Please help with battery conditioner mistake

[waymegelli]

Before going to Iraq in February, I bought a battery conditioner from Griots and put it on my 02 996TT. It has been on the car since then. Yesterday, my boys went to the house to prepare the car for my return and tell me that I put the conditioner on incorrectly and now the car won't shift out of first gear (it's a tiptronic). Can someone help me fix this or is it something I have to take to the dealer?

[waymegelli]

I'm finally home and here's what the car is doing. It starts OK, but the red LEDs that indicate which gear the car is in flashes alternately between D and 4 (or M and 4 if I have it in Manual) and the Check Engine Light is on all the time. It won't shift out of 1st manually or by running it up to redline. Also, probably related, the radio won't turn on. Any ideas?

[Loren]

Time to put a PST2 or PIWIS on the car and find out what is going on.

Ask your local independent shop if they one of these tools.

[ard.]

1. How exactly was in installed incorrectly??

2. Did it result in a dead car that they needed to jump to start?

3. Any issues with jumping? How did they do it?

Not sure this will help YOU, but should explain pitfalls in the future. Agree it is time to get into codes and errors.

Sorry that you have to come home to this....

GL

A

[waymegelli]

Thanks Loren - I plan to drive it to the dealer this morning. The shop I prefer to take it to requires me to drive on the highway - not so good in first gear.

ard. - I hate to admit it, but I installed the conditioner with the positive lead to the negative terminal, and the negative lead to the car chassis.

The car was dead when my son came over to get it ready for me. He jumped it to get it started.

I don't know the details of the jump, but he didn't mention any problems. He said it started right up.

When I got home last night, it was dead. I used my normal battery charger (not the Griots conditioner) and it started when I tried after about 1/2 hour.

[White987S]

waymegelli, thank you for going to Iraq to protect our freedoms and counrty.

I hope your car is right again soon.

As a side note, it is an issue like this when buying the "Porsche" brand accessory can really pay off.

[mmmmm]

ard. - I hate to admit it, but I installed the conditioner with the positive lead to the negative terminal, and the negative lead to the car chassis.

I would think you would have damaged the charger more than the car. Your car never saw the charger and the charger saw a short. Just my .002

[Chuck Jones]

Many or most of the newer chargers have a reverse polarity switch on them that shows a red light and stops any electrical charge until you reverse the polarity.

I would imagine that the battery is just dead. because it's sat so long without a charge..and if it stayed dead for a long time, it won't take CPR...it's probably not going to come back...which is why you have to jump it again to start it. Try putting in a new battery unless you can take it to AutoZone or Kragans and have them load test the cells and tell you it's good to go.

Edited June 18, 2008 by Chuck Jones

[waymegelli]

Here's an update for anyone interested -

I drove the car to the dealer in first gear. I explained what I'd done and they took it to run some diagnostics. After about an hour, they reported that I fried the ECU. Attaching the positive lead of the charger to the negative of the battery for such a long time somehow screwed up the system. The charger instructions say it will shut down if connected incorrectly. I wonder if I can pursue a claim? Anyway, the damage was going to be about $2300, but since I'm a member of PCA, they reduced it by 15%, then they found another discount they could apply and they told me it would be about $1700. Unfortunately, when the unit was shipped from Atlanta Wednesday, it went to Houston, not Fort Worth. It should arrive this morning and be fixed this afternoon.

THEN I can start installing all the toys I bought with my extra earnings - Europipe Stage 1, Forge DVs, Softronic flash, PSS10s, GT3 sway bar and adjustable links. I can't wait!

[Chuck Jones]

Well shut my mouth!! I would imagine that the reverse polarity feature didn't work as advertised....but insofar as you going after the company....it would really depend upon the company....is this some product made in China and labelled for some US manufacturer? What does the warranty that came with the chager say? I can tell you that they'll be squirming when you tell them that their product caused a $2300 failure. If it's labelled with a reputable US manufacturer, you may be able to initiate a claim....but your weak spot is going to be the fact you left it on there for so long. Maybe a slight omission of that part of the story might be in order? It's worth a try anyway....but they'll probably contact the dealership and get the story.

I would also imagine that there's some sort of language in the instructions that say that the reverse polarity light comes on and you have to correct the polarity before proceeding further.....but again....what do the instructions say?

I have to admit...I always figured that the charger would shut down if polarity was reversed.....but then again...you left it on there for an extended period....

best of luck to you in your efforts.

Edited June 20, 2008 by Chuck Jones