Remove the batterie for winter storage?

[walter36]

Hi all

I would like to remove the battery on my 2010 Cayman S for winter storage.
I don't want a burst battery leak acid all over my trunk and ruin its coating,
is it safe to remove then reinstall the battery in spring?Will all the systems work properly when I reinstall the battery?
Anyone has done this before?
I have a battery maintainer I don't want to use it.

Cheers
Walt

[s_wilwerding]

I just disconnect the negative cable during storage - you shouldn't have any acid issues if the battery isn't plugged in.

I replaced my battery with an Optima, so I never have to worry about battery acid (during storage, on the track, etc.) It's a worthwhile upgrade, though since yours is so new, you might wait a while.

[mcmike27]

Walter, you can certainly pull the battery for the winter months but you will need your cars radio code to be able to use it after you reinstall it in the spring. Your car's computer will also lose all of the stored idle and fuel settings. It will 'relearn' these after you reinstall the battery and go for a few drives. The system will 'relearn' and establish new values in the cars computers. Using a battery minder will allow the car to remember the radios code and all of the other engine values. Without it the start up process in the spring will be as mentioned above.

Good luck

m2
98 986 95k miles

[BYprodriver]

You should read the Tech Forum in the new Excellence magazine & consult with your Porsche dealer before disconecting your battery.

[Grant Lenahan]

First, unless it will get REALLY cod, i don't think there is any reason to disconnect the batter. I would buy a battery tender, though.

Next, if oyu disconnect you will lose a number of things, radio code, maybe some adaptation for throttle, etc. Certainly it cant do any real damage or cars could nto be dis-assembled for repair and rebuilding. So the implications are more inconveniences.

I never put my car way anyhow. I have 4 snow tires.

the heater's great :-)

Grant

[Aron in Toronto]

I don't think the 2010 models use a radio code anymore, so that shouldn't be an issue.

But as BYprodriver mentioned there in an article in the latest Excellence on issues associated with disconnecting your battery. May be worth a read.

As for me, I just use a maintainer and take the car out on the occasional clear day.

[Aron in Toronto]

Originally Posted by Grant Lenahan

First, unless it will get REALLY cod, i don't think there is any reason to disconnect the batter. I would buy a battery tender, though.

Next, if oyu disconnect you will lose a number of things, radio code, maybe some adaptation for throttle, etc. Certainly it cant do any real damage or cars could nto be dis-assembled for repair and rebuilding. So the implications are more inconveniences.

I never put my car way anyhow. I have 4 snow tires.

the heater's great :-)

Grant

Holy mackerel! Is there something fishy going on here?























Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

[Grant Lenahan]

yea, battered cod, eh?

[mikefocke]

I got 2 things out of the Excellence article:

1. The newer the car in terms of engine electronic control versions, the more danger in removing the battery connection.

2. The more wrong with the car when the battery is disconnected, the more danger.

So the thing to do before you remove the battery in a 986 (if you have no way of maintaining some voltage flow to the ECU) is to read the codes and make darn sure there are no codes pending which would cause a problem if adaptation to the thing that cause the problem would be lost by the battery disconnect. Just because you have no CEL doesn't mean you can assume there isn't something wrong.

Just because you can't see any danger and all you can tell is the radio/windows settings get lost doesn't mean that there is no danger. Just because you've done it many times doesn't mean there is no danger. It's that old 1% that could be there to get you.

Your car, your risk, your expense.

[JMatta]

Using a maintainer is the best idea, as I've used them for years; except my old 911 (has an Optima Red Top, which never needs maintaining). My friend removed his battery from his '02 S over the winter, letting his license plate expire and missing his emissions date...took almost two weeks of various driving to get all the ECU systems "ready" for testing and a lot of explaining to the local Polizei. I agree the loss of data is by far the most important reason not to disconnect.

That said, I'm pissed because my issue of Excellence hasn't shown up yet...I want to read that article! Perhaps my mailman is a Porsche fan???

[Wayne 962]

I agree. I'm not a huge fan of disconnecting the battery and leaving the car for long periods of time. I just started up my 996 today for the first time in about six months. It had been sitting with the battery on a maintainer. No issues, no problems. I have an article on batteries and maintainers here: Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Battery Disconnect Switch / Battery Buddy Installation - 986 / 987

-Wayne

[Drdogface]

I was reading about attaching a battery tender and it said never to attach the negative lead from the tender to the negative post of the battery ? Why and where should you attach it ? I'm not about to spring for a Porsche tender for nearly $300... I have a good one on order from Harbor Freight ..

What I normally do on other cars is use the pigtail which attach and then plug the charger into them instead of using the alligator clips

[Brian in Tucson]

Originally Posted by walter36

Hi all

I would like to remove the battery on my 2010 Cayman S for winter storage.
I don't want a burst battery leak acid all over my trunk and ruin its coating,
is it safe to remove then reinstall the battery in spring?Will all the systems work properly when I reinstall the battery?
Anyone has done this before?
I have a battery maintainer I don't want to use it.

Cheers
Walt

Back when I lived in the frozen north I seem to recall the availability of battery heaters. It and a Battery Tender would serve your needs. You do park your car in a garage right?

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by Drdogface

I was reading about attaching a battery tender and it said never to attach the negative lead from the tender to the negative post of the battery ? Why and where should you attach it ? I'm not about to spring for a Porsche tender for nearly $300... I have a good one on order from Harbor Freight ..

What I normally do on other cars is use the pigtail which attach and then plug the charger into them instead of using the alligator clips

Watch the HF "maintainers", some of them are actually just trickle chargers which can kill an otherwise good battery.

[Drdogface]

I tried to cancel the HF one but they shipped it anyway so I'll refuse it when it arrives . Bought a better brand, Battery Tender, from Amazon plus a cig lighter plug ... hope that works... I can check batter voltage every so often with a voltage reader that plugs into cig lighter just to keep on top of it all..

Yes it is parked in a garage always and will be on a charger unless I drive it every few days

[stealthn]

I just put it away with fresh oil, battery maintainer, stabil, some bounce sheets in the car and under cover. Been doing it forever, no issues.

[mikefocke]

Originally Posted by stealthn

I just put it away with fresh oil, battery maintainer, stabil, some bounce sheets in the car and under cover. Been doing it forever, no issues.

Yes.

And there were days it was in the single digits and weeks it had 8" of snow on the cover. And when it got warm, that snow got brushed off and she came out to play. The car sat outside and the extension cord went in under the passenger door and the maintainer sat on the floorboard and plugged into the lighter socket. Never an issue, never failed to start.

Before you put it away, do wash and potentially wax the car, secure the cover. You don't want grit to be between your finish and the cover to be abrading through the winter.

And if you take it out to play, baby it for about 10 miles and, once the temps get up, then let the engine howl a bit.