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986Rick

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  • Present cars
    2000 Boxster S (986)
  • Future cars
    1986 911 Turbo
  • Former cars
    2 Miatas

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  1. Also, for those in the future searching for this CEL code and what it means, I present the following: Usually it's traced to a burned out CEL light, but it can also be a cut or grounded line to the CEL. Best way to *quickly* check it is as follows: Is the CEL (Check Engine Light) always on? If it is, the Check Engine switch or lines may be shorted closed. This will probably be a bear to find. Does the CEL turn on when you first start the car (all the dash lights should come on)? If the answer is NO, either the light is burned out or the harness has a break in it. The former is easy. the latter not so. The best way to troubleshoot around this (after checking the above) is to ask yourself what electronics you were near during your last repair. If the problem isn't a burned out bulb, odds are you made the break or short when you were last near the lines going to the dash (or, in my case, changing another bulb in the dash), or to the PCM (under the driver's seat). Reverse your steps, and look for something obvious. Hopefully this will save someone some hair in the future. Mine's already mostly gone, which is why Bruce Willis and I share the same barber. -R.
  2. The CEL being burned out turned out to be my exact issue. Maddening. Totally maddening. Mostly because I just finished replacing my alternator, replacing my entire clutch hydraulics, and (I'm about to replace) my clutch. Sorry if I disagree about diagnostics being fun. Car electronics just suck. :-) -R.
  3. I've seen cranky batteries on boats do odd things to other systems like demonic possessions. You battery is under voltage for starting. How old is it? Have you charged it externally and do you have a load tester? If not off to FLAPS with your battery now! Well, the battery is only 2-1/2 years old. Fortunately, I bought it from Costco (about a week after I bought the car, which still had the OEM battery in it...but that's a different story). On a whim, I decided to take advantage of Costco's beyond excellent return policy, and got a fresh battery up in South City. Just finished dropping it in. this time I had all the access panels off and could see everything that was going on. There was a slight "burning rubber" smell that I didn't think much of before (mostly because the engine has a bit of burn off from poorly managed oil separator maintenance from the prior owner), but after cranking the motor with the fresh battery, it was totally obvious what was going on. My alternator is as frozen as a woolly mammoth in a glacier. All the other pulley's spin, but the alternator is acting like a brake on the serpentine belt. I'm guessing that the alternator died and seized up(?) I won't know for sure, of course, until I get a new part on Monday from Parts Heaven. Probably do the serpentine and the ignition switch both anyway for good measure, as both probably could stand replacing. I guess I should ask the question, though, "is there anything I might be missing that would lock the alternator?" I think not, but it wouldn't be the first time I "thought" I was sure.... Thanks again guys, and I will post regardless of the outcome. Maybe even DIY the alternator swap-out(?) I'll definitely do some FA on the alternator as well. -Rick PS: When you think about it, daaaayum, that starter motor has some bad-a** torque to be able to turn the motor with a seized pulley under tension. wow.
  4. And even more info... No change in the ability to turn the engine, however, while I'm cranking, the hazards flash and the windows go up and down (if the doors are closed). Demonic possession, perhaps? (and I just bought her new rear discs and shoes...sheesh.) Thanks in advance! -Rick
  5. a little more info: I did a direct connection from battery negative to the engine lift to test for faulty ground: no change. I do hear the fuel pump motor, but it sounds somewhat sickly (like a stepper motor under voltage): is that normal? Battery is reading 11.7 volts--seemed low, so... I did a direct jump from my wife's car: tried to turn over, bud didn't catch Driveshaft does turn with a wrench, so it doesn't appear to be a seized motor/mechanical issue. There is a lingering smell of burnt oil, but that has always been the case in the engine compartment.
  6. Not yet. Top of my list, as soon as I can muster up enough neighbors to get her in the garage and jacked up. I did go down, unlock the door with the second key (manually), then tried the press the gas pedal to the floor while turning her over trick. Sputtered for about 3 seconds, then died. Sickly smell from the exhaust. Like a rich mix. Anyone else please chime in with ideas...I'll go through them all when I open her up in 8 hours (going to bed. Exhausting experience/day--nothing like being sworn at by every driver passing your stranded car in SF. For a city of pacifists, there sure are allot of...well, you know. Only one kindly lady offered help.) -Rick
  7. Wow, it's a good thing I love my Boxster, else I'd hate it ;-) Here's the latest drama in my Porsche relationship-- My wife and I were on an easy drive in heavy fog today on 19th st. in San Francisco, when the engine suddenly cut off. I tried several times to get the car to crank over, to no avail. Thanks to Geiko, I was able to find a flat bed to bring both my babies home. God, I love my wife. Any lesser woman would have been yelling. She was all over the phone with the tow service while I was outside tending to the car, and setting up the tow hook. First thing off the bed was to hook up the Durametric. I didn't expect much, as part of my roadside troubleshooting was to disconnect the battery and reset the DME in hopes that the computer just got fouled up by the sudden change from dry weather to fog. No luck...as I expected, no codes were in memory. So, I did some digging just before posting, and found one gentleman that had a similar issue, and his problem turned out to be the DME main relay. Went downstairs and reseated the fuse. Tried to turn the car over. The starter turned, one cylinder fired, then it stopped. Next, I swapped the DME relay out with another unit that was in the position immediately between the DME relay and the 2ndary air pump fuse. Tried to turn it over again. Same result. No idea what the heck to look for now. Durametric sees no issues, and the only thing I can think of is that the air was very heavy with water vapor as the fog was thick today. Any ideas? Anyone? Thanks all. -Rick
