ELJG

Hi!

It seems that I am to finish the year with an unknown electrical fault/s.... I'd be most grateful for any ideas/suggestions...

In short: went for a brief drive (mine is a UK 95GTS) and all of a sudden all the gauges (except for the voltmeter) went to zero and the "ANTILOCK" light came on. Everything looked as it does in the picture (except for the brake light - yes, I was parked when I took the picture). Additionally none of the interior lights work (except for the one in the passenger footwell - it is now on all the time!), the Radio/CD player clearly doesn't have any power. Turn signals, sidelights, headlights work, the a/c fan works, and the car generally is running well. Wonder if it is several blown fuses, a shortcircuit, etc.? I'd be most grateful for your thoughts and suggestions. Thank you.

smiffypr

Just the interior light fuse.

StratfordShark

+1 on interior light fuse - no 25 on your GTS. You should also find that there's no power to the rear hatch release.

Odd things happen when fuse is open, including getting some current to interior lights from other circuit (if your footwell llight is on, I bet it's dimmer than usual?).

I'm just puzzled by your comment that the radio no longer has power. This is not powered via the lights circuit.

Anyway check that Fuse 25 first and let us know what you find.

ELJG

Thank you, guys for your replies. Will look into the interior light fuse but do you think this also works the gauges? (the footwell light was as bright as can be)

smiffypr

Yes, otherwise I wouldn't have said "just".

ELJG

Thank you again. Will keep you posted.

Bill Ball

If that interior light fuse is blown and blows again as soon as you insert it, a good first place to check for a short is the overhead light. When the housing cracks it tends to short the power lead against the roof. Pull it down and have a look. Also, the instruments have their own fuse, 39 (5 amp).

ELJG

Appreciate the tip Bill. Will keep this in mind. Thank you.

ELJG

Hi guys,

Just wanted to report back:

It was indeed the interior light fuse - when replaced it immediately blew again (discovered at the same time that this fuse, meant to be a 7.5 amp fuse had been replaced by someone, before my time, with a 30amp fuse!).
Followed the suggestion about the overhead light and, horror of horrors (no doubt courtesy of the 30amp fuse), the wiring was melted from the front overhead light back to the connector (by the rear seats) and, one side (there are two looms starting at the connector) all the way as far as one can see!!!
Have ordered the part from Porsche who tell me that this particular loom includes the interior light as well as the factory fitted alarm and the (third? - haven't got one) brake light and that the whole thing (the loom/s from the front all the way to the back) is sold as one part! We shall see when they get the part in from Germany. In the meantime all of this also finished off the battery! Well, I am glad I didn't have a burning shark. Many, many thanks for the advice - probably life-saving! If anyone has any clues/suggestions about fitting the new wiring I'd be most grateful.

All the best

jwillman

Wow. Sorry to hear about the extent of the damage and glad to hear the car did not catch fire. Just another example of why the sage advise is for all new owners to inspect the CE panels.

ELJG

The fact is that one has to be really careful - I purchased this car from a Porsche independent (i.e.: a company selling and servicing only Porsche cars). They had serviced the car for some years before that (and previous history was official Porsche dealers), serviced and checked it before the sale and guaranteed it for 6 months. I had a PPI done by a company that does nothing but PPIs on Porsche cars. After buying it I had it checked out and serviced by an official Porsche dealer who also replaced the alarm as well as air-con so, in addition to checking the car generally, they did work that put them in the area. I do not think that P.O. was anymore mechanically inclined than I am and so I have to conclude that a mechanic quite deliberately changed the 7.5A fuse to 30A rather than trying to find and fix the fault. I am not trying to assign blame but simply want to emphasize that you really need to find someone you can trust to check these things out - in fact you may be trusting him/her/them with your life, so..... This, of course, only takes you to the question of how do you find someone you can trust....

Mrmerlin

FWIW pulling down the interior lights should be on every new owners list of things to check and fix.
It is best to take heat shrink and do every connector that touches the light housings even the grounds.
Your harness is melted all the way to the CE panel,
The lights usually melt when service is done and a door is left open and the light remains on for extended periods.
Another thing to consider is fitting LED bulbs in place of the incandescent bulbs.

Turning the lights off and not using them is usually the best thing to do prior to sending the car in for service.
Fitting new light housings is also something that you should consider if you detect a melted light housing, there are also updated light housings that can be fitted from VWs

ELJG

Since I'm having to replace the battery I'm upgrading to the latest Bosch AGM S6001. Previous two: Porsche (1st one died after about a year so replaced under warrantee, its replacement just died at about 2 years). The S6001 is guaranteed for 6 years! Will see

All the best

fraggle

Any mechanic worth his salt will never replace a blown fuse with one of larger capacity. It can turn deadly! Glad you found the problem.

ELJG

The saga continues:

I now have one of the looms involved (the one that goes from the front interior light to the rear brake lights). As for the rest: have asked Porsche and as far as they are concerned the balance of the wiring connecting to this is made up of 2 looms (even if you just need one wire they will only sell you whichever loom includes that wire..) - one is quoted at U.K.£ 450 (plus tax at 20%) and the other at £170! (no, this doesn't include the fitting). Does anyone know whether the looms were changed/specific to the 95 MY or whether an earlier one would fit? Secondly what is the view here on fitting a used loom?

Many thanks for your opinion and advice.

Best wishes