Andypandarific

Looks like i have jinxed myself for starting to search for DYI upgrades.

2013 Turbo Panamera:

• 2 or 3 days ago, I had an issue where i could not activate sports plus - Chassis failure warning popped up.
• I stopped the car, restarted it and put it into sports plus.
• I use my front lift a lot when i'm entering my work, or at certain places around town where there is a slope or incline.
• When i left work, i heard a crunch, which was strange, because i "had the lift up" - perhaps the first sign i wasn't aware of when it looked on, but perhaps did not adjust.
• Yesterday, i could not use sport plus at all. Every time i tried it says not possible, chassis failure warning.

I just received an icarly dongle. The poor man's fault code reader, it wasn't expensive and you get what you pay for, but at least i could get some codes.(if interested, i can refer you - but not what we are here for)

I had codes 284 and 320 - i forgot now the exact wording and didn't take a screenshot, but something about levelling and the car being at the maximum up or down height.

I found the fuse overview online, my manual is only in german :
https://www.autogenius.info/porsche-...e-box-diagram/

My car is now slammed at the front and is up on it's back legs. i'm a bit worried to drive it now.


Porsche previously rejected to service the car because it's "modified and not original parts" and the indie garage i found rejected me for "being too busy" then later "doesn't have experience on panamera" - basically, don't want to work with me due to language barrier.

So, i'm trying to figure it out myself and hope to fix it with the fuse or relay approach hopefully.

• I saw some other forums mention fuse 56, however, my car is empty in both of those. The ones in 57 on both sides are fine. i re-seated them after checking and nothing happened.
• I managed to get 1 fault code to go away after "shuffling" the fuses, basically just pressing on them to make sure they are correctly in, making connection and not slightly out.
• At the same time, i lifted the boot floor and wiggled those fuses as well - none of them appear to be broken.
• I could get Sports Plus to go on, my suspension light shows the 2 LEDs for sports mode, but the car doesn't move.
• I was able to press the suspension button and the lights go off and the dash tries to go to Comfort, however, it just never moves.
• If i directly turn the car on and try to use the lift, the dash says "not possible".
• When i used to park and take my daughter out, i'd lock the door and hear a "grrrrrrrrr" electrical noise (more like ehhhhhhhh) from the back driver side wheel, which i think is the compressor ? It's definately electrical, it sounds like something maybe moves then it goes off.
• I don't get that anymore.

So, i have only one fault code, which i think is now the one for being at the extreme lifting range.

I am looking for help, if anyone can help me confirm similar issue or diagnose it, especially when i have no clue what I am doing.

Can i interchange the relays to check if the problem moves from one system to another ? or it's too dangerous ?
Can i interchange fuses to check if something is different ? or is it too dangerous ?

Parts probably take me a while to get the smallest of things, unless i can try again at porsche if they would sell them.

The other thing I wondered was about a general electrical problem ? I had surprisingly more error codes - 18 for parking brake, airbags, etc. and i'm wondering if there is a common area for all of these fuses which might be somehow affecting more than 1 thing at once.



The battery is brand new since buying the car in September. I will post the basic overview below.

Thanks in advance if you have any guidance !

Andypandarific

For example, it's suspicious i have both parking brake issue AND PASM issue at the same time. Could there be something wrong with fuse box C ?

If the Spoiler and PASM compressor are the same, i could try to interchange them, because i don't actually have a spoiler because of the wing.

And either way, both C and D both relate to PASM and part of the same channel for combined fuse box. Maybe i need to shuffle or wiggle the set first.

Andypandarific

So I found the problem, but I need some help. Went home on my lunch break to tackle it.

The 40A fuse is blown in the boot. When I went to put the parking brake fuse on to test, i got a small shock and I could hear the generator start for a second.



How do I isolate the power, without inducing a big memory shutdown of the car ?

Andypandarific

So I put in a new fuse and after a chugga chugga chugga sound, it blew a few seconds later. Sounded more like an engine starting up right next to the battery.

