981 flat battery - advice sought - Page 4 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Hi, I've seen quite a few posts about this but cannot figure out what's the right course of action without getting ripped off, can someone advice please? Basically a 981 has (I suspect) a flat battery. Car was used a week ago last time. Both fobs show the red light when pressing unlock, but nothing happens. From the manual, I think I understand how to open it with the emergency key and how to open the bonnet. So a few question here: 1) The emergency key doesn't reach 90 degrees. I only had a brief try and will try again later but is that normal to be hard to turn all the way? 2) Am I ok just buying a Porsche approved battery and replacing it myself? I can do some DYI, replaced a few batteries on non Porsche cars before. 3) Is 'coding' needed and if so can I do it myself? Car is under extended Porsche warranty. AA breakdown cover is in place. Thanks!

stewieyan said: So a few question here: 1) The emergency key doesn't reach 90 degrees. I only had a brief try and will try again later but is that normal to be hard to turn all the way? 2) Am I ok just buying a Porsche approved battery and replacing it myself? I can do some DYI, replaced a few batteries on non Porsche cars before. 3) Is 'coding' needed and if so can I do it myself? Car is under extended Porsche warranty. AA breakdown cover is in place. Thanks! Having gone through this during Covid I’d suggest the following: 1) yes there’s quite some resistance I found as was worried about damaging the lock. A bit more effort unlocked the car easily. 2) yes design 911 sell Porsche approved batteries I believe and they are easy enough to swap over 3) imo coding wasn’t needed (I have a 718, during lockdown when mine went flat the dealerships were closed) and the replacement battery has lasted longer now than the original without issues. I understand the battery management system ‘learns’ the new battery after a few drives. Some posters will tell you it is essential to code but you can get a cheap code reader to do this. I can report no problems despite not having coded it. Edited by jimbo761 on Tuesday 19th December 11:34

jimbo761 said: Having gone through this during Covid I’d suggest the following: 1) yes there’s quite some resistance I found as was worried about damaging the lock. A bit more effort unlocked the car easily. 2) yes design 911 sell Porsche approved batteries I believe and they are easy enough to swap over 3) imo coding wasn’t needed (I have a 718, during lockdown when mine went flat the dealerships were closed) and the replacement battery has lasted longer now than the original without issues. I understand the battery management system ‘learns’ the new battery after a few drives. Some posters will tell you it is essential to code but you can get a cheap code reader to do this. I can report no problems despite not having coded it. Edited by jimbo761 on Tuesday 19th December 11:34 Thanks! I've checked with design 911... the approved battery costs £310 haha, what a rip off! https://www.design911.com/p/99961108012-car-batter... Do you need to buy anything extra in order to open the trunk through the fuse box?

Coding is always recommended by every car manufacturer. However, so long as you fit a battery of absolutely identical specification (doesn't have to be the same brand) coding isn't necessary. It just takes a while for your fancy electronic charging system to learn that it's dealing with a new battery and maximise charging efficiency. The key point is identical electrical specification - not just any battery that's a physical fit.

stewieyan said: Do you need to buy anything extra in order to open the trunk through the fuse box? You just need a spare battery (I borrowed from a 2nd car) and jumper cables to connect to the fuse box terminal (+ve) and a neutral point (-ve)(think I used the door hinge). Believe the manual has a step by step guide.

As has been said the fusebox is in the passenger footwell, remove the cover and there is a plastic clip you use to pull out the +ve terminal from memory, connect charger/battery to this and earth to chassis. You should then be able to open the bonnet using the bonnet latch on the drivers sill. To remove/replace the battery just remove the plastic surround at the rear of the frunk (if that's what we're calling it) and you will see the battery and terminals. Not replaced one on a 981 but did on a 987.2, just had to drop the windows and back up to reset them, no coding back then

stewieyan said: Car is under extended Porsche warranty. In theory not fitting the 'right' battery could present you with warranty issues if the battery later caused other problems.

981Boxess said: In theory not fitting the 'right' battery could present you with warranty issues if the battery later caused other problems. The question is: can one buy the 'right' battery without spending £310+?

OP, just to be sure....as you say the fobs light up but it doesn't unlock...are you sure it's not in sleep mode? After about one week sleep mode engages and you need to pull the door handle before you can unlock with the key fob.

stewieyan said: 981Boxess said: In theory not fitting the 'right' battery could present you with warranty issues if the battery later caused other problems. The question is: can one buy the 'right' battery without spending £310+? Obviously if all you have is a flat battery then you can get past that but my 981 battery started playing up at 7 years and probably would not have made it to 8 years. How old is the battery?

stewieyan said: The question is: can one buy the 'right' battery without spending £310+? I went through the same thought processes a few weeks back for my wifes 718...and concluded it was a false economy. Just fit the design 911 one and it will all work with no niggles. Even a decent battery of similar spec is going to cost you upwards of £150 so why take the chance. The design 911 one is an exact drop in, same manufacturer etc etc. No brainer imo. Took about 20mins.

