I recently replaced the indicator stalk on my 986, which had broken and no longer stayed on. As part of this process, I foolishly reconnected the battery whilst the airbag was disconnected. This caused the airbag light to stay on even after the airbag was reconnected.
I found this very inexpensive Porsche PIWIS cable here:
Amazon.com: New Porsche PIWIS Cable: Car Electronics
So I bought this cable and it arrived 2 weeks later from China. I don't have a Windows XP so I used Parallels 9 to install Windows XP and connected the cable up. I downloaded .Net 3.5 SP01 and then installed Durametric 5.1.4 software - from the following locations.
Download Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 from Official Microsoft Download Center
http://www.durametric.com/Durametric.msi
This worked great and it can see the car. But, I was getting an error:
USB Hardware Present
All Porsche Models Selected
Device is plugged into car and ready
Boxster Selected
9X6 Airbag Selected
About to get fault codes
moduleType = AirbagB05
dtcCount = 1
Fault Number: 0
Description: Module failed to initialize
Repair Infomation: Make sure the key is in the ON position. The vehicle may not have this option or there may be a wiring problem to the computer. This could also be a module that simply failed to respond.
I then tried the 993 airbag system and this seemed to work!
964/993 Selected
993 Airbag Selected
About to get fault codes
moduleType = AirbagB04
DTC Count = 2
Fault Number:3
Description:Supply voltage
DTC Count = 2
Fault Number:21
Description:Ignition circuit driver
So I pressed the clear fault button and the light went off! I'm slightly concerned because now it won't see the airbag module again and the airbag light doesn't come on at all when the ignition is turned on - even to check. What's more, it says it is software version B05:
Displaying infomation about Airbag
Porsche part number 99661821901
Supplier part number P3T1B20ASD
Software version number: B05
Still... the light is off! Hope this helps someone!
On a separate note I think the Durametric software is amazing and if I buy another Porsche, I think I will shell out $1000 for the real cable. It is well worth it.
John