PORSCHE BOXSTER 2009 2.G Owners Manual

Practical Tips, Emergency Service
249
Battery The battery is located in the front luggage
compartment under a black plastic cover.
f Please see the chapter “EMERGENCY OPERA-
TION – PULLING OUT THE IGNITION KEY” on
Page 74.
f Please see the chapter “EMERGENCY UNLO-
CKING OF THE FRONT LUGGAGE COMPART-
MENT LID” on Page 248.
Warning!
Risk of short circuit, fire and damage to alternera-
tor and electronic control units, resulting in seri-
ous personal injury or death.
f Observe all warning notes on the battery.
f Disconnect the negative terminal on the bat-
tery during all work on the electrical system.
f Do not lay tools or other metal objects on the
battery as they could cause a short circuit
across the battery terminal.
Hydrogen gas generated by the battery
could cause an explosion, resulting in
serious personal injury or death.
f Do not expose the battery to an open flame,
electrical spark or a lit cigarette.
f Do not wipe battery with a dry cloth.
Risk of serious personal injury or death and
damage to the fabric, metal or paint. f
Wear eye protection.
f Do not allow battery acid to come in contact
with your skin, eyes, fabric or painted
surfaces.
f If you get electrolyte, which is an acid, in your
eyes or on your skin, immediately rinse with
cold water for several minutes and call a doc-
tor.
f Spilled electrolyte must be rinsed off at once
with a solution of baki ng soda and water to
neutralize the acid.
Battery posts, terminals and related acces-
sories contain lead and lead compounds,
chemicals known to the State of California to
cause cancer and reproductive harm.
f Always protect your skin by washing thorough-
ly with soap and water.
Risk of explosion as a result of static charge,
resulting in serious personal injury or death.
f Do not wipe the battery with a dry cloth.
f Eliminate potential electrostatic charge by
touching the vehicle before touching the bat-
tery.
Charge state A well-charged battery prevents starting problems
and has a longer service life.
Traffic density, requirements regarding noise, ex-
haust gas and fuel consumption reduce the engine
speed and, hence, the alternator output.
However, the large number of electrical loads has
markedly increased the demand for electrical po-
wer.
In order to avoid discharging the battery
unintentionally:
f Switch off unnecessary electrical loads in city
traffic, on short trips or in a line or traffic.
f Always remove the ignition key from the igni-
tion switch when leaving the car.
f Avoid frequent operation of the convertible top
and operation of the Porsche Communication
Management system and audio system when
the engine is not running.
f In the cold season in particular or if the vehicle
is used primarily for short journeys, it may be
necessary to recharge the battery from time to
time.

250
Practical Tips, Emergency Service
Battery care fEnsure that battery is securely mounted.
f Keep terminals and connections clean and
properly tightened.
Corrosion can be prevented by coating the ter-
minals and connections with petroleum jelly or
silicone spray.
f Ensure that vent caps ar e securely tightened to
prevent spillage.
Checking the electrolyte fluid level
The acid level should be checked more frequently
by a qualified specialist workshop during the sum-
mer months and in predominantly warm countries. Battery charging
Automotive batteries lose their efficiency when
not in use.
The charge available in your battery can be meas-
ured with a battery hydrometer.
We recommend that the battery voltage be tested
by your authorized Porsche dealer who has the ap-
propriate equipment.
If the car is not driven for prolonged periods, the
battery must be charged at least every 6 weeks.
A discharged battery allows
rapid formation of sul-
fates, leading to premature deterioration of the
plates.
Warning!
Hydrogen gas generated by the battery
could cause an explosion, resulting in
serious personal injury or death.
f Charge battery in a well ventilated area.
f Never charge a frozen battery. It may explode
because of gas trapped in the ice. Allow a fro-
zen battery to thaw out first.
f If you get electrolyte, wh ich is an acid, in your
eyes or on your skin, immediately rinse with
cold water for several minutes and call a doc-tor. Slow battery charging
Your authorized Porsche dealer will be pleased to
advise you about a suitable charger.
1. Always observe the instructions of the charger
manufacturer.
Depending on the type of charger, the battery
may have to be disconnected.
In this case, always disconnect the negative
lead first, and then the positive lead – risk of
short circuit!
Reconnect the leads in reverse order.
2. Before charging, cold batteries must be warmed up indoors.
3. Frozen batteries must be thawed out first before being charged.
4. When charging, ensure that there is adequate ventilation.
5. Connect the charger to the battery. Only plug into the mains and switch the
charger on when it is connected up correctly.
6. Switch on the charger.
7. After charging, switch off the charger first and then disconnect it.
f Please see the chapter “PUTTING VEHICLE
INTO OPERATION” on Page 251.

