Electrics gone haywire

Some of you may have encountered this phenomenon, and it may have already been archived here and with other worthy testaments, apologies if this isn't news for you. I was boxing up my 996 after replacing the a/c condensers and thought I'd take advantage and drill out the front wheel brake disc ventilation holes which were blocked with caked dust. Whilst doing so, a strange noise emanated from the rear of the car which drew my attention; the rear spoiler had risen up!?! I looked inside the car and also noticed that all the advisory panel lights were lit and the driver's window had fallen to half open. I removed the ignition key but the panel lights remained illuminated. Starting to panic I immediately removed one of the battery connections which extinguished the lights but didn't explain the cause and had me thinking that I'd done something wrong. After a sleepless night I googled the issue to find that others have had the same problem and that this is simply the result of a battery that may not be entirely flat but near exhaustion. A quick recharge and all's back to normal. Also, trying to remove the front wheels was a nightmare, the wheel studs were so tight I split the box spanner supplied with the car. The only way I could move these studs was with a socket fitted with a metre long extension arm from a 996 friend to provide enough leverage to crack the studs open. These were last tightened by my OPC Dick Lovett in Cardiff presumably with a pneumatic device; obviously they do this because it's quick but it doesn't help someone who's stuck with a puncture and can't remove the wheel with the standard box spanner or socket wrench. It might be worth checking your wheels to see if you can budge the studs with what you carry in the car for this purpose, before you're stuck with a puncture out there somewhere. If they are stuck, take it back to your service agent and get them to 'unstick' them and then retighten them with a slightly reduced torque on their pneumatic device (or by hand) or, at least, 'unstick' them so that you can tighten them yourself with your box spanner or whatever you carry in the car. That way, you know you'll be able to remove a wheel in a genuine emergency. Of course, safety is paramount, you still need to ensure that these studs are tight enough not to unwind during use! If you have any doubts, take the car to your service agent. Oh BTW, the spare tyre was flat too . . . worth checking.

I'd be surprised if OPC torqued them over 110nm I've always found most pretty good. Even a local guy that powder coated my wheel last year to my surprise pulled out a torque wrench.

thirteeneast . . . Will borrow a torque wrench off said friend and tighten to rated Nm and see if I can remove the studs without the aid of a long armed socket wrench, which I don’t want to cart around in the car.

Philip, I think you'll find that most Porsche Centres and Independents are pretty good when it comes to tightening the wheel bolts to the correct torque. Usually it's the tyre factors who are at fault with over-tightening, using a "one impact gun torque setting fits all" approach. If you can get hold of some Optimoly TA aluminium anti-seize paste it's worth applying a small amount to the bolt threads and under the bolt heads to ease future removal. The "tree lights" effect you mentioned is indeed a common fault with a low battery voltage. Jeff

My 981 handbook says quite specifically "wheel bolts must not be greased". I seem to remember that the 987 and 986 before it said the same for bolt threads, but that Optimoly-TA could be used between the cup and the bolt head, not on the cup surface itself. You can also wipe Optimoly-TA on the spigots over which the wheel fits to aid wheel removal.

110nm isn't even that tight, you'd probably just about do it with your teeth let alone a wheel brace. What I've seen some monkeys do however is use an air rachet wound up far too high then put a torque wrench on and see if it clicks. Of course all this actually performs is a click counter IQ test for zoo animals. If there's any of these specimens working in Opc's they should be put down by the vet immediately. Terrifying stuff.

Brian, FYI my 987.2 Cayman Driver’s Manual says to apply a thin coat of Optimoly TA to the thread and between the bolt head and moveable spherical cap ring. My Cayman’s a 2009 model and I’m aware that the wheel bolt torque was increased at some stage during 987.2 manufacture. Maybe that’s when the recommendation not to grease the thread was introduced and then carried over to the 981 series? Jeff