Funny old thing where the Banner with the Porsche branded battery label is twice as much as the identical battery made by banner without it. I dare say if the label fell off the old battery and found it's way onto the new, identical non genuine replacement nobody would be any the wiser. If you're on extended warranty you best check whether the serial number/code of the battery needs to be entered into the car to ensure there's no issue. During servicing I've found the battery seems to get a good deal of scrutiny so you don't want to fall foul of 'computer says no'. How much is the battery from OPC with PCGB discount?

Not being funny but have you tried taking the back off the fob jiggling the battery and then replacing the cover.. ? i have a non working fob on occaision and this sorts it.

First thing I'd do is measure the actual voltage of the battery once you've got the door open.

I was/am in a similar situation. 981 with extended warranty and a battery that doesn't seem to want to hold a full charge. I've had it on a CTEK since but haven't had the time/weather to take it out and see if it ends up dropping into limp mode like last time which I'm hoping was just the low voltage. As said it might be asleep. Pull the door handle then try the fob again. if no joy get a charger or jump pack and then in the driver foot well you pull off a cover and then slide out an orange thing and there is a metal point to connect one lead of the charger/jumper to then the other clip onto the metal door catch on the body and use the frunk pull switch on the sill to get into the front. I forget which way round but it is labelled. I think it's positive to the orange point then negative onto the metal catch but don't quote me on it. With regards the battery I too was miffed that the Porsche stickered Banner item is £310 vs £200ish for the identical Banner battery with no Porsche sticker. No sticker is https://www.design911.com/p/car-battery-80ah-banne... If it arrives and looks exactly like the pics then it could be as simple as carefully peeling off the old sticker and reapplying it to the new battery! Porsche OPC quoted me: Battery - £339.03 inc VAT Labour/code £234.00 inc VAT

Gareth-C-1980 said: If it arrives and looks exactly like the pics then it could be as simple as carefully peeling off the old sticker and reapplying it to the new battery! Not according to the tech at the OPC. It isn't a question of fooling your OPC into believing the battery has not been messed with, it is a question of convincing the car it has had a new battery fitted for it to charge correctly.

981Boxess said: Gareth-C-1980 said: If it arrives and looks exactly like the pics then it could be as simple as carefully peeling off the old sticker and reapplying it to the new battery! Not according to the tech at the OPC. It isn't a question of fooling your OPC into believing the battery has not been messed with, it is a question of convincing the car it has had a new battery fitted for it to charge correctly. That come be done by any decent Indy with PIWIS. Theorectically you wouldn't be changing the battery if you use the original battery label, the car will self learn the new charging demands on the new battery fitted without the need to code. I'm not sure if the serial number/barcode from an OEM battery is put into the car memory which with an non-OEM battery it probably wouldn't have one? How do they arrive at over £200 just to fit a battery? Tell them. like one owner did on here, that you'll come down on your lunch break and fit the battery yourself. His labour cost was waivered. Edited by Armitage.Shanks on Thursday 21st December 17:56

Armitage.Shanks said: 981Boxess said: It isn't a question of fooling your OPC into believing the battery has not been messed with, it is a question of convincing the car it has had a new battery fitted for it to charge correctly. That come be done by any decent Indy with PIWIS. Theorectically you wouldn't be changing the battery if you use the original battery label, the car will self learn the new charging demands on the new battery fitted without the need to code. I'm not sure if the serial number/barcode from an OEM battery is put into the car memory which with an non-OEM battery it probably wouldn't have one? How do they arrive at over £200 just to fit a battery? Tell them. like one owner did on here, that you'll come down on your lunch break and fit the battery yourself. His labour cost was waivered. Yes I dare say an indie with PIWIS could do it, in your position that might be better for you. My car was in there for servicing, when my battery was flagged up as being below par I got a price from them, told them to stick one in the boot and I would fit it myself another time. The service bloke explained exactly why that wouldn't work, so charged me trade (I know them) for the battery, scanned it in and fitted it for free. If it didn't need doing that way why would they have done that work for free, they would have just stuck it in the boot and took my money, they know I can physically fit it. To be fair for the little extra I paid to do it that way it was a no brainer, especially when you factor in any potential future warranty issues. How do they arrive at the £200 battery fitting, the same way as I arrived at whatever we charged people for working on their cars, including supplying and fitting batteries btw, you give the customer a price and they either say yes or no, their choice.

