New to me C4S- Cluster and Spoiler Issues

Hi everyone- new Porsche owner here and first time ever posting on a forum.... I recently inherited a 2004 C4S with about 21,000 miles on it that has been sitting for about 6-7 years. It starts right up and drives fine, but I have quite a few issues with the instrument cluster. 1. The cluster will sometimes show KPH and sometimes show MPH, it is never the same and sometimes switches midstream. 2. The high beam indicator light will illuminate even when the headlights are not on. 3. The lower cluster - mileage, time, mph will stay on after I shut off the car- as long as an hour before I finally have to disconnect the battery. Occasionally it will go off normally, after 3-5 minutes, but most of the time its long enough that I have to disconnect the battery. Additionally, the rear spolier stays up, even after the car is shutt off. A diagnostic reader shows some sort of communication error to the spoiler. I know some of this might be in previous threads, but I looked and could not find any that spoke to my particular issues- so I apoligize in advace if I missed them. Help! Thanks!

Generally speaking almost everything that has wonky power for lights and dash is either the headlight swich or ignition switch. Its kinda throwing parts at it without diagnostic but those 2 items r common failures.

Thank you! Seems like a good place to start.

Another thing to check it that the 3 connectors in the back of the cluster r correctly locked in. If u dont think the cluster has ever been pulled then i wouldnt bother checking as there is risk in removing the connectors. The plastic gets very brittle with age and they shatter. U can get replacement parts but it sucks spending $100 on plastic.

Thank you. I am pretty certain the cluster has never been off, so I will probably take your advice and leave it as is. Something else just occurred to me- I know the IMS bearing was replaced at about 15k , is it possible the engine ground strap could be loose or? I am not sure if that is something that is messed with when doing that job.

I doubt it. U really dont have to remove any wires to pull the trans and change an imsb. Look up some threads on swapping the headlight and igbition switchs and read up on issues others have had. Almost all the cars power goes through those two switches and when the contacts fail all kinds or weird $hit happens. Again just a guess but a good place to start.

New switches on the way.....fingers crossed.

Well, unfortunately the switches are not the issue.

Well it was worth a shot. I guess the 2 other obvious places to look are the stalk assembly and cluster itself. U may be able to get a used stalk assembly from Dc Auto or La Dismantler. I wish i could think of a better way of diagnosing the issues?

Definitely worth a shot, everything I researched pointed in that direction. At this point, if it is either stalk or the cluster I am hoping it�s the stalk assembly as opposed to the cluster-it�s a much more affordable solution. Thank you again, I appreciate the help.

Sounds as if you have an ignition lock assembly that�s sticking. Is the key hard to turn? Does the ignition lock give an audible clack when removing key. After you turn the key to the off position then remove key you should check fuse E1 to make sure there is no power going to it. If there�s voltage your ignition contacts are sticking in closed position.

Thank you. Even with the new switch, the key does seem a little hard to turn- but I have never had a Porsche, so I�m not sure what is normal. It does make a fairly solid audible click when I remove the key, but I definitely check the fuse and see what I find out. Thanks again, I�ll report back one way or another.

Well, checked the fuse with the key out- no power, so I suspect the new ignition switch and lock assembly is working fine. I have the headlight switch disconnected still as I had it out when I replaced the ignition switch and the high beam indicator still comes on…I’m wondering now if it’s not a cluster issue.

Regarding your high beam indicator issue: any chance you have LED bulbs for high beams?

No, just the factory Xenon package.

Hello BPSC4S, I have a 03 C4S (bought less than a year ago), did you ever get your gremlins figured out? I was having MULTIPLE engine sensor gremlins when I first got the car, the only common thing was the wiring or computer. So I dug in under the back seat, and found a mouse nest! Some of the relays had corrosion on the connectors, and one ground stud (brown wire) on the passenger side was corroded. After I cleaned those issues up, I haven't had any gremlins! I hope you get yours cleared up! Paul

Thanks Paul! After much deliberation, I finally decided this was above my skill set and took to a local independent shop. So far, they have diagnosed the multi switch that controls the high beam, turn signal, etc., as being faulty. They are still working on the spoiler issue. As my C4S had been sitting for sometime, I haven’t ruled out mice or moisture issues. I’ll keep everyone posted!