Battery/Electrics Problems?

[chrisjcoe]

Hi again

Due to having several days at the Olympics, and then being stupidly busy, the S2 stood untouched for 10 days. I decide to take advantage of the sunny morning and drive it to work, and as I feared, it turned over slowly twice before dying completely. My battery is dead!

Would you expect a battery to drain after 10 days? My old Mark 1 MX-5 would die after 14, due to the expensive alarm that was fitted to it. The 944 has at least 1 after-market security device, because there is a useless immobiliser stuck beside the ignition which I have ignored since I got the car. There's also something poking underneath the passengers footwell which I haven't investigated yet. The electrics in the car look a bit messy, so I can't rule out a short somewhere either.

What would you suggest I do to tackle this? I have a voltmeter, and have read that, with a charged battery, take a measurement, then again about 12 hours later. If it's drained a lot then it's either the battery or a constant drain somewhere. Would it be worth doing this but disconnecting it after driving it, or is that pointless? Would a shot battery not charge to the usual level, which again could be an indication of it being a bit tired.

How about stripping all the crap out of the car, does anyone know of any club member or affiliated company near Essex which would be able to look at stripping out the old immobiliser(s)? As much as I'd love to hand the car over to a garage and pick it up 2 weeks later, I don't have anywhere near the money for that at the moment!

If the car needs a new battery, what do people recommend? Is this the type of battery I should be looking at?

 

[chrisjcoe]

Oh yes, because the battery is at the back of the car, and my car is parked in such a way that I can't get a car near the back, I need to get a battery charger! Would you recommend just getting a trickle charger, which would mean taking the battery off the car overnight, or a jump starter? I would probably favour jumping it, but then I'm not sure what to get!

This one says for 2l and under, so is probably not man enough. Same with .this one.

 

[atticlab]

Hi,
I have been checking battery drain on my 944 Turbo using a very useful and not too expensive Mastech MS2108A meter that has a DC current clamp. Basically you just clamp it around a cable and it tells you roughly what current is being dawn.
My car (which has an immobiliser) draws about .15 A when parked. So for example if your car had the same drain and a 60 Ah battery it will completely discharge in 400 hours - just over 16 days.
I keep my battery trickle charged using a CTEK CTE-MXS5.0 smart charger - not cheap, but you can leave it clipped on the battery when parked - no need to disconnect any cables.
I run the mains cable into the boot (where my battery is) which still closes.

Rgds

Keith

 

[chrisjcoe]

Thanks Keith, perhaps my battery isn't the villain here then. Unfortuately, having it on constant/regular trickle charge isn't really an option as the car is parked about 60ft from my house at the foot of my garden!

Has anyone got a jump starter for a 944? Most for sale say they are up to 2l engine size. I've found 1 for up to 5l, but at £140, it's way too much money. Would something like this be man enough? Basically, I'm after any recommendations for a jump starter that will handle a 3l 944 S2 which doesn't cost a fortune!

 

[atticlab]

You can also buy a battery isolator switch. There are some reasonable looking ones on Amazon ASIN: B0034Z0JCW. Would definitely stop the drain, but your radio would get amnesia, clock time would stand still and any alarms/immobilisers etc would not work.

One other idea would be to put a solar panel trickel charger in the back of the car - they sell such things for caravans/boats etc. If you try this go for a "meaty" charger - I tried a small/cheap one some time back on a 924S without much success - but a bigger one might work.

Rgds
Keith

 

[bighead]

ORIGINAL: chrisjcoe

Thanks Keith, perhaps my battery isn't the villain here then. Unfortuately, having it on constant/regular trickle charge isn't really an option as the car is parked about 60ft from my house at the foot of my garden!

Has anyone got a jump starter for a 944? Most for sale say they are up to 2l engine size. I've found 1 for up to 5l, but at £140, it's way too much money. Would something like this be man enough? Basically, I'm after any recommendations for a jump starter that will handle a 3l 944 S2 which doesn't cost a fortune!

try machine mart ....they stock alot of battery jump starter ( I have a clark one that can jump start a 4litre engine comes with a air pump as well , I think i paid around £54ish )

 

[JamesO]

Battery from 'borrowed' another car and jump leads?

 

[eddieedmo]

check the glove box light isn't staying on , if your battery charges ok.

