Hey all,

So, unlike my daily driver which somehow knows to cut the electricity to my Valentine when the car is not running, the 997 TT does not have the similiar brain.

I unfortunately had to leave Mr. A sitting in the garage for two weeks while business took me miles from home. Upon my return, It was grim to discover, my battery was dead.

So, I'll pop the hood and give her a jump. No such luck. The hood would not pop. It's electric. So I had to pull the fuse box cover and find this weird looking fuse thing which is actually a jump point for the electronics (but does not help the battery) I jump the electronics and get enough juice to pop the hood.
I connect a battery jumper (one of those rechargable type's that's portable) hook it up to the battery, flick the switch, turn the key, NO LUCK.. However I do get that horrible electronic tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, etc.
Then, the hydrolic's or whatever it is that makes the clutch pedal nice and easy suddenly gives way as well. Now the clutch pedal is VERY, VERY heavy, the car is still not starting, but there is a glimpse that the electronics have just enough juice to tell me to keep trying.

I try it once more.. No luck. disconnect everything, try again.. Still no luck. No engine crank at all. Just that electronic tick, tick, tick, tick..

So now I have Mr. A on a trickle charge. Hopefully that will do the trick..

-- Point of this post.. Don't leave your valentine 1 on,
And just in case any of you are wondering which outlet I was using to power the V1, it's the one by the passengers left leg.

B

look at bright side. u can still charge ur cell phone when the engine is off. my daily driver doesn't do that.

Heh. Not any more, he can't.


Sorry. I hope the trickle charger does the trick.

You definately want V1s hard-wired and always on with ignition....preset to your taste.

You can always charge the cell phone without the engine on. Just turn the key to ON but not start the engine. Got you.

The battery should hope fully come alive when charged. Car battery does not like to be deep cycled (ie drained completely and then charged). So, if it doesn't start after charging over night, you'll need a new battery.

I did the same thing. Don't bother trying to start it anymore. The battery is probably fried like mine was. The dealership ended up replacing it under warranty but during the process of me attempting to charge the battery and starting the car (similar to what you are doing), the car threw 72 fault codes. Even if you manage to get the car started, take it in and have the fault codes cleared.

robert,
that one was still good. plug the charger overnight u would be good to go.

Nah, they tested it at the dealership and said a couple of the cells had sulfated and were no longer chargable.

Thanks for the warning. I won't be leaving the radar on for long stretches. I plan to get the SRX system anyways. I hope that doesn't have a power draw.

.......SRX ???

Hardwired system made by Escort.

My V1 is hardwired to the garage door opener (Homelink) which goes off with ignition.

Yes, the cigarette lighter is always 'hot', similar to Audi cars I have owned in the past.

B-Line, B-Line, B-Line! What am I going to do with you? Not fair blaming the V-1 when it was your fault! It would have happened with any radar detector. I did the same thing on my 2003 GT2 and almost had to have it towed to the Pittsburgh Porsche dealer. The tow truck came and we gave it enough juice on that goofy fuse link and we were able to pop the hood. I then stuck the GT2 on a 15 amp charger overnight and the next day she fired up with no problem. Never had to replace the battery!

Not an expert, but I don't think you can jump start a completely dead battery back to life without slowing charging it. It'll work on a discharged battery but not a battery that is so low in the cellar.

By the way, you can have your dealer hook up the safety bypass front 'bonnet' opener. I did as a precaution to another dead battery scenario. It's a cable to pop the hood up manually. It's already there and all you have to do is run an extension mini cable to the front tow(?) hook cap on the front bumper. If it happens again, pop the cap and pull the cable. You'll have to reset the latch manually but then everyting is A-OK. The Pittsburgh dealer did it for me. I use to leave my hood's first latch popped open because I was so paranoid about another dead battery incident.

I now make sure all my cars are on Battery Tenders if I'm not going to drive them for a while. The cigarette lighter being always 'hot' on the Porsche is kinda a plus when it comes to trickle charging. One model of the Batter Tender has a power pack that plugs directly into the wall or extension cord and then you can run the small cord (on this model it's around 8ft) through a slightly opened window. It keeps the charging unit outside the car! You might have to order the cigarette lighter charging adapter but then you'll have that plus the alligator clips for trickle charging all kinds of batteries.

If you or anyone needs the Battery Tender model #, just e-mail me and I'll get back to you A.S.A.P. Keeping the car on a Battery Tender even for the heck of it isn't a bad idea anyway. You'd be surprised how fast they can discharge from some of the jucie being sucked up by the clock and other stuff drawing slightly on them. Hope I helped a little. Magwheel

Lol, thanks Mag,
Just went to the garage after a trickle charge, she turned right over.
And your right, it would have happened with any radar detector.. But who in their right mind would buy anything other than a Valentine??

Thanks for the suggestion on battery tending. With 2 Pcars in the garage and a Harley, It's a very good idea.

B

Those that get the SRX are still in their right mind...sort of...I'm using both so, that's my rationale!