Some of you may have encountered this phenomenon, and it may have already been archived here and with other worthy testaments, apologies if this isn't news for you.
I was boxing up my 996 after replacing the a/c condensers and thought I'd take advantage and drill out the front wheel brake disc ventilation holes which were blocked with caked dust. Whilst doing so, a strange noise emanated from the rear of the car which drew my attention; the rear spoiler had risen up!?! I looked inside the car and also noticed that all the advisory panel lights were lit and the driver's window had fallen to half open. I removed the ignition key but the panel lights remained illuminated. Starting to panic I immediately removed one of the battery connections which extinguished the lights but didn't explain the cause and had me thinking that I'd done something wrong. After a sleepless night I googled the issue to find that others have had the same problem and that this is simply the result of a battery that may not be entirely flat but near exhaustion. A quick recharge and all's back to normal.
Also, trying to remove the front wheels was a nightmare, the wheel studs were so tight I split the box spanner supplied with the car. The only way I could move these studs was with a socket fitted with a metre long extension arm from a 996 friend to provide enough leverage to crack the studs open. These were last tightened by my OPC Dick Lovett in Cardiff presumably with a pneumatic device; obviously they do this because it's quick but it doesn't help someone who's stuck with a puncture and can't remove the wheel with the standard box spanner or socket wrench. It might be worth checking your wheels to see if you can budge the studs with what you carry in the car for this purpose, before you're stuck with a puncture out there somewhere. If they are stuck, take it back to your service agent and get them to 'unstick' them and then retighten them with a slightly reduced torque on their pneumatic device (or by hand) or, at least, 'unstick' them so that you can tighten them yourself with your box spanner or whatever you carry in the car. That way, you know you'll be able to remove a wheel in a genuine emergency. Of course, safety is paramount, you still need to ensure that these studs are tight enough not to unwind during use! If you have any doubts, take the car to your service agent.
Oh BTW, the spare tyre was flat too . . . worth checking.
I was boxing up my 996 after replacing the a/c condensers and thought I'd take advantage and drill out the front wheel brake disc ventilation holes which were blocked with caked dust. Whilst doing so, a strange noise emanated from the rear of the car which drew my attention; the rear spoiler had risen up!?! I looked inside the car and also noticed that all the advisory panel lights were lit and the driver's window had fallen to half open. I removed the ignition key but the panel lights remained illuminated. Starting to panic I immediately removed one of the battery connections which extinguished the lights but didn't explain the cause and had me thinking that I'd done something wrong. After a sleepless night I googled the issue to find that others have had the same problem and that this is simply the result of a battery that may not be entirely flat but near exhaustion. A quick recharge and all's back to normal.
Also, trying to remove the front wheels was a nightmare, the wheel studs were so tight I split the box spanner supplied with the car. The only way I could move these studs was with a socket fitted with a metre long extension arm from a 996 friend to provide enough leverage to crack the studs open. These were last tightened by my OPC Dick Lovett in Cardiff presumably with a pneumatic device; obviously they do this because it's quick but it doesn't help someone who's stuck with a puncture and can't remove the wheel with the standard box spanner or socket wrench. It might be worth checking your wheels to see if you can budge the studs with what you carry in the car for this purpose, before you're stuck with a puncture out there somewhere. If they are stuck, take it back to your service agent and get them to 'unstick' them and then retighten them with a slightly reduced torque on their pneumatic device (or by hand) or, at least, 'unstick' them so that you can tighten them yourself with your box spanner or whatever you carry in the car. That way, you know you'll be able to remove a wheel in a genuine emergency. Of course, safety is paramount, you still need to ensure that these studs are tight enough not to unwind during use! If you have any doubts, take the car to your service agent.
Oh BTW, the spare tyre was flat too . . . worth checking.
