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DCP

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Everything posted by DCP

  1. My car is a stock 03. Two weeks ago I did a one day DE on a veryhot day temperature over 100. On the secondrun, I got a brake wear sensor warning. This made little sense because the pads are pretty new. I looked at the brakes and saw that I had alot of pad left, the sensors all intact, and on a restart the brake wear lightwas off. I did the third session and thewear light came back on plus I got a display warning of "severe" brake wear. I skipped the last session. Again, when I restarted and drove home, thewear light was off and no other warnings. I have driven the car five or six days since the DE with no lights orwarnings. My front rotors are thin and Ineed to replace them. Any ideas what would have triggered brake wear warnings?
  2. The center console door is latched, but I had removed the center console so there is always that possibility that I did not get the switch for it back in correctly. Are you saying that when you replaced your sound system that you did not have this problem? That would suggest to me that the console switch is the likely problem.
  3. Loren: It did have a CDR-23. Since it was the base audio system with no amp or CD changer, nothing was connected to the MOST connection (Connector G). I have a feeling that the alarm info might be transmitted through the CAN bus (Connector C - yellow).
  4. I replaced my radio and now Ihave the problem with the alarm beeping when I lock the car. The car is a 2003 996 originally with the base sound system. I have looked at other posts on this problem which describe locating brown with green stripe (or blue stripe) wire on the left side of the radio compartment. I tried to locate this wire, but Icannot find it. I could not see any wires on theleft side except those that run to the PSM button and the wiper rheostat. Perhaps the alarm portion changed when theywent to the MOST bus system? Any help is greatly appreciated.
  5. I gained a lot of information from this post, so I thought I should share my experience and perhaps help some others. My car is a 03 996 with the base soundsystem. I installed a JVC KW-AVX840. The current version of the Euro Motorspeed kit has a sleeve with flanges on all four sides which is designed to make installation centered in the opening easy. I am guessing that not all years are consistent on evenness of the opening. Mine were not even with the top and bottom being more recessed than the sides. I needed to shim the upper and lower flanges to make it work. Once I shimmed it, the sleeve worked reasonably well. Bending tabs cut into the sleeve are supposed to hold it in position. It can shift around if pushed, but in practice, it seems to work well. I had some difficulty getting the climate control unit to fit in the lower slot. I found a posting on Pelican suggesting that four small ridges in the white plastic on each of the back corners was the problem. I trimmed those off and it fit, tightly, but I figured that that was good. I was confused by the aluminum support bracket which is about midway inside the housing where the radio and climate control unit were. Based on some posts here, I thought that it had to be removed, but I saw no obvious way of doing so. Trieullionaire answered my phone call right away (he has both times I called him). He said that the support bracket should stay in, but that the black horizontal pieces attached to it needed to be removed. These pieces form a bracket into which the top of the radio slid and which supported the climate control unit from below. I tried bending them up out of the way, but the metal is pretty thick so that did not work. I put a grinding attachment on the dremel and removed the rivets holding the pieces on. This took a while, but the pieces came out. I wanted to mount the microphone in the factory location which meant getting the instrument panel loose. At least on my car, removing the bezel surrounding the hazard switch was more difficult than the instructions I found suggested. Prying it off looked like it was going to mark the leather because I could not get the bezel to lift away at all. I found a suggestion somewhere on the web of removing the flasher button and then putting a screwdriver in one of the slots on the interior sides of the bezel and pulling on the screwdriver withpliers. That worked, although it did take several minutes of searching to find the bezel after it flew off at nearsonic speed. My next problem was running the microphone wire. The plug end had a 90 degree bend in it whichwould not make it through any of the routes I could find in the instrument cluster. I cut the wire, ran and did a splice. Those wires are very very small and after my splice, the microphone was not working at all. I then bought a Olympus ME-52W Noise Canceling Microphone. Again, I did a splice, but the microphone sounded terrible from the factory location. I then placed the microphone in the space immediately in front of the steering wheel. It was still terrible; lots of distortion. I found a microphone volume adjustment on the JVC unit and got it to work well enough to be understood, but it is not really very good at all. The microphone does agood job eliminating background noise, but my voice sounds very distant. I may need to try another microphone. In hindsight, I should