Disclaimer: I've searched a ton, both here and Renn, and found a bunch of threads that kindasorta address the issue, but none that actually solve it. So, without further ado...

Car is mint, clean, no issues or gremlins. Trunk light was working fine, as were the glove box light and the deck lid light. I was detailing the trunk area and wanted to get a look behind the access panel on which the light was mounted. So I took out the three screws and the turn-style Christmas tree fastener that holds it on, came out smooth and by the numbers. In order to pull away the panel, I detached the connection harness from the blades that extend from the light socket. The light was on when I disconnected it, and at no time was there any stress on the cable or anything.

So after having a looksee at what was behind there, I reconnected the harness to the socket blades, but the lamp did not come back on. I figured it'd just timed out after the trunk being open for a while.

So I ran the gamut of locking, unlocking, starting, and even driving the car, checking the light after each attempt. No joy.

Out comes the multimeter, which gave me a zero reading. So no current at all to the harness. Insert WTF-face here.

Did the aforementioned searches and found that the trunk, glove box and deck lid lamps are all related somehow but no one seems to have solid info on that. So I checked the glove box and deck lid and sho'nuff, they ain't coming on.

Sooo... really? I touched absolutely NOTHING but this lamp's connection harness and suddenly all these lights go out? And God forbid there's any mention of any of these lamps in the fuse panel insert so considerately provided by Porsche, tucked into the fuse panel cover.

Trunk latch microswitch is functioning fine, as evidenced by the horn chirping on alarm arming when the trunk lid is open (and not chirping when it's closed).

I can't believe I have to write a novella to explain this, but I'm kinda at my wits' end here.

Any suggestions, or does it really take a dealership to change a lightbulb?

My gut says this HAS to be fuse. Simplest explanation. Can someone tell me for certain which fuse handles these lamps?
-V

 

Try locking and unlocking with remote/key may help= mine have not came on since I bought it but never have bothered to look into it.

 

Also as I'm sure you know can check all fuses quickly with a check light by touching metal insets on the fuse ends without removal.

 

Apparently your fuse assignment guide has been removed from the panel cover.

This is for a 2001...

 

Did you test with a multimeter to make sure you are still receiving power? its possible that the bulb went bad. you mentioned that it was on when you removed it, which means the element was hot and more fragile than when cold. if you bumped it, you may have blown it. Testing the socket with a multimeter will tell you for sure. If you dont have a meter, you could buy a 12 v circuit tester from pep boys or equivalent. Good Luck

 

I had a similar problem, where I was convinced something was broken, or out of whack and it turned out to be the fuse. I replaced the fuse and everything was back to normal. Hopefully for you it's just the fuse.

James

 

I was soooooo looking forward to posting "it was just a fuse. /thread" this morning. No such luck.

Thanks for the thoughtful replies though.

I have a multimeter with which to check fuses, but it's a hassle and a dedicated checker is cheap - or even included with a pack of fuses, which was the case for me this morning. Figured I may need a few anyway.

So yeah, I checked every one, and they all passed. So again, WTF?

Just in case though, Irish, do you remember which fuse you had to change?

And mmm, I DO have that "map," which evidently includes every power-sucking element on my 996 except the trunk, deck and glove box lamps. How convenient!

03 996tt, I checked the leads to the bulb harness with the multimeter, and they're not getting any power.

And rmc, I've locked, unlocked, started, driven, stopped, lit, unlit, rolled my eyes, crossed my fingers, knocked wood, used foul language, and said a novena and still nothing.

What. The. Hell? Are these lamps relay-driven perhaps? Maybe one got toasted when I removed the harness if the leads happened to cross?

I know it's not that big a deal, but when it's the only deal, it just happens to be the biggest one, too.

All suggestions welcome.
-V

 

A relay is an interesting thought but I doubt it, look forward to the fix=quite a mystery lol.

 

First thing to do is check, with your trunk open, if the light in the engine compartment is "ON" (look through the vents on top of the cover)...Both switch, engine compartment and trunk, put the lights on in both area. If the engine compartment light is not on that mean the switch in the trunk latch release is at fault....

 

What other lights or items are on the same fuse as the glove box light? Check them too. If they are getting power, then just trace the box line. Did you check the connectors in the harness to make sure you didnt push one back so theres no connection?

Checking fuses for power is easy, pull the fuse, ground the multi and check both sides of the fuse connection (only 1 side has power).

I went thru something like with the emanage in my S2000. one of the connector pins were pushed back just far enough that there was no contact. We spent 3 hours retracing our steps until we finally pushed all the wires back and fourth in the main harness and all of a sudden we were golden.

 

You can also check the "Hood open" message to see if it is "ON" when the trunk is open to eliminate a malfunction the micro switch on the latch mechanism....

 

Trunk latch is fine. Horn chirps when armed when the trunk is open.

None of the three lights (trunk, glove box, deck lid) come on in any condition at this point.

Geez, all I did was remove the dang wiring harness to a bulb. Assume WORST offense was having the leads*touch when doing that.

Kinda frustrating. Any other car, it'd be an easy thing.

Thanks again. Keep em coming! This WILL get fixed and explained.

-V

 

http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic...t-trunk-light/

 

Good info jdflip I will check out my switch hopefully it will work for vendetta also.

 

Good link, but I'd seen that one already as I paced around my garage wracking my brain (and the internet) for a solution. Again, all switches are GOOD, so that's not the issue.

The ONLY thing I touched was that light assembly and 2-lead wiring harness. What I DON'T want to do is introduce other potential problems of any kind or of any severity in the course of addressing this minor one.

Think I'll pull each fuse tomorrow and physically inspect them. After all, I can either trust the meter or my own lying eyes, right? QUESTION: If I pull and reinsert each fuse independently, do I risk disturbing some other system in the car? The PCM for example. I don't believe I have the anti-theft passcode for the head unit.

If it's not a fuse, it'll be off to the shop.

Grateful for all your responses. I know it takes time to search and contribute.

-V