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Battery scare

kenwardc

kenwardc

New member
Hi Folks

Monday morning got in the car and battery flatter than the proverbial. My fault, I think. I left the TomTom iPhone mount plugged into the cigarette lighter socket for a few days, thinking that if the iPhone wasn't plugged in, the unit wouldn't draw very much power. I could be wrong but it's the only variable I can think of right now.

Jump started the car from one of the other cars and took it for a lengthy drive. Battery seemed fine when I got back and has been "OK" since. However, I've noticed that when driving, the guage says just under 14 and, when I start her up, especially in the cold garage in the mornings, as the starter turns the engine, the needle drops down to under 10, on the way to the bottom of the guage, then goes right up back to just under 14 as soon as the engine fires up.

Is this all sounding fairly normal, or does it appear that the battery is weak and needs replacing?

Cheers
Chris
 
Sounds pretty normal Chris. I've got a brand new battery in mine & that's what I see too. The real test of a battery is can it give decent current for starting whilst maintaining a reasonable voltage (you don't mention that it's struggling to turn the engine over) and can it hold a charge once it is charged. I would just monitor the situation . I've got a 2 year old Moll that is getting a little tired (but it's still fine) if you want to try a swop out.
 
Hi Jon, Nick

Thanks for the fast replies. This is my first 911 so not sure how fast the motor is supposed to turn over when cold, in that initial turnover, when it's "normal". Sounds OK to me, if perhaps the first turn or two are maybe a teeny slow, but then again maybe that's just what it is like as the norm!?

Since the panic run on Monday to recharge it, I've driven the car every morning and so far she has started each time. Wondering if I should now leave 'er in the garage for a couple or three days and then try again....

All the best
Chris
 
Hi Chris. The gauge readings are normal. Your alternator should put a charge of around 13.7 volts in to your battery when the car is running; hence the 'just below 14' reading that you're getting at idle.
The volt metre reading will nearly always drop down when you turn the car over - especially when it's cold as the battery has to work that much harder to turn the engine over. Don't forget; you've got a big engine - six cylinders and big displacement.

Frankly you're lucky that your battery is just 'ok' now as you run a very high risk of bending/knackering one or more of the lead plates/cells in the battery if you try to work the battery really hard whilst it doesn't have much of a charge in it. The usual scenario is that the lead plate nearest to the +ve terminal gives up and then you'll only have the remaining five cells to play with - which is never enough. The result is that your alternator then has to work extra hard to get a charge in to the battery and you end up breaking down in the back of beyond and have to get your wife to help you push the car to one side on a busy petrol forecourt whilst a load of blokes in Saxo's laugh at you and all blow their horns in unison. Oh no, sorry, that was what happened to me!

Don't do what I did and just keep thinking that the alternator will keep things safe for you. I ended up not only having to get a new battery (£100) but a new alternator as well (£350) - all because I couldn't be ar*ed to put a decent, slow charge in to the battery using a proper battery charger. My car is hardly ever used and this can be a recipe for disaster if you don't constantly have the car on a battery conditioner - which I now do!

Do yourself a favour; no matter how "well" the battery currently seems, it'll be extremely grateful for a decent charge! Try to use a charger with a low amperage - say 3 to 5 amps. The longer and slower the charge the better the battery will be and it'll last you years longer!
 
Hi Adrian

Many thanks for the detailed post. I have a Carcoon conditioner which I usually have connected to the battery of my little Transit Connect (it hardly ever gets driven these days so is just parked in the garage on the conditioner). Would the Carcoon be good for what you're recommending? Could I say drive the car tomorrow morning and then put it on the conditioner when I get back, then drive it again the next day and repeat the process, or would it be better to just not drive the car for a week and leave it on the conditioner the whole time?

Cheers
Chris
 
Hi Chris. I'm not too familiar with the Carcoon conditioner but I'm sure that it'll do the same job as my CTEK 3600. If you don't have access to a 'traditional' battery charger just leave your conditioner connected to the battery as often as you can over the next week or so. It'll bring the charge up slowly but surely. I'm guessing that the Carccon conditioner has some sort of charging indicator light or meter? If so, try to look at the charge level indicator before you even open the car up in the morning - this will give an idea of where you are with your battery charging level. I say before you open the car as the charger will probably read 'not full' as soon as you use your key fob or stick the key in the door as you're then drawing a (small) charge from the battery as the car starts running it's checks before (a predicted) start-up.

