Just Bought My First 996! Need Help W/problems!

[*fill-up*]

Hey new to this forum, hopefully will become very active soon! I just bought a 01 Porsche Carrera4 Cabriolet and have many small problems with it! The car has 110k and is a 2 owner and I bought it from a wholesaler.

Here is what I can see wrong, if you have any help to one of these or more please let me know! Thanks!

-Rear windows wont close

-Cabriolet lid(trunk looking thing that the top goes under when down) doesn't close fully

-Passenger window was working fine earlier today, but seems to have fallen off track or something

-Radio says "WAIT" when I turn it on, and it just stays that way

-The "top" light is on

-Engine area/trunk wont open

-The "check engine" light is on

-The spoiler lights goes on every once in a while on start

-The engine idles a little funny

-Rear convertible top window is stained and ripped out of seams

-Needs a new battery (engine turns over once slowly then usually starts)

-A/C doesn't work

Thanks for all the help! :)

Edited May 14, 2010 by *fill-up*

[geoff]

Congratulations on your new car. A few suggestions...

First and foremost, use the Search function to get more answers than possible in a single post

-Radio says "WAIT" when I turn it on, and it just stays that way

You need the radio code to activate it. When the radio loses power, it forgets the code and it needs to be reentered. Search for the radio code thread, it's the one with about 50 million posts

-The "check engine" light is on

You need to use an OBD2 code reader to find out why the check engine light is on. You can "borrow" one from AutoZone, buy a cheap one for about $50, or go for the Porsche specific Durametric setup. Once you have the code, it's much easier to figure out what is wrong. As long as the light isn't blinking, you're OK. The code reader plugs in to a connector under the dash to the left of the steering wheel

-The engine idles a little funny

Start by cleaning the throttle body. Search the forums for details and instructions

-Needs a new battery (engine turns over once slowly then usually starts)

There's a thread not nearly as long as the radio code thread that talks about replacement batteries. And look at Mike Focke's excellent battery page

[Dharn55]

If you want to take a drive up north I have a Durametric

[*fill-up*]

Hey guys thanks for all the replys! I am going to go by my friends car dealership and use his scanner to see what the check engine light is. And I will also use that radio thread to try to restore mine. But my main concern is the rear window, is there anyway to forcefully close and open them?

Thanks again everyone! I am hoping to make this car my DD for a while, and I usually do a little over 2,000 miles a month.

[rpm996]

"But my main concern is the rear window..."

I would think your main concern should probably be the idle problem and the check engine light.

To be honest, that is a long list of 'small' problems. Several of them could turn out to be much more than small. One conclusion to draw from a car in this condition is that it has been through owners that have deferred necessary maintenance and repairs - not a good thing on a complex and expensive to repair car like the 996.

Assuming you are not an experienced mechanic with access to Porsche specific diagnostic equipment and tools, my suggestion would be to take the car to a good independent Porsche shop and have them do the equivalent of a pre-purchase inspection (a post purchase inspection?). This will only cost you ~$100 and would give you a comprehensive list of problems (I suspect you have probably missed some things). A good shop will also help you to prioritize and price the different repairs needed. The you can decide what to fix yourself and what to have repaired professionally.

If you are seriously considering using a car with this sort of maintenance history as a 2000 mile/month daily dirver, you are going to have to spend some money to make it right.

Good luck!

Edited May 14, 2010 by rpm996

[geoff]

Hey guys thanks for all the replys! I am going to go by my friends car dealership and use his scanner to see what the check engine light is. And I will also use that radio thread to try to restore mine. But my main concern is the rear window, is there anyway to forcefully close and open them?

Thanks again everyone! I am hoping to make this car my DD for a while, and I usually do a little over 2,000 miles a month.

Like I said earlier, Search is your friend. Here's one post to start with, there are undoubtedly others. Lots of microswitches on these cars

[Dharn55]

If you are talking about the small rear windows the problem is probably the fact that the top is not fully closing, i.e. the lid is not fully closed so the microswitch is showing it as open which prevent these windows from closing.

Your friends OBD scanner may read the codes, but probably won't clear them.

[minny]

If you say the battery might be weak, consider getting it checked first and replace it if required. The 996s can throw up strange faults with a weak/dying battery.

[geoff]

Sometimes weird electrical glitches are related to the ignition switch. There's a new and improved version out. Something else to check

[*fill-up*]

Hey guys, I fixed the windows thanks to geoff! I swear I searched for it last night and didn't see that thread lol. I also ran the OBD and two codes came up, they were both O2 sensors, of course I forgot to write then down, but one ended with a 34 I am pretty sure.

[kristian]

I had a few of those problems too with my 1999 convertible. I just added the convertible pump fluid last week and now it works perfect. My problems started with the back window not working every time and eventually the top not working at all.I would just check it, since it's an very easy fix and even if the problem might be caused by the battery or something else this time, it will prevent problems in the future. There is nothing worse than having the convertible top not working properly when you are far away from home... It's pretty embarrassing. I had to hold the top with my right hand one time on the way home when it did not shut properly.

I changed my top after the seam started separating. It was money well spent. I tried to glue the top and had some clamps on it for a few days but it just was an eyesore. I got a top with glass window and with the heating option. I believe the top was GAHH and I bought it on Ebay a few years ago for about $1300. I've seen them on GAHH site for about $1700. Then I paid a local top expert to put it on for $500. It looks much better than the original even if the window in the back is smaller.

I also got my O2 sensors on Ebay for about $100.

I would also clean the MAF and check out the airfilter, since they are both very easy to do and can make the engine run bad.

Kristian