asharma

3 hours ago, RFM said:

Possible, a lot depends on the used charger type, there are chargers that only charge and others that first partially discharge the battery and only than start the charging cyclus. What you can do is start by closing the car with the remote and depending on whether it is a daily driver or not, use the car every two or three days. You will than notice that the battery has enough power or not, i think you are needlessly concerned.

Thanks, I think u r correct In regards to being needlessly concerned...I did replace an 8 y.o. battery that probably actually needed to be replaced...I “think” the charging behaviour I’m seeing now is “probably” normal given different charger types...it’s not a daily driver but I think I can relax and carry my soon to arrive mobile jump starter battery pack, if for some reason I run into problems...Thanks again

1 hour ago, RFM said:

Do you lock the car with the remote ? This is necessary to get the systems into sleep mode after some time, for minimum power consumption.

Ahhhhhhhh, good point...no I don’t lock the car with the remote...could that be causing the 20 min charge time on a fully charged battery? Is there a way to verify this could be why I am seeing what I am seeing? Thanks

21 hours ago, asharma said:

Hi, I went to the dealer today...they were finally able to clear the airbag code which they attributed to a voltage glitch, perhaps when a battery gets low etc previously they were unable to clear it but today they said it went from active to passive...

 

i did install a new battery the other day (After the car threw the airbag code) and trying to determine if there is actually a draw on it...when I came home today, I hooked my trickle charger up (1.1A) and it took 7 hours to fully charge...the other day I hooked my 10A charger up after a 30 minute drive and it took 30 min to fully charge...Does that sound like there is a draw on it from somewhere? Thanks

Any feedback would be appreciated folks...Today, full charge (showing on my trickle charger) , backed out, washed it, had doors open etc, drove back in, 20 min to fully recharge on 10 amp charger...Does that sound right or could there be an unwanted draw causing this?

On 5/25/2020 at 10:05 PM, Loren said:

Not necessarily. Airbags don't take much power at all.

Best to double check where your draw is.

 

Hi, I went to the dealer today...they were finally able to clear the airbag code which they attributed to a voltage glitch, perhaps when a battery gets low etc previously they were unable to clear it but today they said it went from active to passive...

i did install a new battery the other day (After the car threw the airbag code) and trying to determine if there is actually a draw on it...when I came home today, I hooked my trickle charger up (1.1A) and it took 7 hours to fully charge...the other day I hooked my 10A charger up after a 30 minute drive and it took 30 min to fully charge...Does that sound like there is a draw on it from somewhere? Thanks

21 hours ago, Loren said:

Not necessarily. Airbags don't take much power at all.

Best to double check where your draw is.

 

I have an amp meter on my battery charger...it seems to me the second I stick the key in, the meter goes from charged at 2 amps to like 8 amps, a 6 amp drop...I removed both driver and passenger seat 30amp fuses, no change...are there certain fuses you would start with? BTW, this is a 2008 RS60 Spyder (BoxsterS) with 8500 original miles...thanks

edit...please ignore this post...my amp meter was simply showing me that when the key was inserted, it went back to 10 amps of charging instead of a 2 amp trickle charge when charged...I still don’t know where the Short is however but trying to get it into a shop this week...

8 hours ago, Loren said:

Not necessarily. Airbags don't take much power at all.

Best to double check where your draw is.

 

Makes sense...appreciate the guidance... 🙂

6 minutes ago, Loren said:

Then its time to monitor the battery current draw (amp meter) -- then remove one fuse (at a time) looking for the large current draw going away. That will be the circut with your draw or short.

Thanks Loren, given its code 801b, doesn’t that code already indicate its in the passenger side airbag harness?

On 5/24/2020 at 7:48 PM, Loren said:

 

Yes, we have seen a weak battery cause all sorts strange electrical issues.

If the battery is weak or over 4 years old it should likely be replaced.

Just a follow up...I did stick a new battery in today, no dice...code 801b keeps coming back after clearing...definitely behaving like a short as something seems to be drawing power from the battery, according to my battery charger...

