the service schedule if required!! So I can't believe with a 2 year service interval these batteries won't last, is this really the general experience of our members?"

 

[tscaptain]

I presume the last para in the quote above is the post! Mine had a service in March. Last month I put nearly a litre of distilled water in to top it up to the required level. I suspect my usually very thorough PC missed checking it......so never a bad thing to have a look yourself now and again - it's not difficult. Distilled water may not be available at a PC but it is at just about every service station in the country! The life span is also subject to the way they are looked after, especially if the car is not driven frequently or on mostly short journeys, as they are power hungry even when apparently sitting there doing nothing!