Weird electrical issues
Thread Starter
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 473
Likes: 157
From: Kansas City
Weird electrical issues
I recently bought. 2014 C2 PDK. Just under 19k miles. Not a lot of service records, a few oil changes & that was about it. Clean car fax.
The first thing that happened was on the drive home from buying the car. (It was a long drive from Houston to Kansas City.) I stopped for dinner & then started the car to continue the trip... Pulling out onto a busy road in OK City the radio and all associated lights turned off and then back on again a second or two later. It was like the radio restarted itself.
The next weird thing was the passenger door wouldn’t open, like the door was locked, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t. Trying the unlock didn’t work, & I had to reach over & pull the handle. This happened a second time, but using the unlock button worked this time.
Last night, after sitting for about 3 hours, the car wouldn’t start. It just kept saying that I needed to put my foot on the brake. Finally, I pressed the pedal much harder & the car started.
Then today, after a short drive & a 15 min shut down, the car started but I got all kinds of messages that cycled through on the dash.
My first guess is a voltage issue from a bad battery. I have a tester at work & will test it tomorrow, but I’m open to other suggestions if you have them.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks
Dan
The first thing that happened was on the drive home from buying the car. (It was a long drive from Houston to Kansas City.) I stopped for dinner & then started the car to continue the trip... Pulling out onto a busy road in OK City the radio and all associated lights turned off and then back on again a second or two later. It was like the radio restarted itself.
The next weird thing was the passenger door wouldn’t open, like the door was locked, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t. Trying the unlock didn’t work, & I had to reach over & pull the handle. This happened a second time, but using the unlock button worked this time.
Last night, after sitting for about 3 hours, the car wouldn’t start. It just kept saying that I needed to put my foot on the brake. Finally, I pressed the pedal much harder & the car started.
Then today, after a short drive & a 15 min shut down, the car started but I got all kinds of messages that cycled through on the dash.
My first guess is a voltage issue from a bad battery. I have a tester at work & will test it tomorrow, but I’m open to other suggestions if you have them.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks
Dan
Thread Starter
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 473
Likes: 157
From: Kansas City
Rennlist Member
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 62
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From: MA - USA
These cars seem finicky with batteries as they are going bad. I hope with a new battery these issues go away. Maybe a dealer or trusted Indy visit to replace battery if needed would be a good idea.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 1,042
Likes: 569
From: Colorado
I would start with the battery, then go from there. These cars can develop weird electrical gremlins when a battery is starting to go bad. If it's the original battery and/or it hasn't been kept on a battery tender when not in use, you could be due for a battery. If you do replace the battery, pay a little more for an AGM battery and keep it on a tender if you're not going to be driving the car for more than a week or so, especially in the colder winter months.
Good luck.
Good luck.
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Rennlist Member
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You could remove the negative terminal and positive and cleaned them with dedicated battery cable clamp cleaner. Then put on positive and negative. I’d problems persists,buy battery. Is there a date of manufacture on the battery?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 834
Likes: 64
From: El Dorado Hills, CA
I am in the middle of a similar problem with my 2017 911 C2s. Multiple error messages and car would not start. Had to get it towed to the dealer. Currently waiting to hear what is wrong this week. I put a new battery in mine which did not help but I agree that the battery is the first thing to check.
Thread Starter
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 473
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From: Kansas City
I tested the battery and it shows charge and retry.
I cant believe this car would need charged after driving it 1300 miles in the last week.
But usually my tester will show "fail" for a bad battery.
Hmm... I think I'll buy a new battery and see what happens.
**edit** the battery is dated 8/14, so I feel like it's time.
I cant believe this car would need charged after driving it 1300 miles in the last week.
But usually my tester will show "fail" for a bad battery.
Hmm... I think I'll buy a new battery and see what happens.
**edit** the battery is dated 8/14, so I feel like it's time.
Last edited by CTDan; Dec 14, 2020 at 03:36 PM.
Thread Starter
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 473
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From: Kansas City
Swapped the battery with help from: https://rennlist.com/forums/991/1041...ement-diy.html
It was an easy job, but the thread made it easier... fingers crossed it all works as it should.
I didn’t use a tender but worked quickly. After the install I found that all of my radio stations are still programmed, which I would assume is a good sign...
Thanks for chiming in.
Dan
It was an easy job, but the thread made it easier... fingers crossed it all works as it should.
I didn’t use a tender but worked quickly. After the install I found that all of my radio stations are still programmed, which I would assume is a good sign...
Thanks for chiming in.
Dan