So my recently acquired '99 996 has an issue where the dome and door lights do not come on when the door is open. I pretty much narrowed the issue down to a "Handover" not being done when a new Alarm Module was installed.

So I had a call with the Dealer that did the work. They seemed very friendly on the phone and suggested that I stop in for a few minutes and they would take care of the problem.

So I did. I went to the Dealer (a good hour from home).
And I waited. And waited. 2 and half hours later, the service manager comes out and tells me that the Handover programming is not the problem, instead she says, the ignition switch needs to be replaced..... for $500.

Now I happen to know that a switch costs $10 or so. So I order one from Pelican put it in myself and voila, the problem is NOT fixed.

On the plus side, I didn't flush $500. On the minus side, I spent a bunch of time on this and still dont have a solution.

Out of consideration I won't give out the name of the Stealer, except to say that they are in Walnut Creek, California.

....and that is my Funny Story.

Anyone happen know that name of an honest mechanic in the Bay Area that can reprogram my Alarm Module ?

 

The dilemma is that only the Porsche diagnostic tool can speak with the alarm module. The non-Porsche diagnostic tools, like the Durametric that many of us use, can talk to all of the systems EXCEPT the alarm.

So, unfortunately, a stealership may be your only option.

 

Michael Stead, huh? Bummer. Where are you based? If you drove an hour to Walnut Creek, you most likely passed another dealer on the way.

 

I kept this in my word documents folder just for this occasion.

When my wife bought my car for my 70th birthday, She didn't noticed (or was she told by the dealer) that the inside dome lights and the little door lights, did not come on as the fob or the key manually was used in either door. The petrol door had a part missing so it was always unlocked. Neither did the switch flick out bolt to the petrol door work. I could however turn on the dome and map lights ,manually but not the bottom of the door lights. I searched for 18 months and tried everything until I was blue in the face. Eventually a chap in the UK on a forum suggested that my car appeared to be still in Transit/handover mode which was controlled from the alarm module which is situated underneath the drivers seat on my 99 996. I believe that when a car is being transported between garages, the Porsche dealers put the alarm system into this mode via their diagnostic tool. That way the alarm does not keep going off for whatever reason. Everything else worked on the car BTW. Even the alarm was still working although NOT the flashing turn signal part as I locked or unlocked the doors with key or fob. I could however hear a clicking sound when locking and unlocking which after repair turned out to be the sound of the turn signals (a visual aid part of the locking and unlocking of the car). The guy on the forum suggested I take it to a Porsche dealer for them to check the 'special menu' of the alarm module. I did, and it was in fact in the transit/sport car hand over mode. Mine is a Cabriolet BTW and has the hard top which was on the car during purchase. When postings where being made on THAT forum, another chap was having similar problems with his car. He took his car to Porsche and came back on the forum saying all was good now after they returned the module into normal mode. He had been trying for many months to solve his problem. I don't know exactly what was not working correctly but it was electrical in nature and no matter how everyone tried, he or anyone else including Indy's could not solve the issue. That's when I took mine, an hour afterwards, everything worked fine. Including the petrol door. They ordered the missing part to the door which the pin went through. 2 days after, I put the part on in 2 seconds. BTW the bolt arm was not working, but is now. The turn indicators flash twice on locking and once on unlocking. That's when I discovered that the flashing sound was in fact the indicators trying to come on but couldn't. Now they do. Everything now works perfectly on the car.
An added but very important note here is that the guy who was trying to solve his problem was in fact the owner of Pelican Parts Wayne Dempsey. Here is the link to the postings about this issue. http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic...en-doors-open/ You will see the ongoing postings which solved his and my issues.

The car HAS to go into a Porsche dealer...............It cost me $75

 

Thanks for the very useful info. I'll try Sonnen Porsche. I've been getting parts there with good results. How great would it be if members of this forum got together and bought a PIWIS.

http://www.diagmaker.com/bosch-kts52...FWfhQgodUQYAtw

 

You don't have to go to Porsche, you could go to an indi who has the Porsche diagnostic tool. Not only will it be cheaper but you may also get to see all the DME options that you can have done or undone. The place I go to is Rennshop in Santa Clara but that may be a bit far from Walnut Creek.

 

^ Not all indie shops have the Porsche diagnostic tool. The "real" PIWIS runs $18,000 for the first year and $12,000 USD for each succeeding year (prices circa 2009). My indie doesn't have the tool - but they're also not passing the cost of the lease for said tool along to every Porsche owner they service.

 

Bit torrent and generic Chinese USB OBD2 cable...j/k...(not really)

 

Not that I would EVER consider getting the SW off bit torrent, but out of pure curiosity, has anyone heard if that solution works (SW + Chinese OBD2 cable)? Does the PIWIS connect only through the OBD2 connector?

I'll give RennShop in Santa Clara a shot. I'm in SF but willing to go far for a good shop.

 

****ing idiots trying to sell off the ignition switch + labour for $500 USD. Sad thing is a lot of clients would believe it and say "ok".

 

Right?!?!? Really amazing. Also the switch had been replaced before (sometime after 2009).
They should really be prosecuted for attempted theft.

 

The dealer isn't just replacing the $10 audi part for $500. They are replacing the entire ignition switch ($180 on Pelican parts) as the dealer no longer replaces just the "end" piece as it did not always address the issue.

$500 is still a lot of coin for something like that.

 

I am amazed at the number of high end car owners that are so quick to say "okay" to the service writers. Sad thing is that the service writers seem to believe that any of us that own such cars will simply write the check.

 

I WILL NEVER take any of my cars to a dealer, unless its a lease and im gona throw it back to them at the end of the lease. My dads' S-class was having starting issues (sometimes it would just not fire up). Took it in to 2 different local dealers. After 2 days the dealer came back and said it needs a new shifter as the car is not recognizing that its in park so that's why it wont fire up and they quoted $2300 just for the part plus labor. Then the second dealer said its the key I either need to change the ignition switch because its not reading the electronic key which is also around 2K or buy a new key for $300 and see if that will work. so I showed them the finger and took the car home. At the end it turned out to be a relay that I got from local parts store and problem solved.