RandalJ

I posted in the Common Fixes and Repair, but onto an old thread and thought it might be better if I added a quick note here. Even if your car battery is good enough to crank your engine and start your car, if it is in old battery on the decline it will definitely shorten your remote range. In my case, it got to the point where I'd have to stand next to the driver's window, and even then it was tempermental. I did replace the battery in one of the keys to see if that was the problem, but it had no effect. After reading posts on opening the A-piller, and making the antenna the optimum length, I thought this was something I'd eventually get around to. But then, why would the range degrade if physically the antenna is the same as when the cart left the factory, and I was getting at least 30 feet when I first had the car? Last week, I had the car in for an unrelated repair, and the shop commented that the battery was weak. With most batteries that means that the battery will die within days, if not hours, here in AZ. But maybe the Optima is more forgiving because the only symptom I had experienced was slower cranking. So gradual I hardly noticed. I had installed the Optima in 2007, so it was 7 years old! Anyway, I replaced the battery right away, and my remote range went to 30+ feet (I did not test at a longer range to know just how far). So, I'm just pointing out that the antenna design, while maybe not optimal out of the factory, should work for a pretty good distance as long as your car battery is sound. And maybe the remote range is a good indicator of when it's time to start shopping for a new battery. By the way, the tester at Autozone indicated that my old battery was still good, so beware...

I just wanted to pass on another tip for those who have had problems with the remote reception. Before you go to the trouble of disassembling the A-piller, have your car battery tested. Just because it cranks the car enough to start does not mean that it is 100%, and I have discovered that a new battery solved the reception problem. When I bought my 996 in 2006, the reception was fine - 30 feet if not more. I installed an Optima battery, kept the car for about four years, sold it to someone in-state, and bought it back last December (75k miles). I did notice that the key range had gotten a lot shorter, but didn't think much of it until recently, when I could be standing at the driver's window, and it would still be temperamental. I tried replacing one of the key batteries, but that didn't help. Also did a search and read up on the antenna length in the A-piller, thinking I'd get around to it... The Optima I bought in 2007 was still in the car, and by now it was 7 years old. It seemed to still crank OK, though slower than I'd like. Recently I took my car in to have the water pump replaced (preventative - slight amount of play on the shaft), and the indie shop advised that the battery was on its way out. So, off I went this morning to get a new Optima. It was at that point that it occurred to me that maybe the weakness of the car battery was causing poor reception. That maybe the system cuts power to non-essential systems if the battery is not holding charge as well as it should. Well, sure enough, I got the new battery in, and my range is back to 30 feet or so. By the way, the Autozone guy tested my old battery and pronounced it "good", so it would be best to make sure you get someone competent to test yours. If your engine cranks slowly but still enough to start the car, like mine did, that may be a clue as well.

Yes, that was it. It fit as you described. Just wondering whether the curl is supposed to curl forward, or toward the rear of the car, for reduced wind noise. Before I glue it down. Thanks

I have had a rattle inside the headliner, between the rear window and the sunroof, and have followed the procedure for partially taking off the rear half of the headliner. What I found inside was a loose piece of weatherstripping, about two feet long, just lying on the headliner. I suspect it may be part of the sunroof assembly, but have no clue where it goes: The weatherstripping that surrounds the sunroof opening is intact, so I don't think this piece is supposed to be attached to the sunroof panel itself. But it is about the width of the sunroof. Maybe on bottom rear edge of sunroof? It is too short to be part of the rear window sealing system. I'm thinking that maybe over the years the adhesive dried out, and weatherstrip just rattled off of whatever edge it was on. Any ideas? Is there an exploded view of the sunroof assembly that might show this weatherstripping? What would be be best adhesive for re-attachment? While I was at it, I noticed that when the sunroof is closed, I can push up the rear part of the sunroof headliner - but the roof itself stays on place. Is that normal? Thanks.

I have an answer to my own question. The sockets the nozzles sit in were cracked around the edges due to age, so the nozzles probably shot out when under pressure. At first I was not sure whether these were age-related cracks or just slots to enable the nozzles to be pressed in, but when I received new washer assemblies (from Sunset sponsor) I saw there were no slots. So, if you lose a nozzle, look for the cracks. If cracked, then the whole assembly must be replaced if you want functioning headlight washers.