981Boxess said: How do they arrive at the £200 battery fitting, the same way as I arrived at whatever we charged people for working on their cars, including supplying and fitting batteries btw, you give the customer a price and they either say yes or no, their choice. Do you work at an OPC? £200 to fit a battery in my view is daylight robbery!

stanlow45 said: 981Boxess said: How do they arrive at the £200 battery fitting, the same way as I arrived at whatever we charged people for working on their cars, including supplying and fitting batteries btw, you give the customer a price and they either say yes or no, their choice. Do you work at an OPC? £200 to fit a battery in my view is daylight robbery! Fair enough, it isn't cheap, but if that is what they charge. If your battery goes, you are not fussed about any potential extended warranty issues and you can get somebody else to do it properly for less do that.

Thanks all! So I called AA - a very knowledgeable and friendly chap arrived, powered the bonnet, checked the battery and said it might need replacement. I've kept the running for 20 minutes. It does work now although getting a 'steering support limited' error on the dash - but I heard this disappears. I'm not sure if the battery actually needs replacement (unless of course it stops working again). Any good way to check that?

I've swapped the battery in my 981 several times with other batteries I just had lying around. The original Banner battery was in my BMW for around the last 3 months or more. It has been back in my 981 for just over a week and is working fine. I have never reprogrammed the ECU for anything. It is just a battery. It isn't that complicated. I will say I am impressed the Banner battery has lasted so well. I can't be certain it is the original battery because I have only owned the car for 6 or 7 years. In that time it has been found flat through my mistreatment many times and always recovered fine. It should have died a long time ago but it refuses to give up. And yes if the battery is dead you can use the key blade to open the door. It isn't intuitive. You need to turn the key to activate the door handle. Remember when you open the door with no battery that the window will not drop. Bear this in mind because you can not then close the door as the window will sit outside the roof. So if you do use the emergency procedure to open the door then make sure you can get into the frunk and get the electricity restored because you do not want to leave the car outside with the door ajar or partially closed with the glass outside the roof seal. Positive does go on the pull out from the fuse box. I use the door latch striker for negative. Then yes only the bonnet release button on the door sill will operate.

ATM said: I've swapped the battery in my 981 several times with other batteries I just had lying around. The original Banner battery was in my BMW for around the last 3 months or more. It has been back in my 981 for just over a week and is working fine. I have never reprogrammed the ECU for anything. It is just a battery. It isn't that complicated. Yes all batteries are the same, once the cables reach and the bonnet shuts they are all the same No idea why they make more than one really.

I've owned my GT4 from new in 2015. As a preventative measure I recently replaced this with the best quality battery from Tayna ... easy to do. My original battery had a date stamped into the top of one of the terminals ...

981Boxess said: Yes all batteries are the same, once the cables reach and the bonnet shuts they are all the same. No idea why they make more than one really. Tongue firmly in cheek. Back in the day the cowboys would make a battery that looked like the real thing but the expensive bits, the metal plates inside, would be of poor quality and simply physically smaller (shorter) than the plates of a decent battery. Looked the same but wasn't. Same as tyres; they're all black and round so there can't be any difference - can there? Tayna is your friend. Buy identical specification, install it yourself and don't bother with coding.

I'm a bit more selective with tyres. But a battery is just there to start the engine - assuming you turn off that stop start rubbish. So you either get a big one which is heavy but won't go flat as quick whentje car is left unused. Or you get a smaller one which is lighter but sill go flat quicker. I've recently been experimenting with a teeny tiny LiFePo4 battery in my 996 and 986. I was planning to try one in the 981 too but just haven't gotten round to it yet.

I think the car would need to know if a battery with a different charging and fully charged voltage was to be fitted ... that's why Li batteries use a different charger from Lead/Acid/ Gel/ AGM etc ??

But back to standard lead batteries I don't understand why the car needs reprogramming. Most modern car chargers will just charge any [lead] battery. So why is a Porsche different. I've had my little LiFePo4 now over 2 years. And it's been great. I don't have a special charger for it. These either have charge or they do not. So just having a little bit of charge will get the engine started and then it will charge off the engine. I have not put it on my 981 because the complicated more modern car does scare me a bit. I believe they all have a little circuit board inside which fools the outside world into thinking they are an old fashioned battery. So if it needs charge it will show a lower voltage and then when it's full it will show a higher voltage. The better ones will just turn off if the charge gets too low to prevent damage from being fully drained. This happened to me when driving the 996 with a duff alternator and it wasn't pleasant. So in theory you can treat them like s t and they should be fine. I believe the only standard chargers which can damage a LiFePo4 are the ones which have a fancy recovery mode for very low voltage or dead batteries which pulse the charge on and off quickly to help revive an old fashioned battery. I think this is an outdated concept nowadays with AGM but I'm not an expert by any stretch. Plus the LiFePo4 should never show a really low voltage like that.

ATM said: But back to standard lead batteries I don't understand why the car needs reprogramming. Most modern car chargers will just charge any [lead] battery. So why is a Porsche different. Not sure where you are getting that from, not sure anyone is suggesting that? One thing is for sure with AGM batteries and alternators that can charge different ways the days of lobbing a similar battery on a modern car and walking away are long gone. There is a little more to it than that today.

