Vandit

^ You're on the money pal!

After I made my last response, I was reading through some threads on Pelican and they said what you just said. So I went outside, and sure enough, my driver's side dome light was not coming on when I opened the door.

I played with the switch back and forth with my finger for a bit and the light started to come on normally. I reperformed the drain test and now it's back to the normal draw.

I think the reason that I hadn't experienced this before is because I usually open the pass. side door after I park to get out my work bag and what not, so I guess that pass. side switch works properly, but the driver's side switch is suspect. I guess the last couple of times it had killed the battery I exited through the driver's and never opened the pass. side.

FeralComprehension

Thanks for posting the resolution; all too often people solve their issues but don't bother explaining the solution!

Nice job working thru the problem.

HiWind

hey Vandit - did the door switch clean/repair sort out the problems? nothing since? Battery all good?

Vandit

Yea, it's been good. I didn't even clean/repair the switch, I just actuated it in and out a few times with my finger and it has been fine.

The problem originated because my car originally had perished boots on those switches, but I had taken it to a local Porsche shop for an a/c recharge (the only time so far that that i've paid someone to work on my car, and I overpaid badly BTW), and they did me the favor of replacing the boots on the door switches, and that's where the problem originated. Perhaps they weren't seated right, but regardless, playing with them freed them up.

Now I just make sure to pay attention that the interior lights come on when I open the door. So far so good. Since then, i've been able to leave the car parked for up to 3 weeks and it still cranked up just fine.

HiWind

Worked for me too - down to 19ma

Laguna Seca

A big thanks to Tasracer and Vandit! My auto interior lights stopped working and then a dead battery! Today, I put her on a charger. I just read your thread and thought I would try the "fiddle with the switch trick...it worked! Now the lights come on/off and hopefully she will stay charged! I think my problem has been solved! Thanks for the great info! Just what I needed...I would have never figured out that the power stays on when your dome lights don't work! Good to know...cheers!

rsscotty

Some interesting reading in the link. Note the front trunk latch needs to be triggered in the closed position before current draw testing. Also the removing of the cab. top warning light in the clock if you don't have a cabriolet to lessen current draw.

http://pcarworkshop.com/images/0/07/...994_620294.pdf

bmohr

so, any advice on how to fish out the door switch wire if it decides to retract back into the small hole it came from? The black plastic rod that holds the clip to the sensor broke and now I've to dig it out some how.

vagluv

i have the opposite problem. my car thinks my doors are open all the time...

Zingari

I'm getting a battery drain (or a defective battery) which i need to investigate. Reading the bulletin what does "Set the trunk switch to the off position" mean exactly. I've noticed my trunk light is not working when the bonnet is open with/without side lights on.

Vandit

^perhaps the bulb is out.

I would take some pliers and clamp the switch at the front trunk (near the fuse box) to make the car think the trunk was closed, otherwise, obviously there's going to be a big drain since that controls the light in the trunk and the interior lights.

ToreB

Hi Zingari.
Normal current draw in a 993 with ignition off is 25 to 70 mA. (0.025A) An aftermarket alarm can introduce an additional 5 to 50mA.

Connect an amperemeter in series with one of the battery leads to check this.
When measuring, note that open doors will activate the interior lights as well as a relay for enabling the power windows. Also, an open bonnet and/or engine lid will activate the lights there too.
After ignition off the CCU with fan will continue to run for 1 to 10 minutes. (about 500mA)
An unlocked car will also have the OBD LCD with light turned on in the tachometer.

Therefore, measure the current with all interior/bonnet/engine lights off, lock the doors, and wait for the CCU to turn off. The light switch in the luggage and engine compartments are placed in the lock mechanism. Depresss the latch to switch off the light.
You might consider opening the windows first to avoid having problems getting in due to a problem with immobilizer or similar.

A value of 100-200mA or so can indicate that some of the above mentioned points are active.

If the CCU does not turn off (0.5A) you may have a problem with an internal transistor. It's an easy fix for an electronic wiz.
A car fitted with a 50Ah battery will go flat in about 100 hours with a current draw of 0.5A.
Best regards,
Tore

ziu

@vaglov
check the door contacts

Lorenfb

"If the CCU does not turn off (0.5A) you may have a problem with an internal transistor."

Not always that simple. Many still fail to turn-off even after doing that replacement.

ToreB

You may have more experience in this than me Loren, I've never seen other reasons for this particular problem. Please feel free to share any knowledge on this.
Cheers,
Tore