PSM and ABS lighting up

Has anyone had this happen to them or does anyone know what is happening. Over the last couple of days my PSM Off and ABS lights on my C4 (MY2000) come on, not when I am braking hard or turning but when I accelerate hard. The PSM toggle button is inoperative when the lights are on but when I turn off the ignition both the lights re-set and all return to normal - very odd? Anyone out there got any ideas. RB

I have the exact same problem only comes on when you accerate very hard. I am going to get my local opc to have a look when i get time, someone did mention that this could be a problem with the switch, i will report back once i have had it looked at. Phil

MAF - almost guaranteed if it is happening under hard acceleration. I think this topic was covered a couple of weeks ago.

Richard would know better than me but it does sound like the Mass AirFlow (MAF) sensor, no? noticed any hesistancy / 'spluttering' when accelerating hard? edited to say: he beat me to it!

Just found the other thread: http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/fb.asp?m=281216 Funnily enough, my brother had exactly the same problem with his C4 recently. He hadn't noticed the slight sluggishness until he changed the MAF. I think it degrades so slowly you don't notice the problem. The MAF is about £150 from eurocarparts.com, or about £300 from an OPC. It's a 5 minute job to change, but you need a Torx security bit to get the screws out.

I have heard on another forum that you could try cleaning the existing MAF to see if it makes any difference.

Ah so that's it is it? I would have never have put the two together as I have not felt any sluggish performance. I see from my warranty booklet that it is covered under my extended warrnty! So a new MAF it is then? I also read that you can clean the MAF with electrical contact spray but as I have the extended warranty I intend to use it. Thanks guys RB

I have noticed mine only once but everything happend that quick, I was accelerating hard, braking very hard, was sideways at one point and then I noticed the PSM and ABS light on. Once I turned off the ignition and started it again they all went off. Could this be the same problem or could it be that the car was telling me to calm down in its own personal way. If you think it is the same problem I should be able to get it under warranty, as I have three months left. Thanks

The lights should flash when the system is doing its job. You might have been being a bit of a hooligan, but the lights should not stay on when it is inactive under normal driving conditions. If the light stayed on then it might have put a fault code in the fault resister (which could be read out) but temporary faults often clear themselves automatically. Worth asking them to look next time it is in for a service.

Thanks

I had a similar problem most of the weekend. Pouring rain, inconsistant roads surfaces, frightening gradients, 5000+ rpm and 20.8Km of Nurburgring !!! Strangly enough, I was quite glad of that little flashing amber light....... [ ]

Mine was the MAF as well took it to my OPC two cups of coffie and 45 min wait job done all under warranty. Cant tell if it feels quicker or not. Phil

Mine is all done now and I do feel an improvement in the car's performance however, not everything went to plan regarding the trip to the OPC which resulted in me needing to call the Porsche Assist Service which as most people will know comes with the warranty. On the way to meet my appointment all kinds of flashing light configurations occured on the dash which then all cleared and things went back to normal. However, when checking the volt meter I could see the needle falling. 5 miles from the OPC the car's alarm started to howl and I came to a shuddering stop. On the phone as quick as I could to get recovered to the OPC. 2 hours later the recovery truck turned up! Not quite the "fast and efficent solution 24 hours a day 365 days a year" as quoted in my warranty booklet. The problem? Alternator failure. The spooky thing is when I looked back on my phone's "dialed calls" list to see what time my first call to Porsche Assist (RAC really) was made, I found I had called them at 9.11 RB in the twighlight zone!!!!!!