have completely removed the instrument panel, but I did not want to unplug it. One of my bigger problems was that the JVC KW-AVX840 was sitting either too far in the dash or too far out depending on which mounting holes I used in the brackets. I first thought that I could use the deeper position and then use longer screws which attach the mounting bracket into the sleeve and that would allow me to get theunit forward using washers to create some space. As always, Trieullionaire was very helpful and sent me the specs on the screws so that I could get longer ones. If I took that approach, I was going to haveto do some major surgery on the bezel from the kit, so I looked at other options. I noticed that there were mounting holes on the brackets roughly in the right position but which were located a bit off vertically, so I elongated the holes with a Dremel and now the unit fits reasonably well. The bezel is meant to be held in by tension, but my cupholder knocks it out. I should trim it a bit and find another wayto mount it, but my patience is gone and I am done messing with it, at least for a while. I never use the cupholder anyway. Overall, the unit mounting and the bezel are not quite even in depth, but they are close. I am reasonably happy with it. When my tolerance for tinkering with it is restored I may take it out and adjust a few things to make it fit better. Trieullionaire suggested tapping the illumination wirefor the light surrounding the lighter for the illumination input to the new system, but since I was removing the center console to run the USB cable to therear console box, I tapped the wire to the ashtray light instead. It was more accessible. When I went to reinstall the instrument cluster, I discovered that the clip into which the screw next to the hazard button was gone. Luckily, I had a replacement clip which fit. I have the alarm beeping problem with the radio removed. I tried to locate the wire which others have mentioned which needs to be grounded in order to avoid alarm problems, but I cannot find the wire. I wonder if I moved it while trying to remove the support bracket which I did not need to remove. I could not see anywires on the left side except those that run to the PSM button and the wiper rheostat. Perhaps the alarm portion changed when they went to the MOST bus system? This is very frustrating. I would like to find the answer. If you have a MOST bus car, but the base audio system, that is, one with no separate amp, then the MOST bus connection to the CDR23 is not connected. Euro Motorspeed sent a kit assuming that I had a separate amp. I called and Trieullionaire very promptly send a replacement harness wired sothat the new head unit powers the speakers. If you use the phone prep harness for your switched power, the feature where you could listen to your sound system with the key in the ignition but the car not on no longer works. The key now has to be in the on position for the sound system to work. I ran both a USB cable and a JVC specific cable under the center console to the compartment in the back of it. I notched a hole at the bottom of the front wall of the compartment for the pass through and then taped the wires in position to hold them in place for reassembly. This was a lot of work to get done. I suspect that a pro could have positioned the unit better. Unlike other projects where I felt good about having done something myself, I don't feel that way about this one. Now I wish I had looked harder for a pro to do the installation.
  6. RMS problems were rampant until Porsche came out with a new version seal toward the end of 1996, if I recall the date correctly. Prior to then, it wasn't unusual to have seals fail in six months. Since then, there appear to far fewer problems. I would not be bothered by the RMS replacements, but that is just my opinion. The first 996 production run wasn't until 1998 - so I think you remember the date wrong. The new seal did not come out until July 2005 (with the introduction of 987 and 997). Living in the past. I thought it was 2006, not 1996 as I typed. Thanks for the correction.
  7. RMS problems were rampant until Porsche came out with a new version seal toward the end of 1996, if I recall the date correctly. Prior to then, it wasn't unusual to have seals fail in six months. Since then, there appear to far fewer problems. I would not be bothered by the RMS replacements, but that is just my opinion.
  8. Help please. I am confused. The FAQ on the website says that the policy is provided by Virginia Surety Company Inc. and Automotive Warranty Services. It goes on to say that those companies are part of AON Warranty Group, but a Google search says Virginia Surety Company was sold a couple of years ago. Nonetheless, Virginia Surety Company seems like a real company as it seems to be an admitted insurer in several states. Your policy is CUNO MUTUAL? Perhaps they changed providers? Do you know?
  9. It's the MOST audio system . . . THat is a joke. 2003 was the first year for the fiber optic audio system which does make replacing the sound system more expensive. I am not aware of any special issues with 03's. I have owned one for two years. I have had some minor problems plus the famous RMS leak. If you are shopping, try to find one where the RMS was replaced with one with a 997 part number. That is the most recent version, and apparently the only one which consistently works.
