Was detailing the Croc for WERKS last night. When I turned the shop lights off I noticed the interior lights were on.
When I got in the car I noticed the the mileage and the trip mileage were on along with the clock and also the interior lights. There was no key in the ignition. I had not started the car for a couple days, I had left the keys in the car ( not in the ignition) during that time. I don't think the 2010 cars sense the keys in or around the car. Started the car no big deal figured turning it off and getting out of car would clear the problem, Nope. Pulled the ground off the
battery
and went to bed. Came out and attached the ground still the same issue. I turned off the lights with the switches in the ceiling panel. Still have the activated dash issue. Found the dash fuse pulled it and killed the dash activation. Now to solve what is the problem. Ideas gentleman?? there is a relay staying on some where.
Chuck
2010
Cayman S
Hey Chuck, I've noticed this in my 07 Boxster also. I've found that when you lock the doors with the key the lights all shut off. I don't know the fix or the issue yet but that is how I've been getting around the lights not staying on all the time. Mine has a sloppy driver-side door handle mechanism that I'm replacing next week and I wondered if it had anything to do with that. Like the door handle isn't closing all the way so it's triggering something? But then again there is no door open warning from it either.
I know on my 2010 the dash would light up when the door was opened. This makes me think that you have a bad door switch somewhere... it's not telling the car the door is closed, so the dash stays lit. I think you need to find where that switch is. In most cars (I don't have mine otherwise I'd check) the door switch is separate from the door mechanism.
Do you have a code reader like a
Foxwell
? You can use the live data in there to see if the door sensor is working properly - you may see it's not working, and then just have to find it to replace it.
As
@Subydrift
and
@schwinn
have mentioned, it seems to lean toward a door switch problem. It’s been awhile, but I replaced some micro-switches on a previous 996 and I recall there being several, each monitoring a different function such as window-drop, door open/closed, window up or down.
Barring that, then the only thing that would come into play is a faulty relay or BCM that control how long the lights and dash remain illuminated after closing the door. Hopefully it’s something simpler like a micro-switch. If I was a betting guy, I’d go with the micro-switch. Let us know the outcome.
I'm installing my new door handle this evening and will post the results but I was definitely having a micro switch issue as my window would spazz up and down with the door handle barely touching the micro switch behind it. I found that one of the plastic pieces on the door handle mechanism broke so the spring had almost no tension holding it tight against the switch.
My hands are cramping in sympathy, picturing that procedure. Have dealt with that before and besides the impossible angles and positions to squeeze your fingers into, I had back pain to go along with it from contorting my body into unnatural positions for long periods. Good luck with your project.
Ha ha. It wasn’t too bad. I needed to replace the door speakers anyway so I was diving in either way. But the door handle did help! It is a longer delay than you’d think. It’s a few minutes when you just shut the door and a few seconds when you lock it.