981Boxess said: One thing is for sure with AGM batteries and alternators that can charge different ways the days of lobbing a similar battery on a modern car and walking away are long gone. There is a little more to it than that today. Agreed but I would expect the alternator to 'undertsand' the current charge state of the battery by reading the voltage to adapt to a charging regime. It can't be any more complicated than that? My guess is the 'coding' is only to record a battery into the car history for when a main dealer hooks it up to scan? In my 981 and now 718 the voltmeter when the endgine is running regularly peaks as high as 15.0v (settling to around 14.6 and then will sometimes drop back to 13.9v). I've always questioned that 14v+ seems a high rate of charge, but that seems the norm.

Armitage.Shanks said: 981Boxess said: One thing is for sure with AGM batteries and alternators that can charge different ways the days of lobbing a similar battery on a modern car and walking away are long gone. There is a little more to it than that today. Agreed but I would expect the alternator to 'undertsand' the current charge state of the battery by reading the voltage to adapt to a charging regime. It can't be any more complicated than that? My guess is the 'coding' is only to record a battery into the car history for when a main dealer hooks it up to scan? In my 981 and now 718 the voltmeter when the endgine is running regularly peaks as high as 15.0v (settling to around 14.6 and then will sometimes drop back to 13.9v). I've always questioned that 14v+ seems a high rate of charge, but that seems the norm. Fair enough - if your battery goes you will know exactly what to do and save yourself a few quid in the process.

Armitage.Shanks said: I've always questioned that 14v+ seems a high rate of charge, but that seems the norm. Car battery isn't a 12v battery, it's about a 12.7v battery, so you're going to need around 14v to charge it. Typical charging voltage is in the range 13.6 to 14.7 volts. Once fully charged the full charge can be maintained with a float charge at around 13.5 volts.

My 10 year old 981 is on its original battery which I find quite remarkable as 4-5 years ago it was throwing up low voltage messages. Stop start hasn’t worked in six months though so I’d imagine it’ll be on its way out soon. Also always charges at 15.2v since the day I’ve had it.

SkinnyPete said: My 10 year old 981 is on its original battery which I find quite remarkable as 4-5 years ago it was throwing up low voltage messages. Stop start hasn’t worked in six months though so I’d imagine it’ll be on its way out soon. Also always charges at 15.2v since the day I’ve had it. You have had your monies worth then, batteries are lasting a lot longer nowadays. Apparently the stop start is the first thing the system shuts down when the battery is on its way out.

981Boxess said: SkinnyPete said: My 10 year old 981 is on its original battery which I find quite remarkable as 4-5 years ago it was throwing up low voltage messages. Stop start hasn’t worked in six months though so I’d imagine it’ll be on its way out soon. Also always charges at 15.2v since the day I’ve had it. You have had your monies worth then, batteries are lasting a lot longer nowadays. Apparently the stop start is the first thing the system shuts down when the battery is on its way out. I've found if I give the battery a good charge with a real charger then the stop start will work fine. But that was a few years ago now. Not tried it recently.

The first thing I do when I get in is turn off the stop/start. Hideous device.

Just remembered... A few years ago I read that we should connect the charger to positive on the battery but negative on the car. Is anyone else doing that? Something about helping the car understand its being charged. Could help explain the start stop working well after a full charge. I've not done that recently because I find it easier now to swap out the battery and charge in the house.

ATM said: Just remembered... A few years ago I read that we should connect the charger to positive on the battery but negative on the car. Is anyone else doing that? Something about helping the car understand its being charged. Could help explain the start stop working well after a full charge. I've not done that recently because I find it easier now to swap out the battery and charge in the house. I think you mean the negative point is connected to the bodywork not the battery negative to prevent shorting when on charge. Here is a handy thread: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

stanlow45 said: ATM said: Just remembered... A few years ago I read that we should connect the charger to positive on the battery but negative on the car. Is anyone else doing that? Something about helping the car understand its being charged. Could help explain the start stop working well after a full charge. I've not done that recently because I find it easier now to swap out the battery and charge in the house. I think you mean the negative point is connected to the bodywork not the battery negative to prevent shorting when on charge. It isn't about preventing shorting when on charge it has to do with charging 'the system' rather than just the battery in isolation. Back in the day when we fitted voltage drop sensing alarms you could not connect alarms direct to the battery as it masked small changes in voltage, same thing. A lot of changes have had to be built into car charging systems to accomodate stop start/AGM battery technology, none of them good IMO.

