Motor Light

Hello pelicans, Just transitioned this week from an 88 Targa to a 2004 C4S. I noticed the motor was slow cranking and thru some investigation determined I have a slight draw on the battery, which I found to be the light located above the motor, next to the electric fan. I am assuming there is a switch somewhere in or around the engine hood which is supposed to power this light when the hood is up, and turn it off when the hood is down, but I don't see anything. Can anyone help? Thanks in advance.

Anyone out there who can help on this? From some additional checking it appears the light is designed to be activated through the opening and closing of the hood latch, however I can't see any plunger or exactly how it works. There is a dark plastic plug at the bottom of the catch which might control the light, but there does not seem to be any built in adjustment. And even when I close the latch manually and press it down with additional pressure, it doesn't turn off the light. Thanks.

How long does it stay lit? Does it shut off with the LED lights on the rear view mirror and arm rest ends? (usually ~20 min-1/2 hour when the car goes into "sleep" mode.) I think they also shut off when you lock the car. Take the key out, leave the frunk and engine cover open, come back in about 1 hour (after you have checked the refrigerator light) and see if they have both gone out when the car times out.

yes iirc the light under the engine lid is turned on via a micro switch in the latch. the light is not tired into the dome circuit so it'll stay on until the switch/latch is closed.......when working on long jobs on 996s I simply unplug the light. I the light should have 12v and is triggered by ground via the switch, I'll double check my schematics later today......

Mine does not shut off when I lock the car and as bell indicates above it does not time out with the dome or LEDs on the armrests. It does go off, as does the frunk light, when the car goes into hibernation mode after a couple of days, can't remember how long. It does work with the micro switch on the latch. (learned something new, thank you bell)

OK, so it seems the micro-switch is either broken or needs to be adjusted? Frank, can you give me some more details on the switch? Is it the plastic piece at the base of the hood catch with the 2 wires coming off if it, and do I have to remove the entire hood catch to get to it? Is there a way to adjust the switch and if so, what is it? Thanks again for the help!

Golftime, On my 2003 there is a thin metal arm that pivots on the switch body. It contacts the left side of the lower latch "claw". If yours is there you can see it activate, follows the claw when you push it down = locked switch open, when you work the latch with your finger the arm just rides on the surface of the claw. I will have to go look at it tomorrow to see how to remove the switch.

The switch is pinched between the two halves of the latch case. It looks like you have to either loosen the latch mounting bolts or take them out to release the microswitch from the latch. Looking at the way the latch is mounted you might be able to loosen the latch bolts and slide the switch to adjust it or maybe bend the arm a little if needed. Before you do that put tape on the sheet metal around the latch body so that you have the position marked. That will make it easier to put the latch back in the same position.

Thanks Frank. I hope to give it a try this weekend. Before doing so, I will clearly make the latch location. The last thing I want to do is make more problems. I confess to feeling like such a dummy here because this sounds like it should be so easy yet I have looked at it a dozen times with a shop light and cannot see the arm or whatever the latch is supposed to contact.

1st pic is switch arm at the blue end of my pick. 2nd pic is the switch arm pushed off of the lower latch claw. It shows silver in the pic. 3rd pic is same as 2 dif angle When I take the pick out the switch arm moves back in line with the lower latch claw and it looks like one piece.

John, 1. Open door or insert key in ign = car awake - dash, radio, mood LEDs etc on 2. Close car walk away key in pocket ~20 minutes car goes to sleep = interior lights, dash, radio, LEDs off. Car will respond to remote. ADDED Frunk and engine lights will stay on at this point as long as lids are open (or switches are broken). They will not go off until #3 below happens. 3. Car not touched for 2-3 days = car goes into hibernation - ALL, including remote locking, sleeping no answer until open door (manual unlock included) or insert key in ign wakes car up. If key not inserted in ign within ~20 seconds after door open (manual unlock included) car gets upset and alarm hollers. Sounds like your switch is kaput. It should turn the light off when the lid is closed. Did you push the latch closed with your finger? (lid open) Mine goes off so the microswitch definately works the light. It comes back on when I hit the open switch and the latch opens. The only other time it, light, will be off is after the car goes into hibernation. Mine takes a couple days to do that. After it goes hibernate the remote will not unlock the doors, open frunk etc. With mine even if I reach in through an open window and open the lids with the manual switch(es) the frunk and engine lid lights stay off until I open the door and or put the key into the ign. (That is with the car unlocked and hibernating) You can just see the switch on the bottom of the lockset in this pic

Frank, I have been focusing on the switch so much, not sure but I might have missed something. Because my battery was low, I've had it on a battery tender most of the week with the front deck lid ajar to allow the cord to fit thru. I thought the engine light was simply on/off activated by the hood latch, but if it is tied into the auxiliary lighting and other systems of the car, it is possible the front deck lid was affecting the results. While locking the car attempting to shut everything off today, I got a single beep of the horn. It finally dawned on me that it was caused by the front deck lid not being fully closed. So tomorrow I plan to do this again, this time with the front deck lid closed. It sounds like the light should then go off within 20-30 minutes of the car being locked, assuming I have opened the engine hood? (If correct, not sure why Porsche would design that much a parasitic draw into car that is already tough on batteries.) Thanks, John

Light should go OFF when the lid is CLOSED. There is a switch for the engine light on the engine lid lock. That switch controls the light in the engine compartment ONLY ! no other lights in the car. There is also a switch in the front trunk (frunk) that controls the frunk light, ONLY the frunk light, no other lights in the car. No other switches in the car control the frunk or engine compartment lights. The frunk and engine compartment switches control no other lights in the car. There are other sequences of events that will cause some or all of the lights and computer controls to be activated or deactivated. I listed some of them in post #11. Of the ones listed only #3 will have any effect on your engine compartment light. That light should be controlled by the switch on the engine compartment latch. That switch can be seen in the pic posted in post #11. PS You can run a cord for the trickle charger to the battery from the wiper side of the frunk lid and close the lid without pinching anything. The battery is not in the sealed part of the frunk.