Any ideas?

sac02

What's the vehicle mileage, and how many miles since last front strut replacements?

Sorry to say but I think you have air suspension problems not fuse problems. You've got abnormal ride heights, and you are describing noises associated with air sus compressor.

Could be a leaking shock that led to an overworked compressor that is now toast and is blowing fuses. (most likely IMO)

Could be a bad valve block directing air to the wrong places.

Could be a bad compressor just from bad luck not from leaky shocks.

huskeric

agreed - sounds like the compressor is on its last legs, thus blowing the fuse so quickly as a result of overheating. but, as noted above, the compressor could be a symptom of a larger issue.

Andypandarific

Ahhhhh , that's not good news.

I'm not aware the front strut has been replaced. The car is on around 45,000km right now. i've only driven is 4500.

This morning i checked the relay, doesn't click if i shake it and doesn't appear burned. Didn't have tools to test the connections.

I found another fuse box down on the left side of the boot, which opens up as a cover. Any idea what that one is for ?

I was really hoping for a DIY solution, as i can't find any garage to service my car.

Andypandarific

So I made some progress today !

TLDR : the car balanced itself, but the compressor stays on.

After browsing for coilovers and PASM delete kits, my fuses arrived and I had some time to check the car.
The fuses I got 2 days ago were incorrect size. Today I received 4 good ones, just in case.

I started by double checking again, the other PADC related fuses, in case the last attempt, where C1 blew, had impacted the others.

I had the relay out for a look and put it back in. I had the driver for and the boot open this time when I inserted the fuse. I think this might be a key point.
When you close the driver door, the compressor wants to start. (Previously car closed, not open, fuse in, boom)

The fuse went in and didn't blow, the compressor wasn't making noises, so I started up the engine.
Sports mode works, and I tried to raise to comfort mode. No errors, but nothing happened.
Closed the driver's door and bingo, car balanced itself out.

However, the compressor is still working away when I shut the car down, lock it and walk away.
I pulled the fuse to stop it, because I'm worried about how long it can continue working before it either goes off, or breaks.

The front lift doesn't work. It says not possible, but no chassis warning.

So, 2 questions;
Any ideas about the compressor ? Should I try again, hoping it goes off, or just leave it for now?
Secondly, can I drive around with the fuse out and keep the car at the same level for a while?

​​​​Any other feedback or tips?

sac02

As you noticed, yes the doors need to be closed for the system to begin leveling. I'm not sure if that's a safety consideration, or an "open doors alter the vehicle weight distribution slightly" logic.

Obviously the system has to add more air (PSI) to the air springs to achieve high mode or front lift. In my experience / deduction, "not possible" message means that the systems ECU has judged there is insufficient pressure in the accumulator to execute your requested button push at this exact moment. (but has not judged there to be a fault in the system worthy of a DTC) In a healthy system (mine at the moment), usually waiting about 30 seconds and pushing the button again results in everything working OK.

The "not possible" message could be because you pushed the button immediately after startup, before the compressor had time to top up the accumulator with a few PSI. It could be your compressor is weak/damaged and can't reach max pressure. It could be you have a leak and your compressor is furiously trying to maintain pressure.

The system does have logic for compressor "overtime / overtemp operation". It can set a DTC and prevent operation of the compressor if it detects this. I'm not sure if this logic is time-based, temperature-sensor based, or both. It is SUPPOSED to be able to TRY to protect itself from just running endlessly trying to reach a pressure number. So THEORETICALLY you should be able to let the compressor continue to run and it wouldn't damage itself, BUT - failsafes can fail,

Additionally I would worry that your compressor is already damaged and that longer running will accelerate its total failure. I haven't seen the inside of the Porsche unit, but aftermarket compressors are typically just plastic pistons inside plastic cylinders and they are kind of always on the brink of melting themselves and fusing solid lol. (if you read the instructions that came with that portable compressor you bought at walmart for your wife, you'll see that they say not to run it for more than 10min, and then to let it cool for at least 10min before using it again - and that's for good reason)

sac02

Regarding pulling the fuse, I'm not sure.

