12 Volt Battery issue now

rquinton

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I'm all for providing valuable diagnostic info to Porsche. But, given all the time Porsche has known about this, and the fact that they still haven't solved such a major issue, I'm not sure I want to just give them my car have it sit at the dealership for days and days. Whats the point?

If (knock-on wood) I have this problem, I'm going to simply recover the car myself, get back on the road, and keep waiting for a proper fix.
Can anyone confirm any particular ways to avoid falling victim to the battery drain? What should we do and what should we definitely not do?
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Can anyone confirm any particular ways to avoid falling victim to the battery drain? What should we do and what should we definitely not do?
MY SPECULATION (and others as well I believe)...

...is that the PCM is waking up AFTER you turn off the car and then not shutting itself down when it should. Personally, I'm willing to bet a Charging Timer, or Porsche Connect (remotely), is waking up the car to change charging parameters and then the PCM does not shut down as it should. This would certainly drain the battery.

Personally, I have no need to use Custom Timers or Porsche Connect, so I'm not overly concerned about getting bitten by this bug. (here's hoping Porsche doesn't prove me wrong...) I simply have the charging level set to 85% in my default profile and always plug the car in when its in the garage. The more magic you can eliminate the better I think.

Its also important to consider that SOME of these battery failures might not be related to the major bug we are discussing. Its possible that there can be other unrelated failures due to leaving stuff turned on, chargers not properly charging (and THAT draining the battery), simple hardware failure, or other things around the periphery of this problem. 12V batteries can fail for a number of reasons. Its important that the chaff is eliminated from the wheat. (Not sayin' thats easy...)

For what its worth: My recommendation are:

- Don't use a Timer unless you need it.

- Don't change your charging parameters remotely via Porsche Connect (or the web site) unless you have to.

- Just plug your car in and leave it alone

- There is also another thread where folks have been told to keep their key fobs at least 10M away from the car so you might as well do that as well. Can't hurt, right?
 
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NC_Taycan

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I'm all for providing valuable diagnostic info to Porsche. But, given all the time Porsche has known about this, and the fact that they still haven't solved such a major issue, I'm not sure I want to just give them my car have it sit at the dealership for days and days. Whats the point?
The point is if the dealer has to placate you, give you a loaner (which costs them), and they are billing shop hours to PCNA, then Porsche is feeling the pain. If dealers are not forced to address the issues because of inconvenience (which I fully get BTW), then Porsche is less likely to solve the problem. Keep in mind, the dealers are their customers, not us. We are the dealer's customers.
 

evanevery

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The point is if the dealer has to placate you, give you a loaner (which costs them), and they are billing shop hours to PCNA, then Porsche is feeling the pain. If dealers are not forced to address the issues because of inconvenience (which I fully get BTW), then Porsche is less likely to solve the problem. Keep in mind, the dealers are their customers, not us. We are the dealer's customers.
Yeah, I'm all for Porsche feeling the pain, but I'm not giving them my car simply to achieve that. I'll get my car up and running ASAP without having to deal with all the logistics and dangers of getting it towed, banged around, and placed in the hands of multiple unknown folks along the way. Not that my dealer wouldn't be HEARING about the issue though...

I'ld rather force Porsche to "feel the pain" of public embarrassment by documenting and lampooning all the STUPID problems I have found for anyone who cares to read them.

But that's just me... ;)
 


CFR

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I had a 4S brick today. I have been conscious of the need to ensure that the car powers off properly so pretty sure it wasn’t that. Surprisingly, it only took 1 or 2
minutes on a back up 12v battery pack to get going again, which may suggest that the 12v wasn’t flat?

I have also been having a data connection issue over the last few weeks - no data connection for the eSIM showing up on PCM, although the SOS green light was still on. Also no Bluetooth connection for iPhone. The data issue kicked off when I started using the Porsche connect app to set the charging level. As a result of the data issue, the tracker is in permanent theft mode.

I do wonder whether the data connection/12v issues are connected. Of late I have heard a strange low volume electronic beeping sound coming from the dash which sounded like something trying to make a connection. I wonder whether the car has been attempting to make the data connection after the car was powered off and whether that drained the 12v - I hadn’t driven the car for 3 days.

When the car was restarted after he 12v issue, the eSIM connection and Bluetooth connection came back. However the data services aren’t functioning (tracker, Apple Music, internet radio).

All very strange.

Finally, the guy who came to restart the car wasn’t familiar with the nuances of opening and restarting the car. Thankfully I was, courtesy of being aware of similar issues encountered by others from this forum. I would suggest that everyone should familiarise themselves with what is involved.
 

