Battery Life

[718as]

Merry Xmas.

Out of interest how long did your original OEM Porsche battery last before it needed replacing.

😀

[CMA]

2013 Car and still on the original battery

[greenman986s]

Depends if it lives on a conditioner such as ctek

[iborguk]

Depends on climate, car usage pattern, battery manufacturer and whether it lives on a battery maintainer. 
 

What prompts the question ?

[718as]

My 981's battery lasted 8yrs and my 718's battery is looking weak after 7yrs. Kept outside with no maintainer 🙂

[iborguk]

10 minutes ago, 718as said:

My 981's battery lasted 8yrs and my 718's battery is looking weak after 7yrs. Kept outside with no maintainer 🙂

Fair, I'd say both batteries did well then in the UK.

I had to break into my car the other night, completely dead.  

I think I stupidly left the boot open after fumbling for something in there and it drained the battery over a few days.

First time usage of an emergency key in the driver's lock and then the charger brought it all back to life.

Reminds me I need to lube the lock with some dry ptfe, hopefully it'll be a while before it's used again.

After the initial bit of charge the car dash lit up with errors like a Christmas 🎄

All fixed after it got sufficient charge.

I also discovered my emergency key was missing the button on it to release it from the main fob, so used a pencil to slide over the tab to release it from the fob and then spent 15 mins trying to find out where the spring which holds the side latch in had liberated itself to.

I've ordered one of these to dremmel out the button/retaining mech 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134635479378

For anyone who cares a new emergency key is about £65 from an OPC.

Edited December 25, 2023 by iborguk

[718as]

perhaps the courtesy light was left on.

BTW in the 981 I installed a EXIDE 115 AGM CAR BATTERY 80AH 800A AGM800 EK800 , amazing battery. I seen pics in the US where is standard equipment in GT4's.

[718as]

Also the Autel AP200 for c£50 allows you to record the new battery.

 

[ATM]

On 12/25/2023 at 11:11 AM, CMA said:

2013 Car and still on the original battery

2012 car - do I win?

I don't know if it's original but it has not been changed in my time which started in 2016 I think or possibly 2015

I do swap and change batteries between my cars so for the last few months it's been in my BMW

I'm still planning to try my little LiFePo4 battery in the 981 - has anyone else done this?

[iborguk]

1 hour ago, ATM said:

 

I don't know if it's original 

 

If it's an OE battery then it will have the week and year of manufacture stamped on the negative terminal.

[718as]

Tell me more about the LiFePo4 batteries please. Thanks

[718as]

 

[iborguk]

Personally don't know much beyond what I can regurgitate from the Internet...LiFePO4 batteries are smaller,  lighter, better charging efficiency, cycle life, temp tolerance and depth of discharge vs AGM batteries.

They are of course generally more expensive than AGM.

I've seen the AntiGravity brand name cropping up on US forums.

https://antigravitybatteries.com/products/starter-batteries/automotive/ag-h7-rs/

Don't shoot me for bringing up coding but the 981 would need to be coded to know what battery type it has for optimal charging and I don't know how stop/start would work/stand-up with one.

The battery would also need to be charged with a charger which a Lithium mode given the completely different chemistry vs Regular/AGM batteries.

The Video below is a noisy Ad but gives some insights into Lithium tech.

Personally I'd save the money for petrol and enjoy it that way but we like what we like.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by iborguk

[ATM]

1 hour ago, 718as said:

 

Got bored after a minute. It seems he has never tried it himself but he is an expert. 

I've been using one in my 986 and 996, switching it between the cars, for over a year - since Nov 21. 986 pics below. It works absolutely fine and weighs about as much as a bag of sugar or 2 - probably exaggerating. It's super light compared to a massive lead acid.

Now this particular battery was sold as being suitable for a car starter. Some might not be. I also bought it from an ebay seller that sells other car stuff. You get the idea. I paid 200ish but since the price has increased to nearer 300.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403145914695

The little LiFePo4 will only last about 3 weeks - if the car isn't used - on the 996/986 before it's dead and I have a drama to get into the froot.

I've charged it with a normal car battery charger. 13 quid from Aldi. You just need a charger which doesn't do crazy / intelligent pulsing to help revive a dead lead acid because I read somewhere that this can kill a LiFePo4. 

I've been holding off trying it in the 981 because I've got lots of cars in pieces and don't like starting more mini projects while others are ongoing. So if the 981 breaks I've got nothing else to drive right now. I try not to tinker with the 981 generally because I don't want to start down that rabbit hole.

I now have more cars than [car] batteries because a couple of my lead acids have gone bad. So I'm at a bit of a cross roads. 

 

Leisure Batteries 

I also bought some LiFePo4 Leisure batteries from a friend for my camper van but I don't use them. So I'm thinking of trying one of these as a starter battery. But this isn't sold as a starter so might not be suitable - won't know till I try. This is much bigger so should last much longer. It's really overkill for a car starter. It also has a Bluetooth transmitter which tells the app about charge and drain etc which would be really useful to keep track of charge before I'm locked out of the car and the drama of accessing the froot.

https://grovesbatteries.co.uk/product/lifos-lithium-leisure-battery-68ah

 

 

Fitting

Yes I know a couple of cable ties isn't ideal but this was meant to be temporary and just stuck. I am investigating alternatives.

 

[Menoporsche]

I would suggest that those of you with lead acid batteries 10 years old have seriously got your money's worth and should just go out and buy a replacement, as the headache of a very dead battery is just around the corner and you really won't gain much by stretching it out. But hey, up to you.

Answering the OP, I think I got about 8 years out of mine.

It seems that those who keep some sort of maintainer get a good 3 (-4?) more years than those who don't.  I don't know how much short trips, driving with lights and wipers on etc affects this further.

