quick question about codes

[mptoledo]

Being a novice but a fast learner, I was wondering if a warning light had to come on first before you had any "codes"?

The reason I ask is I just got a 2001 Box "s" with 58k miles last month. I want to make sure everything is working properly and have heard quite a few questions about "Codes". I didn't know if I had any codes if there were no warning lights. Thanks MP.

Edited July 31, 2009 by mptoledo

[Loren]

No, you can have pending codes and some fault codes do not turn on the CEL.

Faults can occur that are temporary and they correct themselves within the parameters (drive cycles) established by Porsche and the various EPA rules.

Unless your car is not running right I would not worry about it. Part of both minor and major service schedules is to read out the fault codes.

[mptoledo]

No, you can have pending codes and some fault codes do not turn on the CEL.

Faults can occur that are temporary and they correct themselves within the parameters (drive cycles) established by Porsche and the various EPA rules.

Unless your car is not running right I would not worry about it. Part of both minor and major service schedules is to read out the fault codes.

Thanks for the reply. I just did most of my 60k maint myself. Plugs, belt, oil, fuel, air filter. I was just wondering if I did someghing wrong, would a light come on and tell me. Ie I had to unhook a few wires to get to a few plugs(cat sensor). If I didn't get them hooked up back properly, I was just hoping for a light of some sorts.

[ericinboca]

No, you can have pending codes and some fault codes do not turn on the CEL.

Faults can occur that are temporary and they correct themselves within the parameters (drive cycles) established by Porsche and the various EPA rules.

Unless your car is not running right I would not worry about it. Part of both minor and major service schedules is to read out the fault codes.

Thanks for the reply. I just did most of my 60k maint myself. Plugs, belt, oil, fuel, air filter. I was just wondering if I did someghing wrong, would a light come on and tell me. Ie I had to unhook a few wires to get to a few plugs(cat sensor). If I didn't get them hooked up back properly, I was just hoping for a light of some sorts.

If you really screwed up something important, you would get a check engine light. Don't worry about it - drive it.

If you do maintenance yourself, you might want to take a look at Durametric or an alternative to them. Durametric is Porsche-specfic (actually model specific) software that runs on your PC and connects to the OBD interface. It can read the codes, show actual values, reset lights - things like that. It does not do programming like the Porsche PST2 or PIWIS, but it is a great tool to have. Much better than a generic OBD reader.