Practical Tips, Emergency Service
251
Winter operation The capacity and ability of the battery to store
power decreases at low outside temperatures.
Moreover, the battery is more heavily loaded in
winter months, e.g. by the heated rear window,
more frequent use of additional lights, the fans
and the windshield wipers, etc.
f Have the battery checked before the start
of winter.
Maintenance note
Keep the battery well charged to prevent it
from freezing.
A discharged battery can freeze at 23 °F (--5 °C),
but a fully charged battery only freezes at -- 40 °F
(--40 °C).
A frozen battery must always be thawed before
connecting jump leads.
Replacing battery The service life of the batt ery is subject to normal
wear; it depends greatly on care, climatic conditi-
ons, and driving conditions (distances, loads).
f Only use an original Porsche battery, with the
correct part number, as a replacement.
f Please observe the disposal instructions for
batteries.
Putting vehicle into operationAfter the battery is co nnected or after an exhaus-
tively discharged battery is charged, the multi-
functional PSM light lights up on the instrument
panel and a message appears on the on-board
computer to indicate a fault.
This fault can be remedied with a few simple
steps:
1. Start the engine.
2. With the vehicle stationary, perform a few steering movements to the left and right and
then drive a short distance in a straight line
until the multifunctinal PSM light goes out and
the message on the on-board computer
disappears.
3. If the warnings do not disappear, then:
Drive carefully to the nearest authorized
Porsche dealer.
Have the fault remedied.
4. After the warnings disappear: Stop the vehicle in a suitable place.
f Perform adaptation of the power windows:
Please see the chapter “STORING END
POSITION OF THE WINDOWS” on Page 28.

252
Practical Tips, Emergency Service
Removing the battery The required tool is in the tool kit.
The battery is located in the front luggage com-
partment under a black plastic lid.
Warning!
Risk of damage to alternator and electronic
control units.
f Do not disconnect the battery while the engine
is running.
This also applies to cars equipped with a bat-
tery main switch.
f Never drive the car with a disconnected bat-
tery.
Risk of caustic burns from escaping acid.
f Keep vent caps on to avoid spillage.
f Do not tilt the battery when removing and in-stalling it. 1. Switch off engine and all electrical loads.
2. Open turn-locks
A.
Remove plastic lid.
3. Pull off central vent hose C.
Danger!
Risk of short circuit an d explosion, resulting
in serious personal injury or death.
f Important: disconnect the negative ( –) ground wire first, and then the positive ( +) cable. 4. Important: disconnect the negative (
–) ground
wire first, and then the positive ( +) cable -
danger of short circuit!
5. Unscrew fastening screw B.
6. Remove battery.

Practical Tips, Emergency Service
253
Installing the battery 1. Put battery in and push it all the way to the stop.
2. Screw in fastening screw B .
Danger!
Risk of short circuit and explosion, resulting
in serious personal injury or death.
f Important: connect the positive ( +) cable first, and then the negative ( –) ground wire.
3. Important: connect the positive ( +) cable first,
and then the negative ( –) ground wire -
danger of short circuit!
4. Push on central vent hose C.
Fitting the plastic lid
1. Insert the two outer hooks of the plastic lid into
the eye mounts of the lid opening.
2. Lower the lid.
3. Using both hands, push the lid into the eye mounts without using force (if too much force
is used, the hooks may jam and the panel will
warp).
Make sure that the lid is correctly seated. 4. Turn the turn-locks so
that they point in
longitudinal direction.
5. Press the turn-locks down until they audibly engage.

254
Practical Tips, Emergency Service
Replacing the remote-control
battery The battery should be changed when the range of
the radio remote control becomes smaller or
when the light-emitting diode no longer flashes
when the remote control is operated.
1. Using your finger nail or a small screwdriver, carefully lift off the cover of the key grip
(arrow).
2. Replace the battery (paying attention to the polarity).
Replacement battery – Lithium CR 2032,
3volts. 3. Replace the cover and press together firmly.
Please observe the disposal instructions for
batteries.
Note
f Please dispose batteries in compliance with
any and all government regulations.

