Hi Guys,

Weird thing happening to my car.. About two weeks ago, I noticed that my AC wasn't really blowing while I was driving (barley pushing air).. I don't really use the AC in my car, but it was hot that day so I threw it on.. At 1st I thought there may have been a problem with the reinstall after my radiators were installed about a month ago..

2 days ago, I was leaving a friends house at night, and my headlights wouldn't turn on when the engine was running.. When I turned the engine off, but had the ignition switch turned both the AC and the headlights were working. When I turned the engine on, they would not work
- Also the highbeams work when I pull them forward, but I can't leave them on (in pushed back position)


Any help on what the issue could be? I'm hoping just repalce the fuses or something like that..

Any help woudl be greatly appreciated.

 

Ignition switch - bet on it! Swap in a Bosch\VW part. I don't have the number handy but this will fix it I bet. I had weird wiper behavior, light issues, and battery drain when mine went! There's a DiY for swapping the part and it only takes about 15minutes once you squeeze under the dash.

Is the key hard to turn at all or tough to remove? That's a classic sign and was my first hint at issues.

 

BLK is right I think. if you go to your car start it up and wiggle the key slightly to left I am guessing the lights turn on.

The VW/AUDI part is 4A0905849

I used this walkthrough this weekend: http://www.gagme.com/greg/996/igniti...ignition08.jpg

Total was 35min. Would have been faster, but I had my wife come help, couldn't get my big hand in to get one of the screws back in. Lights and accessories all work perfectly.

Scott

 

Is it worth replacing the whole ignition housing, or would I be good just replacing the switch..

Seems like a huge difference in price for the part + the difference in labor.. I'm trying to fix this as cheap as possible, but do it right..

 

The most common electrical failure on these old Porsche's is the ignition switch. Things such as very strange electrical problems like this can happen with a bad switch. We have an OEM supplier switch for $31 or a JL switch for $10. Check them out here. This DIY Tech Article should be relevant to the fix as well.

-Luccia

 

amazon still has the switch for 6/8 bucks max. same vw/audi one i've posted the link a 100 times. its there if anyone needs it. that said, pelican still rocks lol

 

Do a Bosch switch not the cheaper switch. I went with the cheaper one first, it cured the hard to turn key but then my wipers wold run when it rained and the key was in my pocket. I bought the more expensive switch and was good to go!

 

ha! well, that sucks. but ive had the 6$ one in for 5 years. whatever,.. to each their own, its just a switch
and i bet dollars/doughnuts they are the same but who knows.

 

I opened up the cheapie I had, it's nothing but brass contacts and wipers - it's not "simple" as there's lots of them but I saw nothing that could go "wrong". It was a complete puzzle but swapping that second time got my car running right - no more weird whispering humming sound like a small fan running in the cabin with the key out and no more auto-wipers running with the key in my pocket. The battery also started lasting for weeks vs a few days - sold me!

 

Mine is doing that exact same thing, I will replace my ignition switch before i take it out of the garage for the spring ~2 weeks...