If you do not have a leak in the system (which I'm not convinced you don't, although 45k km is low so it's less likely, but not impossible by any means): pulling the fuse means that the vehicle ride height will decrease as you drive if the compressor / system is unable to compensate for lost air. The system DOES have a DTC/warning message for "extreme low ride height". I would not drive with the "extreme low ride height warning" because then you are essentially driving on the bump stops and that starts breaking other things.

However: You could still get tire wear from poor alignment due to low ride height due to leaky shocks, even without the "extreme low ride height" DTC. Ask me how I know: I destroyed a brand new set of PS4S tires in 5k miles due to alignment wear while waiting for new backordered airshocks to arrive and driving the car to and from work. I figured "a little low but not real low is fiiiine..." nope, lol

On the other hand, if you do not have a leak in the system, I don't really see much risk in pulling the fuse.

Do you have a PIWIS? You can monitor a lot of the system in real-time and learn a lot if you do. You could see accumulator pressures, compressor on/off commands, if "overtime" logic has been tripped in the past, etc.

Andypandarific

Thanks for your insight, I don't have a piwis. ( Just the cheap icarly, which can give some codes)
the car is still sitting in the drive and didn't drop yet.
I might try run it for a few kms and see if it will settle down. It seems to be holding pressure for at least 15hrs, while powered of with the fuse out.
I'm assuming that also means it's not leaking.

I'll try the soapy water in the front end, maybe drive it a bit with the fuse in and see if the compressor stops.

Good to know the compressor should survive at least 10 minutes. I believe it should be the original one and not a plastic replacement. I read a few stories and thought I'm better to turn it off.

I'll try driving, waiting a bit, and checking if I can use the front lift.

Report back in a day or two.

sac02

Oh, sorry I see that I wasn't clear at all. When I referred to "plastic aftermarket compressors from walmart" I meant those portable compressors that plug into your cigarette lighter and are used to fill up tires. I totally changed from one "compressor" to another "compressor" and didn't explain my thought process at all, lol.

One thing to keep in mind with suspension leaks (I'm going to copy and paste a previous response of mine):

The first time it happens, you think, "it's just a one-off glitch (I hope)." After a few trouble-free weeks, maybe you even start to believe yourself.

Then it's once a week and you can't pretend you don't have a leaky shock any more.

Then it progressively gets worse until it is guaranteed to be on the ground every day.

During the intermittent phase, I assume that there is just some TINY variation how hot the shock was, or the size of the last bump, or... something... that makes it leak sometimes and not others.

But a leaky shock won't self-heal, it will reliably get worse sorry to say.

Andypandarific

Ok thanks for updating and making it clear.

I'll going to test with soapy water tomorrow on the front shocks and see how the compressor runs. Will take a short drive around town and see how it goes.

Seem to be a few electronic glitches, maybe, like some other people had there could be a wiring issue.
today the boot wouldn't fully open, beeped half way. Strange one.

So far no garage will accept me. Still searching.

Andypandarific

This morning I started up ok.

driver door open, replaced the fuse back. Opened the bonnet and removed the corner panel screws for bubble check. No noise from the rear compressor.
sports mode works, can deflate to comfort. Drove off and did about 15m drive.
Front lift works, seems quite slow though.

I'm also starting to wonder if my "whistle fart grinding noise" when I turn could have been a bad air bag all along ?

However, I don't know what I'm checking. Can someone guide me through the "correct" bubble test procedure? I put some soap in the 2 red spots, on both sides of the car.


Also, could someone tell me what this block valve is? It's it also related to the suspension system? Anything worth checking there?


Again, sorry, I'm a complete noob with cars, trying my best to learn and fix it.
Thanks for the help.

djdonte

I believe the box with the hard lines running to it is your ABS pump.