996Outpost.com

Hello everyone. Just purchased my first Porsche, 1999 Carrera 4 Cabriolet with 54,000 miles. Car runs and drives great. Only issue I have is the airbag icon is lit in the dash. I believe due to the fact the battery was disconnected while the new top was installed. Not sure, but none the less, what do I need to do to turn it off? Do I need to take to a dealer or mechanic? How much would that cost? Is there a handheld I could get or does anyone have one I can borrow? I live in the St. Louis, MO area. Thanks, John

Not familiar with soft tops and how they affect airbag sensors, but you could turn off the airbag light using a Durametric. People with the enthusiast kit may be reluctant to share, since it can only be used on 3 VINs before needing to be upgraded. It's $287, but a very reasonably prices diagnostic tool.

Just disconnecting the battery shouldn't trip the light, so don't just blindly reset it without reading and understanding the code first.

Sometimes you can get lucky and a dealer will scan it for you (and even reset) free of charge, but some will charge as much as their hourly rate

Any Indy that works on Porsches should also be able to help (they'll have either a Durametric or PIWIS), but again it depends on the shop if they'll just help you out or charge you a fee.

Big chain auto parts stores (e.g. Autozone and the like) also usually will scan your car for you (don't know if they can/will reset though) and that is typically free of charge.

You'll hear a lot about the Durametric, but the 996 is old enough now that most other OBD-II tools will accurately read the codes and the better ones will do all but the most arcane functions. If you are planning to do a lot of work yourself, a good OBD-II tool (or Durametric) is a must.

For about the cost of what the dealer or even an indy will likely charge you to reset the light, and about half the cost of a Durametric, you could buy an iCarsoft scanner for Porsche ($145):

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywo ... zvfzwbqd_p

It is money well spent and will save a lot of $$ for you in the future. I don't have an iCarsoft, but I do have an Autel AL619 scanner, which resets not only check engine lights, but also SRS and Airbag lights. It is a "universal" scanner, meaning for nearly all makes & models: American, European & Asian vehicles. The problem is that it doesn't do Porsche. So, since the iCarsoft advertises itself as specifically for Porsche, I'd buy it if you don't want to go the Durametric route. The Durametric is better, but likely in ways that you may never need (as in checking engine operating parameters).

Thanks everyone

FRUNKenstein wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 9:43 am For about the cost of what the dealer or even an indy will likely charge you to reset the light, and about half the cost of a Durametric, you could buy an iCarsoft scanner for Porsche ($145):

OOooohh!!!! Since your boy works for VAG now, any chance he could use connections to help me get a PIWIS-III for something less than the forty bagillion dollars Porsche wants???

You can get get a CHIWIS (Chineese PIWIS) III for like $1000.

You just won't be able to update.

sweet victory wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 10:47 am You can get get a CHIWIS (Chineese PIWIS) III for like $1000.

You just won't be able to update.

I've also read reports of the laptops coming pre-loaded with virii and key loggers as well as communication problems and other issues.

Actually the price of the unit isn't THAT terrible (if you are a shop and making money using it) and I did consider get a PIWIS-II just before the III came out. The kicker is that it requires a subscription to the online PIWIS service to access all the documents and module updates. It used to be that they had a level where you could pay increments of $100 and then each page access (like $2) came out of that. That was great for the DIY person that isn't accessing it much (and savvy enough to save the pages as a PDF so they don't get dinged again when they need to look at it again), but they moved to a yearly subscription only (they always had that option) at price points that aren't DIY friendly


Edit: Yeah still not DIY friendly

And no "well $14/hr isn't bad" isn't that great. While you can search the documents before hand there are a few issues:
1) You can't save hyperlinks to them to quickly get to them once the clock starts.
2) Each document is only a small chunk of the target (e.g. as I recall changing the oil in my P!g was actually 15 different docs) and you won't see what else is needed until you view the document in question.
3) The system is slow.

The iCarSoft scanner is not compatible with the 996 or 986. It will perform the same generic checks as cheaper ODB-II readers but not any of the Porsche-specific functions.

wyovino wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 12:39 pm The iCarSoft scanner is not compatible with the 996 or 986. It will perform the same generic checks as cheaper ODB-II readers but not any of the Porsche-specific functions.

Yeah...19% one star reviews is pretty bad.