nedsky

I've gotten a lot of advice from the Rennlist the 3 and a half years I've been on it. I've asked all the standard newbie questions for peace of mind, etc. but this is the first time that I'm in a jam.

It has to do with the immobilizer. I've looked on this site and believe I've got a good plan of action but wanted to get some opinions.

My car is in a parking lot- a tavern's, of course. When I arrived there Saturday night the immobilizer didn't lock the car. The next morning I came back and tried again to no avail. The fob, which is separate from the key, doesn't engage the immobilizer. When I push the button on it nothing happens except that the little red light it has goes on. I changed the battery in the thing but no good. It was always difficult to use. You had to press the button pretty hard so I guess this was an accident waiting to happen. It dawned on me Sunday morning that I could lock the car so I did. When I unlocked it after that just to try the key in the ignition the alarm went off for about 5 minutes before it finally stopped.

Should I assume this is just a mechaical failure, ie. the button on the fob is not being depressed enough to activate it? A few years back I bought a new $80 plastic case for it. That didn't help.

I can order a new circuit board which is what I assume I have to do. Is this the answer? Has anyone run into this before? I have a late '95. I know there's some distinction in that.

One final question, please. When I get it towed later today I'll have to open it up to put it in nuetral. I assume the alarm will go again. Can I simply pull the fuse to the horn or what else if anything can be done about that.

Thanks, Ned

vincer77

If the light on the fob goes on, it means the button is making contact.

Stealth 993

Check fuse 11. Replace the flob batteries. & make sure all the interior/trunk/hood lights are going out when you close all the doors/hoods.

Damien Lewis

That immobilizer is a funny thing...I personally know of two people who have had their 993's stolen from their garages in their condominium buildings here in LA. Both times, the thieves had no problem taking the cars in mere seconds. What do they know that we don't about our immobilizers? How do they get around it so easily? Yet when a legitimate owner has a problem, he has to have his car towed because he cannot find a "go-around".

What am I missing here? Is there another forum for Porsche thieves that tells them how to circumnavigate the immobilizer?

Damien

nedsky

But then why would depressing it harder do the trick for over 3 years? It always lit up with the lightest touch, but never worked except when pushed hard, vincer77. I'll try Fuse 11, Stealth 993. Damien, if you come across a site like that please PM me.

IXLR8

Damien, that is why it is a good idea to come up with a personalized method of immobilizing your vehicles above and beyond the factory immobilizer.

joe 997

As these cars get older the immoboilizer will probably be a growing problem. SKL2 and I sent our DME's to Steve at Rennsportsystems this weekend to have the immobilizer disabled not cheap but probably the only long term fix.

skl2

^^ what Joe said....this was a timely thread as we decided even tho its not a "sexy" thing to spend money on...however, after seeing these stories I am very glad I wont be worrying about the damn immobilizer anymore!

travanx

My car had the issue because the glove box light wasn't plugged in, or something odd like that when I bought the car.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Alex raises a great point about personalizing a theft-prevention solution. It may be a good idea for those living in large metro areas where car theft is a concern.

There are many ways to accomplish this that include hidden measures that disable the fuel supply and/or ignition.

C4S993

My 1996 C4S alarm goes off (after several minutes) whenever I use the key FOB to lock the car. So instead I use the key to lock the door(s) and that disables the alarm function but of course locks the doors. To start the car the key FOB opens doors ok and car will start but only if I start it within a minute of using the key FOB to open the door(s). Thus a thief, after he gets in, has to within a minute dis-arm the alarm system which although not active will however disable the start-operation. The bottom line is that without a working key FOB, the car cannot be driven away. I should also add that if the engine is running and I get out, within 30 seconds the doors will LOCK !

nedsky

I had the car towed home yesterday. When I unlocked the door with the key the alarm went off and I had to remove the ground wire from the negative terminal to stop the horn. I've ordered a new key fob. I've printed up the programming procedure for when it arrives. When I hook the battery back up will the alarm go off again? Maybe somebody can enlighten me as to what, if anything, I'm going to run into here. Thanks, Ned

C4S993

On my 1996 C4S, the only way to unlock the car and not have the alarm trigger, is to use the key FOB. This situation happens to me when I exit the car with the engine running and forget to leave a door open; as within 30 seconds the doors lock ! So I use the wallet back-up skinny key to unlock the door, alarm goes off, use the key FOB to shut the alarm off.

techman1

Ned, have you opened and looked carefully at the old Fob?

When you describe pushing the button harder to unlock, even thought the light comes on sounds like maybe there is a crack in the small circuit board inside.

nedsky

techman, I've looked inside but can't really tell anything. I've ordered a new circuit board (the whole operation with case) so I hope that is the issue