BrianJ

4 hours ago, Greenman said:

make sure you try the solution from the second post in this thread first.

Great steer (excuse the pun) Greenman, I hadn't read the second post. I had changed the battery on my car about 200 miles before the error message came up, which ironically happened on a straight road. Although getting out of our garage takes several tight turns and I had also done some more tight turning in that 200 miles, the coincidence between changing batteries and getting this message seems too great to ignore. I'll check that out tomorrow and report back.

Strange that we are both in N Derbyshire. If the above doesn't resolve the message (which is red not yellow like in the post), I am not sure how I would find out that it is the assistance motor - the OPC probably wouldn't report that to me, but we'll see. How do you come to have the motor? 

45 minutes ago, Menoporsche said:

Wonder if a good indie would be able to repair where an OPC under warranty wouldn’t dare. 

Not many good indies round here. No reply from one Indie I have successfully used before other than that this model has problem with racks. Tried two OPCs - one has a markedly different response from the other in approach, timeliness and pricing. They're getting the job. I haven't so far found any evidence on t'Internet that anybody has repaired an electric rack. My original Porsche PET, dated 2014, shows 3 different but consecutive part nos for the steering rack without saying what the difference is (Base, S, GTS, or 18, 19, 20" wheels??). In the later PET, all these original ones are "no longer use" as are several subsequent ones also listed. Not sure whether this reflects problem-solving engineering changes or just reverse-engineered commonality with 718, and what any differences might be (eg possibly feedback/effort associated with wheel size or whatever). If anyone knows rather than speculating it would be good to capture that info on here.   

Mine has just done this on holiday in Scotland - "Loss of steering support. Increased effort". "Increased effort" is a severe understatement at parking speeds - car parks need some serious planning and brawny biceps.  Mine isn't under warranty. Booked in for OPC to do diagnostics first to confirm whether a simple cable break like the Planet-9 guy (thanks for that above) rather than jumping to the conclusion it's a rack. We'll see.   

21 minutes ago, Menoporsche said:

Get gunk and an AA membership.

Had a salutory lesson recently about self-sufficiency. Came across a disabled guy broken down on a tiny road in an area of N Yorkshire with no mobile phone reception. Busy weekend. Stopped to help. Asked us if we could phone the AA for him when we reached mobile signal. It was about 20 mins drive before we found a signal. Stopped in signal area and called the AA. Spent an hour stationary by roadside listening to "we are busy" message, then lost signal. Tried again when got more signal, same thing. Eventually, still waiting for AA on one phone, called 101 to report to police. Got "we are busy" message. Nearly 2 hours after finding this guy and becoming increasingly concerned, rang 999 and explained. They were helpful, said now only short wait for 101, try again. Waited 10 mins, they said they would send someone out to see if he still needed help. Best we could do. So it's easy to assume that when you need help all services will be immediately available, not necessarily true.  Had a similar experience in Ireland some years ago with a group of foreign tourists late one Sunday afternoon in the middle of nowhere who had ripped the side of a tyre on their hired SUV. No spare. That's what caused me to buy the Silverline kit and a jack!  I'm not claiming the Silverline will repair a rip, but it made me think about the issue.

I and many others carry a Silverline tyre repair kit. About £15 from ebay etc. I have never used it (tempting fate!) but I know plenty that have and they work well. I go lots of remote places in my Boxster and wouldn't be without it. I also bought a genuine Porsche jack, handle, wheel alignment guide etc off ebay which I wouldn't be without either. The only punctures I have had I've fortunately always noticed at home - at least I can get the wheel off and take it to be repaired in our other car.

