Alarm comedy

[gardoni]

Had the 964 for about a week and a half and decided to replace the rear lid struts since they wouldn't hold the lid open. Pretty easy job, just required some contorting and stretching to reach the clips on the pins. Sure enough, I dropped the first clip I removed and couldn't find it for the life of me. I _did_ happen to find a small pair of vice grips and a 3" 6mm bolt rattling around down in the engine compartment Presents from the PO.

Got the strut removed and the new one in place and discovered that the new strut was powerful enough to keep the lid up all on its own. OK, I think, I'll just borrow the clip from the other side, and leave that strut removed until I can get over to the dealer for a replacement.

All seemed to be working swimmingly until I got to the dealer and while waiting for the parts guy my alarm goes off. I have lots of other errands to run, and almost everywhere I go after leaving the car for ~5 minutes the alarm goes off without provocation. Did I short something out when I removed the satellite radio system? Is the alarm module bad? I hate electrical gremlins.

So, I leave the car locked in the garage but unlocked so as to not repeat the alarm stuff. A couple of days go by and I have a spare few minutes to run out and replace the other strut. Before I start I happen to notice the rear lid isn't lining up quite perfectly with the left fender. The little light of realization goes off somewhere back in the cobwebs of my skull and I finally grok that the single strut on the drivers side is exerting enough pressure to flex the lid out to almost get the rear lid switch to activate. Any little vibration and the switch tells the alarm unit that someone's prying open the rear lid.

I can be pretty thick sometimes...

[Marc964]

Good morning!..
Nicely written, had a laugh reading about someone else’s, "dummy of the week dilemma", that’s all part and parcel of owning a 911 that’s pushing on the years.
Next time tie a half-hitch with the same thread (steering wheel) around those too tiny to hold, too easy to drop, too easy to lose bits and pieces and fix the thread nearby, its an easy way to retrieve, and that’s my "how-to-for-the-day". Continue to enjoy life with your "new friend", you just may end up getting addicted to your 911/964.
Hope the engine bay findings were at least of good quality,
Marc..

Link to my 911/964.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2449542

[gardoni]

Great tip Marc- thanks. Loved the pics of your cabrio. Very well detailed!