No windows, sunroof, interior lights, central locking, etc

[mhall1019]

'02 911 turbo: I had left the windows down an inch or so when I got to work. When I got ready to leave, I unlocked the doors with the fob, started the car and tried to raise the windows. Nothing happened. When I got home, I checked the fuse (D1, 30amp). It was not blown. Then I checked around and found the sunroof and interior lights weren't working either. The fob wouldn't lock/unlock the doors. When I press the button once, nothing, the second time, horn beeps. Dis- and re-connected the battery. Car starts and runs fine. Can't check codes with Durametric because it doesn't work on my car most of the time. Durametric has replaced the cable but it only communicates occasionally (1 out of 15 tries) and then quits after a few minutes, but that's a whole nother topic.

My own wag is that the battery in my fob is just about dead (10 yrs old). Other sites have suggested bad ign. switch or box under seat got wet.

If anyone has ever experienced this and its repair please let me know. My internet connection is so slow that I'm very inefficient at doing onlne searching.

Thanks,

Mike

[Loren]

Age and condition of your battery?

Has it been both load tested and specific gravity tested?

[mhall1019]

Thanks, Loren, good thought. I'll try another battery to hopefully get things going and take the battery in to have it load tested and get a full charge cycle. Will report back.

Extraneous details:

My standby is a yellow-top Optima that I've been using as the power source for my backup sump pump system for four years. Its always on trickle charge and only drawn on 6 or 8 times a year when the float on the main pump gets stuck. When I needed it recently it provided intermittent service for about four days, until I got a complete new system with a huge conventional lead/acid battery.

Background: The car battery doesn't have a good history of maintenance. It was manufactured in 05/2010 and sat on the shelf for about six months. Its been out of service a couple of times for six month periods and not maintained properly when it was not being used. After one of those periods, I drove with it for a couple of days, but then it was dead one morning. I took it back to the store and it was dead but would take a charge and passed the load test. They put it through an overnight charge cycle on their "machine". I've been using it as a dd for the last four months with no problems.

[mhall1019]

After changing the battery, there were two changes. The windows started doing their thing when the door was opened and closed. And, they ratcheted upwards each time. After about 10 door open/closes, the windows learned where top of travel was and now their closed. Also, the locking system with the key in the lock causes the horn to beep loudly when the door is locked (?maybe unlocked). But, the switches don't operate the windows, and , the interior lights and sunroof don't work. Loren - is there a next step besides driving to the dealer - at least I can drive in the rain now. Luckily, headlights, wipers and A/C work.

Voo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo....

[Loren]

If you get one beep when locking the car with the remote - that means that at least one alarm zone is open.

If you get two beeps when locking the car with the remote - that means that there is a fault in the alarm system.

If you have Durametric or a Porsche tester (PST2, or PIWIS) then the fault should direct you to the cause(s) of the single beep.

[mhall1019]

If the codes will show up on my generic code reader, then I can get that info. My car has always had a communication problem with Durametric.

They've been very helpful and gave me a new cable. It didn't work any better. There is no consistent pattern to the communication errors. Occasionally, it recognizes my ECU without my selecting it and allows me to collect up to 15 minutes of present values and occasionally I can turn fans on, etc. I'd like to start troubleshooting it with the OBDII connector in the car - look for loose connections etc.

[Loren]

Very very few generic readers can read Porsche specific alarm system codes.

Perhaps you can borrow another Porsche specific tester?

[mhall1019]

Loren:

Well, I got the Durametric to connect briefly, enough time to clear a P0159, oil temperature. It reads -40 until the engine warms up and then reads normal. Aren't there two oil temps? Which one is this one?

Anyway, I tried 15 or 20 more times and, although the program recognized that the cable was attached, the light on the connector was either solid green or solid red and couldn't communicate with any of the modules. It suggested that maybe they didn't exist.

I'll check my local PCA region for other diagnostic tools, but I don't know of any of the independents in the area that have one. Is there any device between the $300 Durametric and the $10k+ PIWIS? Upstate NY is desolate and barren.

Thanks for your help.

Mike

[Loren]

P0159 is not an alarm code.

P0159 Aging of oxygen sensor after TWC bank 2 - above/below limit

Possible fault cause

- Implausible signal from oxygen sensor

Yes, I think it is best to find someone with a working tool so you can also see if your car has a problem or Durametric.

