Dashboard lights, water temperature warning light stay on and clock would not adjust after battery dead.

[Thot]

Hello all,

  After using the car very little this winter, with occasional sub freezing temperatures in my garage, yesterday the battery was completely dead. 

After charging the battery all night, I was able to start it at the first try this morning and drove around the block ok.

However, some of the dashboard lights now stay on: Speed, Clock, Water Temperature warning light and empty tank light (the tank IS nearly empty) even when the ignition key is off and the car is locked with the remote.

The clock is fixed on 12:00, does not update as times goes by and I cannot set it.

Clock and water warning light misbehaved the same also when I drove the car.

The radio and the rest of the electrical system seem to work properly.

A little computer attached to the diagnostic plug gives a Battery reading of 12.2 V when the car is off.

Currently I have the battery connected to a battery tender, but I don't know that I can attribute the dashboard problem to a "bad battery" 

 

I searched the forum as much as allowed but I could not find a similar problem described or solved.

 

Thank you very much in advance for any help.

 

______________________

2001 Boxster S

 

 

 

[JFP in PA]

Welcome to RennTech

 

If your battery ran down because it was not connected to a proper battery maintainer over the winter, the battery may be too sulfated to recover, which is why the static voltage is low.  Questionable batteries cause all sorts of weird electrical problems in these cars.

[Schnell Gelb]

We've discussed this many times  elsewhere but you got the answer in one Post already :-)

There are inexpensive test meters that will show "S.O.H." and "S.O.C." (google) but  just buy a new battery AGM imho.

 

You also need a Cteck MUS 4.3 .Amazon .Porsche also sell it for x2 ! Use it over summer to try to use it to revive your old battery The Cteck will 'pulse' and this may improve the sulphation The SOH test will confirm. Use the old battery on your old  maintainer next winter as your emergency slave battery. Plug the Cteck into the cig lighter socket over winter. Some really smart P-Car experts do this with their customer cars "-)

Edited March 25, 2017 by Schnell Gelb

[Thot]

Thank you for your quick answers.

I did some test drives in the past few days and I noticed that:

I can start and driver the car no problem but even when I am driving it 

- Except for the two odometers (the partial and the total one)m none of the dashboard instruments work:

- The digital speed indicator is stuck on 0  and the indicator gauge is also stuck on 0

- The RPM gauge is on 0

- The temperature gauge is fixed on 0 and the warning light is always on (even when the car is off)

- The fuel gauge is fixed on 0 and the empty warning light is always on (even when the car is off). The tank is full

- The clack is fixed on 12:00, does not update and I cannot set it to the correct time.

 

Do you still think is a bad battery?

 

Thank you in advance,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2017 by Thot

[Schnell Gelb]

What did the SOH and SOC test indicate ?- We need actual values. Some parts stores will do this test free.