Car Alarm Sounds minutes after locking, door panel lights go on/off wh

[marksstrauss]

I have/love my 2000 Boxster-S. I purchased this new over 11 yrs ago and the thrills of driving it haven't waned in all these years (95K miles). It just started having the following 2 issues:

- Minutes (15) to hours (3) after locking the door via the key in the doorlock (not thru FOB), the alarm starts sounding. Unlocking the car with the key stops this (expected).

- While driving with the top up or down, with the windows up (closed), I notice the windows go up/down sligthly (as if I'm parked and opening the door with the top up) and the door panel lights go on

The check engine light is not on.

These issues started happening after I had the battery changed at a mechanics shop. I don't know it that was the trigger or if it is just coincidence. I did ask the mechanic to put the car on some sort of bypass when removing/replacing mine.

Any ideas why the alarm blares minutes/hours after locking, or why the inside lights go on/off and driver/passenger windows go up/down slightly (as if the car door were being opened? These issues are repeatable, so I can't lock my car. I'm also concerned about draining my new battery when the car is parked, because the door panel lights sometimes remain on when the key is not in the ignition.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Regards,

Mark

[Loren]

Did your alarm control module get wet? It is under the drivers seat.

[marksstrauss]

Did your alarm control module get wet? It is under the drivers seat.

Loren - thanks for the quick response. No, as far as I know it did not get wet. I just "felt" under the seat and didn't feel any dampness.

Regards,

Mark

[Loren]

Well, when you see weird alarm and door locking problems the usual culprit is a wet (or previously wet and now corroded) alarm control box under the drivers seat.

You might be able to diagnose further with Durametric, a PST2, or PIWIS tester.

[marksstrauss]

Loren,

From your replies, I assume that the battery change had nothing to do with this. If so, then I won't bother going back to that mechanic to ask him about this, but will head over to my Porsche mechanic on Monday. The mechanic that changed the battery was around the corner from me and I figured changing a battery doesn't require a Porsche mechanic. My Porsche mechanic has the equipment you've mentioned. I'm not sure if the other mechanic does (probably does), but I don't know if he has any experience with Porsche's.

Thanks for the quick reply and the useful leads.

Regards,

Mark

[Loren]

On a battery on your model year car all that needs to be done is reset radio code (and stations) and the DME has to re-learn idle throttle response (usually takes 5 minutes of driving).

[kbrandsma]

I have/love my 2000 Boxster-S. I purchased this new over 11 yrs ago and the thrills of driving it haven't waned in all these years (95K miles). It just started having the following 2 issues:

- Minutes (15) to hours (3) after locking the door via the key in the doorlock (not thru FOB), the alarm starts sounding. Unlocking the car with the key stops this (expected).

- While driving with the top up or down, with the windows up (closed), I notice the windows go up/down sligthly (as if I'm parked and opening the door with the top up) and the door panel lights go on

The check engine light is not on.

These issues started happening after I had the battery changed at a mechanics shop. I don't know it that was the trigger or if it is just coincidence. I did ask the mechanic to put the car on some sort of bypass when removing/replacing mine.

Any ideas why the alarm blares minutes/hours after locking, or why the inside lights go on/off and driver/passenger windows go up/down slightly (as if the car door were being opened? These issues are repeatable, so I can't lock my car. I'm also concerned about draining my new battery when the car is parked, because the door panel lights sometimes remain on when the key is not in the ignition.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Regards,

Mark

I had a similar issue and when I checked my codes with a Durametric the code (Alarm Fault Code 34) led me to replace the interior infared alarm sensors that are located right above the center rear view mirror.

Here is a link with more info. PRESS HERE

Check your codes and see what exactly you have.

Edited July 9, 2011 by kbrandsma

[marksstrauss]

I have/love my 2000 Boxster-S. I purchased this new over 11 yrs ago and the thrills of driving it haven't waned in all these years (95K miles). It just started having the following 2 issues:

- Minutes (15) to hours (3) after locking the door via the key in the doorlock (not thru FOB), the alarm starts sounding. Unlocking the car with the key stops this (expected).

- While driving with the top up or down, with the windows up (closed), I notice the windows go up/down sligthly (as if I'm parked and opening the door with the top up) and the door panel lights go on

The check engine light is not on.

These issues started happening after I had the battery changed at a mechanics shop. I don't know it that was the trigger or if it is just coincidence. I did ask the mechanic to put the car on some sort of bypass when removing/replacing mine.

Any ideas why the alarm blares minutes/hours after locking, or why the inside lights go on/off and driver/passenger windows go up/down slightly (as if the car door were being opened? These issues are repeatable, so I can't lock my car. I'm also concerned about draining my new battery when the car is parked, because the door panel lights sometimes remain on when the key is not in the ignition.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Regards,

Mark

I had a similar issue and when I checked my codes with a Durametric the code (Alarm Fault Code 34) led me to replace the interior infared alarm sensors that are located right above the center rear view mirror.

Here is a link with more info. PRESS HERE

Check your codes and see what exactly you have.

K.Brandsma,

Thanks for the lead. I hope I get a code 34. Replacing the infrared sensors looks like something I can handle. :-)

Regards,

Mark

[ABQautoxer]

If its the IR sensors, couldn't you lock the fob twice which would disable the IR sensor function and see if the alarm operated normally?

[marksstrauss]

I just got back from my Porsche mechanic, as he has the test equipment that I don't have. The problem turns out to be a faulty passenger door latch! Hindsight is 20-20. It now makes sense why (1) the passenger window would go up/down slightly (as it does when you open the door) while the car was running, (2) the alarm would go off minutes to hours after locking, and (3) why the inside lights remained on after the was removed from the ignition.

What puzzles me is why the passenger door latch would fail before the drivers side door. Much less use. In any event, problem now understood and it doesn't look like its an expensive fix.

Thanks to all that posted responses!

Regards,

Mark