Any malfunction in the brake electronics will cause this

Hey guys! Long time no talky! Nice to see lots of familiar faces here.

Quick question, though: I'll start the car, no dash lights. A while later I'll look and the ABS and PSM OFF lights are illuminated... doesn't seem to affect the behavior of the car, though it's impossible to tell if PSM is actually off until I take it out into the twisties some time--and hopefully not end up in a ditch. lol

Anyway, I push the PSM button and nothing happens... any idea what's going on here?

The car is fine for a while but the battery gets run down and the results are the lights/warnings you report. In some cases the engine will begin to run poorly, misfire and stall. A bit of a rest and the engine can be restarted though the symptoms appear again.

But the symptoms can also be due to a bad MAF. If you want you can disconnect the MAF at the wiring harness, then ideally clear the error codes to reset all the fuel trims to their defaults (among other things) then drive the car as you were before. If the behavior stays away then reconnect the MAF, clear the error codes again, and drive the car and see if the behavior returns.

There is also the possibility of water though generally this causes problems with the car's security system and doors/windows. But it depends upon where the water is getting into. The usual place is into the cabin due to blocked water drains, or doors due to failed window membranes, but if the water is leaking in around the rear trunk it can be wetting the DME which resides back there. Check for dampness in the cabin and in the rear trunk. You might have to remove some carpet to get the DME exposed. Avoid touching it or trying the wiring.

I read on a guy's blog about the ignition switch causing problems. Here's his site.
[www.iwantaporsche.net]

... Check the brake pedal light switch.
Check the battery.
Don't be a stranger.
Happy Boxstering
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

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Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

I had the exact same problem and after doing some research on the internet I had the brake pedal light switch replaced (part cost about $15).
The problem has mostly gone away, from happening every time I drove the car, to now about every 10 times...
I guess the next thing to do is replacing the battery, which it's about time to replace any way.

In my case it was one of the ABS wheel speed sensors (which was so old it had virtually welded itself in place).

When I connected the car to a PST-2 it immediately told me exactly where to look (front right wheel speed sensor). I recommend you do the same.

Thanks, guys! Awesome info, as always. Damn, I love this community. I don't get as much chance to stay and play as I'd like any more, but I do think about y'all often. Yup, I said "y'all".

And I'm not from Texas or the South. :-)

Steve
Guards Red 1999
I'm not a race car driver, but I play one in 2nd and 3rd gear