54 minutes ago, michelin said:

Did you need to code the battery to the car or was it just a straight swap over? 👍🏼

As far as I can tell it's a straight swap but also see 

Changed my battery today. Original is 8 years old (I keep car on CTEK when not in use) and although normally working fine, I have had 2 instances in the last couple of months where after starting from cold then stopping after a few moments, the next almost immediate start has been at a worryingly low cranking rate, then normal again. Inexplicable behaviour unless eg one cell going dodgy.  Bought Bosch S5A11 80Ah AGM battery from Tayna - amazing service, delivered next day, all up £135.38 incl delivery. 5 year guarantee. No reason not to replicate OE battery type (AGM), Ah and physical size - why make unnecessary potential difficulties?

Read lots of forum posts and watched a few videos. Simple job.  Although earlier Porsches required you to keep ignition key turned to first position to prevent alarm going off, there was no mention of what to do with 981 key so it stayed in my pocket. Connected up CTEK as advised in some posts, but a couple of minutes after I disconnected the positive terminal a rapid rhythmic clicking started up from somewhere behind the bulkhead which I didn't like the sound of, so switched off CTEK and it stopped. Bosch battery identical to original Banner being removed, no problems fitting, alarm stayed silent. Everything appears to work fine after fitting new battery, no memories appear to be lost apart from day and time setting, which was soon recovered once the car was out of the garage and a GPS signal found. Took about 30 mins going steadily. Stood in the front luggage compartment to save back when lifting out/in. 

That looks great, thanks for putting up the picture. Quality on the PCM screen looks better than I had expected. 

Looks like tar spots thrown up from the road to me. Are they hard but come off with a gentle polish or by using one of the tar removal products? Endemic road rash is a problem in this area.

Had them previously for 5 years in front of my 987 rads and the ones on my 981 are now 7+ years old. Look pretty good to me, very durable (no deterioration at all in that time, sold the 987 ones, still looked new). I admit that on the 981 if you are really picky the 3 pieces on each side aren't an absolutely perfect fit but when the car was under warranty it was a 5 min job to remove them all and another 5 mins to refit before/after OPC service. Even now I remove them occasionally to clean out the shredded flies behind - I couldn't be bothered to remove the front PU every time if I had fitted mesh behind the grilles instead. Summary - they work for me.

I don't think the software version is relevant. You don't say which volume settings you have adjusted, but assuming you have PCM 3.1, the navigation voice guidance volume isn't easy to find in the PCM manual but is on p143. Press NAVI button, press OPTION button, select SET NAVI then Guidance Volume. Make changes with the up or down arrows. Adjusting the Spreed Dependent Volume (see p 12) may also help. If those are the ones you have already adjusted, not sure where else to go assuming you don't have the sound muted.   

Just for a laugh, while it was out, I counted the number of contacts on the back of my PCM3.1 that would be reconnected via the various plugs. It was 77. 

32 minutes ago, daz05 said:

Brian was the original HDD tamper seal on the top of the unit covered up as well then? 

All that matters is that it works and you are back out on the road!

Yes it was.

Just to conclude on this from my perspective, I received the PCM back from Cartronics today. Not possible to inspect the interior because all the covers have Cartronics own "don't tamper with this or you void the warranty" labels over them. However, it took about 5 mins to reinstall the PCM in the car and it all appears to work. Before I sent it to them it had V4.52 of the system software, which a couple of years ago when updating the maps my OPC told me was the latest that would run on that unit, even though V4.76 was available. It now has V4.76 on it and although hard to tell until I drive to somewhere with some recent road improvements or POI changes, the maps look a bit different to me. All the integration with the rest of the Porsche instruments appears to work fine. So my conclusion is that without a forensic inspection, the system board and system software have been changed and the maps replaced with the latest version.  Expensive but desired result and they seem to know what they are doing. And as they promised, no coding required by OPC. 

I've never found an OPC that does their own.

2 minutes ago, Paul P said:

doesn’t the 981 have a “jukebox” function where you can copy tunes to it.  That would use HDD wouldn’t it ? 

Yes, mine does (or did) 😱

6 minutes ago, iborguk said:

If mine I would  have been tempted to try the HDD replacement first, but it's your car etc.

