So Friday my 997 decided to remind me that it's in control.

I started it and got a TPMS warning. Partially inactive. Rear wheels were not registering. I drove to my appointment and when I got back into the car, same thing only this time only one of the rear wheels was not reading. I used the reset menu and that cleared up.

Five minutes later, I parked to get gas. When I restarted, I got the transmission warning light that has occasionally lit up (the one that the dealer couldn't fix) and the car wouldn't move. On restart, it cleared and everything was ok.

Five minutes later, I'm at another appointment and when I turned off the car and got out, the "parking lights are on" bell and warning came on--even thought they were definitely not on. Nothing would clear that, even a re-start. I left, went into the building and when I came out twenty minutes later, it was still on. I restarted the car and it went away. Didn't happen when I turned off the car again.

All this within the span of about an hour.

 

Get a new battery.

 

So a failing battery causes these kinds of electrical gremlins?

Should I even try to get this looked at by a dealer (CPO car, purchased in August 2012 with 10k miles put on it since) or should I just purchase one myself?

 

I've gotten the "parking lights are on" warning when I've mistakenly turned the car off with the turn signal still on. Maybe that was the culprit on that one?

 

Any Autozone or indy shop will test your battery and charging system for free. This would be a good starting point given the problems you describe.

 

You know, it's weird that you say that because I noticed my turn signal was on (I turned right into the parking spot--the wheel never turned back to reset the stalk) but when I turned the signal off, the warning didn't go away.

Of course, that doesn't explain the other items but might partially explain the one.

Still might be a good idea to follow PHX's advice.

 

The turn signal thing always throws me for a loop. "What do you mean parking lights are on!!!". They should have a more specific warning.

 

I got that one for the first time recently. I didn't look in the manual to see if this is by design or not. I assumed it might be by design though. I had a MB that allowed you to turn on the front and rear parking lights for either side of the car. This is to warn ppl that your car is there (assuming this is for parking in unlighted areas). On the MB, this function was on the headlight switch though.

 

If you've ever driven on European roads, you'd understand why this is a feature.

 

Iceter, follow PHX 911's advice and get a new battery! Had exactly the same kind of strange messages popping up on my 997.1 S, short time later I wasn't able to move anymore (battery dead). After installation of a new battery, problemo solved and no Ghost in the machine anymore.
In my case, Porsche has hooked it up to the PIWI and has done some kind of reset of fealures (after installation of the new battery), can't tell the exact details as the "doctor on duty" was doing the surgery in Chinese (also on the PIWI).

 

Had my 2007 C2S on the battery tender for 10 days while away from the house. Came back yesterday, disconnected the tender, closed the front trunk lid, opened the door and tried to start the car. Zip. Dead battery. Couldn't get the key removed and had to carefully close the door as the window didn't drop.
Bad battery? Will pull today and check (after going through the process of powering up the system in order to open the trunk).
Battery is 6 months old....... so hope it isn't something else.

 

I provided a post about the same issue a few weeks ago. Similar issues to those listed in the note string. Turned out to be a bad battery cell. I got lucky and Porsche replaced the battery for me under warranty (no charge). One thing I found interesting that the dealer told me was that we need to drive at least 500 miles per month in order to maintain a proper charge, or buy a trickle charger. Needless to say I am driving mine a bit more frequently now. Will invest in a trickle charger in the fall.

 

that's lame, hope you sort it out my NC brother

 

No worries. Your avatar is already making me feel better.

 

Ha, I'd better do it soon. Now my driver's side window isn't lowering when I put the top down.

I sure as hell hope this is all symptomatic of a bad battery. If it's not, I've got some serious electrical issues.