jeff jackson

OK fellas...time for the newbie to pose an issue...My interior lighs are causing me problems. IF...I open the hatch, all interiorlights come on without fail, BUT go out immediately upon closing the hatch. IF I open either door...the interior lights may or may not work (depends on if I have recently "wiggled" the interior light relay (#21) on the Central Electrical panel recently..generally, a wiggle, will net a day or so of regular door triggering of the interior lights upon opening. In ANY event...the lights ALL go out immediately...upon closing the hatch, or the doors, (whichever was used to turn them on).... as my car is an 86.5 model (VIN # 1104)...I thought the relay SHOULD delay the lights for 10-15 seconds after the closure of the triggering switch. Where should I go for the solution. BTW...I have a known "good" interior light relay en route, and will change mine out with the good one when it arrives. Mine works, (but NO DELAY)... Any thing else to be checking in the meantime ???
Jeff

Garth S

You never know with Porsche: Your car maybe didn't make the VIN cutoff for the addition of the 'delay' feature .... or the relay may be simply defective as you judged.
XXI Interior Light Delay 86 VIN# 09999 and higher #928.618.225.01 is the one listed, ( @ $125 ) although the VIN is suspect. Is that the relay as installed?

jeff jackson

Yep ...thats the one I have. I'm worried though about the fact that if I "disturb" it in its socket, it'll work for a while via the door switch triggers (then quit), but works consistently with the rear hatch. NO DELAY though... in either circumstance.

Kevin in Atlanta

The hatch open and closed behavior described is correct. There is no delay.

John Struthers

Jeff,
Check your door pin switches. Either door activates the interior lights as well as the red door markers.
If they are sticking you might be able to clean the shaft.
If the pin is hanging funny replace. Sometimes the shaft actually erodes in which case replace.
The pin switches run from $4 to $8.00 .
If the adjustment is longer on one side or the other adjust accordingly.
Are all of the individual light switches in the same position?
Finally, over the years there have been many tales of shorting in these puppies pull em' and look.
Also look for incorrect wire connections, they are color coded but not idiot proof...don't ask.
Good luck.

jeff jackson

Door pin switches operate normally and seem equal in adjustment length. The pins are plastic, and so no corrosion is possible (at least externally) but the wire and actual "contact" part of the switch is hidden inside the door jamb...Should I unscrew the nut and see if the switch is removeable from the outside ? If I slightly move the relay #(XX1) in its socket...the lights work via door opening for a while. But will soon stop again.

John Struthers

Jeff,
Oops, tinkering with the truck again, sorry.
I can't swear to this but the wire lead should remain in place without breaking as you unscrew the pin switch - anyone?-.
You may have to clean contacts both on sides of the relay fuse panel if the relay wiggling resolves the problem even temporarily. Or, slightly spread the male ends for a snugger contact and see if that helps

rixter

Jeff,
this may be a good time to do a complete ground/contact cleanup, starting with the fuse/relay panel
a few hours once a year can save you many times that in frustration

jeff jackson

I pulled the relay in question...it appears to be in very good condition. It has a black plastic housing , and part number 928 618 225 01 and says Zeitsteuergerat fur Innenleuchte. Gonna try polishing the pins (it has 6, (4) normal, and (2) 1/2 width pins. Certainly doesn't "look" bad though. We'll see. Like I said, I have a known good one en route and can swap it with that one in a couple days. I was trolling for "while your in there" type pointers, as this system seems to be a frequent cause of grief on these cars.

jeff jackson

Swapped out the Interior Light delay relay with one I obtained from Gary Knox, and viola....lights work perfectly each and every time )no wiggle required either)...I love the 15 second delay for the interior lights, Thanks so much Gary !!

Alan

Jeff,
The rear hatch does not go through the relay and directly drives the lights - hence no delay on this is normal.

Glad your new relay fixed the issue - relatively simple fix...! (compared to some)

Alan

jeff jackson

Thanks Alan...I'm glad it was this simple too. I guess a lot more is going on inside that black plastic relay cover, than meets the eye. Mine "looks" fine on visual inspection....but in no way operates like the replacement unit. I guess I can understand "a bit" now...the $125 price for a new one of these relays from the big 3. Still alot a cash, for a little part. Thank god for "a friend in need...IS a friend indeed"...it shows up frequently around this place. Thanks to all, especially Gary Knox !!!

John Struthers

Zehr Gut!
Good post with definitive symptoms.
And a fix to resolve it all...albiet a $125.00 fix.

FlyingDog

Jeff, pop the cover off your old one and see if cleaning it fixes the problem. Maybe you can donate it to the next poor soul with a relay problem.

JG928S4

Any way to test this relay for Someone w/similiar Problem??