POSSIBLE FIX: Electrical system error | Park vehicle in a safe place

[AJDiBianca]

>>> TRY THIS: Replace the key fob batteries <<<

BACKGROUND
My 2020 4S began suffering from the dreaded "You car is a brick" failure. After a tow to the dealer and "no problem found," the issue began reoccurring on a regular basis at the most inconvenient times. Each time the fix was 1) Lock the car, 2) Move the keys very far away, 3) Wait 20-30 minutes, 4) Start the car.

VOODOO
I'm an engineer, so while it works, this solution feels a bit like witchcraft. My Porsche tech asserts that isolating the keys and waiting allows the many computer modules to fully reset. But no one seems to be able to explain exactly what mysterious voodoo goes on between the key and car overnight.

TESTING THE THEORY
I began placing my keys inside small metal tins when parked (to simulate distance) and block any spurious radio transmissions. To my chagrin, this solved the problem supporting the theory of spurious "key to car communication" at night.

SERENDIPITY
Many weeks later, the LED on one of my keys stopped lighting. I replaced both key-fob batteries, and VOILA - the problem has not recurred since.

A NEW THEORY
Batteries die slowly over time. In my case they were almost two years old. My THEORY is keys with weak batteries transmit intermittent signals that somehow prevent a proper system shut-down and result in the dreaded Electrical system error.

EVIDENCE
While far from conclusive, after changing batteries, ditching the metal tins, and leaving the key close to the car when parked, the problem has not returned. If you believe in Murphy's Law, this afternoon my Taycan will probably rebel and not start - but so far this $2 solution has fixed the issue.

MY RECOMMENDATION
Spend the $2, change both of your key-fob batteries, and post your results here.

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[Jayyvr890]

Do you have comfort access enabled? I'm not a technical person but there must be some sort of receiver in the taycan that's on all the time to sense the signal of the key approaching?

Wonder if that also has something to do with it.

 

[AJDiBianca]

Do you have comfort access enabled? I'm not a technical person but there must be some sort of receiver in the taycan that's on all the time to sense the signal of the key approaching?

Wonder if that also has something to do with it.

Yes I do. That may be the source of the miscommunication with the root cause being a weak/intermittent key

 

[LLA53]

This happened to me this week and I don’t have comfort access, it went like this,
Travelled to Manchester via a recharge stop at an IONITY rapid charger, arrived Manchester battery approx 30%, charged overnight on a 7kW charger to 95%. Drove for 30 mins and stopped for one hour. Re-entered car and now it’s a brick,’Electrical system fault park safely’ switched off locked all doors turned on pre conditioning waited 15 mins, it was sunny so stood next to car with keys in pocket. Opened up car jumped in and away we went. This was 4 days ago been ok since.

edit my car keys are 5 months old

 

[gnop1950]

We don't have our Taycan as yet, but we keep all of our keys in Faraday boxes at home and have some Faraday pouches we use when traveling. This was initially for security purposes but seems to have the added benefit of extending the key fob battery life.

 

[AJDiBianca]

This happened to me this week and I don’t have comfort access, it went like this,
Travelled to Manchester via a recharge stop at an IONITY rapid charger, arrived Manchester battery approx 30%, charged overnight on a 7kW charger to 95%. Drove for 30 mins and stopped for one hour. Re-entered car and now it’s a brick,’Electrical system fault park safely’ switched off locked all doors turned on pre conditioning waited 15 mins, it was sunny so stood next to car with keys in pocket. Opened up car jumped in and away we went. This was 4 days ago been ok since.

edit my car keys are 5 months old

I get that the keys are new, but wonder about the key-fob batteries. For a only few bucks you could change them. If the problem stays away after that you'll be out the cost of a cup of coffee and may still never know what caused (or fixed) the problem - though as an engineer I believe that problems NEVER fix themselves. If the problem returns with fresh batteries, you will have debunked my theory - Knowing that would be helpful to everyone who owns a Taycan.

 

[AJDiBianca]

We don't have our Taycan as yet, but we keep all of our keys in Faraday boxes at home and have some Faraday pouches we use when traveling. This was initially for security purposes but seems to have the added benefit of extending the key fob battery life.

