LarsCarrera

Bought this Cayenne with problems for a small amount. This is my 14th Porsche. First Cayenne. I've done most of my own wrench work for more than 50 years. Invested in an iCarSoft Scanner. These are the P codes it is throwing: DME - 1605, 0600, 1614, 1606, 1182, 1609, 1604, 0501, 1431, 0564, 1615. Airbag - 1312, 0532. KESSY - 0576, 0179, 0180, 0181, 0183, 0087, 0956, 0668, 1316, 1315,1299. Air Conditioning - 0668, 1592, 1299, 0352. Instrument Cluster - 0778, 1310, 1315, 1316, 2053,1312, 0457. Gateway - 0778, 1310, 1315, 1316, 2053,1312, 0457, 0908. Veh. Electric AL. SYS - 0967, 1494, 0978, 0968, 0060, 0062, 0576, 1336, 1517, 0907, 1299, 2086, 1520, 2197. Steering Col. Switch - 0532, 0457. WIPER - 1305, 1299. Park Assist - 1629, 1628, 0434, 0435,1627, 1626, 0457, 1299, 1517, 1312. Drivers Seat Memory - 0668, 0457, 1317. Passenger Seat Memory - 0668, 0457. REAR/DOORS - 0927, 1516, 0926, 0668, 0576, 1038, 1312, 1331, 0932, 1332, 1333, 0930, 1334, 0931. AHK (Towbar) - 0532, 0457, 0576

The vehicle runs ok, won't shift out of 2nd, Turbo boosts, stereo, A/C, windows, roof, seats, lights all work. Not much else as you can see.

OK.....I know this is ripe territory for humor at my expense....but I seriously need some advice, input, suggestions from this community. My closest Independant Mech. is 65 miles away.....closest Dealer 3+ hours.

Thanks,

Lars in far North CA.

NelaK

Have you tried clearing all the codes and then seeing what comes back?

Also - that just seems like electrical issues more than actual failures. The car doesn't happen to have water damage, does it?

vandal968

Wow, I think that's a record! Mine threw tons of codes when the battery was weak. Among the codes that kept coming up were: AHK Towbar (like you have), Rear Doors (like you), I also had several codes that said "implausible signal" such as "passenger footwell" and "steering". I assume that it was seeing a voltage below the expected range. New batt, no codes since October. Car started fine with old batt, didn't notice it was weak until a cold day. But it was still throwing codes despite starting well.

Either that or corrosion in that bundle by the driver's sill. Both possibilities are checked in the same location. #winning

cheers,
c

Petza914

You've got the right places to start here with those being low voltage from a bad battery (you might have 2 batteries) and water damage to the wiring under the carpet.

If you push the electric tailgate release button, does the tailgate go all the way up? If not, that's one of the first signs of a weak battery, even if the car can still be started.

LarsCarrera

NelaK.....cleared all codes.....they all came back. No water damage to vehicle.

vandal968.....I have been through both wire bundles under the driver & passenger floor mats. I did re-splice some ugly splices but it made no difference.

Petza914.....I installed a new battery a month ago. Tailgate will not release, even with the vehicle running. Windows go up & down. Only have one battery. No water intrusion.

Still looking for ideas..........

Thanks

Petza914

Any chance you have a 2 battery car - the other is in the back if there is one.

What's the return policy?

LarsCarrera

Pete.......A one battery only vehicle. Battery is a month old. Checks out fine.

oldskewel

Wow. Unbelievable is the word there. Sounds like you're doing the right things (battery, reset, reader, etc.) to rule out things so far.

Here's another idea for debugging ... Reset codes again, but also, pull as many fuses as you can, getting rid of as many auxiliary things as possible. Kind of like rebooting a computer in safe mode.

Good luck.

deilenberger

Lars, you said "Bought this Cayenne with problems for a small amount" - hopefully for a very small amount. You said you checked both front footwells for damaged splices? Did you unwrap the bundles to check? Some people have found damaged splices further up the cables where they start to go up the firewall of the car. Capillary action can draw water up a cable bundle.

It sounds as if something has gone very very bad with your electrical system (but you knew that right?).. This is a case where it sounds as if there is some noise on the 12.6V lines in the car. That can be caused by a shorted diode in the alternator. Usually - a shorted diode will make the alternator sort of sing - a whistling sort of noise directly related to the speed of the engine. Best way to check for this is to put an oscilloscope on the 12V line of the car - some distance from the battery (the battery works like a big capacitor and damps out the electrical noise.) Have any friends who might have an oscilloscope? (I have one, but I suspect I'm some distance from you..)

LarsCarrera

I unwrapped the cable bundles....but, I will check them again. Yes, I knew it had a ghost-in-the-machine when I bought it for $3K.....it has only 92K miles....and, not water damaged. It was hit on the drivers side but a glancing blow and not a direct impact.....needs a door skin & rocker panel. I was just told to check the body grounds and the alternator by a 25 year Porsche Engineer from Scotland. He also said that it may have to be "re-programmed" with a Durametric. Unfortunately no oscilloscope handy! I am off to do those checks. I shall post my results on this Thread. Thanks for you input.... Lars in Far North CA

LarsCarrera

I ended up hauling it to Kendall Porsche in Bend, OR. They found a bad relay in the battery area. Replaced it.....and fixed 95% of my problems! Cost = $200. Fighting with the headlights now! Thanks for the help..........

Rod Croskery

An inspiring tale! Thanks.

Shawn Stanford

Woot! Good news! And it sounds as if you found a dealer service. That's solid gold, there.

Also good: This confirms the battery was the culprit, which was the initial diagnosis in the thread.

NRath

Did you happen to ask specifically "how" they found it? I'd be surprised if their scan took could read increased resistance across a relay.

BamaScoot

If I had to guess I'd say they used a multimeter to test voltage at the battery then just went downstream until they found the culprit.