My PSM and ABS warning lights and the "drive to dealership" light came on a couple times... both while in traffic going about 1mph-10mph... after about a 45 min. or so, they lights just pop on. I got worried pulled to the side of the road. Turned off the engine, waited a minute, and turned it back on. Voila, lights disappeared...

One time the lights came on because the turbo hoses were not on securely so they were leaking or something.


Bryant

 

Hey Bryant, How long ago did you have problems with the PSM and ABS warning lights coming on? Did you take it in to the dealer to fix and if so, what did they find was the cause outside of one of the turbo hoses being loose? Tim

 

I just had my car's tranny fixed (2nd gear popping out), water pump replaced. When I was driving it home, I noticed a wierd sound... sounded like I was leaking air pressure somewhere when I drove. I started heading back to the dealership and the warning lights came on (psm, abs, and drive to dealer). So I did, they said one of the hoses came loose. They fixed it and then the problem went away. This was a few months ago.

The two random times in traffic where the lights came on were a couple months ago. I never brought it back to the dealer... haven't had the lights come on since.

 

The ABS/PSM lights have come on several times for me too. In two of the occasions, the lights came on right after I did a fast and hard run up to about 110mph. When I eventually came to a stop, I noticed the lights on. I pulled off to the side of the road and turned off the ignition, then restarted and they went out. This same event has happened several times, and in all cases, turning the ignition off then back on clears the lights. On one occasion, I noticed that the car felt like it wanted to veer to the right when I applied the brakes at slow speed. I figured that when the lights stay on after stopping and starting, then I'll take it in to Porsche, but until then, it seems to be a common gremlin that a number of guys are encountering.

If you go into Porsche without the lights being on, they invariably charge you for a service call and shrug their shoulders saying they couldn't detect anything....a common response if the lights aren't on when you take it in to them.

I had Loren (RennTech) run the car on his computer and it didin't show any reference to the ABS/PSM events....so whatever is going on is a temporary thing...and apparently a common occurrence. If someone figures it out, there are a number of guys here who would really appreciate finding out what is causing this electrical gremlin.

Chuck

 

Same experience that I've had twice recently. Both times I just turned off the car and when I restarted, all was good. I have a code reader which didn't find anything either...

 

Where is this ABS/PSM wiring harness in the front?? I really think this is my problem, that or like you guys said with the bumps because it always happens when I'm flooring the car (is there any other way to drive these cars?!) and going over questionable bumpy roads.

 

Happened to me again while backing up in my parking lot for no apparent reason... I shut off the car again and it's gone again... If I can figure out how to replicate it and bring it in for an inspection I'll be sure and report back here. If anybody has any further insight, please share with us so we can all get this annoyance handled for good!

 

This happened on my Audi, (PSM and ABS lights). It was a faulty brake light switch, sometimes it worked, sometimes not. Anyway, the brakes lights also don't work when the switch failed. Cycling the engine cleared the fault. The problem became more persistent about a month ago and so I changed out the brake switch (about 1/2 hour total in -20C weather, brrrr), so if that's it, it's an easy fix. There was another post about that here about a week or two ago. (This thread https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...d.php?t=111173 actually)

 

Yes, that also happened to me about a year ago......but it would only trigger the lights when I stepped on the brake the first time after starting the car.....took me a while to figure out.....but in the end...a $20 brake light switch fixed it right up....

 

Are the brake lights supposed to come on if the key is not in the ignition (like most cars)? All this talk about brake lights made me think it might have something to do with that. When I tried they didn't work, but then I used the key in the ignition and then they worked. This seems odd becuase most cars brake lights work regardless of whether a key is in the ignition. Of course most cars engines are in the front, ignition on the right side, reduce thier fractions (2/4), etc. etc.

 

I had a weird situation with my PSM and ABS lights on. I had the throttle body replaced and that solved it.

 

You got me to thinking so I just walked out into the dark garage and stepped on the brakes....no light. If the key's not in the ignition...no brakelights. The exception might be the emergency flashers or possibly the turn signals. didn't try those.

 

I finally got around to taking my TT to the Porsche service center to have the problem corrected with the PSM and ABS light coming on periodically as well as the check engine light. Prior to taking it in I was experiencing the following problems:

1. PSM and ABS light would come on normally when sitting at a stop light or moving very slow.
2. The check engine light came on twice over the past month and a half. The Porsche Tech ran this on the computer which indicated that there was a problem with the idle control.
3. The engine would not hold a constant RPM at idle. It would vary from 750 to 1,100 RPMs.
4. The engine was shutting down when shifting from second to third during slow shifts, which allowed the engine to drop in RPMs to the point that the engine would stall.

The tech thought that the problem was a MAF, which was newly replaced two months as well as a new throttle body. This did not solve the problem as the engine idle became worst over the next month.

The problem ended being the alternator even though it showed that it was functioning correctly. As if was explained to me there are three output circuits in the alternator. The problem was with the second circuit that was weak and not putting out enough charge to the engine. This was more prevalent when the radiator fans would come on and drain the charge even more resulting in the engine idle becoming erratic. The alternator was replaced and the RPM problem went away along with the PSM and ABS lights coming on. The tech felt that the lights were coming on due to the interrupted charge from the alternator. There was still a problem with a little bit of a rough idle. He replaced the new MAF with another one and this smoothed the engine out. I hope this helps some of you that are also experiencing this problem. The alternator problem was difficult for them to diagnosis as it appeared as though it was working within specifications from their testing. It was not until he bypassed the alternator using a battery charger that the problem was discovered. As a side bar, this was the first time that I used my expended warranty that I purchased when I got the TT. I must say that Fidelity Insurance was great to work with. I purchased the premium coverage policy for $3,200 that covers the car for 7 years or 80,000 miles. The policy covers just about everything including brakes and rotors. The total cost for this repair was $926. I paid the $50 deductible that I was responsible for. The Porsche dealer told me that Fidelity is one of the best extended warranty companies that they deal with. I think this policy will be money well spend in the long run.

 

Excellent info and post! Thanks!

I have this problem intermittently and interestingly enough just installed a massive sound system in my car. My car evidently has lots of engine noise that my stereo techs spent over 8 hours messing with in order to solve. They changed everything around and got a lot of it out but ultimately couldn't completely eradicate it. They are now telling me that my alternator may be the culprit but can't for sure. It sounds like I may be able to kill two birds with one stone if I replace this...

I may have to give it a shot to see if it solves all the problems together!

Thanks again!

 

I also installed a large stereo system with base amp. When thinking about it I started to experience some of the problems with the RPMs holding about 3 months after the system was installed. The alternator was most likely starting to go bad back then. I hope replacement of your alternator solves your problem as well. It's nice driving it again without the feeling that the engine is going to stall when the RPMs drop off.