For $17, I hope that people with the problem try this. It directly addresses any possible "key-to-car communication" which (most seem to agree) has some relationship to the problem and perhaps has an added security benefit. If it extends the battery life, then that's a bonus as well.

Personally, I'm hoping that changing the key-fob battery works, since (for me) it does not require any change in my daily routine - albeit putting your keys in a box is a very minor inconvenience compared to not being able to start your Taycan when you need to go somewhere!

 

[LLA53]

I get that the keys are new, but wonder about the key-fob batteries. For a only few bucks you could change them. If the problem stays away after that you'll be out the cost of a cup of coffee and may still never know what caused (or fixed) the problem - though as an engineer I believe that problems NEVER fix themselves. If the problem returns with fresh batteries, you will have debunked my theory - Knowing that would be helpful to everyone who owns a Taycan.

yes I agree as I had an issue with the security fob and although new the batteries were not

 

[physal]

I cannot tell you when first time i saw this red error of electrical system failure, the car was basically dead, it wont drive or reverse, only park or neutral..
Found many many posts where people were saying it needs the entire battery replacement and has been sitting with dealers for weeks and months and mine was also booked to go next day, and out if sheer luck i saw this post and literally tried as the post suggested and no error whatsoever…
How come a car key battery make the car totally dead and non driveable, contacted my porsche dealer and they have no clue ir any answer either..

any thoughts

 

[physal]

Or could it be due to the pvts fobs ? The security fobs,

 

[buruburu]

I cannot tell you when first time i saw this red error of electrical system failure, the car was basically dead, it wont drive or reverse, only park or neutral..
Found many many posts where people were saying it needs the entire battery replacement and has been sitting with dealers for weeks and months and mine was also booked to go next day, and out if sheer luck i saw this post and literally tried as the post suggested and no error whatsoever…
How come a car key battery make the car totally dead and non driveable, contacted my porsche dealer and they have no clue ir any answer either..

any thoughts

Because the car thinks that the key is no longer in the car and at that point, the car has to assume it's being stolen / improperly driven and needs to shut down. Another thing to test is putting the key in the cup holder to see if it helps w/ key to car connectivity.

 

[physal]

Because the car thinks that the key is no longer in the car and at that point, the car has to assume it's being stolen / improperly driven and needs to shut down. Another thing to test is putting the key in the cup holder to see if it helps w/ key to car connectivity.

Yes, very odd, and seems that AA or porsche themselves dont know anything about it, they would rather try and replace many different parts, so far its been 3 days and after changing batteries it has not happened for me, but im in this doubt that may be it should be booked to do some diagnostics but also think they may have no fault code registered at all

 

[physal]

Because the car thinks that the key is no longer in the car and at that point, the car has to assume it's being stolen / improperly driven and needs to shut down. Another thing to test is putting the key in the cup holder to see if it helps w/ key to car connectivity.

So unfortunately the issue is back this time again, today afternoon, it can't be key battery, i again replaced just in case, tried different key also, ive pvts fobs also, replaced those, waited more than an hour, but this time the red erroe, electricL system fault wont go, called porsche breakdown, this time the AA was more knowledgeable connected the disgnostics tool and found error to do with high voltage system or battery, car booked in to goto dealer for proper detailed diagnostics, really disappointed, when it dirves its gud but when error happens no one can do anything but to book it to go on a trailer

 

[PCASSOO]

On my Taycan 4S the remotes were doing weird things. The car finally said no remote seen at all.
I bought some 2032's at Walmart and Blam.
Both remotes are working great now.
When in doubt just change the batteries in almost everything. Lol

 

[W1NGE]

IMHO, none of this explains the red electrical system failure - 9 times out of 10 its a false positive should it occur but for some it has been the 1 time and the car is bricked. Normally a 12v battery disconnect will solve the problem as it forces a complete hard reset of the car's 12v systems.

Locking and leaving for long enough allows the car to go into sleep mode and providing nothing wakes it up (such as walking past periodically with your keys) effectively facilitates a soft reboot of systems where the chances are the error has cleared.

Faraday boxes are useful if you can't keep your keeps 2 metres+ away from the car. Keeping the keys in proximity will lead to battery drain on the fob and historically may have contributed to the 12v drain issue experienced on MY20 and MY21 cars until software patched.

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