I’ve been using my trickle charger more and more just to keep the car going so I finally took it in to get checked out. The problem: Porsches like to be driven a long time to charge the battery. They need this because even after you turn the car off, all sorts of electronic things are still going on (trunk & door lights stay on for 10 minutes, for instance). This has been made worse by me staying in my car to listen to some song on the radio before I get out. Those 10 Bose speakers are awesome, but so is the wattage being drawn from the battery as I listen. To fix this issue, I needed yet another battery, which I learned is a special battery only for Porsche, which is why it costs me $430. These are “dry” batteries that are held in storage dry, and then acid is added to them only when they are installed into the car. The batteries don’t mind the occasional trickle charge, but doing so kills the life of the battery. Mostly, to keep the battery going, it is important to take 15 minute trips or longer. My 5 minute trips to breakfast and to school are too short, and so deadly to my battery.
They also found the reason for all my lost water – my cap wasn’t on tight enough. There is sort of a notch that one has to go past to seal the water system. I was only tightening to the notch. As stated previously, the Porsche engine is designed to never leak liquid, even if steaming.
Now that this engine work is done, the car drives like an absolute dream again! I’m not even stalling it below 1,000RPM. The low battery and low water may have been the reason.