Hi all,
I have had this problem on my Boxster for about a year and am now trying to tackle it, In the morning when I go out and start it the ABS and TC lights are on, if I take it on a 10 minute or so drive then turn the car off and on and they will then go off and stay off. Sometimes it takes a longer drive sometimes around the corner is enough. But then if I leave the car for multiple hours, so before and after work, if I come back they will be back on and it will need the same drive and restart. Once the lights are off both systems work perfectly. It does need an ignition switch and that is on order as sometimes I need to turn it off and on again for the blowers and wipers etc to work, so far I have checked all the ABS sensors with a
multimeter
and they read fine, I have also had a friend with a good scanner plug it in and there were no codes. I have tried a couple batteries and have also checked that it charges well. I cleaned the MAF and throttle body just in hope that it would fix it. I do get an occasional brake pad light too despite them all having loads on them, not sure how connected the two are.
Where should I be looking next? There being no codes makes it annoying to diagnose, would a snap on reader be able to read abs codes off this?
Thanks, any response is appreciated.
You may need to define what scanner you used, and whether it has Porsche specific capability. If not, then that would be my first suggestion. I know on 987-series the
Foxwell NT530
is highly recommended, with its Porsche module. This may work for your
986
as well.
There are other brands out there, of course, that works well for scanning, but they must have a Porsche-specific mode/module otherwise you won't get these deeper codes. I expect Snapon could, assuming they have the Porsche-specific stuff as well. I have recently seen
Autel
has one that seems to do well, too. If you can borrow one with such capability, that sounds like a good plan.
That's where I would start. The next check would be the battery - you mentioned trying a few. What does this mean? Were they new batteries? These cars are very sensitive to weak batteries, so it might be worth just replacing it, particularly if it's ever been dead or jump started... or if it's old (read the date on the battery if possible).
The next thought is something related to water damage or rodent damage. Water damage is very common on the 987 series because there is a rear-module located under the seat, which can get damaged from leaks, etc. It's VERY important to check to make sure your drains are clean.
Hi,
I know most of my local garages so someone should be able to lend me a hand with a scanner, I tried another battery as I thought the fact it switches off after a small drive could indicate it was voltage related, thinking the
alternator
was topping up the battery then it was fine?. I have had water damage under the passenger seat but that happened after this began, it’s just meant my locking system is seemingly completely dead, the switch on the dash doesn’t do anything anymore. 3 key swipes give me 3 beeps. That’s also on the list of things to fix on this. I can live without the alarm and locking for now so thought I’d start by trying to fix this. Thanks for the reply.
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What year is your Boxster? What Porche hid under the seat seems to have changed over the years. Before tackling the PSM light issue - I'd go for fixing the bad box under the seat. It might just surprise you and clear up your other issues.