  10. That looks pretty easy. Does anyone know to what extent having the car at this angle affects oil drainage?
  11. That is terrible. Sorry for the other car occupants and the loss of your car. What are you going to replace it with?
  12. How you get power to the subwoofer behind the rear seats?
  13. Just a cost update. Costco - Houston I-10 - had Group 48 for $54.27, although the price was mismarked on the shelf as $38 and change. Installation was very easy. The $5.00 9 volt systems maintainer I bought at Autozone worked too.
  14. My perspective. I have never had a Boxster. I have owned a softtop in the distant past, and I must be in the minority who just can't stand them. I have a 996 coupe. If you can't financially deal with a newer 996, I would go with the Boxster. It is a must small financial risk and a really great car. It is a better handling car, but the 996 is a more fun car to drive due to its less than perfect engine placement. Plus, a Tip. If you want a automatic transmission, that is great, but why compromise on your sports car if don't have to.
  15. Trust me, after a few months it comes so normal you don't notice it anymore. Enjoy your car!
  16. I agree that it is not the best place. Porsche moved it back under the the tach in the 997.
  17. Mike: Would you please update this when you finish. I would like to do the same thing.
  18. I have never heard of a "chain tower," but that does mean much since my mechanical knowledge is limited. Unless it is total B.S., then the part must have something to do with locating the timing chain. Someone with relevant knowledge will chime in on that point. That would not seem to me to be a likely failure point if the engine (and the car) had been abused. Porsche does tend to replace engines rather than try to fix internal problems. So an engine replacement is consistent with Porsche's approach. So, if it were me, I might want to dig a bit more on the problem (like trying to get a copy of the repair documents where they show what the problem was), but based on what you have found thus far, I see the new engine as a pretty attractive thing.
  19. Overall, seems like a plus to me. New motor has no wear. Latest RMS. It would be nice to know why the motor was replaced. If it was an RMS fix, then no reason not to buy. If it was because the original owner abused the car (e.g. never changed the oil, downshift overrev, drove through high water), that would be a problem as to the condition of the rest of the drivetrain and the car.
  20. My owner's manual says: "With a warmed-up engine and at a speed of 5000 rpm, the engine oil pressure should be approx. 3.5 bar." I thought this was rather odd when I first read it. Like you, I usually see higher pressures than 3.5 bar at higher RPM's. This is entirely consistent with most other cars I have owned, until I wore out the motor anyway. I think what they meant to say that if you don't have at least 3.5 bar at 5,000 rpm, then you have a problem. I should say that I am not a mechanic and and am only speaking from my experience.
  21. The 997, like most cars without spares, has a tire pressure monitoring system so you at least have a clue when you have a punture. If you have a small puncture and get the tire repaired, can they clean the sealant crap out of the tire?
  22. I don't downshift simply to slow down because I don't want either clutch or transmission wear. I can't see much of a connection to engine wear, however. A few higher revs coupled with a bit more oil pressure wouldn't seem to hurt anything.
  23. You might try Zims Autotechnik, 1804 Reliance Parkway, Bedford, TX 76021 817-267-445 They were recommended to me for a pre-purchase inspection by a local (Houston) Porsche independent and seemed pretty nice on the phone. I did not buy the car I was looking at there, so I have not used them.
  24. This review from the same guy whose reason for disliking a Boxster is that buying a Boxster is an admission that your life hasn't quite worked out as you hoped because you cannot afford a 911. Completely lacks credibility. Of course, that never stopped a journalist before. I thought he hit the nail on the head from the perspective of how Porsche has positioned the Cayman in between the 911 and the Boxter. It was quite funny actually. Actually, I really like Top Gear. It is very funny. As to this bit, he presents the product placement in the Porsche line of cars as if there were something wrong with it. His complaint is that the Cayman could have been a better car than the 911 had they merely let the engineers have an open checkbook with it. Duh! His more fundamental complaint (from the M6, AM, 911S comparsion show) is that a 911 is all wrong with its rear weight bias, and the Boxster / Cayman could be better than the 911 because of its better engine placement, if Porsche would do it. He is probably right, but how does that make a Cayman, or Boxster, a bad car? It doesn't. His advice remains, like the Boxster: don't buy a Cayman because you will be embarassed that you didn't buy a 911. Untter nonsense, but it can be pretty funny.
  25. This review from the same guy whose reason for disliking a Boxster is that buying a Boxster is an admission that your life hasn't quite worked out as you hoped because you cannot afford a 911. Completely lacks credibility. Of course, that never stopped a journalist before.
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