13 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHAnother non-starter
Leading reported evidence
Check battery voltage
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
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Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
I checked the battery voltage again which has recovered to 12.8v.
Leading evidence: 'Check battery voltage' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'ground' (1 discussions; 0 report identifying it and 1 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check battery and the battery connections' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
I then removed the earth lead from the battery cleaned and checked the connections, reassembled and tried again.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
So I went and bought a new shiny 85 amp Yuasa battery and replaced the previous incumbent which still
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Discussions that suspect a cause
1
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Suspected cause
If the voltage stays around 12V, you have a bad connection somewhere - probably a bad ground.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that suspect a cause
1
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Suspected cause
If bad, change battery, monitor charging voltage and if insufficient, suspect Y cable.
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Suggestion
It could cause cranking issues and hinder charging, which would lead to an undercharged battery, which could be the cause of it all, but we need battery voltage check first.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
13 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
1 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Outcome without a verified action link
It closed properly but the next time I opened the drivers door and closed it the window on closing was still not right up to the seal on the fabric roof.
No unique explicit quoted action; no causal link assigned
NEARBY ACTION · LINK UNVERIFIED
It could cause cranking issues and hinder charging, which would lead to an undercharged battery, which could be the cause of it all, but we need battery voltage check first.
An intended trip today in my 1999 C4 convertible with 45k miles was thwarted by the electric gremlins.
I pushed in the ignition key into the ignition switch and turned it once. Everything lights up as it should. I then go to turn the key again to start and the screen goes black and there is no noise. I take the key out and push it in again. A few lights come on dimly.
I open the frunk and check the battery and the battery connections. All good and the battery is fully charged.
I try the key in the ignition and the first turn produces more lights but some are flickering. I try the next turn and can hear what I guess is the fuel pump but nothing more. No click from the starter.
My guess is that I have a faulty ignition switch as the battery is good and clearly I have an earth otherwise the lights would not come on and the fuel
pump would not work.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Confirm the battery voltage with a meter. and report back. If you have a friend, have them monitor and record the voltage as you turn the key. It sounds like a bad battery or a bad battery connection, but let's start with the measured voltage.
+1. If the voltage drops below 10V, the battery is probably shot. If the voltage stays around 12V, you have a bad connection somewhere - probably a bad ground. Check Y cable. Sometimes the battery terminals look ok on the outside, but not good on the inside where the connect matters most.
Electrical engineer here. Bad Y-cable would not cause lights on dash to flicker. It could cause cranking issues and hinder charging, which would lead to an undercharged battery, which could be the cause of it all, but we need battery voltage check first. If bad, change battery, monitor charging voltage and if insufficient, suspect Y cable.
The helpful replies of you all are much appreciated.
I have connected my volt meter to the battery which read 12.9 volts with all switched off.
First turn of ignition key brought all the warning lights and instruments on but the next turn resulted in the dash going black and no sign of life from the starter. The voltmeter at the same time went down to pretty well zero and then slowly climbed back up to 10.5 volts.
I then removed the earth lead from the battery cleaned and checked the connections, reassembled and tried again. Same thing.
I notice the drivers window has now dropped a bit and I reset it by pressing the up switch for five seconds. It closed properly but the next time I opened the drivers door and closed it the window on closing was still not right up to the seal on the fabric roof.
I checked the battery voltage again which has recovered to 12.8v.
Also the lights on the radio are going on and off when the ignition switch is activated to turn the starter motor.
Busy gremlins.
I find it difficult to believe I have a problem
battery. This to me looks like some earthing issue - the Y cable?
What next?
All manner of gremlins come from the electrical portion of the ignition switch. Looks like it is time to replace it. Did you happen to check if you have 12V at the jump point in the engine bay? BTW, the Y-cable is not a ground or earth, it is 12V+.
Electrical engineer here. You 100% have a bad battery. If the battery isn't very old and that is why you don't want to believe it, then I suspect what's happened is you ALSO have a corroded Y cable and that limits the ability to charge the battery. With a bad y-cable, the battery dies a slow death.
$40 for a new ignition switch and 30-40 minutes of your time being a contortionist. Check all of the above suggestions as they are spot on with doing proper diagnoses, but your symptoms lead to a bad switch. Lot's of information/videos on how to do it.
Agree with this. IF you are measuring voltage directly from the battery terminal posts themselves, the voltage should never drop this low on a healthy battery.
I went and purchased an ignition starter switch and then did another check of the battery which showed a significant drop in the voltage. So I went and bought a new shiny 85 amp Yuasa battery and replaced the previous incumbent which still
had 2 years of it guarantee left (if I believe the date painted on the side). I did not buy that original battery and have no documentation for it.
Anyway the Porsche now works just as it should and many thanks for the help I have been given.
I am sure that at some stage in the future it will need a new ignition starter switch and I will know I do not have to buy another. 😌
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