[iborguk]

12 minutes ago, Menoporsche said:

I would suggest that those of you with lead acid batteries 10 years old have seriously got your money's worth and should just go out and buy a replacement, as the headache of a very dead battery is just around the corner and you really won't gain much by stretching it out. But hey, up to you.

 

^This^

[EXY]

1 hour ago, ATM said:

The little LiFePo4 will only last about 3 weeks - if the car isn't used - on the 996/986 before it's dead and I have a drama to get into the froot.

Is it available in other colours or just Guards Red 

Haven't you located your front & Rear boot manual releases?

For the froot just locate it behind the tow-hook pop-out.

[iborguk]

2 hours ago, ATM said:

Got bored after a minute. It seems he has never tried it himself but he is an expert. 

I've been using one in my 986 and 996, switching it between the cars, for over a year - since Nov 21. 986 pics below. It works absolutely fine and weighs about as much as a bag of sugar or 2 - probably exaggerating. It's super light compared to a massive lead acid.

Now this particular battery was sold as being suitable for a car starter. Some might not be. I also bought it from an ebay seller that sells other car stuff. You get the idea. I paid 200ish but since the price has increased to nearer 300.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403145914695

The little LiFePo4 will only last about 3 weeks - if the car isn't used - on the 996/986 before it's dead and I have a drama to get into the froot.

I've charged it with a normal car battery charger. 13 quid from Aldi. You just need a charger which doesn't do crazy / intelligent pulsing to help revive a dead lead acid because I read somewhere that this can kill a LiFePo4. 

I've been holding off trying it in the 981 because I've got lots of cars in pieces and don't like starting more mini projects while others are ongoing. So if the 981 breaks I've got nothing else to drive right now. I try not to tinker with the 981 generally because I don't want to start down that rabbit hole.

I now have more cars than [car] batteries because a couple of my lead acids have gone bad. So I'm at a bit of a cross roads. 

 

Leisure Batteries 

I also bought some LiFePo4 Leisure batteries from a friend for my camper van but I don't use them. So I'm thinking of trying one of these as a starter battery. But this isn't sold as a starter so might not be suitable - won't know till I try. This is much bigger so should last much longer. It's really overkill for a car starter. It also has a Bluetooth transmitter which tells the app about charge and drain etc which would be really useful to keep track of charge before I'm locked out of the car and the drama of accessing the froot.

https://grovesbatteries.co.uk/product/lifos-lithium-leisure-battery-68ah

 

 

Fitting

Yes I know a couple of cable ties isn't ideal but this was meant to be temporary and just stuck. I am investigating alternatives.

 

Ahh so you know a bit about them then

Was it track day weight re the motivation to install one on the 986 ? 

 

 

 

[ATM]

38 minutes ago, iborguk said:

Ahh so you know a bit about them then

Was it track day weight re the motivation to install one on the 986 ? 

 

 

 

I don't track my cars - I just tinker with them

[718as]

as there is no breather vent pipe, do you remove both vent plugs or just one?

[ATM]

2 minutes ago, 718as said:

as there is no breather vent pipe, do you remove both vent plugs or just one?

Is this a question for Me?

[718as]

in general 🙂

I can't remember what I did on the 981.

Just called supplier, they said if you can remove both its better, but one will do, as one plug is hard to remove.

[½cwt]

8 hours ago, ATM said:

Got bored after a minute. It seems he has never tried it himself but he is an expert. 

I've been using one in my 986 and 996, switching it between the cars, for over a year - since Nov 21. 986 pics below. It works absolutely fine and weighs about as much as a bag of sugar or 2 - probably exaggerating. It's super light compared to a massive lead acid.

Now this particular battery was sold as being suitable for a car starter. Some might not be. I also bought it from an ebay seller that sells other car stuff. You get the idea. I paid 200ish but since the price has increased to nearer 300.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403145914695

The little LiFePo4 will only last about 3 weeks - if the car isn't used - on the 996/986 before it's dead and I have a drama to get into the froot.

I've charged it with a normal car battery charger. 13 quid from Aldi. You just need a charger which doesn't do crazy / intelligent pulsing to help revive a dead lead acid because I read somewhere that this can kill a LiFePo4. 

I've been holding off trying it in the 981 because I've got lots of cars in pieces and don't like starting more mini projects while others are ongoing. So if the 981 breaks I've got nothing else to drive right now. I try not to tinker with the 981 generally because I don't want to start down that rabbit hole.

I now have more cars than [car] batteries because a couple of my lead acids have gone bad. So I'm at a bit of a cross roads. 

 

Leisure Batteries 

I also bought some LiFePo4 Leisure batteries from a friend for my camper van but I don't use them. So I'm thinking of trying one of these as a starter battery. But this isn't sold as a starter so might not be suitable - won't know till I try. This is much bigger so should last much longer. It's really overkill for a car starter. It also has a Bluetooth transmitter which tells the app about charge and drain etc which would be really useful to keep track of charge before I'm locked out of the car and the drama of accessing the froot.

https://grovesbatteries.co.uk/product/lifos-lithium-leisure-battery-68ah

 

 

Fitting

Yes I know a couple of cable ties isn't ideal but this was meant to be temporary and just stuck. I am investigating alternatives.

 

Out of curiosity are those cable ties sufficient to pass an MOT?

[CMA]

1 hour ago, ½cwt said:

Out of curiosity are those cable ties sufficient to pass an MOT?

If its hidden under the front cover they can't remove them for MOT so it would pass by virtue of it being unseen

[½cwt]

2 hours ago, CMA said:

If its hidden under the front cover they can't remove them for MOT so it would pass by virtue of it being unseen

Fair point...