Battery Life

[de36band]

I am relatively new with all things Porsche, but went to start my car Saturday and would not turn over. Lights came on on dash, but that was all. Have an Audi with jumper cables and followed directions in P manual to jump. When turned ignition the car turned over but would not start. AAA came with portable jumper and same result. Went to dealer told needed new battery. Installed new battery all works fine. Told old battery is no good anymore.

I bought this car in July 2004 new (probably sat on lot for a year) as was a left over 2003 model. Car has only 1800 miles and is driven weekly when weather is good. But has was driven last about 6 weeks ago - about thirty miles.

Question: Why did battery die so soon? How well can these batteries tolerate cold?

I'm not sure I can get electric to use the battery maintainer in the current storage location though I did purchase one the other day along with the new battery. Will I kill this new battery just as soon of I leave in the cold without a battery maintainer with out starting in more frequently. How frequently do I need to start it?

Thanks for any advise.

[ar38070]

The stock porsche batteries are not that good. You did not say if they warrantied the battery or not. Recently some dealers have been saying if you do not drive your car x miles per month then they wont warranty the battery.

If your car is going to sit for a while and you cannot put a trickle charger on it because you do not have access to power then 1) use a solar powered charger or 2) disconnect the battery (if you do this do not lock the hood as you wont be able to open it with the battery disconnected).

If you have to replace the battery again on your dime then check the archives for DIY info.

[Long Islander]

Looks like you should get an Optima battery, possibly the yellow top deep cycle one, if you don't want to keep replacing batteries. The DIY section has instructions on how to do this.

[joee]

Check this out http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?a...code=diy_optima . I agree about Porsche batteries not being great. We had problems with out '02 Carrera. I just replaced the battery and called the 1-800 number. They asked me to send them a letter with copies of the bill. In several weeks I got a check for the full amount. Check around and you'll see plenty of stuff on batteries.