  8. It really depends on how it's broken. On my 986, I ended up getting a new center console with the hinge refit, as the way it was broken (by the previous owner), I couldn't perform the refit. Another option is used parts. I'm somewhat spoiled by being a rock throw away from Parts Heaven (a Porsche Salvage yard in Hayward, CA www.partsheaven.com), and I have replaced several components in my car with very decent used parts off wrecks. Otherwise you shell out over $200 bucks for the lid frame or $500 for the console, depending what broke. d'oh. -Rick
  9. Guys, thanks for all the info. I thought I'd share some info I've been able to get from "outside traditional channels..." The mail reason for my looking for this is that I'm replacing/repairing several of interior components on my '00...I think the previous owner: a. Had more jewelry than Mr. T, b. Set loose a pair of wolverines in heat inside the cockpit, or c. Just didn't give a *&%$. (Probably ©...can't understand some people not respecting their machines, but, well, whatever...) So anyway, after picking up a "no smoker" ashtray insert replacement at Parts Heaven, I noticed something---my IBM ThinkPad has a remarkably similar finish. On a whim, I did a search, and someone suggested that a very similar finish could be made by (drumroll please)... ...black chalkboard paint buffed with talcum powder. So, seeing as I saved the center console I had to rip out and replace, I figure in the next few days I'll use that as a test part for this procedure. If it works, I'll do a DIY on the actual part in the car and post it here. I'll keep you posted as to the outcome (good *or* bad). -Rick
  10. Consider it solved. Today, I took Gretta down to the SMOG shop, and she passed with flying colors. I think I can now access the engine compartment faster than a NASCAR pit crew does a tire change. To recap, I ended up: --Replacing the MAF (Thanks, AutohausAZ) --Replacing the left Pre-Cat O2 sensor --Replacing the gas cap Can't stress enough the advice that disconnecting the MAF and resetting the car really assisted in the troubleshooting. Saved me from going down the path of chasing for a vacuum leak that wasn't there. Chris, Loren, Xster--Thanks. Now on to bigger, better pcar projects... -Rick
  11. Hey all-- Does anyone know what that rubber-like coating is on the interior components, and where one might purchase some? I'm looking to refresh a few scuffed areas on the center console and doors, and I'm having a bear of a time finding a source for this coating. Thanks in advance, -Rick
  12. I believe that all 986 front ends are interchangeable since the headlights did not change as did the 996. However, the vents in the front bumper for the 986 did change in the first facelift so parts of the front bumper are not interchangeable (such as the grill louvres or aftermarket grill mesh)...just the bumper as a whole. -Alan 100% correct. I'm doing allot of research on this ATM (as my own front and rear bumper covers need replacement). Be aware that the "996-GT2", if you use GENUINE parts, will also require the GT2 litronics (headlamps), hood, and front BC & ductwork. Not 100% sure about the ground effects panels underneath. LA Porsche part puller, 911-pcar.com, sells this as a kit for ~$5000 complete (unpainted). Love the look, but one may find it hard to pass the funding request through the spousal unit, though. You can get very decent aftermarket units. There are a few awesome looking GT2-style BCs that make use of the standard Boxster lighting or the Boxster litronics without mods. I'm currently surfing through those to find out who has decent ductwork behind them. My $0.02--stay away from aftermarket *fiberglass*. Last thing you want is to toe-in to a poorly designed driveway and split your nose open. Go with Fiber reinforced Polyurathane. There's A Reason Porsche Does That . And, no matter what you get, get a "boomerang." It's a screw in metal skidplate that will keep you from crying the first time you mis-judge nose clearance... Best regards, -Rick
  13. NM...I decided to take a chance and go for it anyway. It fits--they just (apparently) added a 5th hole for the 987 e-mount, which just goes unused when mounting the part on on the 986 3.2. Note to others: you will need two of the new style rubber "bumper gaskets" that fit between the yoke and mount if you get the 987-375-023-04-M100 e-mount, as the profile if the aluminum bolt-core has changed. All the missed shifts are gone. The core on the old mount was completely sheared off. Took about 5 hours, and in retrospect, I probably would have disconnected the hot coolant return hoses to make access easier. Made for a **** fine Sunday project, though! Thanks, -Rick
  14. That's great Rick, glad you got it figured out. From what I understand from my dealer and experience, eGas throttles will have a slight bounce at idle, mine bounces sightly between 650 - 680 rpms. Nothing to worry about. Good Luck! Thanks, xSter. She runs like a champ. Shifts better too, now that I replaced the *totally sheared" front engine mount on Sunday. I'll have to post a picture. I'm amazed I wasn't having bigger issues than the occasional missed shift. Downer is I now get a CEL for P0430 (Cat conversion bank 2 - exceeds limit value) Could be bad gas, I suppose. I also looked at the seal on my Gas cap and the o-ring does look like it needs replacing, so I'll try that first. Can't think of what else it could be other than the cat actually being bad...but I never saw that cell until after replacing the MAF and the B2 pre-cat O2 sensor. If it needs a cat I just hope that I'll just squeak in under that 8-year warrantee. All said and done, I'm happy....she does, after all, have 100K miles as of 3 weeks ago.... -Rick
  15. looks like the MAF was it. replaced it with a new one from AutohausAZ, reset the DME, and she runs like a charm. 75 miles, no CELs or pending codes. Has a slightly erratic idle, but I haven't cleaned the Throttle body yet, so it may not be an issue. I'll update if there are any changes. Thanks guys. -Rick
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