Hi all. I'm back after having sold my 996 in 2012, and buying it back last December! It's about 10k miles older, with about 73k on the clock now... Anyway, I have a little problem. The headlight washers each have dual nozzles. I don't know when or how this happened, but the inboard nozzles on both sides are gone (outboard nozzles are still present). I know that these nozzles are not sold separately (only the whole washer assembly is available), and probably hard to find used, but has anyone here attempted to replace just the nozzles? I want to know whether they are snapped in, glued in, or molded as part of the assembly. Judging from the cavities it appears that they might just be snapped in. If so, I could buy just one new washer assembly (they are kind of expensive), replace one of the old ones, and have enough nozzles from the two old assemblies to use in the old assembly that I keep. Has anyone here attemped to replace just the nozzles? I might end up having to replace both assemblies, but I thought I'd try this first. Thanks.

Thanks for your suggestions. I have done the tiptronic downshift but it seems like what's the point of having an automatic if you have to do that? And all of my cars up to now have been manuals, but I haven't gotten comfortable with the tip - just seems like I need to do something with my left foot! As I mentioned, the problem goes away with the PSM off, but the shift points are way higher - like still in 4th at 55mph. So I know the already poor fuel economy will be even worse - as it would be, but not as badly, if the throttle response was better with PSM on. Anyway, I'll check out the TSB, and see what can be done. Thanks again.

This is the hesitation that typically happens when you get on throttle after braking through a turn, of when tying to pass someone on a freeway. You mash the pedal, and nothing happens for maybe as long as two seconds. I've done a lot of searching lately because the hesitation is really getting on my nerves, but have not been able to find any definitive conclusions on this. Over the years, people have thought it was coil packs, turbo lag, and maybe a few other things. I've ruled all of these out on my car. The most plausible theory I have come across is that the "learned" driving habit, affecting the engine and transmission programs may be the culprit. That is if you drive normally, you will have this hesitation. On my 2006 CTT, one thing I do know is if I disable the PSM, the hesitation is gone, but the shift points go to higher RPMs, and the car all around seems more high-strung. So, the hesitation is gone, but it's not as relaxing to drive. I have heard that the normal, PSM "ON" mode hesitation can be fixed by running with PSM off for days or weeks, tricking the engine management system into thinking that's how you really drive. I may try that, but I would guess that over time back on in the PSM mode, it would revert to the original "learned" driving habit, and I was wondering whether there is any other more permanent solution out there. Other than the device (forget the name) that tricks the gas pedal position sensor into thinking the pedal is further down than it is. That seems like another band-aid to me. If anyone else is well aware of this phenomenon, is there some reason understood for why Porsche programmed it this way? Only thing I can think of is they did not want people hitting the throttle hard, coming out of a turn in a 5200 pound vehicle. But what about the detriment and danger when attempting to pass on a highway? Thanks.

I had the same problem for several weeks last year/early this year. It was intermittent (usually when cold, I thought), and it drove me nuts because I tried changing bulbs, cleaning sub assembly contacts, you name it. Thinking this through, testing with a DVM, I finally ruled out any opens or shorts through the headlight assembly. That meant it had to be in the wiring harness somewhere. I replaced the short wiring harness, to no avail. Later I was able to connect the headlight assembly to the harness socket with the headlight uninstalled, and everything worked. Turned out that the plug where that short wiring harness plugs into the back of the headlight assembly was not going in properly or just marginally. This was because the headlight mounting bracket was worn where the harness clips in, behind the headlight, allowing the harness (female) end to deflect back and up a bit when the headlight assembly was clamped in. I confirmed this when I reached that connector with a long ratchet extension, and was able to push it into the headlight receptacle manually. It's a pain to reach, and it's hard to get a good leverage angle on it, but if you persevere, you'll get it. You'll feel it "giv"e as the harness goes the rest of the way on. You'll have to remove the black plastic trim in the engine bay to get to it, and maybe the air filter cover on that side. Have not had a problem since, and it's been at least 7 months. I will not take that headlight out again unless absolutely necessary. Probably replacing the headlight mounting bracket would take care of it too.

Thanks, Loren. Looks pretty straightforward once the panels are removed - though it sounds like getting those panels off is more than half the battle. I'll find out in a week or two...