If you can live without using the car for the next few days/week then you're only going to help matters by leaving the battery connected to the conditioner for any prolonged period of time. Failing that, if you do have access to a traditional charger - stick it on and slowly charge the battery until the amp meter on the charger tells you that you're not putting any more juice in to the battery. If you do this, the test will then be to see if the battery holds its charge under normal working conditions - assuming that your 911 is used regularly (every day or every other day). If it seems to be dying without any help from the charger then it might be time to think about visiting Costco for a Bosch Silver! If you don't use the car regularly I would seriously consider stealing the conditioner from the Transit for as long as possible - or better still get one for each?! I'm tighter than a gnat's chuff and even I'd say that it's got to be worth shelling out for one for the 911.[;)]

Adrian.
 
I have both the Carcoon and Ctek chargers and the Carcoon will work fine except it will take a longer time for the battery to reach full charge compared to the Ctek XS7000 I have.
 
I left the TomTom iPhone mount plugged into the cigarette lighter socket for a few days
Click to expand...

My cigarette lighter socket isn't live when I remove key - often wish it was - may be yours is different.

Dave Jones
 
Mine isn't live either - this was not consistent between 996s. Some are and some aren't. I've hardwired the leads to the battery and the connector sits in the boot so no faffing about. Only thing is my CTEK has the new comfort connectors whereas the old one had the same connectors as the Carcoon so I could use either previously.
 
Thanks for the responses folks. Haven't driven the beast today and will see how "sluggish" the turnover is tomorrow morning. Will put the Carcoon conditioner on it over the weekend and leave 'er for a week or until the battery light is GREEN.

... Either that or... just go off to Costco and get another Bosch Silver battery. Anyone know the recommended model for 996 Turbo?

Cheers
Chris
 
Ta Richard

In the event the Bosch Silver S5 is not available, would something like a Varta G8 be OK?

Or... if you can recommend somewhere I can get the Bosch, I'd feel much more secure knowing it's the recommended battery.

Cheers
Chris
 
I'm sure the Varta would be fine. Perhaps give Euro Car Parts in Reading a call and see if they have the Bosch. Halfords stock Bosch Silver, which have a 5-year guarantee, and I have also heard good reports about their own batteries, which have a 4-year guarantee.
 
I use the Halfords Calcium battery and it has been fine for the last 2 years. I have a Halfords trade card which brought the price down considerably.
 
Hi Folks

Lots of confusion here... the battery Halfords recommends when I put in my registration is list HERE. This battery is only a 77 AH battery which is less powerful than you've been recommending? Here are the details:
  • Startup Power: 780 Amps
  • AH Value: 77 AH
  • Bench Charge: 6 Amps
  • Weight: 18.65kg
  • Dimensions (LxDxH): 278x175x190mm
  • Guarantee: 5 Years
Does this sound like the battery for me? I've looked for the "010", Richard but cannot get the Halfords site to dish it up without entering my registration number, at which point it reverts to the above battery? Whatcha think?

Cheers
Chris
 
The Bosch silver that Richard refers to was available at Costco. That is what is fitted to my 996. It isn't specifically listed for a 911 at Costco (I think it is for a transit van !) but the physical dimension is perfect and the Ah is fine for a 996

I would have thought that a 77Ah is fine as well.

What were Halfords quoting ? I think My Bosch silver was around £90 at Costco. It was about a year ago i bought one.

I think Varta do a similar one which is readily available on the net. Just google it

Steve
 
In actual fact I have an S5 007 in mine, which is 74Ah and it's fine. I only used it because I had it "in stock" but it has coped perfectly well with cranking the car in the sub-zero temperatures last month. If I was going out to buy one, and I had a choice between the 008 (77Ah) and the 010 (85Ah) I would pay the extra and get the larger one.

A6612C59EB3B46A985F8B0AE57A804C0.jpg
 
Hi Steve

Halfords online price for the battery is £119 which sounds a little high. However, I'm fairly stuck on getting the Bosch so will probably end up paying that for it..

Cheers
Chris
 
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