Battery or What?

[AWR]

I have just bought a 2004 Boxter 2.7 and occasionally the engine turns over so slowly I think it is not going to start, but eventually it does after a few 10 sec attempts. The garage I bought it off said that was normal?

Most times it starts ok and then :-

Symptoms are that the alarm will sometimes go off.
The windows partly come down.
And it cranks over so slow.

These symptoms don't always happen together, but usually if its slow turning over to start, they do.

I am going to have the battery checked tomorrow, but any advise would be welcome?

 

[Mark_Bennett]

Sounds like battery.

Car should not turn over for 10 sec - or particularly slow. The garage are talking rubbish

 

[colinbythesea]

Sounds battery to me, mine did the same when it went. It should start almost instantaneously.

 

[TimEwins]

Definitely the battery

I had all these symptoms when mine went

 

[AWR]

Hi thanks for thw e input so far....

Took to National Tyres and they said the battery was fine but needed charging, so charged overnight and all seemed ok for a day and a halftill.

Symtoms the same, slow turn over, window came down on its own and alarm went off.

Then slow turn over.

Left for a few minutes car started slowly, but started.

left again and started first time.

I am just charging again to see how quickly it charges up.

Could it be anything else but the battery?

 

[AWR]

Update.

Charger light has gone green after 20 mins, which means its almost fully charged already.

The main symptom seems to be the alarm going off when you try to start, this then triggers the other problems.

This has usualy been preseeded by openning of the boot(s) before attemptingf to start.

Any ideas would be greatfully received?

 

[Black80XSA]

Borrow a voltmeter and test the voltage across the battery terminals, should be around 12.8V for a healthy battery.

Run the engine and test again, you should see 13.8-14.8V dependent upon the health of your alternator.

Stop the engine, leave headlights on and check battery again, if its falling 0.1V every few seconds then its knackered. Turn everything off and what the voltage again, it'll probablt keep dropping albeit 0.1V every 20-30s.

Even the CTEK chargers can be fooled by a failed battery - my status light went green after 20-30 minutes charging, but the battery voltage dropped to 11.7V within 10 minutes of disconnecting the charger and that wasn't enough to start the car.

 

[AWR]

Thanks, will have a go...

 

[TimEwins]

It could be the Ignition Switch

When you take the key out, the car goes through a series of shutdowns over a period of time to minimise battery drain.

My fully charged battery was draining too quickly because the car wasn't shutting down properly.

I had the Ignition Switch replaced (£20) and a new battery under warrantly (because it died in less that 8 months)

I should have noticed the symptoms ... the main one being removing the key from the lock, and the dash saying 'ignition key not removed'

If its not the battery it could be lots of things unfortunately, but it could just be the Ignition Switch

Tim

 

[AWR]

Thanks for the suport.

I took the car back to National and had another bettery check, they still were not sure as one of the cell readings was down.

So I went ot an auto electrician to have a full check, and within minutes they said the battery was no good.

I have replaced and all seems fine so far.

Once again thanks for the advice.

Regards
Adrian

 

[browser]

I have no issues at present but would appreciate further feed back on your battery change after a month or so to confirm? my car has always had a trickle charger to keep healthy but as its over fours yrs old I am waiting for the dreaded battery issues, thanks hope all is well.

 

[Mark_Bennett]

I managed 8 years on the original battery - I always use a battery conditioner, and I remembered to top up the electrolyte twice in that time.

 

[keithm]

Can anyone confirm, that you can use optimate charger's through the ciggy lighter to keep the battery in good condition whilst garaged?

Ta

 

[chrisH]

Yes you can, also the Porsche battery conditioner does a similar job for less money than the Optimate - you can leave it on indefinitely.
All this talk about charging batteries, if it needs charging unless the alarm or similar has drained it, it needs replacing, simple as that.
Get a set of jump leads and a conditioner.

 

[keithm]

Well I already have the optimate from my biking days which was great for looking after the battery. My Boxster is likely to be left in the garage during salty months so I would prefer to keep it 'topped up' with a system that I know and unbderstand.

Thanks []

 

[Brian Halling]

I've found that the alarm will run a Boxster battery flat in about three weeks if unused. Our current 987 battery went flat when the car was only a few months old, and the Porsche Assist (RAC) guy told me that I would need a trickle charger if I did not use the car regularly. I've used one ever since, and after four years have had no further battery problems. The 986 requires a simple change to make the lighter socket live when the ignition is turned off, if you want to avoid connecting a trickle charger directly to the battery (not easy!).

 

[RJW]

Brian, can you say what modifications are required to the lighter socket to make it live constantly. I think the socket in my 987 shuts off after a period of time preventing the trickle charger from working.