Have seen the instructions for the V6 and Trans Siberia, but have not been able to find anything on the 1st generation turbo. Mine's a 2006 MY. I'd be willing to post picks/tips of the operation if anyone has the factory manual procedure to guide me. Also, I'm thinking it is a bad idea to raise the suspension and rely on it staying up while under the car, though I've seen that espoused a few times on the internet. Is max height the "natural" height? Seems like it would be, with minimum compression on the springs. But even if it is, could it compress down if there is some malfunction, even with the ignition off, causing agonizing death? If there is risk, I'd rather drive up on some 2x8 planks for clearance, as required for my 996. Thanks.

I determined the cause. The optical connector to the camera was not making a good connection. I took it apart and cleaned it the best I could, and snapped it back together, and it has been trouble free ever since. To get to the connector just pry off the exterior panel right below the rear window. Before that I had completely disassembled the rear liftgate from the inside, and discovered that I could not access the camera from the inside - just so you know.

Yes, I forgot to mention that the camera extends in all cases. So I don't think it is an intermittent connection, but I'll know more after a few days. Right now, all I know was that it worked reliably for about four months. Then reliably went dark (still extended) for a solid week, and now it's back.

I bought a 2006 Cayenne Turbo with 70k miles in August, and everything has been good so far. Just a minor annoyance but potentially expensive to put right - my reverse camera image went black about a week ago. The monitor would flash for a split second when I went into reverse, as though it was coming on normally, but then the screen would go black. The red lettering warning that the driver should still visually verify what's behind still came up, but against a totally black background. I was planning to remove the inside panel of the rear hatch this weekend to see if any wires had come loose, but this morning when I backed out, it suddenly worked again. And I tested it by reversing a few more times, and it appears to be fine. Now, I usually drive the car, but my wife drove it last weekend, and that may be when it went dark. And she drove it again last night, and now it's working. So, I'm wondering whether there is an on/off setting that she may have inadvertantly hit when she drove. I've tried all of the obvious on off settings on the PCM over the past week, with no effect. The only thing that she changes when she drives, that I'm aware of, is the seat and mirror positions. Anyway, I'm glad that the camera is working again, but am wondering if it is obvious to any of you what would have turned it off and back on again. There does not seem to be anything in the owner's manual or PCM manual that I have not tried, but maybe I overlooked something. She used my key last night, but I'm not sure which one she used last week. So, I don't think it was anything programmed into her key. Anyway, I'm glad to know that the camera is functional. Dealer wants $900+ and an exchange for a replacement - for a camera that is probably no better than a $30 PC camera. But I would like to know if there is something that will shut the camera off, while the PCM appears to still think it is there.

My symptom was that the driver's side bi-xenon would come sometimes fail to come on. I had the dealer look at it again, since they had replaced the wiring harness/multi-pin receptacle that the headlight plugs into a few months back for the same problem. This time they told me that the whole headlight assembly needed replacing because it was "arcing". They wanted $1200 to do this. I decided I would take the headlight unit out and see if I could repair it. When I did, I could see no evidence of arcing or any other damage. So I unhooked the receptacle from where it snaps into place on the headlight bracket so that I'd have enough length to plug the receptacle into the back of the headlight, without putting the headlight all the way in. I just wanted to be able to see whether the headlight worked if I had a known firm connection. I turned on the car, and wiggled the receptacle around a bit. You have to hold the receptacle/connector because it does not snap in to the back if the headlight. And the rubber diaphragm around the plug, designed to keep out moisture, I guess, creates tension when you try to push the plug in, so you have to use a slight amount of force to make contact with all of the pins. The bi-xenon came on when I applied more pressure to the "passenger side" of the receptacle. So, it turned out that the headlight assembly was fine, and the wiring was fine. The problem was in bad connection when the headlight was re-installed. So I snapped the receptacle and headlight back into place, and again the bi-xenon did not work. But then, as others have suggested, I removed the plastic above the air filter box, and reached down to push the receptacle on, concentrating on the passenger side of the connector again. And voila, it worked. So far I have driven for a day with no problems. But if it happens again, I'll know why, and I'll just have to rig something that will ensure better contact. The main advice I wanted to give here is to unhook the harness plug, and manually hold the socket to the connection at the back of the light to test the light, before going off and replacing expensive lighting components. By the way, our friends at Sunset Import quoted me just over $600 for the headlight assembly, which includes some bulbs but not the xenon. If it were ever to come to that.