killing batteries

[Danglerb]

Over the last 10 years I think I've replaced 6 or 7 premium batteries, much of the time within the free replacement period. There is one ground strap from the battery, and that was disconnected each time I parked it, until finally I put in a switch.

I suspect poor connections in some pin switches, which turn on interior lights, wake up the alarm system, etc., but despite hooking up a meter a few times, I haven't seen the problem draw, only the dead battery results.

Tonight I did a little battery shopping, and Bosch had zero normal retailers within 20, apparently dropped by PepBoys which only sells the house brand Champion now. Looking at Walmart it says they don't carry the right size anymore.

[stepson]

I just bought a new battery at Walmart. They still sell them.

[JK McDonald]

Over the years we’ve all probably killed our share of 928 batteries and like many others I’ve tried about every major battery brand on the market. Except for offering a longer warranty period and a slightly higher CCA, I’ve found that even a premium $300 + battery (Like the Optima Red Top) sometimes do not last a significant amount of time longer than the off brands. There was an article in Car and Driver a while back that basically said many of today’s batteries are made from recycled dog biscuits. The battery manufacturers are likely run by the same 2 or 3 companies and just swap out the name on the outside of the case.

After a period of frustration with the performance of expensive high end batteries, I switched over to the one’s at Wal-Mart in all my cars. Now I just buy the highest CCA that will fit and keep a trickle charger hooked up when parked over an extended period of time. The 3.5 year old battery in Miss Purdy is their H7.

Getting ready for a run down to the hill country....... With all this Hunan Virus mess bottling up everything for a while, the wife has cabin fever and been packed for over a week.

Good Luck, Michael

[Duckworth]

A battery disconnect is a pretty good idea, but having to go to the hatch with the key regularly can get tedious. Note that if you lift the hatch carpet away, a few open female threaded areas are available. Sand away some paint, and it can be used from the driver position as a ground point, with the right bolt.

You'll need 2 - 3 ft additional length copper cable wire added to original strap, using circle connectors soldered at both ends, to reach it, access, and operate from the cockpit.

[JK McDonald]

Like many owners, I’ve always used a battery tender on all my cars. I routinely keep all my grounds clean but to shorten the charging distance on Miss Purdy from the passenger fender mounted jumper post to the battery, I connected a couple of 22 gauge wires to the Pos and Neg battery posts from under the rear battery door and up behind the factory tool panel.

After adding an inline 5 amp fuse in the Pos wire down near the battery post for accident prevention, I wrapped additional insulation around both wires, zip tied them safely in place behind the tool panel and soldered on a couple of electrical connectors to the remaining short pig tails. A straight terminal lug on the Pos wire was used so a screw on protective insulator could be easily installed or removed which allows access to the battery posts when needed.

To connect the battery tender during storage, the rear hatch is held slightly open using a small folded towel for extension cord clearance and the screw on insulator is removed from the Pos wire. So far – so good, after several years – I have yet to blow the protective 5 amp fuse.

One other comment - the signal wiring for the rear hatch switch was changed so it doesn't turn on the courtesy lights but still triggers the "Dash RED Warning light and Chime alarm" if not closed properly when the key is ON.

Good Luck - Michael

[Duckworth]

A few things that worked well on my car, over a pretty long stretch. Just for browsing..

A) I have never purchased the proper 60 lb. battery, even though big amps are desireable..just cannot stand haulin' them out of stores, and into the car. A 500 - 600 Cca. will start it, provided you don't demand long cranking times. Ex., if you have a hot start issue that needs lot of cranks, better to go with 800 cca and over.

B) A life of about 3 - 5 years is about average on these Valu mart deals.. Long life is fine, but going with a fresh one, at about 3 1/2 - 4 years, can work well also.

C) On the Porsche positive terminal end, quite a few connector surfaces ought to be kept clean, brass stuff that attaches to the battery. Sand the surfaces and look closely at them.

D) Though there's a new ignition switch, I found the key'd wire to the solenoid w/ voltmeter (crank), did not exceed 9.5 volts. But in the section of wires beneath fuse bank, one yellow related to ignition, showed 12.3. After baring insulation, spliced into that, and overall, better after that.

[Danglerb]

I got a load of salt from the guy at Pepboys when I took my 30 month old 36 month free replacement battery in, but still walked out for $40 with a 48 month free replacement AGM. Part of it being they don't sell Bosch anymore, almost nobody in my area does. Pepboys now has champion made by he claimed Johnson Controls as the only option.

Lead acid batteries are about imho to hit a wall in maybe 5 years as the market switches to Lion. Sucks to be in a dying industry, so I expect quality to continue to drop.