jakkay968911

Thank you for the reply White987S, I agree about being lucky. The car jumped over an entire lane and narrowly missed a metal guard rail. I was anticipating a spin out and possible roll over. It was amazing how quickly the car slowed down and straightened out. My wife praised me for my driving ability, but I told her to give the credit to the PSM for us being here today. It could have gotten very ugly.

yes Loren there were marks on the lower control arms that the repair shop described as caused by contact with tow hooks. They said at some point the car had been towed from the lower rear control arms. I did hit a pot hole doing about 80 -90 mph while traveling on I-40 in Arizona and thats when the break occured. Almost lost control, but PSM saved us I believe. Just wondered if any related suspension components would be effected. Had two Indy shops look over front and rear and found nothing else wrong. I did have a four wheel allignment done in Kingman AZ. I am kind of apprehensive to put it on the highway again although it did feel fine at speed for the 1900 miles back home. Thank you for the response.

Anyone know what might cause a rear lower control arm to suddenly break and crack in two? Left side broke and the right side was bent upon inspection. 2005 Carrera with 40K miles.

The battery terminals are clean and tight as new. I will look for a fuse panel diagram and try your idea regarding the fuse removal for troubleshooting the problem. Thanks for the great idea.

Thank you for the thoughts Logray. The battery is three months old and has been load tested on two previous occasions related to starting issues. The alternator has passed tests as well. It appears the low voltage situation happens as some electical component attempts to activate when the car sits in the garage for a day or two.

Thanks for the thoughts logray, but the battery is three months old and has been load tested two times in the last three months since this is not the first starting issue. Alternator was also tested. The low voltage situation can occur in as little as two days if something is unexpectedly drawing current. The noise I mentioned sounds like an electrical component of some kind trying to activate. The amp meter shows this as the needle indicates a cyclical pattern of current being drawn.

Turning the ignition key in an effort to start my 2005 997, I got the dreaded clicking sound indicating not enough current to engage or turn the starter motor. I was fortunate enough to get the front lid open and expose the battery. I hooked up a trickle charger on the 10 amp setting and soon noticed an unusual noise. In the quiet of my garage I heard a dull, muffled clicking sound about every 45 seconds, then another 15 seconds later. This pattern was being repeated in a regular cycle as I tried to find the source of the sound. I noticed the needle on the amp meter of the charger would move as the sound occured indicating a slight draw of current. After a half hour I traced this muffled sound to the passenger seat power switch. All the positions of the switch worked except for the sliding motion. As I tried to move the seat back and forth with the switch I was able to duplicate the sound I was looking for. After trying to move the seat, somehow the noise went away and stopped drawing current as indicated by the amp meter needle. This may be a common problem that leads to starting issues. Does anyone else have any idea how to correct this problem? Is the power seat switch overly sensitive or could the motor or a relay be the source of the problem. Coincidently, I also noticed the rear spoiler was partially raised when I entered the garage, and I am positive it was down when I left the car the day before. Any help on these issues would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to everyone for all the responses. They helped me solve the mystery of the open trunk lid problem. I usually carry the key in my pocket because I do not have any special fobs or other keys attached to it which makes it easy to carry around, yet probably easier to lose. As I was sitting at my desk in my home office, I realized that with just the right motion of sitting, standing, or crossing ones legs, the trunk activation button could easily be pressed against anything in my pocket or even a fold in my jeans. I took the key from my pocket and depressed the trunk button as a test, immediately running downstairs to the attached garage. Sure enough, the trunk lid was open and the doors were unlocked with the courtesy lights illuminating. I was surprised that the trunk button also activated the doors, but after a minute or so the doors automatically relock, and the lights slowly dim to totaly off. The real surprise was that the key button worked from a distance of about 60 feet away and the second floor of my condo. The key looks to be of the original 2005 MY vintage, but I do have a spare which appears to be from the latest generation of Porsche 997 stock since it is heavier and in perfect mint condition. Now the key stays out of my pocket while at home which is a good idea anyway. I found that the friction created from sliding it in and out of my pocket wears off the red color of the Porsche badge on the key. At least that was my past experience with my previous 2001 996 Porsche keys. Hope this information may help someone else that has experienced the mystery of the open trunk lid latch.

Thank you for the responses. Seems like there might be several sources to take a look at. It is interesting to find that I am not the only one with the latch release situation. I will have to test the sensitivity of the remote button. Avoiding recurrence might be as simple as being more careful with the key upon exiting the car after a drive. The help and suggestions are much appreciated.

I purchased a 2005 Carrera2 997 about three months ago and have experienced finding the front trunk lid open when going down to the garage. I am positive I left the lid shut when exiting the car, but on two separate occasions I found it ajar when I returned to the garage. Luckily the trunk light must have a timer that turns off the light after 15 or 20 minutes. My key remote activation button is not the sensitive type. When opening the lid I have to hold down the button with effort for a few seconds before the lid responds. I was wondering if anyone out there has had a similar experience. The first time it happened I didn't think much of it, figuring it was my error. After the second time it has me wondering if there is a flaw of some sort involved. Thank you for any help in this mysterious matter.

I like that darker grey color too. The contrasting reflections make the paint look deeper. Is that the Atlas Grey Metalic? I have the Seal Grey Metalic, almost silver in color. I was wishing I had the darker grey until I realized that these cars look great in any color. Just my subjective opinion.

Thank you Paul, I might have to do as you suggest. I was trying to avoid the convenience compromise if possible. I drove my 2001 996 through three Chicago Winters, commuting daily with no problems at all and I was expecting the same reliability from the 997. It seems there is a general weakness in the charging/starting/electrical system of the 997, unless my car is the only one with such problems. Now I discovered that I can't find all season tires in the 19 inch 295 series for the rear so it may be sitting in the garage for most of the Winter anyway. I had the 18 inch 265 series on the rear of the 996 and the Michilen A/S Sports worked out great. I can always go the two sets of tires/wheels route but am planning to avoid that.

I am trying to determine if there might be an unusually high current draw after shutting off the car before I get a new battery. There are so many posibilities I guess, I hate to replace something that is OK and then have the same problem. Meanwhile I have to take precautions and prepare for it to happen again. Not getting much peace of mind though. I could understand the car not starting after 2 or three weeks, but only a couple days makes me apprehensive to drive it. Thanks again for all the input, thoughts, and advice. JK

Thanks for the response. The battery is an Interstate, and fits the battery compartment in size like the original Porsche battery, but I don't know the specs or how old it might be. It looks like it might be new in fact, fresh and clean and so are the contact posts. I know there weren't any visible accesories on when I left the car in the garage, unless something I couldn't see was on like the glove box light or front trunk light. I think I need a second opinion on the battery and charging system condition. I appreciate all the information and advice, thanks again. JK

Thank you for the reply Paul. The jumper battery might be the way to go. I was tring to avoid getting one if I could use the trickle charger on the 2 amp setting and then the 10 amp or the boost setting to charge the battery and/or start the car once I got the front trunk lid open. Once the snow starts I probably won't be driving it much. I do miss the ammeter guage I had on my 996. Seems it was replaced with an oil temperature guage on the 997. My biggest concern is having the battery die and the car not start when I am out somewhere away from home.