911 Posted 6April, 2021 Report Share Posted 6April, 2021 Hi all, Just a quick question. Those of you running a trickle charger on your car, where do you run the cable through while it's plugged in. I recently got told it's better to run it through the top of the bonnet as pictured, but I've always just run it out the front just on the side of the Emblem with the latch in the first lock position, so th bonnet isn't fully closed. What's everyone else doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caver Posted 6April, 2021 Report Share Posted 6April, 2021 I purchased the cigarette lighter adapter and charge via that. I place the charger on the floor and close the door on the cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-Kay Posted 6April, 2021 Report Share Posted 6April, 2021 I do it as you mention and have a microfibre cloth where the cord goes over the bumper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamr Posted 6April, 2021 Report Share Posted 6April, 2021 I do the same as you. Run it over the bumper and leave the lock in the first latch position. I’ve also taken the globe out of the frunk light so if ever, for whatever reason the charger isn’t on, it won’t flatten the battery due to the bonnet being open. Fishcop 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firstone Posted 6April, 2021 Report Share Posted 6April, 2021 My 986s the frunk light goes out after a few minutes of locking the car, frunk open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishcop Posted 6April, 2021 Report Share Posted 6April, 2021 5 hours ago, Dreamr said: I do the same as you. Run it over the bumper and leave the lock in the first latch position. I’ve also taken the globe out of the frunk light so if ever, for whatever reason the charger isn’t on, it won’t flatten the battery due to the bonnet being open. I copied you Dreamr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merv Posted 6April, 2021 Report Share Posted 6April, 2021 As Dreamr said. I have the 'tail' for the charger under the frunk hood and leave the hood ajar. I set the light to go off after a minute on the iCarsoft. These cars can eat batteries if not kept on a trickle, unlike the 88 Carrera which seems always fully ready. Dreamr and Fishcop 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
550Spyder Posted 6April, 2021 Report Share Posted 6April, 2021 Interested in the comment “these cars eat batteries”. I fully charged a 987.2 OEM battery last week which is <12 mths old and two days later it took a reasonable amount of top up charge, same again 3 days later. I was starting to panic I had some abnormal parasadic draw / a dud battery. car never seems to struggle to start, but then again it doesn’t seem to want to hold a Full Full charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamr Posted 6April, 2021 Report Share Posted 6April, 2021 4 hours ago, Merv said: As Dreamr said. I have the 'tail' for the charger under the frunk hood and leave the hood ajar. I set the light to go off after a minute on the iCarsoft. These cars can eat batteries if not kept on a trickle, unlike the 88 Carrera which seems always fully ready. It's crazy, I know but my 81 SC could be left for months and still be perfectly fine. The 996 struggles to start after a few weeks if not trickle charged. 2 hours ago, 550Spyder said: Interested in the comment “these cars eat batteries”. I fully charged a 987.2 OEM battery last week which is <12 mths old and two days later it took a reasonable amount of top up charge, same again 3 days later. I was starting to panic I had some abnormal parasadic draw / a dud battery. car never seems to struggle to start, but then again it doesn’t seem to want to hold a Full Full charge. The 996 and I presume the following models seem to need battery power to keep things alive in the car, even when off. There are endless posts about it on forums and when it happened to me after a few weeks (with a brand new battery) I thought something was wrong. Seems it's just normal for the car and my previous car was fine for months on end ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomo Posted 6April, 2021 Report Share Posted 6April, 2021 8 hours ago, Dreamr said: It's crazy, I know but my 81 SC could be left for months and still be perfectly fine. The 996 struggles to start after a few weeks if not trickle charged. The 996 and I presume the following models seem to need battery power to keep things alive in the car, even when off. There are endless posts about it on forums and when it happened to me after a few weeks (with a brand new battery) I thought something was wrong. Seems it's just normal for the car and my previous car was fine for months on end ... I was talking to a battery tech from Century yesterday about the 996 and its battery habits, And he assured me that there is nothing "Normal" About it, And I tend to agree with him, Its a PITA . My 964 needed constant battery attention as well. Dreamr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamr Posted 6April, 2021 Report Share Posted 6April, 2021 19 minutes ago, tomo said: I was talking to a battery tech from Century yesterday about the 996 and its battery habits, And he assured me that there is nothing "Normal" About it, And I tend to agree with him, Its a PITA . My 964 needed constant battery attention as well. You're absolutely correct ... it's not normal in the whole scheme of things. I should clarify my comment.. I meant normal in the sense that every 996 on the planet suffers from it .. so don't think your particular car has an issue. And I agree ... it's a monumental PITA!! tomo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TINGY Posted 7April, 2021 Report Share Posted 7April, 2021 1 hour ago, tomo said: I was talking to a battery tech from Century yesterday about the 996 and its battery habits, And he assured me that there is nothing "Normal" About it, And I tend to agree with him, Its a PITA . My 964 needed constant battery attention as well. 1 hour ago, Dreamr said: You're absolutely correct ... it's not normal in the whole scheme of things. I should clarify my comment.. I meant normal in the sense that every 996 on the planet suffers from it .. so don't think your particular car has an issue. And I agree ... it's a monumental PITA!! I never had a problem with my 996, must have been a good one. During covid the car was left for weeks between drives and never started sluggishly. tomo and Dreamr 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomo Posted 7April, 2021 Report Share Posted 7April, 2021 10 minutes ago, TINGY said: I never had a problem with my 996, must have been a good one. During covid the car was left for weeks between drives and never started sluggishly. Neither had I till last week, New Battery when the car was purchased in september last year 3800Ks later its gone to crap , Done all the tests no problems . BS.I Rekon it has eaten the battery even though it test OK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumble Posted 7April, 2021 Report Share Posted 7April, 2021 I also run it under the trunk in the front. I make sure the charger is on the floor away from anything flammable - they are notorious for going on the fritz. Mine has an ignition lockout/door lock gizmo of unknown origin which is the main reason it discharges more quickly. Without it, I suspect it would go several months before needing to be charged. With a new Varta being >$300 I prefer to keep it fully charged anyway... tomo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomo Posted 7April, 2021 Report Share Posted 7April, 2021 Yes my battery is a Varta E38. At the moment not real impressed. Well happy to report that the car stated after a coulple of days and is getting me home, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sus911 Posted 8April, 2021 Report Share Posted 8April, 2021 For at least the last 25 years I lift pull the ground strap on the battery and connect it when I use the car. You're opening the bonnet anyway. Can hardly remember ever charging the battery, Odyssey PC680 since 2010. tomo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomo Posted 8April, 2021 Report Share Posted 8April, 2021 Pre computers laughing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
911 Posted 8April, 2021 Author Report Share Posted 8April, 2021 Thanks for the replies everyone. My 911 is a 3.2, so not sure if some of the replies are relevant to the older 911s. I thought about even getting a cut off switch that you attach to the ground cable instead of a trickle charger, but just went trickle in the end. Not sure if the battery would deteriorate with that option and the car being driven once a month. Then there's the risk of the Ctek having an issue and causing damage whilst charging. I just wasn't sure whether to run the cable from the side, bottom, or top of bonnet? Might damage the seals over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merv Posted 8April, 2021 Report Share Posted 8April, 2021 I wondered when someone would notice that. The 3.2 should be fine, even the later 88-89 cars with alarms, etc. I use the front of the bonnet opening (slightly ajar) to connect my pig tail to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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