981Boxess said: stanlow45 said: ATM said: Just remembered... A few years ago I read that we should connect the charger to positive on the battery but negative on the car. Is anyone else doing that? Something about helping the car understand its being charged. Could help explain the start stop working well after a full charge. I've not done that recently because I find it easier now to swap out the battery and charge in the house. I think you mean the negative point is connected to the bodywork not the battery negative to prevent shorting when on charge. It isn't about preventing shorting when on charge it has to do with charging 'the system' rather than just the battery in isolation. Back in the day when we fitted voltage drop sensing alarms you could not connect alarms direct to the battery as it masked small changes in voltage, same thing. A lot of changes have had to be built into car charging systems to accomodate stop start/AGM battery technology, none of them good IMO. I think it's for emissions. My mate is an accountant and he says his e90 had the best cigarette lighter for charging his vape. When he upgraded to an f30 his vape would take longer to charge. I'm not sure I believe that myself. I think his point is that modern cars don't run the electrics at as high volts as these older cars. So if the car can make the alternator run softer or more gentle then it will create less drag and therefore improve emissions. But it will charge the battery less and therefore stop start will activate less. So not sure what's best from an eco perspective. I'd guess less drag when running will always win. Maybe if running along the motorway a gentle charger can give the battery enough juice to support stop start once you come to a stop. Otherwise it seems pointless keeping the battery only partially charged. But yes that's what I was getting at about connecting the charger to the car rather than battery. If the car sees the charger then maybe it is happier to activate the start stop because it knows [or assumes it knows] how much charge the battery has. I was reading some posts from people using LiFePo4 batteries on their 981 in USA. It seems some people had problems where the car would start to freak out and I think this was caused by the car charging at 15.2v which is too high for some of the internal circuits of some LiFePo4 and they shut off charging. Therefore the battery will effectively go flat all of a sudden and worst case could leave you stranded or best case could upset some of the cars sensors. I did have a steering support error pop up on my dash which I now think could have been caused by a poor battery. So the 981 can charge at a range as high as 14.9 to 15.2v. I think I've seen 15 on mine but don't remember the decimal. Will keep an eye on it. I'm still trying to figure out a good way to mount a little LiFePo4 so it can't move around.

This might be useful ... If you have an electric car with a "normal" car ancillary battery, it's worth replacing this early. When they fail nothing works, the car is locked in park so can't be moved ... and my wife was locked in !! Thankfully the window was open so she was able to climb out of the window ....

ChrisW. said: If you have an electric car with a "normal" car ancillary battery, it's worth replacing this early. When they fail nothing works, the car is locked in park so can't be moved ... and my wife was locked in !! Thankfully the window was open so she was able to climb out of the window .... That sounds ridiculous (not you, the design), so what happens in an accident? I know they have Pyro fuses to safeguard the high voltage stuff but what maintains the low voltage side to get someone out if the cable is ripped out of the battery (eg)?

ATM said: I think it's for emissions. My mate is an accountant and he says his e90 had the best cigarette lighter for charging his vape. When he upgraded to an f30 his vape would take longer to charge. I'm not sure I believe that myself. I think his point is that modern cars don't run the electrics at as high volts as these older cars. So if the car can make the alternator run softer or more gentle then it will create less drag and therefore improve emissions. But it will charge the battery less and therefore stop start will activate less. So not sure what's best from an eco perspective. I'd guess less drag when running will always win. Maybe if running along the motorway a gentle charger can give the battery enough juice to support stop start once you come to a stop. Otherwise it seems pointless keeping the battery only partially charged. But yes that's what I was getting at about connecting the charger to the car rather than battery. If the car sees the charger then maybe it is happier to activate the start stop because it knows [or assumes it knows] how much charge the battery has. I was reading some posts from people using LiFePo4 batteries on their 981 in USA. It seems some people had problems where the car would start to freak out and I think this was caused by the car charging at 15.2v which is too high for some of the internal circuits of some LiFePo4 and they shut off charging. Therefore the battery will effectively go flat all of a sudden and worst case could leave you stranded or best case could upset some of the cars sensors. I did have a steering support error pop up on my dash which I now think could have been caused by a poor battery. So the 981 can charge at a range as high as 14.9 to 15.2v. I think I've seen 15 on mine but don't remember the decimal. Will keep an eye on it. I'm still trying to figure out a good way to mount a little LiFePo4 so it can't move around. That is why he is an accountant! Why not just leave it alone, why do people assume they know more than a two bob outfit like Porsche? We are talking about cars that have been running perfectly well for 8+ years and untold miles with what they left the factory with before needing just a new battery.

981Boxess said: That is why he is an accountant! Why not just leave it alone, why do people assume they know more than a two bob outfit like Porsche? We are talking about cars that have been running perfectly well for 8+ years and untold miles with what they left the factory with before needing just a new battery. My problem is I now have more cars than good lead acid batteries. I'm not sure I like the idea of buying more lead acid because they are old and rubbish and need constant charging or juggling or maintenance if you don't use the car/s often.

