Pops50 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 (edited) Hi everyone, Ok I'm new to Cayman ownership (yesterday I bought myself a 2.7 in yellow with 19" black wheels ) and I love it already, thing is I work away from home so the car will only be used at weekends so it will parked in my garage and I'm worried that my battery may suffer... so my question is battery conditioners which one and where from? Car is going in for full detailing next week so will post pictures when done thanks in advance for any replies pete Edited August 25, 2016 by Pops50 Typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted August 25, 2016 Founder Share Posted August 25, 2016 Hi Pete, I have a battery conditioner with a connector hard-wired to the battery for easy connection. The most recommended brand are the CTEK units, a few to choose from on the website. Certainly worth investing in one though if you leave it for periods of time, the batteries are known for failing after a few years so worth investing in a new one too if it's more than 4/5 years old. http://www.ctek.com/gb/en/chargers/12v Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops50 Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 That was quick, ok the car is a 06 Cayman with 37000 miles on it (full history) it's got a fairly new battery on , so do the Ctec chargers come with bits so I can also hard wire to battery for ease of connection? Or do I have to buy these separate.. pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops50 Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 Just had a look at the link for ctek, wow which one do I need? Any recommendations what's everybody using on here? pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobDJ Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Some of them use the cigar lighter in the cabin so you don't need to do any wiring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKR_77 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Yes I hard wired mine in, they (Ctek) sell a separate harness with eyelets on the end to connect to the battery terminals and a plug the other for easy hook up to the charger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops50 Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 Thanks for the replies guys I will look into getting one asap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops50 Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 Ok guys found this one any comments before I order http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7AMP-BATTERY-CHARGER-CTEK-MXS-7-0-Motorhome-Caravan-Marine-MXS7-0-/122038554619?hash=item1c6a108ffb:g:s5gAAOSwBLlVXGGo other chargers are available at different locations pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKR_77 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 That'll do nicely yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops50 Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 Cheers, now ordered .... pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mighty quin Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 I've had several replacement batteries from the local OPC in the past through not keeping them sufficiently charged. If you ignore it and don't drive enough it will last about 18 months.They are in my view a low quality product even though they are made in Germany, but if you change the battery for a well known brand the warranty on the car is invalidated. The OPC sells 3 branded Ctek products and your local Halfords sell the standard CTek products. There is no difference other than labelling. If you are regularly leaving the car for a week or driving less than 20 miles at a time then you need what the OPC calls a "maintainer". This can be plugged into the lighter socket and left connected until you want to use the car. The CTek product is the MXS 5.0 model and is cheaper at Halfords but without the Porsche warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porker Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 7 minutes ago, mighty quin said: I've had several replacement batteries from the local OPC in the past through not keeping them sufficiently charged. If you ignore it and don't drive enough it will last about 18 months.They are in my view a low quality product even though they are made in Germany, but if you change the battery for a well known brand the warranty on the car is invalidated. The OPC sells 3 branded Ctek products and your local Halfords sell the standard CTek products. There is no difference other than labelling. If you are regularly leaving the car for a week or driving less than 20 miles at a time then you need what the OPC calls a "maintainer". This can be plugged into the lighter socket and left connected until you want to use the car. The CTek product is the MXS 5.0 model and is cheaper at Halfords but without the Porsche warranty. I park outside my house so no way of plugging in and I only use at the weekends. The occasional long run but usually not (I KNOW!) hopefully it will last, we'll see now the weather is getting cold. ive thought about a solar panel you can leave on the dash? They give a trickle, lower than a ctek but may at least slow the degradation? Anyone tried one? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushman Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 I used one of those cheap £30 solar panel chargers on my Explorer and had nothing but flat batteries. took ages to realise the problem wasn't the battery which is why I put the solar charger in it in the first place or a drain caused by various 'gadgets'. the charger supposedly had a built in blocking diode to prevent reverse current discharge when the sun went in. it charged well enough in daylight and flattened the battery overnight. only worked it out after I unplugged it to power a flashing beacon and forgot to plug it back in, left the truck for a few days and it started first flick. not used one since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porker Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 19 minutes ago, Bushman said: I used one of those cheap £30 solar panel chargers on my Explorer and had nothing but flat batteries. took ages to realise the problem wasn't the battery which is why I put the solar charger in it in the first place or a drain caused by various 'gadgets'. the charger supposedly had a built in blocking diode to prevent reverse current discharge when the sun went in. it charged well enough in daylight and flattened the battery overnight. only worked it out after I unplugged it to power a flashing beacon and forgot to plug it back in, left the truck for a few days and it started first flick. not used one since. I bought a decent one from NOCO. It had a charge regulator etc. Thing is, the worse time for battery issues is in the winter in the cold which coincides with short and murky days so barely got any output let alone the 5watts it could get on a full sunny day. So in short, in theory yes but in the UK unlikley. It was made even worse by the fact that it's in the car so it will be in the shade for some of those short winter days. I sent it back for a full refund so no harm done to my wallet. ive checked and you can get a top spec S5 Bosch for £80-90 quid so I can cope with a murdered battery. Not let me down so far this winter but it does crank slowley so may be on its last legs, not sure how old it was prior to purchase of the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJMC Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 My 981 came up with "Low battery - start engine" today after 4 days in the garage. Might be the beginning of the end for the battery? It seemed fine after a 100 mile run. As for a new battery, if it needs one, what would be recommended? Car's under warranty so I need to be a little careful it's a decent one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted January 9, 2017 Founder Share Posted January 9, 2017 On 04/01/2017 at 23:00, DJMC said: My 981 came up with "Low battery - start engine" today after 4 days in the garage. Might be the beginning of the end for the battery? It seemed fine after a 100 mile run. As for a new battery, if it needs one, what would be recommended? Car's under warranty so I need to be a little careful it's a decent one. My battery is not what it used to be I've noticed the last week or so, I'll be replacing with a Bosch Silver battery. Im not sure if warranty requires a Porsche battery or not, I would hope it doesn't but you never know. I'd certainly avoid buying a Porsche battery as they're junk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porker Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 On 04/01/2017 at 23:00, DJMC said: My 981 came up with "Low battery - start engine" today after 4 days in the garage. Might be the beginning of the end for the battery? It seemed fine after a 100 mile run. As for a new battery, if it needs one, what would be recommended? Car's under warranty so I need to be a little careful it's a decent one. I may be talking nonsense but does the 981 have the stop/start thing? If so I think it needs a more robust type. Bosch do one, not the same as the one for the 987 I don't think? My battery is OK but a little slow to crank, certainly not getting the porsche replacement. One of the specialist online battery suppliers will beat halfrauds and Eurocarparts, a decent indy will reset any spurious engine check alerts if they don't sort themselves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJMC Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 Yes, the 981 does have stop/start. I generally switch it off or switch to Sport which disables it, but I understand your thought. However, I don't think replacing the battery is straightforward. Threads like this scare me: https://dorkiphus.net/porsche/showthread.php?t=33882 albeit from the USA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porker Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 4 hours ago, DJMC said: Yes, the 981 does have stop/start. I generally switch it off or switch to Sport which disables it, but I understand your thought. However, I don't think replacing the battery is straightforward. Threads like this scare me: https://dorkiphus.net/porsche/showthread.php?t=33882 albeit from the USA. I'm sure an Indy would swap one over if you supplied one for a reasonable fee, understand about the nervousness with a Porsche warranty though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now