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Problem with Instrument Cluster - "Failure Indicator"

S

Stuart998

New member
Hello all,

New 996 (used '02 C4S) owner reporting in! Loving the car but looking for some help if you please:

The other week a warning light started appearing on the dash every time I went over 75mph. It had the oil lamp symbol followed by "Failure Indicator" and the oil pressure dial would momentarily drop to zero but with no loss in power, funny noises, etc. Oil level was fine but needless to say I got it down my local Porsche dealer sharpish who confirmed it was a problem with the instrument cluster (thank f***). However, they will only replace the whole unit rather than attempt to replace components and new instruments clusters are £1200 ish. As it seems to be more of an annoyance than major problem I am wondering if it is possible to:

- Buy a cluster of good old eBay and get someone to fit and programme it in to the car (either a Porsche dealer or other), OR
- Take the current cluster to someone such as 'clusterrepairsuk.co.uk' or 'wrightune.co.uk' to see if they can fix it

If anyone has expereince of this or knows if the above are do-able or not ....

Cheers
Stuart

(in a 'glad I bought it but was not expecting this' kind of way!)
 
Bizarre,

I've had exactly the same thing happen to me twice in the last three months, most recently on Friday. Rang local OPC who said to keep an eye on it but if pressure and oil levels were ok then more likely to be an electronic problem. Looks like I'll have to pay them a visit, glad I've got the warranty[;)]
 
Is this not a failed oil pressure sender unit, which is covered by the warranty? Happened to me and took the OPC all of 5 minutes to replace. I'd suggest visiting another garage (independent?) to get an alternative view before shelling out c£1,200 !!
 
Definitely try a new sender unit first. It is a common fault, and not too expensive to replace. As SNDa says, quick to fit, and about £40 for the part.

The mileage is stored in the cluster, so if you get one on eBay, you will have to try to find someone with "mileage correction software" to put it right. A new cluster can be coded with the correct mileage immediately after it has been fitted.
 
Hi Stuart. It's almost certainly your sender unit. Mine gave up the other day (after 19.5k miles and MY 2003!!) and it was the sender - pretty unnerving though as I was on the motorway at the time. Anyway, I was 5 days out of warranty and my OPC met me half way so it was £60 inc. labour. At least get them to check the sender first as I'm sure your instrument cluster will cost loads to replace. My symptoms were exactly the same as yours; oil pressure needle drops to zero, change down a gear and the needle goes back up to 3.5 bar again. It's your sender. All the best. Adrian.
 
Hi I have had the same thing happen in the past, but my OPC says that the components are very sensitive and can give false readings from time to time (or when it is wet)!! They checked it on their computer and said it had not logged a fault. The car is covered by warranty ( and I will be extending it) and as |I have their invoice confirming that the problem has been looked at I assume there will be no arguments if the engine goes bang. It hasn't done it for several thousand miles.
 
Quick update all, Call the chap at 'clusterrepairsuk.co.uk' and he reccomended disconnecting the battery for an hour to "reset the onboard computer". Did this then went for a 'not slow' run down a stretch of motorway where I experienced the problem and low and behold no "failure indicator" warning. Dosent necessarily mean the problem is solved and will still get the sender replaced at next service but so far....

If anyone else tries this and gets results it would be good to hear from you.

£1200 to £0, thats what I call a bargain!!!

Stuart
 
OK, oil pressure sender replaced under warranty today, we have replaced two coil packs as well as they were cracked and you had a slight misfire. I hadn't noticed!!

Great service from OPC Newcastle and so pleased I renewed the warranty again
 
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