mcfisticuffs

2009 997.2 C2S 68,000km. Manual transmission.

Symptoms:
1. Turning key to ON / START wakes up the radio and lights, but does not wake up the speedo cluster - i.e. no warning lights. Only warning lamp is the airbag. The message center is active, so between these two I don't think it's a bad cluster.
2. Turning and holding to ON / START does nothing; radio stays on, no attempt to start; no starter solenoid click; no "depress clutch" message; no speedo lights.
3. Key inserts and removes from ignition with no issue.

Backstory details:
1. Battery died as I left radar detector plugged in (I'm used to "switched" power outlets in my truck or the Valentine 1 OBD2 port connection, and didn't put it on my battery tender for a couple weeks.
2. Battery charged overnight last night; charger verifies "charged".

My diagnosis - Please Validate before I spend $400 on a switch.
Bad Ignition switch.
With the dead battery, nothing worked. After the overnight charge, lights, radio, fans, door lights, etc. all work; so I would expect even if the battery is weak, I would at least get a slow crank and speedo cluster lights.

sbbarnett

I would check the battery with a tester first - I had similar sequence of events and problems, and even when my expensive tender said the battery was reconditioned and charged, it was still bad. New batt = no problems YMMV

groovzilla

Ignition switches are notorious for going bad. However I would replace battery first to make sure.

mcfisticuffs

Thanks for the input.

Battery isn't new, but is only 2 years old. But my comment from earlier still makes sense to me... even a weak battery should give me a slow crank or light up the instrument cluster? Or is that somehow flawed?

sbbarnett

My Batt was a 2-year old Bosch. Started once - then stranded me 9 miles from the house. no click, lots of weird electrical behaviors, like radio turning on, but no gauges. I at first thought it was the ignition switch, but it was the Batt. Your issue might still be the switch, but a battery checkout will tell you something.

groovzilla

May sound totally bizarre but a battery can go bad after 2 yrs. I just replaced mine and it was 23 months old.

mcfisticuffs

Good to know.

I don't have a battery tester but I'll put a proper booster on it when I get home.

997.2GTS

Take it to any Autozone or O Reilly's and they will test it for free.

mcfisticuffs

I'm just going to save myself the embarrassment and say this is a good idea.

Batteries can be removed from cars. Lol.

Khloesdad

I consider the ignition switch more or less a maintenance item. They eventually give you problems. The first sign of my car not starting I replaced it along with the clutch switch.

mcfisticuffs

Confirmed - car will not boost. Exact same results - no instrument lights, no crank.

Tried all sorts of key jiggling and angles and pulling...no change.

mcfisticuffs

Sit rep: lifted negative off the terminal for 60 seconds, reconnected, and she fired up.

Start simple, my friends. Thanks for your input.

Full Boost

Hate to tell you this..... but its not fixed.

Your battery will be ok - and it will happen again, I was having issues and it stranded me a few times before i dug deeper...

There is a "cheap" Porsche connection between your battery lead and a pivotable push on connector. It corrodes. Even in low mileage cars.

More info here:

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...esolved-5.html

Simon

Petza914

Your battery is likely compromised due to the excessive depletion that happened. Only deep cycle batteries recover from this type of deep discharge. I'd replace the battery, properly hardwire the radar detector to a switch power source, and use the Battery Tender religiously. I get about 8 years out of my AGM batteries by always plugging the car in when it's in the garage with my record being 12 years.

G.I.G.

I'd agree that you're not out of the woods if you have a lead acid battery, and you may want to consider changing it. We were trying to reset the service reminder light on my buddy's 997.2 and the battery drained rather quickly (BTW, I do NOT recommend the iCarsoft. It can't reset the service reminder on either his .2 nor my .1 after multiple attempts at working with customer service) and his battery was never the same after that. It was just a hair under 3 years old according the manufacturer date. He replaced it and was in good shape again.

If you do replace the battery, I recommend spending the extra money and getting an AGM battery. Not only can they recover better from being drained, they handle temperature extremes better and typically last longer. They usually carry a longer warranty as well.