To Jump or Not To Jump !! (With Booster Cables)

[Donie]

By the time I see my car again it will have been sitting static ( without having been started or run) for about two months.

I don't expect it will be flat but in case it's low in charge what's my best precaution?

O.K. the remote locking will have gone 'asleep' after five days, so I need to get the key in the ignition pretty smartly before all hell breaks loose. If I do need to use jumper (booster) cables is there any DO's and DONT' for Porsches?

Perhaps it's a good time to purchase one of the 'smart' intelligent chargers and put it on for a day or so ???

Donie

[Tool Pants]

I have jumped my Boxster with my truck and used my Boxster to jump a Jeep. Did not have a problem.

[Highlander]

What year is your car? If the battery is flat, the method to get to it varies by model year. '01's and later have a terminal behind a panel to the left of the drivers feet that you can attach another battery to which will allow you to open the front trunk. Once you get to the battey, the usual techniques are recommended.

With the donor vehicle turned off do the following:

1. Connect the positive terminals of each battery using your jumper cables.

2. Connect the negative terminal of the vehicle supplying the jump to a good grounding point on your Boxster - NOT the battery.

3. Start the donor vehicle, let it run for a minute of so at ~1500 rpm to get some charge in your battery.

4. Start the Boxster.

5. Turn off the donor vehicle.

6. Remove the cables.

Drive off :)

Failure to execute step 5 has the potential to damage the donor vehicle. It's alternator is pumping lots of current to charge your battery. Simply removing this heavy load can cause a voltage spike. This spike may or may not occur. If it does occur, it may or may not damage something. OTOH, why risk it!

Good Luck,

Graeme

p.s. My car does not like to sit idle. It takes about a month of inactivity for my battery to discharge enough that it needs a jump start.

[bhakti]

Maybe a good thing to invest in a Charge-o-mat II from Porsche; it's an easy way to charge your battery without the need for a donor car next to your Porsche.

[dsmiley]

Do you think it would help to maintain my battery's charge in the winter (when I'm not using it) by *keeping* one of those cigarette lighter based battery jump starters plugged in?

Here's a sample product:

http://safehomeproducts.com/SHP/SM/12V_Pow....asp#AutoJumper

[ar38070]

The trickle chargers work fine. Or just disconnect the negative battery cable (remember do not fully close the hood).