Yes, it was very tempting. But I have several reasons why I needed a one hit fix rather than a possibly self-induced multi-stage cockup. My suspicion is that you are right. We’ll see.

44 minutes ago, iborguk said:

Or for half of that (no proof it's working mind)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284210965621

 

This whole PCM 3.1 specification area is a minefield. This one looks nothing like mine, back or front. Probably out of a 987.  Even on 981, there are so many options - DAB, Sports Chrono, etc that getting an exact match is unlikely. Then there’s all the other Porsche models that PCM3.1 has been in too, with their options. Very tricky unless you (and ideally the seller) know what you are doing.

25 minutes ago, RickLS7 said:

That's expensive, this company offer a fixed price for half of that:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184782376141?hash=item2b05e34ccd:g:NKMAAOSweqNgOkx-

Lots out there. Anybody got a Porsche Baxter? Not very confidence inspiring.......

And I'm not sure that a "new" PCM from Porsche wouldn't be some kind of recon either. Happens with engines and gearboxes, so why not PCMs.

Yes, that's probably what I would be very tempted to do if I was running such a business.

9 hours ago, daz05 said:

Where have they sourced a new board from or can it be repaired? 

 

Don't know. I was going to check the HDD cover anyway. But for all I know the HDD may have to be removed to get at the rest of it. It's a bit like going into hospital for surgery - eventually you have to trust that you aren't being stitched up (pardon the pun). 

So, couriered to Cartonics, arrived end of day. Inspected very quickly following morning, apparently not hard drive but failed main logic board. £1050+VAT, incl (after discussion) latest maps as per their web site. Had OPC quote of nearly £1400+ VAT for replacement unit (incl PCGB discount) + latest maps @ £300 incl VAT. After a session on the local defibrillator I decided to bite the bullet and go with the Cartronics repair. I know I could replace PCM with much cheaper CarPlay-enabled unit but car has Sport Chrono which would be compromised, as would much of the PCM ease of use and instrument integration which I like. Will hopefully be repaired in about 7 days and sent back plug and play. Now I've taken it out and inspected the various plugs left in the car which are all colour coded and designed to fit one way only, the replacement looks fairly straightforward and quick. Will report back later.   

The other clip you could easily break by wiggling the trip is a plastic hook toward the front on the inside of the trim panel. No problem for me but pulling straight out worked fine. After undoing the 4 x T25 screws, getting the PCM unit out is (in my opinion) best done with two people. I first pulled the PCM fuse (Row B, position 10 in the passenger side). Then loosened the unit, placed a towel over the PDK lever, turned on the ignition, moved the PDK to Drive, lifted the unit out over the lever, gave it to my assistant to hold, returned the PDK to Park and turned off the ignition. I guess depending on the options fitted to the car there may be more or less connections at the back - mine has 6, all colour coded (see pic). Apart from the big multi-pin one, which has plastic retainer to press which then opens the clamp and allows you to pull off the multi-pin connector, the other 5 are really awkward and there isn't a lot of slack in some of the cables. I found a small mirror really handy to get a view of each connector design. Most of them have a plastic top or side which needs pressing with a small flat-bladed screwdriver whilst you grip the connector with needle-nosed pliers and pull it free. Because of cable constraints the rear of the unit more naturally faces the passenger than the driver, so i found myself pressing with the screwdriver whilst my assistant in the passenger seat balanced the unit on a knee and pulled the connectors off. Much easier done outside so you can get the doors open.       

This video on removing the trim down the side of the console is spot on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOdiRMxcHy8. I've just unclipped mine with the aid of a thin stainless spatula handle. As the video says, once you have released all the clips, hold the trim away from the console slightly so that the clips are clear of their holes and pull it straight backwards from the dashboard. There is a little loose plastic trim tab which fits into a hole next to the PCM (see pic). The top of that is flat plastic which the trim slots over. If you wiggle the trim up and down too much you will break the tab. Once the trim is removed this just comes out of its hole, revealing the top screw for the PCM.