Chirping then beeping from dash when I start my 2001 996

[STS]

Hello,

 

I have a 2001 996 cabriolet that I drive daily. I was on my way home this afternoon and heard a beeping noise that sounds like it is coming from the alarm sensor on the dashboard. When I got home I turned the car off and then started it again to see if something reset and the beeping stopped. Instead... after I started the car there was some chirping noises and then the beeps started again sounding like they are still coming from on top of the dash and maybe from or near the alarm sensor. I notices that when the chirping was happening that the red lights below my heater display lit up and then went off when the chirping stopped and the beep started. Also, there is a green light lit in between the two red lights. The green light now stays on until I turn off the car. But that is new and has never happened. I actually didn't even realize there were lights below the heater display.

 

Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[STS]

1 hour ago, STS said:

Hello,

 

I have a 2001 996 cabriolet that I drive daily. I was on my way home this afternoon and heard a beeping noise that sounds like it is coming from the alarm sensor on the dashboard. When I got home I turned the car off and then started it again to see if something reset and the beeping stopped. Instead... after I started the car there was some chirping noises and then the beeps started again sounding like they are still coming from on top of the dash and maybe from or near the alarm sensor. I notices that when the chirping was happening that the red lights below my heater display lit up and then went off when the chirping stopped and the beep started. Also, there is a green light lit in between the two red lights. The green light now stays on until I turn off the car. But that is new and has never happened. I actually didn't even realize there were lights below the heater display.

 

Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

In doing some more research I have found someone that mentioned that found an odd knob or dial in his 996 that was installed on the right side of the driver's footwell. He tracked it to a K40 radar detector. I have only had the car for 1 1/2 years. Maybe unknowingly I have a radar detector that was previously installed? The chirping and beeping would make sense regarding how my Cobra detector has chirps and beeps depending on the radar signal. That still doesn't explain why it just started happening. I did pull the panel off in my footwell and found a lot of post-production wiring associated with that knob. To stay simple I removed a fuse from an inline fuse compartment. When I turned the ignition the sounds was gone. Maybe coincidentally or maybe I solved the mystery of the magical knob "and" the chirping and beeping??? 

[JFP in PA]

It is not uncommon for one radar detector to sense another as radar when in close proximity due to reference signal "leakage".  Only higher end detector units like the Valentine 1 Gen 2 seem to be immune to this problem.

[STS]

JFP,

 

Thanks. That finally makes since. I have turned that darn knob a million times since I bought the car trying to determine if it was connected to a hidden bass speaker or something else. But I just bought and installed a Cobra radar detector this past week. So maybe, based on what you said, my new detector woke up the old technology K40???  Everything I have found talking about them pretty much says they are obsolete now. 

Thanks for your time and info.

Todd

[JFP in PA]

I think it is more the other way around; K40 are well known for their "hidden" systems that range from radar and/or laser detection systems, as well as highly illegal jammers to block both radar and laser signals.  Even their very basic systems start at around $700 for their portable units, so they are rather expensive to say the least.  I have never been a fan of their hidden systems as they tend to mount the signal receivers low to the ground (in the front grill or near the rear license plate for example) which dramatically reduces their effective range.  To offset this limitation, K40 turned up the wick on signal sensitivity, which tends to lead to constant false signals, as you just found out 😉

[STS]

Thanks again. Just for the fun of it, when I get some time I will search around for the receiver to see where it was mounted and to determine if it was a detector or jammer. The main wire looks like it is leading to the front of the car. So I will start there just to see what someone previously installed.