Remote doesn't work, radio/dash lights stay on

[JJFR]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the world of Porsche, but I'm excited with what I've seen so far. We picked up a 1998 Boxster last night, but it appears to have some problems.

The remote key doesn't work when I press the buttons. Both the LED on the key and the LED in the center of the dash blink when I press the buttons, but nothing happens. The key battery measures >3V.

The car locks/unlocks all doors when I manually turn the key in the door. It starts and runs fine. I tried the key re-enabling steps I found with no luck:
. Key in ignition, ON, OFF, remove, press button
. Lock/Unlock door, remove key, press button

The other half of the problem is that the dash and radio stay on, even after I turn off the engine and lock up. I locked up last night, and when I came out this morning then they were still on. Also, I didn't think that the radio was supposed to be operational when the key is not in the car, but I can turn on the radio and do anything with it just fine. Somewhat randomly, the car 'gongs' at me when the door is open, but with no key in the ignition. The manual lock/unlock button on the dash works, but doesn't do anything else.

I found out that the previous owner had recently left the lights on overnight. I don't know if that's when the problems started occurring.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[Techbones]

The most likely cause for your dash lights and radio staying on is a faulty ignition switch. The electrical part. It is not turning completely off internally even though you have turned the key to off and taken it out off the ignition. This would also cause the "gong" to sound when opening the door because the car still thinks the key is in the ignition. This is a common problem on 986's and 996's.

[JJFR]

Thanks Techbones!

I googled around for the Ignition Swtich problem, and found this very helpful page:
http://industryfigure.com/berkeley/Porsche/ignitionswitch.htm
A trip to the Audi dealer and an hour later results in a fully working car.

:dance: No more worries about unlocked doors or dead batteries.