Practical Tips, Emergency Service
255
Emergency Starting with Jumper
Cables If the battery is discharged, e.g. in winter or after
the car has been parked for a long time, the bat-
tery of another car can be used for starting with
the help of jumper cables.
Make sure the voltage of both batteries is the
same. Both batteries must be 12 volt types.
The capacity (Ampere hours, Ah) of the booster
battery must not be substantially less than that of
the discharged battery.
The discharged battery must be correctly con-
nected to the vehicle’s electrical system.
f Please see the chapter “BATTERY” on
Page 249.
f Please see the chapter “EMERGENCY UNLO-
CKING OF THE FRONT LUGGAGE COMPART-
MENT LID” on Page 248.
Note
f Do not try to start the car by pushing or tow-
ing. Damage to the catalytic converters and
other components of the car may result.
Warning!
Risk of short circuit, damage and explosion,
resulting in serious personal injury or death.
f Use only jumper cables of adequate diameter
cross-section and fitted with completely insu-
lated alligator clips.
f Follow all warnings and instructions of the
jumper cable manufacturer.
f When connecting jumper cables, make sure
that they cannot get caught in any moving
parts in the engine compartment.
The jumper cables must be long enough so
that neither vehicles nor cables touch another.
f The vehicles must not be in contact, otherwise
current might flow as soon as the positive ter-
minals are connected.
f The cable clamps must not be allowed to con-
tact each other when one end of the jumper ca-
bles are connected to a battery.
f Ensure that tools or conductive jewelery (rings,
chains, watch straps) do not come into contact
with the positive jumper cable or the positive
battery post.
f Improper hook-up of jumper cables can ruin
the alternator. Danger of caustic burns
from escaping acid.
f Do not lean over the battery.
Danger of gas explosion.
f Improper use of booster battery to start a
vehicle may cause an explosion, resulting in
serious personal injury or death.
f Keep sources of ignition away from the bat-
tery, e.g. open flame, burning cigarettes or
sparking due to cable contact or welding work.
f A discharged battery can freeze even at 23 °F/
–5 °C.
Before connecting jumper cables, a frozen
battery must be thawed out.

256
Practical Tips, Emergency Service
Connect jumper cables in the following
sequence: Always observe the sequence below:
1. Connect the positive lead (red) to the
positive terminal of the discharged battery
first, then connect it to th e positive terminal of
the donor battery.
2. First connect the negative cable (black) to
the negative terminal of the donor battery, then
connect it to a suitable grounding point on the
vehicle with the discharged battery.
This grounding point must lie as far as possible
from the battery.
For example, a solid metal part or the engine
block are suitable grounding points.
If no suitable grounding points are to be found
on either vehicle, the negative cable must
carefully be connected directly to the negative
terminal of the battery.
If a suitable grounding point is to be found only
on the donor vehicle, the negative cable must
first be connected to the terminal of the
discharged battery, then to the grounding point
of the donor vehicle.
3. Run the engine of the donor car at a higher speed. 4. Start the engine.
An attempted start using jumper cables should
not last more than 15 seconds. Then allow a
waiting period of at least one minute.
f Note
Before disconnecting the jumper cables, elec-
trical loads such as the heated rear window
and the heating fan blower should be switched
on (the vehicle’s lights must not be switched
on). This reduces voltage peaks which may oc-
cur when disconnecting the jumper cables.
With the engine running, remove both jumper
cables in reverse order.

Practical Tips, Emergency Service
257
Bulb chart
Ty p e , r a t i n g
Halogen low beam H7, 55W
Halogen high beam H9, 65W
Low beam/high beam with Bi-Xen on headlights Philips, D2S 35W
Additional high beam with Bi-Xenon headlights H7, 55 W
Turn signal light, front Philips HY21W
Turn signal light, side WY5W
Fog light H8, 35W
License plate light C5W
Lights, Replacing Bulbs
Warning!
Risk of short circuit.
f Always switch off the relevant consumer when
changing bulbs.
Risk of serious personal injury or death.
The Bi-Xenon headlights are under high
voltage when installed.
f Be careful during all work in the area of the Bi-
Xenon headlights.
Risk of damage. Bulbs of a higher wattage
can damage the lamp housing.
f Only the bulbs shown in the chart may be used.
f New bulbs must be clean and free from oil,
grease and fingerprints. Therefore, never
touch bulbs with your bare hands.
Use a cloth or soft paper while replacing bulbs.

258
Practical Tips, Emergency Service
Headlights
Caution!
Risk of damage to headlights due to exces-
sive temperatures and abrasion.
f To ensure optimum ventilation, do not cover
the gap between headlight and body
(e.g. “stone guards” or films).
f Use soapy water only to clean light lenses and
plastic headlight lenses.
In no case may chemical cleaners or other vol-
atile cleaning fluids be used.
f To prevent scratches, do not rub with a dry or merely moist cloth, tissue or insect sponges.
Removing headlights1. Unscrew plastic nut A.
Detach the side carpeting. 2. Remove rubber plug
B from the unlocking
opening.