Preventing battery drain while in storage for months or not being used for weeks

Saw a discussion on this on another forum, with suggestions to resolve this all over the place.

Pedro--what's the current best info on reducing parasitic drain on Porsche cars? Has it changed over the years (9896/987/981)?
Currently, I lock mine and have a tender on the battery, but some people suggest unlocking the boot to ensure access to the battery.
Thanks for any help in advance

Mike, i used to use this on my 986 when i stored it for the winter which some years lasted 13 months, or so it seemed.
seriously though, the boxster would not be touched for a good five months and i never had a problem starting it up. i did not have a battery tender because there was no electricity in my garage.
hope that helps.

battery disconnect

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MY 2000 S, Ocean Blue, Metropol Blue, Savanah Beige.
Bought June 2000 - Sold May 2010

I store my 2012 Base Boxster for six months every summer in Florida. I just disconnect the negative terminal and the car starts right up when I remove it from storage. One really big caution, make sure you leave the hood unlatched. If you don’t, you can’t get to the battery to hook it up because the hood is locked electronically. I forgot to leave the hood open one year and I had to have thecar towed to the dealer to get it opened. Putting power to the appropriate circuit breaker won’t work because the battery is disconnected. One suggestion is to put a heavy towel over the hood lock device and leave it there before you touch the battery so you can’t accidentally close and lock the hood after disconnecting the battery.

Quote
Sayle
I just disconnect the negative terminal and the car starts right up when I remove it from storage.

which is exactly what this $8 switch does in approximately 3 seconds without a wrench.

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MY 2000 S, Ocean Blue, Metropol Blue, Savanah Beige.
Bought June 2000 - Sold May 2010

would destroy some of the trim settings in the car's ECU based on an individual driver's style of driving. Is this not true or if it is true, are those saved settings that are lost insignificant & can easily be relearned once the battery is reconnected & the car is driven for a while?

JB/SE SoDak
1997 986 - Wolfi
Yankton, SD

"Wisdom is the most perfect knowledge of the most important truths in the right order of emphasis, accompanied by a total, permanent disposition to live accordingly.

-- Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.

"(School is to be a factory) in which raw products, children, are to be shaped and formed into finished products . . .(m)anufactured like nails, and the specifications for manufacturing will come from government and industry."

-- Elwood P. Cubberley, Dean of School of Education, Stanford University, 1905

"The creatures that want to live a life of their own, we call wild. If wild, then no matter how harmless, we treat them as outlaws, and those of us who are 'specially well brought up shoot them for fun."

-- Clarence Day, This Simian World

The ECU is reset pretty much any time the battery is disconnected for any period of time and any time the codes are cleared. There is a driving cycle that must be performed to reset all parameters.
I have looked at the parameters due to requiring an emissions test. My car reset fully after 20 minutes of driving, YMMV.

You will note that the car starts roughly the first time out, but is fine after that. I suspect the bigger issue leaving the car would be deteriorating gasoline. There are additives or you can run it dry before storage.

JB/SE SoDak
1997 986 - Wolfi
Yankton, SD

"Wisdom is the most perfect knowledge of the most important truths in the right order of emphasis, accompanied by a total, permanent disposition to live accordingly.

-- Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.

"(School is to be a factory) in which raw products, children, are to be shaped and formed into finished products . . .(m)anufactured like nails, and the specifications for manufacturing will come from government and industry."

-- Elwood P. Cubberley, Dean of School of Education, Stanford University, 1905

"The creatures that want to live a life of their own, we call wild. If wild, then no matter how harmless, we treat them as outlaws, and those of us who are 'specially well brought up shoot them for fun."

-- Clarence Day, This Simian World

I prefer the negative disconnect on the battery for extended periods of time and using a smart battery tender if possible.
The $8 switch is easy to use but it actually limits the current flow from the battery vs connected directly.
When doing this, I would also open the frunk and close the latch with a screw driver (trunk light goes off) the just lower the hood.
It will not latch because the latch is closed so there's no danger in getting shut out of the trunk.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 304,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

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Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

when swapping out new for old batteries, just in case, & have found that the tender will not allow the ECU trims to go away after the new battery is hooked up. I realize that's more than an abundance of caution, more like an excess of caution, but that's what I have done in the past & it does work. Obviously, one must be careful w/the cables during the process. I wrap each one in rags & that has worked for me.

JB/SE SoDak
1997 986 - Wolfi
Yankton, SD

"Wisdom is the most perfect knowledge of the most important truths in the right order of emphasis, accompanied by a total, permanent disposition to live accordingly.

-- Br. Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.

"(School is to be a factory) in which raw products, children, are to be shaped and formed into finished products . . .(m)anufactured like nails, and the specifications for manufacturing will come from government and industry."

-- Elwood P. Cubberley, Dean of School of Education, Stanford University, 1905

"The creatures that want to live a life of their own, we call wild. If wild, then no matter how harmless, we treat them as outlaws, and those of us who are 'specially well brought up shoot them for fun."

-- Clarence Day, This Simian World