Radio kaput, air bag light on, after body repair ?

[britdave]

Last week I took my 2002 Porsche 996, to "Body Werks" here in Daytona Beach (went there as they are highly recommended ) Today, I picked the car up, and it looked great. The damage was on the left (drivers side) rear side from the edge of the door to the rear. To do the job right, they had to remove a lot of the inside rear interior, and some other things on the left side. 

 

When I got about a mile away, the air bag light came on, then I noticed the alternator battery warning light came on, additionally my radio wouldn't work at all, nothing nada ? I drove back to Body Werks, the owner had left, but an employee, said : " Oh yea I've seen this before, call the boss tomorrow " 

 

Would anyone out there have any knowledge why, this light suddenly came on, the air bag  light, then the battery/alternator, and my radio doesn't work at all ? What could they possibly have done by removing the back section, speakers etc to cause this to happen ? After about 4 miles later the voltage gauge increased, and she was in the green putting out about 13.5 to 13.8 volts, and remained that way all the way home for the next 10 miles, funny how that suddenly happened ?

 

However when I crank her up, the air-bag light comes on again, and the radio still doesn't work ? This has never happened before, and the car only has 25,000 miles on the clock. This issue was obviously caused from the removal of sections of the rear seat area, and back shelf , where the speakers are located. It's not that the speakers don't work, but the lights on the radio don't  even come on ? 

 

 Any ideas why this happened, do I have to reset something ? These guys are body shop guys, so they don't know either   HELP PLEASE !!! 

[Loren]

If they removed any chassis ground wires (or ground wires were damaged) that could cause similar issues. As well if the battery had gone bad.

Both the chassis ground connections and battery should be checked. The battery should be removed and both load tested as well as specific gravity of each cell.

[Ahsai]

Also, you can at least check the fuse for the radio. For the airbag light, fastest way is to read the code (with a Porsche scanner) and go from there. Could be the driver's side airbag, or the driver's seat buckle, etc. that were unplugged when there was still power or they just forgot to plug them back in. Note the airbag light won't go away until it's reset manually using a Porsche scanner.

[DBJoe996]

I've had experience with Body Werks and they are really the best around for body work.  I would take the car there and ask some questions.  They more than likely will help you sort things out.  Durametric (the latest version) can help you diagnose the air bag light and reset it.  As said, they may have not disconnected the battery during repairs and that caused the air bag light to come on.  I would also check the fuse to the radio as mentioned.  It all could be simple.  Also, if the car was there for a period of time for repairs it could be that the battery was low and it took awhile for it to charge up.

 

If you can't get it sorted with Body Werks, you could try Kennedy Motorsports on U.S. 1 in Holly Hill.  They work on Porsche and have a good reputation.

[britdave]

I've had experience with Body Werks and they are really the best around for body work.  I would take the car there and ask some questions.  They more than likely will help you sort things out.  Durametric (the latest version) can help you diagnose the air bag light and reset it.  As said, they may have not disconnected the battery during repairs and that caused the air bag light to come on.  I would also check the fuse to the radio as mentioned.  It all could be simple.  Also, if the car was there for a period of time for repairs it could be that the battery was low and it took awhile for it to charge up.

 

If you can't get it sorted with Body Werks, you could try Kennedy Motorsports on U.S. 1 in Holly Hill.  They work on Porsche and have a good reputation.

Thanks Joe, Body Werks did a GREAT job on the crash repair. :notworthy:  I saw Tom the owner , but before that I went to Richard at "Autobahn Daytona" just down the road on State Ave, He got the radio back on, however the display was gone, BLANK- nothing ?

 

We will get the air bag light off on Monday, Rick at Autobahn realized his computer went on the fritz, whilst we were there, but said it should be easy to resolve next week. Like I said initially, the day I picked it up, she cranked right up, and they had driven it as well, so I think the battery was fine (it was only there 6 days) however, the radio was totally out, the battery/alternator light came on after about 10 mins showing only about 11 volts, then a few miles later bounced back to normal 13.4 to 13.8 volts ? (Still cant figure that one out ? )

 

The airbag light was on, and Tom at Body Werks confirmed the drivers seat was NOT removed,( just the back and side rear interior section, to get to the back of the left rear quarter panel where the damage was at) so we still couldn't figure out the air bag light coming and staying on ? What irks me is none of this ever happened before, and why would my display light on the radio totally vanish ?

