New owner with some problems

Hello all I have posted this in the wrong section so I will try here. I bought a nice Carrera 4 Tiptronic 2001 Thursday,I love it. Everything was great until I messed about with the stalk that controls the Cruise & the computer!1 Why did I pull it about I do not know, I had the book on my lap in a carpark but no reading glasses. So the upshot of this fumbling is that after you drive off after maybe 60 secs the interior light comes on & then the passenger window drops right down then after another few seconds the drivers glass drops down?! They will go up again when I press the buttons but after a while it happens again ,sometimes the passenger windows drops to half way waits then drops down ??Is the car possessed lol, I then went to a freinds to show him the car & while we in the house the alarm went off,A guy in the road said he slammed his car door which set it off ,then it went off a further 2 times & the car did not respond to the plip? As its a quiet cul de sac I turned the alarm off as the car was right outside & did not want to disturb anyone anymore,when I came out & the windows were down again. I came home & sat in the car (with glasses) but the stalk did not register anything at all,no OBC at all ? Just as I sat there with the engine running wife came out just as she did all the windows went down ... I have locked it now & its under a cover no alarm yet but I will check the windows are still up later when I walk the dog ! Great car though ,both sets of neighbours have recently bought 2010 cars & they both popped round singing its praises ,its a real feel good car lol. By the way I'm John.

John!! Sounds like it might be that the battery is on its way out, which can cause weird electrical problems with the alarm, windows, etc. What is the battery voltage with the igniton on, but engine stopped? It should be 12v. With the engine running, it should be 13.8 volts. If the battery is OK, check under the passenger seat for wet carpets - that's where the alarm control module lives.

Hello Richard ,thankyou for replying so fast. It had a new battery & alternator fitted on 28/11/09 ? The carpets are all dry as well, the voltage is correct also ? I was thinking that it all starts with the interior light so as a temporary measure i was going to remove the bulbs ?

The alarm module controls all the interior lighting, so I think that may be where the problem lies. Best bet would be to take it back (if you bought it from a dealer) and get them to do a diagnostic check.

Ah I see ,I bought it privately & its amazing for nearly 2 days it was fine ? oh well I suppose I will have to get to know a porsche specialist . Thanks again Richard.

If you are anywhere near me I would be happy to do a diagnostic check for you.

Hi again, I decided to check the battery for power, oh what a palava!! It showed low on the guage & i checked it against my Alfa which was right up on the gauge. Ok I'll just trickle charge it I thought, Hmmm well I guess you know what's coming but I had no idea! Now its a sleepy very quiet Cul de sac I live in & around 9am some people like a Sunday lie ,not me,not today ,i'm keen to stop my new car from acting daft with its window tricks ! I take off the negative lead & as I'm taking off the Positive the alarm goes off ,quite loud when your not expecting it, i quickly take off the positive lead & guess what the alarm does not stop !!! For a few seconds I in a dither then I try the key fob,stupidly as the battery is not connected, it did not work so I slam the door shut properly even more stupidly i try the key fob again it does not work but by now all logical reasoning has left my befuddled & shrinking brain ,how can this be !!Help was not the only words flowing through this addled brain,in desperation I slammed the bonnet shut ,it stopped i sighed, the neighbours may still smile yet.then it went off again ,in fact in total it went off 3 times when the battery was not connected?? It seemed like a lifetime & wifey not at all amused while 11yr old daughter thought it great fun to daddy running around like a headless,thoughtless chicken. So after a while I realised that I have a battery that is not connected in a locked boot that is electrically controlled !!! So hey I found the handbook & managed to jump the connections ,but phew I thought Alfa's had a name for daft things this was a wonderful & bonding experience for myself & my neighbours So hopefully ,when its chraged fully my windows will stay up when they are supposed too [&:]

Ear-splitting isn't it? The alarm siren has a backup battery inside it, and when you disconnect the main battery it 'thinks' you are stealing it! To stop this happening, switch on the ignition, but don't start the car. Turn off all loads like radio, aircon, etc. Leave the key in this position while you disconnect the battery, negative terminal first, and leave the key in there until after you have re-connected. No real reason to disconnect the battery while you are trickle-charging it though. If the alarm goes off under 'normal' circumstances, the way to shut it up is simply to turn on the ignition. HTH

Richard thank you so much for the advice,I charged the battery fully & all is well again,although the ist time I drove away the Airbag light & the PSM light stayed on? It did not before & has not come back again so far ? I have posted some pics of it in the gallery section [ ]