Unless there’s some Porsche electrical oddity involved, I don’t see how a clutch switch would run a battery down.
An out of adjustment or faulty clutch switch (or interlock switch) could cause the starter motor to not engage. This should show up as stone silence when the key is used to start the car. The dash warning lights may illuminate but there will be no starter solenoid “click” sound when the key is turned.
The headlights should also be bright in a situation where the clutch switch is suspect.
He was giving you a safe answer of 5 days but it should be weeks really. By replacing the clutch switch at least a potential problem was elimiated. Unless the trouble is occurring while the shop has it they can only speculate at the cause of the problem. Intermittent problems like this are tough to find.
I’m still not fully convinced that this problem you are having is causing a drain on the battery. Was the battery voltage ever checked when the car wouldn’t start? Until it is proven that the battery really is being drained when this problem occurs the shop could be totally off track for the repair of this problem. The real trouble could just make it seem the battery is drained.
As far as this problem being a fire hazard I don’t see how it could be. Usually for that to happen a short has to occur and fuses would blow out to prevent that very thing from happening.
The only report I have of battery voltage was 12.47V. This was checked after the car was jump started. We sort of brought the car to the shop without jump starting the second time it happened. In order to tow this car you have to use a tow hook, which is located under the front hood, same as the battery. The hood opens electronically, so if the battery is dead you can’t just pop the hood open. You have to hook up the jumper cables to the fuse box and pop the hood. So to get to the tow hood, we had to “jump” the fuse box to pop the hood. I’m not sure if/how that may have affected the battery. When the first dealer got the car we were initially told there was nothing wrong with the battery. When the head mechanic returned from vacation we were told the battery was the problem and it was replaced. Obviously, the battery was not the entire problem since it happened a third time.
Oh and thanks for having me look into this. When I reread what they did the second time we brought the car in and they replaced the battery I discovered that they also replaced the clutch pedal switch. This was done because of a voluntary recall, not because they thought this was the problem. Obviously this was not the problem.
Well 12.47 volts isn’t what a good fully charged battery should at. Something like 12.8 volts or slighly higher would be better. The car still should have been able to at least make an attempt to start at that voltage though. Since the first report stated there was nothing wrong with the battery it makes me think my suspicion about a wiring fault being the real cause of the trouble might be correct. One thing you could do is install some extra 10 gauge wires directly to the battery and run them to a place you can get to them while the hood is closed. The hot lead should be fused for protection with about a 20 amp fuse and both wire ends should be insulated to keep them from touching anything. Then, if and when the problem happens again, you can check the voltage on those leads and see if the battery is really charged or not without having to jump the battery to get at the posts. You can also use the leads to charge the battery if it is drained. If the battery voltage is where it should be then the real problem is being caused by a wire fault and not a current drain on the battery. You could also just measure the voltage going to whatever fuse you used to jumper power to the battery since it must tie to it directly also.
A fully charged battery – if it has been sitting overnight – might well read 12.47 volts the next morning. It would depend on the battery chemistry used – it varies brand to brand – and the temperature. Provided it measures around 12-13 volts, and you have no record of past measurements to compare against, you can’t really judge the condition of a car battery by measuring it’s open circuit voltage. Determining the battery condition is still very easy to do. It can be done unambiguously. With/a “load test”. Any good shop can easily do that test.
So here’s the official response to our complaint to the first dealership "Our experience and Porsche’s stance is a vehicle that is driven on an average of 500 miles a month is not sufficient to keep the battery fully charged and operational"
Should I go to the media with this now or give Porsche North America one last chance to backtrack from this assertion?
hmmm … well every car is different. 500 a month is enough to keep my Corolla’s battery fully charged. I know this from experience. But it might not be enough for other cars, like your Porsche. There is a limit on low use for every car where the battery won’t be charged enough from the amount of driving, and will eventually run down.
If that’s the only problem you have, count yourself blessed I guess. It is relatively easy to put a battery charger on every once in a while to bring it up to full charge.
I sincerely wish that I could be of more help on this matter but I just flat have no idea what’s going on here.
From a purely mechanical standpoint, that 18 Milliamperes of current draw is not enough to run a battery down in a few weeks times. It would seem that there has to be an intermittent flaw popping up now and then which could possibly raise the current draw from 18 to who knows what.
By using the miles logic they presented to you, what happens if you put 500 miles on the car in one day? Does this mean that it will be fine for the next 29 or 30; Leap Years excluded?
What you’re hearing now is a corporate line brush off and recommendations about what to do about it may be over my pay grade. Possibly having an attorney send them a strongly worded letter could lead to some action; maybe even buying the car back. Letting them know you intend to let the media know about the problem and what you’ve been told about it is also an option.
Maybe pushing a local TV station’s consumer help segment would help.
While I’ve never worked for Porsche, I have worked for several VW dealers. Some of the service instructors and service reps I have the utmost respect for, BUT there is a hitch in that statement.
According to the ones I’ve talked with, VW does not have problems, never has had problems, and never will have problems. It’s all fluffy kittens and daffodils…
Not sure if mentioned prior, but it is possible for a battery to self drain if there is any battery acid remnants or conductive contamination on the surface of the battery. This current wouldn’t be measured in a current draw test, as the current goes along the surface of the battery from the plus terminal to the minus, not through the wires, so it might appear from a current test all is well, but it really isn’t. Good idea to thoroughly clean a suspect battery, stiff brushing the surface, while spraying with water or water/bicarbonate, then rinsing w/plain water thoroughly.
So Porsche North America’s official response is that Porsche cars must be driven at least 15 miles each day (not just an average of 15 miles a day) and if they are not there is a chance of battery drain. For this reason they recommend a battery maintainer every day you do not drive the car, otherwise the battery could drain in as little as 2 days. The warranty states, as previously posted, a battery maintainer “must be used to maintain your vehicle’s battery state of charge if your vehicle will not be used for several days”, They would define several days as more than one.
So perhaps this car is functioning as designed. I suppose any engineer dumb enough to put a car battery under an electronic lock could also design a car that needs a battery maintainer if not driven every day.
“I have recently managed to cure the problem I had - The battery on my 2003 Boxster S was draining in 2 days if the car wasn’t used. Did the usual of buying a new battery but just got the same - completely dead within 2 days. Took it to the garage expecting them to do as I’d been advised, use a volt meter and take each fuse out one by one - but they had had another Boxster in a month previous with the same problem and managed to find the fault - it was a part that sits close to the steering lock and houses the ignition barrel. In essence what should happen is that when you take the ignition key out everything electrical on the car should shut down but for some reason the fault in the barrel meant that everything was staying live - hence total drain within 2 days. So far so good with the new part - left the car for a week and it started first time. Sorted!!”
I have a problem w/my Corolla like that, when the key/lock started to wear out, it became possible to remove the key without turning it entirely to the off position. Maybe there is a simple sol’n, worth a try. The OP could make an effort when removing the key to insure the key is exactly in the “off” position before removing the key. The only issue remaining is why the current test didn’t show this happening. Good post @jesmed .
Well so much for being able to leave the car in a parking lot somewhere for an extended period. I still have to think there is something else going on making it seem the battery is drained.
The dealership is aware of the ignition problem and swears it only happened in older model Boxsters. They claimed the ignition switch in the newer models no longer does this.
If Cougar is correct shouldn’t the same thing happen while the car is connected to the battery maintainer?
Truly pathetic response from Porsche. I’m just a guy with a voltmeter, but I guarantee if I had your car for 24 hours I’d find out what’s draining that battery. Unfortunately, you probably don’t live near me.
