Nerd car of the week.

[Burnerman]

Curious one, this.
Porsche 911 4S (what ever that is.....I guess its 4WD, has tyres the width of oil drums.....water cooled, engine in the back).
Called to it because it has a flat battery. The battery lives under the front bonnet, which can only be opened electrically.
So - how does one get in?
Simples - open the door with the key, access a relay in the drivers footwell (you need 20 foot long jump leads for this) and energise one of the terminals.
Crack your head firmly on the roof bar as the alarm goes off. Cancel that with the key....if you can find it.
You may now open the bonnet and apply a charger to the battery!!
Why does it go flat? You have only a couple of weeks before the security system sees to that....and I mean so flat that even the interior lights stayed off.
Nice one, Stuttgart
John

 

[Peter.N.]

Sounds about normal for a modern car John

Peter

 

[Burnerman]

I thought you might appreciate that, Peter
Another charmer is that once the doors are opened (flat battery, remember) you can't close them again as they too are electric.
John

 

[Mursal]

The MK3 Cortinas never gave that trouble.

Did you find the problem?
Ammeter on the supply lead from the battery and see what draw you have when parked? Reduce to milliamps and you should be OK?

Tedious job

 

[HERTS P&D]

John, I've got to ask as I have read many of your posts. What do you do for a living, plumbing, oil, and car repairs?

Do you advertise these and are there anymore?

It's good that you can do all of these, I just want to know more about you.

Andy

 

[Burnerman]

The MK3 Cortinas never gave that trouble.

Did you find the problem?
Ammeter on the supply lead from the battery and see what draw you have when parked? Reduce to milliamps and you should be OK?

Tedious job

All I did was to get the Porker fired up, and the owner went away happy really. Apparently the car has no fault to cause this, and the battery goes flat anyway if the car isn't used for a couple of weeks.
Mercedes had the same issue but now they fit two batteries, electrically separated by relays just to give more breathing space.
John

 

[Burnerman]

John, I've got to ask as I have read many of your posts. What do you do for a living, plumbing, oil, and car repairs?

Do you advertise these and are there anymore?

It's good that you can do all of these, I just want to know more about you.

Andy

Hi Andy - I'll not try to sound like a 'This is your life' show....people would doze off
I was a Technology teacher for 34 years, and I've always had a great interest in mechanical things - hence the passion for cars and motorbikes. I finished work 3 years ago (57 now).
I restored the house I own now from a wreck, and have done lots of work on a couple more, which is how I have a reasonable understanding about building and the trades within. The houses all have oil heating so I had to find out about oil burners - hence the user name!
I love using tools and machines and there's always work around, so I scratch a living fixing machines and doing odd jobs. Mrs B is naturally still working though, and I hope that continues!
Regards
John

 

[Mursal]

I was a Technology teacher for 34 years,
John

Sorry to hear that John, you have your own troubles? It can be a difficult way to male a living. Do you miss it?

Yes some of the lads fit double batteries to the vans as you know. The isolation circuit gives you peace of mind, at least it will start. Didn't know Mercedes used that technique.