12 minutes ago, Loren said:

 

Yes, we have seen a weak battery cause all sorts strange electrical issues.

If the battery is weak or over 4 years old it should likely be replaced.

Thanks Loren...ok, will do...sounds like it’s time any way, regardless of whether it fixes the issue or not...

On 5/23/2020 at 3:22 PM, JFP in PA said:

 

I have very rarely seen side air bag wires chafe inside the door unless the window mechanism caught them and tore them up.  Usually, the problem is where the wire harness exits the door and enters the main body.  In any case, you need to be electrically testing the entire harness, not just looking for obvious damage.

 

You need to disconnect the battery and leave the car alone for at least thirty min.before doing any work.  I also prefer to work with a static discharge wrist strap on one arm any time I am working near or on the air bags.

Just wanted to double check...is there a snowballs chance in hell that a bad battery could throw such a specific code (801b)...I’ve been reading the forums this weekend and noticed a couple cases where a low battery caused an airbag code...
 

if you think there is a chance, I could start with a battery load test...the battery is 8 years old...thanks 

edit: the battery is currently not holding a charge as I gassed up today and the battery was dead, just barely managed to get it started...it’s currently on a trickle charger and shows charged but when I drive, it quickly drains...

27 minutes ago, JFP in PA said:

 

I have very rarely seen side air bag wires chafe inside the door unless the window mechanism caught them and tore them up.  Usually, the problem is where the wire harness exits the door and enters the main body.  In any case, you need to be electrically testing the entire harness, not just looking for obvious damage.

 

You need to disconnect the battery and leave the car alone for at least thirty min.before doing any work.  I also prefer to work with a static discharge wrist strap on one arm any time I am working near or on the air bags.

Ok thanks, definitely beyond me then...it must be coincidental that the dealership adjusted the battery terminals and the air bag light came on...just timing I guess...thanks again...

33 minutes ago, JFP in PA said:

 

You need to d some electrical diagnostics using tools like a digital multimeter or a Power Probe to check the appropriate circuits for electrical faults.  A Porsche specific scan tool is required to check the POSIP system.  Extreme care is called for to prevent inadvertently tripping the system and inflating the air bag.

 

If you do not have access to the tools, or a complete understanding of how the air bag and igniter circuits function, take it to a professional as air bag systems are capable of severely injuring or even killing you.

Thanks for the warning, I SINCERELY appreciate it...I was “thinking” of simply removing the passenger side door panel to see if there was any obvious chaffing of wires etc...Does that sound like a safe plan or is there still risk of deployment? Thanks again

13 hours ago, asharma said:

Hi, I was at my Porsche dealer yesterday and during my maintenance they noted the battery cable terminals were not secured to battery and the ground wire to ground cable was loose (nut was upside down). They secured  battery connections, Covered vehicle battery maintainer, Created Val, sent Val (I’m not sure what all that means...) anyway it now throws the airbag light with code 801b, which has to do with the passenger head airbag short circuit to B+ ...what would be the best way to debug? I’m not that technical but do have an Autel reader for Porsche...is there something simple I could just do at the battery level since that seems to be what was changed at the time? Thanks

Bump, any advice would be appreciated, thanks kindly

On 7/20/2019 at 1:08 AM, Loren said:

Fault 801B 
Passenger's head airbag

Possible fault causes:
- Short circuit to B+/ground/between lines or open circuit in the lines

- Connection with other ignition circuit
- Passenger's head airbag faulty

- POSIP triggering unit faulty

Hi, I was at my Porsche dealer yesterday and during my maintenance they noted the battery cable terminals were not secured to battery and the ground wire to ground cable was loose (nut was upside down). They secured  battery connections, Covered vehicle battery maintainer, Created Val, sent Val (I’m not sure what all that means...) anyway it now throws the airbag light with code 801b, which has to do with the passenger head airbag short circuit to B+ ...what would be the best way to debug? I’m not that technical but do have an Autel reader for Porsche...is there something simple I could just do at the battery level since that seems to be what was changed at the time? Thanks