[mhall1019]

Loren - Yes, of course, that was an engine code. I thought that since I was communicating, I'd get a chance to look at the alarm module codes. But, I didn't get that far. Are there sub-modules controlled by the main module or just components that can fail? Never mind, I can find it on line.

Thanks,

Mike

[mhall1019]

pm sent.

Had a 1-shot comm success wth alarm module.

found & cleared codes 60, 46, 21, 34, 11.

I didn't write down the verbiage. What do you think?

Mike

[Loren]

Fault code 60 - Central locking limit position - locked not reached

Possible cause of fault

- Switch for central locking faulty

- Short circuit to ground/open circuit in the wiring between the alarm system control module, switch for central locking or door locks

- Driver’s/passenger’s door lock faulty

- Control module faulty

Fault code 46 - Central locking synchronization

Possible cause of fault

- Short circuit to ground/open circuit between alarm system control module and door locks

- Door lock faulty

Fault code 21 - W lead (DME - immobilizer), open circuit

Possible cause of fault

- Short circuit to ground/open circuit in the communication lead between the alarm system control module and the DME control module

Fault code 34 - Passenger compartment monitoring sensor, short circuit to B+ or faulty

Possible cause of fault

- Short circuit to voltage in the wiring between the alarm system control module and the passenger compartment monitoring sensor

- Passenger compartment monitoring sensor faulty

Fault code 11 - Voltage failure during alarm output

Possible cause of fault

- Low battery positive voltage

- Open circuit in wiring to the control module

Hmm... how old is your battery? have you had it tested for load and specific gravity?

[wross996TT]

battery

[mhall1019]

Hey, that was Loren's first response! I will take the original (newer) battery in for load testing and charging tomorrow. I think that tonight I will take the car completely apart and put it back together cleaning and tightening all the electrical parts and connections.

[wross996TT]

check ground wires

[mhall1019]

I think I'll start with the battery ground connection - it could be preventing the battery from being all it could be. I was planning to start methodically checking wiring connections, starting with places that incompetents like me have had their hands on. I'm hoping that once the battery condition question is answered and I assure that I've got a reliable power source, Loren will have some recommended prioritized troubleshooting path based on the codes I got, or some way of narrowing it down.

I have suspected that I've got an intermittent ground connection (or power, or data...) at my OBDII connector ever since I first started having comm problems with Durametric. I guess I'm lucky that this issue I'm having now doesn't really affect anything real important, other than placing and receiving my order at Dunkin'

[Loren]

Solve the battery issue first - clear all the codes and see which (if any) come back.

[Sunnyside]

subscribed

[mhall1019]

Loren: I definitely will get the battery checked out. But, because I have problems with communicating with durametric, itmay take a day or a week to read and clear codes. I have found a PST2 to rent before buying. Does the PST2 have the ability to do any logging? Does it have any data outputs? The one I'm looking at isn't a Bosch convert,. It is a small laptop with PCMCIA controller card and the cable to connect it to the OBD port.

Mike

[Sunnyside]

Loren: I definitely will get the battery checked out. But, because I have problems with communicating with durametric, itmay take a day or a week to read and clear codes. I have found a PST2 to rent before buying. Does the PST2 have the ability to do any logging? Does it have any data outputs? The one I'm looking at isn't a Bosch convert,. It is a small laptop with PCMCIA controller card and the cable to connect it to the OBD port.

Mike

Mike, I have the IBM lap top version with KTS520 interface ( same PC as is used in the OPC PST2) of PST2 its the full works and it does data log within its self but does not really support sending that info anywhere. The problem is that PST2 uses the 1998 ota IBM computer which is totally incompatible with modern working systems. Even the output plugs/leads are a miss match. It does not support USB either which makes things very difficult.

[mhall1019]

Loren: I definitely will get the battery checked out. But, because I have problems with communicating with durametric, itmay take a day or a week to read and clear codes. I have found a PST2 to rent before buying. Does the PST2 have the ability to do any logging? Does it have any data outputs? The one I'm looking at isn't a Bosch convert,. It is a small laptop with PCMCIA controller card and the cable to connect it to the OBD port.