ATM said: 981Boxess said: That is why he is an accountant! Why not just leave it alone, why do people assume they know more than a two bob outfit like Porsche? We are talking about cars that have been running perfectly well for 8+ years and untold miles with what they left the factory with before needing just a new battery. My problem is I now have more cars than good lead acid batteries. I'm not sure I like the idea of buying more lead acid because they are old and rubbish and need constant charging or juggling or maintenance if you don't use the car/s often. I have no words.

981Boxess said: ChrisW. said: If you have an electric car with a "normal" car ancillary battery, it's worth replacing this early. When they fail nothing works, the car is locked in park so can't be moved ... and my wife was locked in !! Thankfully the window was open so she was able to climb out of the window .... That sounds ridiculous (not you, the design), so what happens in an accident? I know they have Pyro fuses to safeguard the high voltage stuff but what maintains the low voltage side to get someone out if the cable is ripped out of the battery (eg)? The car is a Kia ... there is a manual release for the bonnet, once the bonnet was lifted the battery voltage tested at 4.2v. Stuck a charger on it and an hour later it was little more, so clearly the car was trying to do something that was discharging the battery as fast or faster than the charger. The obvious solution was a new battery which once fitted, everything sprang back into life. Once removed the old battery did charge and for a month or so appeared to hold a charge, but another month later it was back down to 11.4v so clearly it was faulty. The Kia dealership were useless ... they asked me to get it towed into them and they would sort it out ... but it was parked underneath an implement shed locked in park and blocking my garage doors !! I do wonder why they didn't suggest exchanging the battery ?

981Boxess said: ATM said: 981Boxess said: That is why he is an accountant! Why not just leave it alone, why do people assume they know more than a two bob outfit like Porsche? We are talking about cars that have been running perfectly well for 8+ years and untold miles with what they left the factory with before needing just a new battery. My problem is I now have more cars than good lead acid batteries. I'm not sure I like the idea of buying more lead acid because they are old and rubbish and need constant charging or juggling or maintenance if you don't use the car/s often. I have no words. Do you also syphon petrol from one to the other ? Had you thought of juggling chargers from time to time / buying more chargers / driving the cars more frequently / .... isn't this is in danger of becoming a silly question / wind-up ??

ChrisW. said: 981Boxess said: ATM said: 981Boxess said: That is why he is an accountant! Why not just leave it alone, why do people assume they know more than a two bob outfit like Porsche? We are talking about cars that have been running perfectly well for 8+ years and untold miles with what they left the factory with before needing just a new battery. My problem is I now have more cars than good lead acid batteries. I'm not sure I like the idea of buying more lead acid because they are old and rubbish and need constant charging or juggling or maintenance if you don't use the car/s often. I have no words. Do you also syphon petrol from one to the other ? Had you thought of juggling chargers from time to time / buying more chargers / driving the cars more frequently / .... isn't this is in danger of becoming a silly question / wind-up ?? I realise it's a ridiculous problem to have. But luckily this is PH and therefore I am among friends. No one here would dare suggest something as crazy as having less cars. So I soldier on pursuing my dream of having way more cars than my younger self. Back to the 981 and it's charging profile... I went to the gym earlier and the dash showed 15.1v. I intended to get a pic but I forgot. On the way home i remembered to get a pic but then it showed 14.9v which seemed less pic worthy. So that's it for the day.

ChrisW. said: The Kia dealership were useless ... they asked me to get it towed into them and they would sort it out ... but it was parked underneath an implement shed locked in park and blocking my garage doors !! I do wonder why they didn't suggest exchanging the battery ? The age old problem you get good ones and bad ones, then inside them you get good and bad staff, it could easily be described as random at best. I spent decades on both sides of the fence, we did work for dealers in our workshop and dealers have done work for me as an end user. As a customer over the years I have experienced levels of service from small mishaps to losing my car, yes really (not Porsche). I won't name the OPC but one I have used and still use provided me with less than great service which they may have got away with with another customer, bad luck. So I spoke to the service manager for an explanation, who was basically repeating what the tech (?) that had worked on my car told him and I could see he was flying blind, so I ask him straight if he had ever worked on car himself ever - no. Can somebody please explain to me how the person in charge of the running of the workshop could do that properly having no knowledge of working on cars? So a lengthy explanation of why it is easy to have the level of service you received with your Kia, because the vast majority of dealerships employ people many of whom are average, under the direction of people who sometimes don't know about cars. Then factor in cars are getting more complicated by the day and it isn't hard to see where this could possibly be going wrong.

