fst951

Hi there.

I just finished putting an engine is my broken 996 with a tiptronic and now it drives great, but the gear indicator for the tiptronic flahsed back and forth between drive and 4th gear. It shifts just fine, but the flashing bothers me.

Thank you for any ideas.

fst951

FYI. The transmission has fresh fluid, filter, gasket etc. I just cleaned it out and the fluid was dirty, but the car shifts fine and did prior to engine overhaul.

Thank you.

scottiemac

I had the blinking lights on my 99 Cab, but it wouldn't shift any further than 4th gear. The first time it happened I took it to the dealer and they suggested that it was probably due to a low battery. They cleared the fault for free. It happened again a while little while later and I hooked my OBDII scanner to it and used the clear codes function. It worked and now I keep a battery tender on the car when I won't be using it for any extended period of time (> a week or so).
The fault hasn't occurred since (4 years).
Good luck - hope this helps.

fst951

Hi there.

Bizarre problem I guess. I will fully charge the battery and try and OBD2 scanner, but the factory tool came back with faults like solenoid pressures on 1-4 was improper. Runs great. What a pain. I will let you know what i find out.

Thank you.

mroset

Hello everyone, since today I have the following problem and symptoms in my 1999 C4 Convertible:
I presume the car has gone into the Limited Driving Program mode.

Symptoms:
- gear indicator for the tiptronic in the dash flahses back and forth between drive and 4th gear
- Tiptronic / Manual Shift Mode (stick on the M position) does not work
- Car will not shift any further than 4th gear (but gears 1-4 work fine in Automatic gearshift mode)
- PSM OFF light is also ON.

Now I think it may be related to the current extreme temperatures out here (up to -10 degrees Celcius)
I've tried switching the ignition OFF/ back ON, and driven about 80 kms, but the problem remains.

My kind questions to you:
1. What's the recommendation here to get this fixed (visit the Porsche dealership and have them reset the faults ?
2. What OBDII scanner tool do you use to reset the fault codes (Would the Foxwell NT510 be a good and economic choice here ?)

BR / Thanks,

Maarten

wyovino

Freezing conditions combined with moisture/water on the top of the transmission can cause it to go into Limp mode. It happened to me once but was remedied once the temperature went above freezing. If that's not the cause, you need to take it to a transmission shop. A standard ODBII reader will not read Tiptronic codes.

mroset

Thanks for the quick feedback Bill, really appreciate it !
I also think it must be the cold weather (extreme freezing conditions out here in NL this week, no snow thank god...) that causes this.
The car has to go into a periodic service and rear tires need to be replaced anyhow, so I'll ask the Porsche-specialist to check this also (Passed the Porsche dealership yesterday, but it was just after office hours, so could not ask them to reset it...) .
I reckon it will be neccessary to reset the fault memory to clear the problem and turn off the 'Limp' / Limited Driving Program mode.
That seems to be possible using the Durametric Enthusiast Medium OBDI/OBDII adapter/software (About 400 EUR incl. VAT out here), which you can use for up to 3 Porsches (I'm at my first, so I now have an extra argument to convince my wife to pick up the 2018 Porsche 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series in Stuttgart sometime soon...) .
So I'm also considering purchasing that device also to be able to do some more checking of this ultimate driving machine :-)).

Long story short: I will make sure to update you all and share my experiences with resolving this issue (cause + solution) , so that it will help others.

David993S

That seems really strange, Bill. How do you know that was the cause of your Limp mode? What happens with the trans to make that occur? I know several people who drive their Tips in winter and have never heard of that problem. Just curious as I don't drive mine in winter/freezing conditions.
Cheers.

wyovino

Sure, make me find it again . I read it either here or on Renntech a while ago. About 3 years ago I was pulling out of my detached, unheated garage and it went into limp mode. I had driven it in rain before putting it away and then the temps fell into the single digits (F) for a few days. The first day above freezing I tried to drive out and experienced the problem. I didn't panic because I had read that it could happen. I waited a few hours and the car was fine. It hasn't happened since. Of course I can't find where I read it but I remember it was from one of the very respected contributors.

David993S

^^ Thanks Bill.

Shawn Stanford

My daughter's '01 986 just did this. Low battery and cold morning, I'm hoping.