rysagreg

Hi All,
Out of nowhere, start the car and back out of the driveway, the following warning lights appear in red: 1) Drive to workshop, 2) TIP Emergency Run, 3) ABS failure, 4) PSM failure, 5) Warning Battery/Generator, suddenly, radio/AC shut off, now power, would not shift (Tiptronic), No OBD II or ABS codes present. After this happened I ran a starting and charging test: The CCA is rated at 730, came back at 546CCA, the volts was 12.20, the charging test came back at 13.95 volts. Then I re did it with AC blowing, radio and wipers on and the test came back at 538CCA, 12.14 volts and 13.35 charging. I replaced the battery today after all this and same warning signs, all 5 present. Any ideas? The Porsche is a 2002 996, C4, tiptronic, 110,000 miles, daily driver.
Thanks, Greg

Ahsai

Could be a charging issue. Did you check if the sepertine belt is still there? Also what is the voltage when the engine is running?

DBJoe996

These electrical gremlins are difficult to diagnose. You did the most basic thing - put in a new battery. So now you are going to have to dig deeper. It may be a charging problem, so that is the alternator. Another common source of all sorts of gremlins is the electrical portion of the ignition key. You also need to check some basic things, good ground at the battery and corrosion on the engine ground, and how much voltage at the + terminal in the engine bay with the engine off, and running. Could be the diodes in the voltage regulator on the back of the alternator have gone bad. The voltage regulator can be replaced on the alternator.

Splitting Atoms

The voltage regulator on the alternator often goes bad due to a bad ground. Check the cleanliness of the battery terminals and the connection from the negative cable to the body. My connection was bad and it ruined two alternators for the previous owner. I had to trailer the car home after I bought it and the grounds we're the first place I looked, and sure enough, that was it. I cleaned the connection, installed a new alternator (which has the regulator mounted in it) and it runs great.

The cables behind the alternator is the second place I would look. There is a "Y" cable that is notorious for going bad.

+1 on the ignition switch. Also something to look at. They are not too difficult to change out, and they are also notorious for going bad and causing issues.

rysagreg

Thanks for the replies, the serpentine belt is there and fairly new, the grounds at the battery look good and tight. I ordered a voltage regulator and will be replacing that likely this evening or tomorrow. The voltage running is 13.95V and running with AC and radio on is at 13.35V. Is this within range? Also, I forgot to mention, the dashboard charging gage is pinned at 16V when the error messages are displayed. I will check the ground at the alternator after I remove it. Thanks again!

Splitting Atoms

Did you unbolt the cable connection to the body? Mine looked fine, but there was a layer of corrosion between the connector and contact point on the body. The resistance was high across the junction. You could read 12.5V (battery voltage) at the alternator, but it couldn't pass enough amps, resulting in damage to the voltage regulator. I cleaned the connector and contact point on the body with a wire brush and coated them with a thin layer of dielectric grease.

Ahsai

13.5v - 14.5v when engine is running is within spec. If it's truly pegged at 16v at the time the error msg popped up, I suspect you have a problem with the voltage regulator/alternator.

SKM

Porschetech3

Remove both battery cables and closely inspect clamps and posts for pitting (arching) similar to picture provided.

Arching is caused by a chemical reaction forming an insulation between the connection surfaces. Even with clamps tight , the there is not a good connection between the post and clamp. If the connection is poor or lost the alternator will go to fill charge (16v-20v) and also from DC current to AC ( the diodes in the alternator cannot function with an open circuit).

If pitting (arching) is present, clean/sand/scrape the lead post and clamps and retighten. If no pitting (arching) is present continue to more comprehensive charging system tests.

mrjonger

I got something similar when my voltage regulator ran out. I did the same thing you did. New battery suspended the CELs for while, but they came back. I couldn't find a non-chinese regulator, so far it's held up for 6K miles for about a year. If it goes out anytime soon, I'll just get a new alternator. (Bosch branded - not from Porsche). The ground wire on mine was also really stiff, so I went ahead and changed that. I'm not sure it was warranted, but it's a super easy swap.

rysagreg

I am happy to post that I just finished replacing the voltage regulator and all seems good so far, no warning lights on the dash and runs great. Although I only went around the neighborhood and quite fast on that last stretch! haha.. I will put more miles it tomorrow. It was an easy install, about 1-hour start to finish. The battery I installed last evening did not fix the problem, but I am glad I replaced it anyways, the date was 04/14, so good preventative maintenance. The voltage regulator was $45 from Parts Authority (Pronto) and it was a Bosch F-00M-144-136. Thank you everyone for the input and responses, I love this forum!

Ahsai