ATM said: I realise it's a ridiculous problem to have. But luckily this is PH and therefore I am among friends. No one here would dare suggest something as crazy as having less cars. So I soldier on pursuing my dream of having way more cars than my younger self. I would rather have one mint car, than two average ones. I would rather have two average cars than three scrappers. See if you can work out where this is going

981Boxess said: ATM said: I realise it's a ridiculous problem to have. But luckily this is PH and therefore I am among friends. No one here would dare suggest something as crazy as having less cars. So I soldier on pursuing my dream of having way more cars than my younger self. I would rather have one mint car, than two average ones. I would rather have two average cars than three scrappers. See if you can work out where this is going We are all different. I don't think my cars can become scrappers just because they are sharing a battery. It also makes them very hard to steal. For me it's a hobby. I don't just drive them because I also tinker with them. That keeps me busy. Although I probably spend longer typing about them than actually tinkering with them. If I only had one I would have so much less to type about. What would I do with all that spate time.

ATM said: I don't think my cars can become scrappers just because they are sharing a battery. It also makes them very hard to steal. The fact none of them ever work does indeed make them harder to steal, in fact, if you lived in London you are probably one of the few people who could own a Range Rover today

981Boxess said: The fact none of them ever work does indeed make them harder to steal, in fact, if you lived in London you are probably one of the few people who could own a Range Rover today Yup 2010 era 5 litre supercharged is on the bucket list

Thank goodness we ARE all different

Is there a difference between say 110 AGM and 115 AGM for the 981s? Looks like the original says 115 AGM while the one I got is 110 AGM

stewieyan said: Is there a difference between say 110 AGM and 115 AGM for the 981s? Looks like the original says 115 AGM while the one I got is 110 AGM Very very little

Panamax said: ATM said: stewieyan said: Is there a difference between say 110 AGM and 115 AGM for the 981s? Very very little If you had a 15% pay rise would that be "very, very little"? Sounds like a coding job to me. Less than 5%

Quite correct - my apologies. I read it as 115 to 100. Shoulda gone to Specsavers...

ATM said: stewieyan said: Is there a difference between say 110 AGM and 115 AGM for the 981s? Very very little Post redacted for misreading - see below. Edited by Panamax on Wednesday 27th December 21:23

Sorted - good choice of battery, if it is good enough for Porsche ….. Out of interest did the one touch windows close need resetting?

Good job OP but what a palaver. You’d think they could just have some kind of frunk manual release switch available when you unlock the car.

You missed the 10mm socket for the battery terminals. If you add that above I will delete this. I recommend putting one foot in the froot if you're not a powerfully built PH Director type with big shoulders.

Powerfully built PH director types don’t change batteries, they have a chap to do that for them

ATM said: You missed the 10mm socket for the battery terminals. If you add that above I will delete this. I recommend putting one foot in the froot if you're not a powerfully built PH Director type with big shoulders. Cheers, I just used pliers for that which was more convenient, will add.

981Boxess said: Sorted - good choice of battery, if it is good enough for Porsche ….. Out of interest did the one touch windows close need resetting? Not for me! The car started as if nothing happened.

To lift the old battery out and lift the new battery in ... I put a nylon chopping board into the bottom of the "frunk" and stood on it ... to spread the load. It's also useful to have somebody on-hand to pass the batteries to / from ... it's a long reach with a 20Kg battery ... particularly since I only weigh 60 Kg's !

stewieyan said: I just used pliers Oh My God

ChrisW. said: I put a nylon chopping board into the bottom of the "frunk" and stood on it ... to spread the load. Totally unnecessary

Thanks ALL! Here's a process on battery replacement on a Porsche 981 (based on thoughts collected - always consult the manual!) Always consult the manual as the ultimate (but not always correct) source of truth! Prerequisites to open the door, lift the bonnet (frunk) and replace the battery: 1) A new battery is needed (obviously). This looks like a compatible battery (maybe): 58001 Banner Running Bull 80Ah AGM Leisure Battery for £178.29 postage included Note that A Porsche-approved battery comes at a 2x+ premium and if you want/need to, you can contact your dealership or design911.co.uk for a quote. The Porsche-approved battery on design911 was in excess of £370 without any special discount codes. 2) A power source to open the frunk, which can be either: a) A jump starter. E.g. something like YABER Jump Starter Power Pack for £45 from Amazon. Compact, weather resistant, can charge USB devices too and has a built in flash light with 3 modes. NOTE although this helps to open the frunk, this might not be able to start the engine (not powerful enough), despite what it says in the listing. OR b) Use a new battery with a set of jump leads 3) A ratchet with a 13mm socket and an extension rod AND a screwdriver with a star bit. For example Halfords Essentials 50 Piece Socket Set that has all that is needed (although the extension rod could do with being a bit longer, so if you could get a longer one go for it!). The process : 1) In order to open the frunk and access the old battery, driver's door needs to be opened first. This can be done by using the emergency key located in the fob. I could access the keyhole by pulling the drivers door handle. Manual says 'turn the key all the way to the left' BUT actually in the UK it should be 'all the way to the right'. Once turned, turn the key back into the original position, pull it off, lift the door handle, the door should open. REMEMBER that the window will not lower itself (due to no power in the car) and thus don't try to close the door without powering it first. 2) Pulled out the fuse box that's located at the bottom right (next to pedals). Some force was needed to pull it out. As per the manual, pulled out the yellow tweezers at the top of the fuse box, and then used those to pull out the red plastic bit just below the tweezers. 3) Per the manual, connected the jump starter RED crocodile clip to the metal of the red plastic bit of the fuse box, and then the BLACK crocodile clip to the door hinge. Some parts of the hinge ARE NOT METAL although looks like metal: it has to connect to metal otherwise the jump starter will not work. Alternatively, shouldn't be a problem using the new battery for the same, if no jump started was purchased. 4) Once the fuse box was powered, as per the manual, pressed and hold the 'frunk open' key on the fob for SEVERAL SECONDS - the frunk did open! Then immediately disconnected the jump starter from the fuse box (in the correct order as per the manual, very important!!) and closed the fuse box to its original state. 5) Followed this video to remove the old battery and put the new one in using the tools mentioned above. WARNING - the battery is VERY HEAVY! Over 21kg. Edited by stewieyan on Wednesday 3rd January 17:42

