Chiamac

My 01 does that, or at least doesn't pop up that much when released.

Chiamac

Yup, the back of your mind went "what else is wrong" and it found something it didn't notice before.

Sue Esponte

Okay, I went back to the turn signal. I noticed a little corrosion on the contacts so I cleaned them up and the new bulb now works fine. Old one was legitimately dead though, which is good.

I guess everything seems to be pointing to the microswitch in the hood or engine lid. Since they're on the same loop I'm not sure how to isolate which one it is without a diagnosis tool. I hate the idea of buying a new switch only to find out the original was operating properly.

-Eric

DBJoe996

Well that is good...got the bulb issue fixed. I am not exactly certain about the lid microswitch operation but I think it is a simple go/no-go switch. I would test it with a multimeter for continuity. I know you will have to disassemble the front hood latch to get at the microswitch. Then disconnect the microswitch and put a multimeter with continuity on the connector leads, then operate the microswitch by hand to see what happens. One way it should be off, no continuity, and the other way it should be on, with continuity. If it does not function like that it is probably bad. $99 for a new microswitch is not really so bad.
http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-p...section=803-00

Dan951Man

Just try unplugging the front trunk switch (pull carpet back from front wall and unclip) and test to see if the lights go out and the double beep disappears.
The double beep may stay (can't see frunk locked) but I assume all lights will go out. This confirms my belief

Sue Esponte

First of all, thanks for all of the great advice and suggestions and for hanging with me to help me track down this problem. I truly hate electronics.

So, today, we found the culprit and I can confirm that we were all off track.

Evidently Porsche did more than route the frunk and engine lid through the same circuit. They routed the glove box through it, too.

It's funny because I was a click away from ordering the front microswitch over the weekend to fix the problem myself. I was back and forth between taking it to my indie shop and doing it myself. If it was a mechanical issue, I wouldn't have hesitated to tackle it myself. But with electronics...I really just don't like them. I would have gone through a process of elimination by replacing, first, the frunk microswitch, then the engine lid microswitch and then, I probably would have thrown spaghetti at the wall and just replaced the ignition switch to see if it could really be that simple.

Never in a million years would I have looked at the glove box. It helps to have Porsche diagnostic software and a wiring schematic! lol Just my luck next week one of the switches I would have replaced will fail. lol

-Eric

DBJoe996

You didn't mention having a glove box!! My 99 996 doesn't have one so I never would have thought of that. Now we can add it to - if my car does this what the heck is wrong with it.

Glad you found out what was wrong. Now back to the story.......

Sue Esponte

I forgot the MkI cars didn't have a glove box. One less thing for you to worry about breaking, I suppose.

-Eric

FRUNKenstein

Congrats on the fix!

The part of your quote listed above is definitely true when it comes to the ignition switch - it should probably be considered a wear item and just be proactively replaced every 5 yrs or 50k miles.
Sooner or later it will wear out, leaving you stranded probably at the most inconvenient time and place.
As such, I don't think swapping it out during electrical gremlin troubleshooting is ever a complete waste of time and money - all $12 and 20 minutes that it requires.
It's not a bad idea to keep a spare one in that glovebox along with the small flathead screwdriver tip it takes to change it out.
On my 964, I used to keep a fuel pump relay in the glovebox for that very same reason.