Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

lo all, though I know little re the mechanics of cars but as I am an ex computer engi, I suppose worse could have happened.

I have my new wheels and put them in the boot to go to the tyre place and guess what not a sausage , the battery on a meter was zero not 5 volts but zero a very bad sign. Having found my jump cable was even dead ( I kid you not open circuit on a meter) I went to Halfords and bought a chunky lovely one dear but superb and long.

I jumped the car then made a few meter tests engine running and not etc.
Hopefully I have rules out a dead alternator ( thank the lord) but I am suspicious as to why my Delphi calcium maintenence fee battery would be dead. Something left on perhaps but what.

I know the car stood for maybe a year before I got it but have driven it a few times in the last two weeks with no problems including the long run home from Wales and shorter trips. Anyway I ran the engine got some charge in to it but it will need replacing to be on the safe side I think.

Do all Porsche have a vented battery with a pipe and a little plastic bottle or is this a posh aftermrket battery that the chap has put on. I am no mechanic and have never seen one in my life. I intend to buy a decent battery but hopefully not with such a contrapption sattached ?

Has anyone bought a decent 944 battery lately , got any recomendations re capacity etc.

Cheers Mas

Firstly yes it should be a vented battery. One of my group has a theory that you see lots of rusted out n/s/r quarter panels because the cars aren't used a lot & the battery gasses when it is which pts acid fumes down in this panel which rots it!

Secondly check the glove box light isn't on all the time & also that the electric fan cuts out when switched off both favs for flat batteries.
Sometimes a good battery conditioner, not a charger, will bring a battery back to life & if this isn't your daily driver will be a good investment anyway.

Youre right re the fans of course Jim as my 1st 944 developed a sticky thermo switch but this one seems fine. I didnt notice a glovebox light on but I'll sneek out there like a hunter tonight !

I'm leaning toward a Bosch Silver which seems to be a well recomended battery ( not vented though its a sealed calcium battery ?.) None of the ones on offer seem to have this vented and bottle sytem ?
I am still confused by this as I'm thinking the expensive types of batteries of today don't need it anymore but may be wellllll wrong.

Like I said any battery experiences / recomendations will be welcomed
Cheers Mas

Mine has a Halfords HB010 on it which just fits the carrier. The one in the Halfords parts list is the wrong battery for the later 944 as it is too tall. Seems to be fine & with a discount card it was around 60 quid a year or so ago.

It's the wrong one for an early 944 also. I bought one and I couldn't shut my bonnet. Not sure which one I have in there now though.

Mas.

Im in the market for a battery too. I think mine is giving up the ghost even though the spotty oik at Halfrauds checked it and told me it was ok.
My mechanic has the car just now and thinks its probably the battery.

Eurocarparts do the Bosch Silver for around circa £60. I have good experience of this as my last 944 turbo had one.

I echo Rav's advice. The Bosch Silvers don't tend to be too bad and seem to fit 944s (BMWs also do not like tall batteries, ruling Halfords items out).

This is rushed and I havent read the replies, but has anyone suggested using a load meter on the fusebox to see if current is still being drawn? You can buy one for about a fiver, that slips into a blade fuse socket. The first thing that comes to mind is the glovebox lamp, which can either not turn off or can turn itself on after a short while...

Simon

I bought a Bosch silver for my 924s where the battery resides in the engine bay and initially the bonnet would not close the battery had to be moved back towards the bulkhead but you have to be careful not to catch the wiper mechanism on early cars as they wipe from the opposite side to normal. However the latest Silver Bosch is too high to fit at all however I bought an older design but same spec which was not as high and as I said fit after some adjustment.

There may not be anything left on -batteries can die completely without any warning, like the battery on my Saab did: I drove home from work, parked the car, went indoors to get something, got back in the car, started up, started to pull out then realised I'd forgotten something else. Went back indoors, back to the car, went to start it and it was as dead as Diana. Barely any dash lights or anything.

RAC man diagnosed the flat battery - reckoned that they put very little lead in them these days so they tend to pack up without warning.

Hope yours is as simple as a new battery - they often solve a multitude of problems.

I spent ages looking for a vented battery when my S gave up the ghost. Couldn't find one.
The Bosch Silver one's a sealed unit and as someone said on Porsche 1 at the time they had had one for 2 years and hadn't blown up from unvented gases yet!
I think this is just a case of technology moving on from when the cars were built.

try these guys

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12V-CAR-BATTERY-0 ... 19b7a618f2

i have used them on numerous occasions. they are very reliable (altho one overnight delivery did take 2 days). cheap as chips, and quality to go with it