 

The presets were all there, but nothing on the radio display ? Anyone got any ideas on that ? That's my main concern now, I cant tune anything else, due to I can't see anything. My old 97 BMW M-3 radio display faded gradually then went out completely last year, but my 911 only has 25,000 K on the clock, and went out after all this other electrical stuff happened. Could the radio display have a separate fuse ? As far as Kennedy Porsche Joe, I prefer Rick at Daytona Autobahn, I have heard some negative things about Kennedy, from 2 other 911 owners, and hes expensive.  Sure wish my radio display would come back ?  :help:

[britdave]

 

I've had experience with Body Werks and they are really the best around for body work.  I would take the car there and ask some questions.  They more than likely will help you sort things out.  Durametric (the latest version) can help you diagnose the air bag light and reset it.  As said, they may have not disconnected the battery during repairs and that caused the air bag light to come on.  I would also check the fuse to the radio as mentioned.  It all could be simple.  Also, if the car was there for a period of time for repairs it could be that the battery was low and it took awhile for it to charge up.

 

If you can't get it sorted with Body Werks, you could try Kennedy Motorsports on U.S. 1 in Holly Hill.  They work on Porsche and have a good reputation.

Thanks Joe, Body Werks did a GREAT job on the crash repair. :notworthy:  I saw Tom the owner , but before that I went to Richard at "Autobahn Daytona" just down the road on State Ave, He got the radio back on, however the display was gone, BLANK- nothing ?

 

We will get the air bag light off on Monday, Rick at Autobahn realized his computer went on the fritz, whilst we were there, but said it should be easy to resolve next week. Like I said initially, the day I picked it up, she cranked right up, and they had driven it as well, so I think the battery was fine (it was only there 6 days) however, the radio was totally out, the battery/alternator light came on after about 10 mins showing only about 11 volts, then a few miles later bounced back to normal 13.4 to 13.8 volts ? (Still cant figure that one out ? )

 

The airbag light was on, and Tom at Body Werks confirmed the drivers seat was NOT removed,( just the back and side rear interior section, to get to the back of the left rear quarter panel where the damage was at) so we still couldn't figure out the air bag light coming and staying on ? What irks me is none of this ever happened before, and why would my display light on the radio totally vanish ?

 

The presets were all there, but nothing on the radio display ? Anyone got any ideas on that ? That's my main concern now, I cant tune anything else, due to I can't see anything. My old 97 BMW M-3 radio display faded gradually then went out completely last year, but my 911 only has 25,000 K on the clock, and went out after all this other electrical stuff happened. Could the radio display have a separate fuse ? As far as Kennedy Porsche Joe, I prefer Rick at Daytona Autobahn, I have heard some negative things about Kennedy, from 2 other 911 owners, and hes expensive.  Sure wish my radio display would come back ?  :help:

 

Anyone have any idea, how my radio display would suddenly disappear on my 996 ? Please see my above previous issues. Thanks Britdave :help:  

[Loren]

And the model number on your radio is?

[britdave]

And the model number on your radio is?

I'm not sure Loren , where can I find the radio model number at, do I need to remove it ?

 

The car isn't here right now, so I'll have to get back on this. A friend mentioned the display could be fused ? Remember its just the radio tuning display that suddenly vanished, all lights out ? The radio/ CD player is the standard one that came with the 2002 996's the display flap comes down to insert a CD, then you push it back to close it,  and just standard speakers came with it, not Bose.

 

As I said previously, this all occurred after a few days at the body shop, where they removed the left rear side interior, to repair the damage properly over the left wheel well, and quarter panel.  I also found out the drivers seat was never removed, yet the airbag lights still come on when the car is started, and at first the radio didn't come on at all ? Radio/CD plays now, but just no display ?   :help:  Thanks Dave.

[Loren]

Some radios have an internal fuse - some don't.

 

The name is right next to the word "Porsche" on the radio -- this on is a "CDR-220"