ATM said: ChrisW. said: 981Boxess said: ATM said: 981Boxess said: That is why he is an accountant! Why not just leave it alone, why do people assume they know more than a two bob outfit like Porsche? We are talking about cars that have been running perfectly well for 8+ years and untold miles with what they left the factory with before needing just a new battery. My problem is I now have more cars than good lead acid batteries. I'm not sure I like the idea of buying more lead acid because they are old and rubbish and need constant charging or juggling or maintenance if you don't use the car/s often. I have no words. Do you also syphon petrol from one to the other ? Had you thought of juggling chargers from time to time / buying more chargers / driving the cars more frequently / .... isn't this is in danger of becoming a silly question / wind-up ?? I realise it's a ridiculous problem to have. But luckily this is PH and therefore I am among friends. No one here would dare suggest something as crazy as having less cars. So I soldier on pursuing my dream of having way more cars than my younger self. Back to the 981 and it's charging profile... I went to the gym earlier and the dash showed 15.1v. I intended to get a pic but I forgot. On the way home i remembered to get a pic but then it showed 14.9v which seemed less pic worthy. So that's it for the day. This was a few days ago. It's now more like 2 or 3c here.

Cayman 987.2. Popping out for lunch last Sunday, not having driven it for a week or two, and the remote didn't unlock the door (could've sworn I put a new battery in 6 months ago) so unlocked it with the key (strange - the alarm didn't go off) and popped open the frunk with the switch in the cill.... except it didn't. Oh no...Doom and gloom Luckily the engine fired up after a slightly sluggish start and a good long run got it charged up. Time for a new battery; £100.03 for a Varta from Tayna inc p&p. A quick read of the manual plus this thread revealed no big problems. Ignition off, battery disconnected and no problem with the alarm going off. It was a bit of a struggle for a (very) OAP to lift out and back in, so no problem for you under 70s. As per the manual, full steering lock left and right, and the PSM error came up as forecast, but cleared within a hundred yards 981Boxess said: Out of interest did the one touch windows close need resetting? The manual said they would need resetting, but mine were fine.

CanAm said: Cayman 987.2. Popping out for lunch last Sunday, not having driven it for a week or two, and the remote didn't unlock the door (could've sworn I put a new battery in 6 months ago) so unlocked it with the key (strange - the alarm didn't go off) The 987.2 has a hibernation mode which is activated if the car isn't unlocked >1 week. If you try to unlock with remote fob nothing will happen as remote central locking is disabled. Lift the outside door handle and then release, wait a few seconds and try the fob again. Lifting the handle brings the car out of hibernation

SV_WDC said: CanAm said: Cayman 987.2. Popping out for lunch last Sunday, not having driven it for a week or two, and the remote didn't unlock the door (could've sworn I put a new battery in 6 months ago) so unlocked it with the key (strange - the alarm didn't go off) The 987.2 has a hibernation mode which is activated if the car isn't unlocked >1 week. If you try to unlock with remote fob nothing will happen as remote central locking is disabled. Lift the outside door handle and then release, wait a few seconds and try the fob again. Lifting the handle brings the car out of hibernation Well that's handy to know - thanks! However it had been opened a few days earlier; the failure of the cill release for the Froot (English for Frunk) hinted at a failing battery. The car was "previously enjoyed" and I don't know when the battery was last replaced, so I had planned on replacing it at the end of summer. At least it happened at a convenient time, and allowed me the luxury of getting hints and tips from this forum

CanAm said: Froot (English for Frunk) Well done I can't stand the Americanism being used here in Good Old Blighty