Nick []

 

[bmnelsc]

What you want here is a battery maintainer - basically a trickle charger that goes into "sleep" mode when the battery is fully charged. These are great because they can stay on all the time w/o concerns of cooking your battery. Most can be permanently installed to the battery. I see that you are concerned about the distance from the house but a good outdoor extension cord of house wire gauge (or the next larger gauge if you can get it) handles that distance easily. In North America we use 120 V Alternating Current so 14 or 12 gauge is the one - not sure for you [] ) You will want to keep the plugs inside the car so your cord doesn't disappear.

The problem letting the battery die and then jump starting is that type of duty cycle will destroy the battery well before its time. Deep discharge and rapid recharge cause sulphation of the lead plates in the battery which effectively short circuit the battery - result - replace the battery. Even modestly priced maintainers have a "de-sulphation" mode where upon connection they can detect sulphation and apply charging at a rate that will dissolve it. Once that is done - it supplies only the current required to keep the battery fully charged which will compensate for any parasitic draw you have going on.

I use one on mine while parked over the winter and I have no problems with electrolyte evaporation or anything like that.

 

[chrisjcoe]

The problem letting the battery die and then jump starting is that type of duty cycle will destroy the battery well before its time.

I agree with this, and I'm annoyed I let it drain. Would disconnecting the battery if it's going to be left for a few weeks be of any real benefit? I like the idea of an isolator switch, definitely going to look into that.

Battery from 'borrowed' another car and jump leads?

I also have a Volvo 2.0 diesel, which should be man enough to jump it, but due to the layout of where I park I'd need about 10 meter long jump leads, or to chain several pairs together. I've already killed a set of leads and my dad's battery when jumping the Volvo before. My girlfriends car is a 1.2 Micra, so I'd be wary of trying to jump an S2 off that!

I had a drive to Halfords tonight, the only jumper rated for above 2l was £120. I walked away. Never knew it would be so hard to get a battery jumped.

 

[Alpine]

if you've not had the car long you won't know old the battery is. Just get a new battery, but get a decent one, Bosch for instance. Don't waste money on a jumper. Then get a maintainer, such as a ctek.

 

[chrisjcoe]

ORIGINAL: Alpine

if you've not had the car long you won't know old the battery is. Just get a new battery, but get a decent one, Bosch for instance. Don't waste money on a jumper. Then get a maintainer, such as a ctek.

I've had it a month or 2, but this is the first time it's been left over a week without running it. I think I will change the battery relatively soon, but need to get the bugger running again first.

 

[JamesO]

ORIGINAL: chrisjcoe

The problem letting the battery die and then jump starting is that type of duty cycle will destroy the battery well before its time.

I agree with this, and I'm annoyed I let it drain. Would disconnecting the battery if it's going to be left for a few weeks be of any real benefit? I like the idea of an isolator switch, definitely going to look into that.

Battery from 'borrowed' another car and jump leads?

I also have a Volvo 2.0 diesel, which should be man enough to jump it, but due to the layout of where I park I'd need about 10 meter long jump leads, or to chain several pairs together. I've already killed a set of leads and my dad's battery when jumping the Volvo before. My girlfriends car is a 1.2 Micra, so I'd be wary of trying to jump an S2 off that!

I had a drive to Halfords tonight, the only jumper rated for above 2l was £120. I walked away. Never knew it would be so hard to get a battery jumped.

I meant remove the battery from the donor car to start it. The Volvo one would be Ideal but pretty much any car battery should jump it.
Decent jump leads are a good investment regardless, nobody likes burnt hands.

 

[chrisjcoe]

I'm borrowing a friends ctek 3.6 mxs charger today, so will put it on charge in the morning for a few hours and hope that gives it enough power to start. If it works, I'm going to invest in one and charge the battery up fully one day.

 

[craig2105]

Try the Halfords version at £25 less any trade discount you might get as a club member. Works well, lasts a couple of years plugged in most of the time.

 

[Paul 290T]

Hi,

My 86 turbo, with imobilser fitted, pulls 0.2Amps when switched off and parked up. I disconnect the battery when I'm not using the car. This works fine and will fire her up no problem even after 1 month.

Not all car stereos lose their set-up when you remove the constant power feed. My Clarion for example saves its set up permanently, making battery disconnection a viable solution.