Another alternator/charging system thread
 

I have been doing a lot of searching and reading threads on the charging systems for the 996tt. I cannot find my symptoms. I have a brand new battery and charging system works great. 14v at start up and 13.5- 13.8 with a/c full high, headlights and fog lights on. The problem is, if I turn the key on, but not all the way to cranking, long enough for the Generator/Battery failure message as well as the battery indicator lamp to come on and then crank the car, the message and indicator lamp does not go off but voltage climbs to normal. If I switch ignition off, and then back on and crank engine immediately, message and lamp go right off. At first I thought it was just a fluke. But it will do it every time almost like it was made that way :confused: Remember, my voltage always reads the same and charging system works every time even while battery lamp is illuminated. Thanks in advance!

Sounds like your ignition switch is bad.

Interesting. Is this a symptom commonly seen?

Yes i would agree with Tim i think its your ignition switch.Pretty common on a 996 and the symptoms can vary with all types of weird things like this and others.

I have this same exact problem, but it only occurs occasionally. I've never been able to figure out why it happens, but as you say if I don't turn the car off/on when it appears, it'll stay there but the car will work just fine. I wouldn't agree with the others who say ignition necessarily since my problem started after a massive round of upgrades at Vivid Racing that included dropping the motor (among other things). Personally I think it's due to either 1) a bad ground or 2) an ECU/computer glitch.

As I'm typing this one other thing comes to mind. My Turbo has been only driven maybe once every couple of weeks on average (maybe less) since the upgrades in April 2012 and the message showed up every few or half dozen times I put the key in, but recently the car has become my daily driver again, and since then I don't recall seeing the message at all!

One other bit of history: My car had the alternator replaced at 45k miles (now at 63k) when it failed while I was driving. The battery was replaced at the same time with a Porsche OEM unit. This was about 3 years ago.

this could possibly be the best 5 bucks you could ever spend *upgrading* your porsche. worked for me. as a bonus? now my radio only goes on/off when i push the button.

Can you explain this statement please?

surely. in addition to many other possible peculiarities or **** that ain't exactly right? a failing ignition switch will often manifest its imminent failure by inexplicably turning the cdr23 radio on/off inadvertently with no one ever touching the button, *seemingly* all by itself. the 5$ replacement switch to which i left a link above is one i purchased, and will cure that, should yours in fact be failing.

i hope that helps.

OK, I purchased the switch. It's no longer 5.00:) I do not believe for one second that this will fix this problem though as it is too consistent. But hey, you can't beat the price...lol

i hear ya, but then who among us would believe that a failing ignition switch could be the cause of phantom radio on/off activity?! on a side note, if you haven't yet learned that these cars are ALL about preventative maintainence, you soon will.. and you'll probably learn to love any part that fits/belongs that are five bucks. that leaves ignition switch and *maybe* a c-clip or two.. maybe :rolleyes:

point is. the switch is gonna fail sooner or later, so at five bucks? grab one and GL. :)

btw.. mine was 8$ lol i thought maybe they went down when it said 5 today ;)

10-4

This car hit me between the eyes....LEGS:eek:....with everything it had on the first day of ownership!! But I will win...lol

Trust me, I'm as anal as most about preventative maintenance! You should ask the guys that work with me! I drive them nutzhilarious

The ignition is a little irritating as I have to rock the wheel almost every time I turn it on. But, I have had other vehicles that required the steering wheel rock as well.

there's always little stuff and that's in addition to the learning curve. but you'll be fine since i'm guessing you can diy some stuff? this is my first anything without a warranty so the curve for me was steep but this place helps immeasurably. but for me and mine, next week should be a 5 grand$ week :eek: .. so i love this car. it's just part of the joy. enjoy it! and see ya on the boreds ;)

Let's just put it this way...Not too many people work on my personal vehicles! If I don't already have the tool, my Snap On rep will find it for me ;).

My check went out today to Markski at 911Tuning for my new turbos and injectors also hilarious

I love that avatar pic!

The CDR23 head unit is also well known for weird random issues. I went through 4 of them in my last Porsche because of this, including the random on/off problem, a volume knob that would only turn the radio up and not down or off (and no other knobs/buttons would work)! Only by fiddling extensively with the radio and performing a specific action with the volume knob (which I'm not proud of, nor will I admit to) was I finally able to turn it down (at which point it was at max volume on "The Chronic" I believe).

I'm with you, I don't think it's going to fix the problem. :) Given the prevalence of problems with this particular part though, I may replace mine too. I'm having a couple of other weird electrical/electronics issues right now too.

Anybody have a link to instructions on how to replace the switch? I searched but there are so many posts about the switch I couldn't find any links myself. TIA