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I had a 4S brick today. I have been conscious of the need to ensure that the car powers off properly so pretty sure it wasn’t that. Surprisingly, it only took 1 or 2
minutes on a back up 12v battery pack to get going again, which may suggest that the 12v wasn’t flat?
As others have pointed out on this site; there’s a relay that shuts off the 12V battery once it drops under 11,5V I think, so you’re right, it isn’t totally drained.
 


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Andrew Rawson

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Out of interest, do you know what the proper way turned out to be? Get life back into the car or just lift it onto the flatbed ?
The only way to gain entry and move the car
  • Insert key and turn to 6 o’clock
  • Remove fuse cover and connect charger to red fuse at the same time press bonnet (hood) for you Americans ?
  • Open Bonnet remove cover for battery connection, only attach a 12 volt battery supply not a booster as it can damage battery
  • Once car operates select N so car can be towed
  • Good luck

  • hope this helps



 
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The only way to gain entry and move the car
  • Insert key and turn to 6 o’clock
  • Remove fuse cover and connect charger to red fuse at the same time press bonnet (hood) for you Americans ?
  • Open Bonnet remove cover for battery connection, only attach a 12 volt battery supply not a booster as it can damage battery
  • Once car operates select N so car can be towed
  • Good luck

  • hope this helps



 
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I am reading all this with interest and agree that we all need to ensure that Porsche are taking this matter seriously and that it is unacceptable to be brushing known issues under the carpet. However, my own incident of a brand new, fully charged car dying while it was actually being driven and the ‘expert’ roadside assistance man suggesting it might be linked to the 12V battery, is not explained by any of the issues we are discussing with regard to the app, leaving keys 10 meters away from the car etc. I rejected my car and gave it back to Porsche but I’m starting to find it odd that I have not had one single call from Porsche about this incident. They seem not to find it alarming for their reputation (let alone customer satisfaction!) that someone can spend the best part of £120,000 on a new car and for it to die out on the open road the first time it is used.
 

yuanshiang

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The only way to gain entry and move the car
  • Insert key and turn to 6 o’clock
  • Remove fuse cover and connect charger to red fuse at the same time press bonnet (hood) for you Americans ?
  • Open Bonnet remove cover for battery connection, only attach a 12 volt battery supply not a booster as it can damage battery
  • Once car operates select N so car can be towed
  • Good luck

  • hope this helps



I’ve not even taken delivery of my car but have been following the 12v issue threads .... I’ve seen some posts recommending using a booster (e.g. Noco Booster) and some posts saying do not use a booster.... is there consensus on this??
 

Vim Schrotnock

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I've posted this in another thread, but I'll post here as well. My 12V battery drain was because the Porsche Charger was 'looking' for the Porsche Home Energy Manager (HEM) sold by Porsche. When I plugged the charger into the car, it took about a minute to turn green because it was 'looking' for the HEM, and it continued to 'turn on' to look for the HEM every 15 minutes. The result was that my 12V battery went below the 'cutoff' voltage and the relay opened and my car was dead. My dealer had to reprogram the Porsche Charger so that it didn't look for the HEM, and this solved the problem. Now when I plug in, it immediately turns green. If you have a Porsche charger I would definitely check this out. Of course, Porsche should never have delivered the charger in this state to begin with.:mad:
 

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I am reading all this with interest and agree that we all need to ensure that Porsche are taking this matter seriously and that it is unacceptable to be brushing known issues under the carpet. However, my own incident of a brand new, fully charged car dying while it was actually being driven and the ‘expert’ roadside assistance man suggesting it might be linked to the 12V battery, is not explained by any of the issues we are discussing with regard to the app, leaving keys 10 meters away from the car etc. I rejected my car and gave it back to Porsche but I’m starting to find it odd that I have not had one single call from Porsche about this incident. They seem not to find it alarming for their reputation (let alone customer satisfaction!) that someone can spend the best part of £120,000 on a new car and for it to die out on the open road the first time it is used.
@Martin Robinson in the US, one experiencing a dangerous vehicle safety issue such as yours should report it to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). A quick google search yielded this government agency in the UK: Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) The web page says the DVSA will investigate the issue with the manufacturer and tell you what action is being taken if you are not happy with the manufacturer's response to the problem. The only problem may be that you are no longer in possession of the car but I think it is still worth filing the report so Porsche is held accountable. I would hope the DVSA would take your issue very seriously.
 
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@Martin Robinson in the US, one experiencing a dangerous vehicle safety issue such as yours should report it to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). A quick google search yielded this government agency in the UK: Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) The web page says the DVSA will investigate the issue with the manufacturer and tell you what action is being taken if you are not happy with the manufacturer's response to the problem. The only problem may be that you are no longer in possession of the car but I think it is still worth filing the report so Porsche is held accountable. I would hope the DVSA would take your issue very seriously.
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