Mike

Mike, I have the IBM lap top version with KTS520 interface ( same PC as is used in the OPC PST2) of PST2 its the full works and it does data log within its self but does not really support sending that info anywhere. The problem is that PST2 uses the 1998 ota IBM computer which is totally incompatible with modern working systems. Even the output plugs/leads are a miss match. It does not support USB either which makes things very difficult.

Thanks, Sunny for that info. How big of a hard drive (floppy disc?) does it have? Does it show just a spreadsheet-looking log or is it graphical? How many variables at a time? What's the fastest it can scan? It sure would be nice if some electronic design engineer worked up some interface to enable outputting. I just looked back and saw that you called it and ota IBM computer. I'll have to check and see what kind of documentation is available.

Thanks again for the info.

Mike

[mhall1019]

Solve the battery issue first - clear all the codes and see which (if any) come back.

Hey, guess what! The battery tested good, but low voltage - 12.1V. Its getting a good overnight charge now. This battery is 2.5 yrs old and once before it died but was found to be good but no voltage. It took a charge and never failed again.

This leads me to think that I may have an alternator/charging problem. I think that batteries run about 14.4 volts with no load and drop down to the low 13s under load. I also wonder if the low voltage is responsible for the communication problems with the Durametric. I think I'll put the charger on the battery that's in the car now and bring it up to 14+ volts and see what happens.

[Sunnyside]

Loren: I definitely will get the battery checked out. But, because I have problems with communicating with durametric, itmay take a day or a week to read and clear codes. I have found a PST2 to rent before buying. Does the PST2 have the ability to do any logging? Does it have any data outputs? The one I'm looking at isn't a Bosch convert,. It is a small laptop with PCMCIA controller card and the cable to connect it to the OBD port.

Mike

Mike, I have the IBM lap top version with KTS520 interface ( same PC as is used in the OPC PST2) of PST2 its the full works and it does data log within its self but does not really support sending that info anywhere. The problem is that PST2 uses the 1998 ota IBM computer which is totally incompatible with modern working systems. Even the output plugs/leads are a miss match. It does not support USB either which makes things very difficult.

Thanks, Sunny for that info. How big of a hard drive (floppy disc?) does it have? Does it show just a spreadsheet-looking log or is it graphical? How many variables at a time? What's the fastest it can scan? It sure would be nice if some electronic design engineer worked up some interface to enable outputting. I just looked back and saw that you called it and ota IBM computer. I'll have to check and see what kind of documentation is available.

Thanks again for the info.

Mike

Hi Mike,

i couldn't tell you any more about data storage of the PST2 Laptop as I dont data log with it. I use it for fault finding, coding and other stuff that requires the use of a PST2. For logging, I use my Durametric which is in a totally different league and the only way to data log IMHO.

Frank.

Edited August 18, 2012 by Sunnyside

[mhall1019]

Solve the battery issue first - clear all the codes and see which (if any) come back.

Problem 1): After charging the battery overnight to 14+ volts, Durametric came right up communicating - I had codes 46, 34, 60 in the alarm module, which I cleared. I went through a couple of cycles of disconnecting and reconnecting Durametric, closing and restarting the program. Starting and stopping the engine, opening and closing doors, etc. The codes didn't come back, but there was an achtung! symbol on the readout for the alarm codes, in the header section, where there is normally a big green checkmark after codes are cleared.

Is there a ritual I have to go through to reactivate the alarm system after the codes are cleared? I presume that, since I really didn't fix anything, the codes will come back.

Problem 2): Charging system is only maintaining battery slightly above 12 volts. I'll check and tighten the belt tension if its too loose. I'm guessing that's not going to fix anything because the power steering, A/C, engine coolant are OK.

Problem 3): I quoted the engine fault code wrong - I have a P0197, 125, oil temp. This is the one that reads -40 until the car warms up and then reads out normal values. But, I don't know which oil temp. sensor it is.

Thanks,

Mike

[mhall1019]

Loren - it looks like the alternator/voltage regulator is only maintaining the battery at a little over 12 volts.

Bench tested the original battery and it was good.

Tested the battery and charging system in car: Battery good, starter good and alternator low voltage. We tested at the Carquest store and in the air after jumping out of an airplane.

Should I put faith in their generic tester?

I hope its the belt and not the $1600 alternator.

If this condition of the charging system isn't acceptable, it will have to be repaired, and then I've still got the alarm system issues, unless they are resolved by maintaining a higher minimum voltage?

Thanks,

Mike