Rear Spoiler Warning Light Stays On

[kevinkw]

Hi All,

Just today my 1999 996 C4's rear spoiler warning light came on when I was driving on the freeway.

After I got home, I manually raised and retracted the spoiler fine.

I drove the car around without going on the freeway and the light continues to stay on.

Any ideas what's wrong?

Thanks,

Kevin

[Loren]

Open the rear lid and look for a connector that takes the wires from the right rear fender to the rear lid. Inspect the connector looking for corrosion or damaged wires.

[kevinkw]

Open the rear lid and look for a connector that takes the wires from the right rear fender to the rear lid. Inspect the connector looking for corrosion or damaged wires.

Thanks Loren,

I opened the rear lid and checked the wires. Turns out the connectors were loose and I just pressed the two connectors together firmly and then went on the freeway and that fixed it!

[Loren]

:thumbup:

[kevinkw]

Ok,

That worked for a week. The light is back on.

I checked the fuse, and checked if the two plastic connectors are loose, they're not.

I tried the manual up/down button, that no longer worked, it did when this first started happening.

The wires all look fine.

I'm wondering if the connection to the spoiler itself under the black piece of metal on the underside of the lid is loose. Any idea how I can take it off? Or should I just take it to a shop?

Any other ideas?

-Kevin

Edited August 17, 2008 by kevinkw

[Loren]

I still think you have corrosion in that connector.

[kevinkw]

I still think you have corrosion in that connector.

I ended up opening up the connector, the plastic is highlighter green and the leads were clean and silver. I snapped the connector back up, lo and behold, the spoiler was able to be manually opened and closed.

The wires leading out of both connectors were also clean and firmly attached.

We'll see if I come back and post again in a week.

[jo996]

Hello,

I have just encountered the same problem. Red warning light went on. At home I tried to operate the spoiler manually. No luck! I checked the fuse and its fine. I also checked the connector. Seems to be fine. I know that somewhere in the lid there are 2 (?) microswitches. Could they be at fault? I would also like to check the wires going to the motor operating the spoiler. I can't get the black lid off. There are just three tiny bolts left, holding the spoiler motor. How do I do this? Anything else that could be causing this problem?

Jo996

the Netherlands

[Loren]

Hello,

I have just encountered the same problem. Red warning light went on. At home I tried to operate the spoiler manually. No luck! I checked the fuse and its fine. I also checked the connector. Seems to be fine. I know that somewhere in the lid there are 2 (?) microswitches. Could they be at fault? I would also like to check the wires going to the motor operating the spoiler. I can't get the black lid off. There are just three tiny bolts left, holding the spoiler motor. How do I do this? Anything else that could be causing this problem?

Jo996

the Netherlands

You don't have the exact same problem - kevinkw's manual switch works fine.

If the manual operation does not work then either there is a connection problem (fuse, wires, connector corrosion) or the spoiler is jammed and binding or in a rare case the motor is bad.

[jo996]

Hello Loren,

Thank you for your answer. I tried the connector and it seems fine. I used some contactspray to make sure the contacts are OK. I checked the fuse (D8). I take it there is only one fuse for the spoiler motor. I have never had any problems with my spolier before. Never heard any strange noises. I hope the motor is still OK. The next step (before going to my Porsche dealer) is to check the wires. In order to do this I have to remove a black lid (I hope you know what I'm talking about). The spoiler motor is attached to this part. Can you tell me how to remove this lid?

Regards,

J. Lemmen

the Netherlands