GaryFB

PS to Loren, I think the site is GREAT!

The electric air pump that injects air into the exhaust system operates for approximately 30 seconds when the car is started cold. I am sure you are hearing the electric air pump. Do you think the noise is getting louder?

My engine on my 97 boxster just blowen. At 48K milage this surely can not be right.

Was driving nicely on the highway (70 m/hr) and heard a big noise and cracking from the engine. I stopped and got it towed to a garage and they are now telling me that the engine is gone.

I expected more of a boxster engine. Anyone had the same problem?

I think Porsche should replace my engine. Any experience from others?

Help - I will be calling porsche tomorrow and talk to them - this can not be right :(

- Kanin

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There was an article written in the Porsche Club magazine Panorama about the failures of the 986 engines. Apparently the manufacturer of the engine cases had some problems and a cylinder would come loose. I have seen a few, and Porsche sells a complete engine for very little money, last time I checked it was $5500.00. Sorry to hear it happend to you.

You might want to order the 987 tech intro booklet.  The part number is PNA 488 521 05 and it is about $25.  When the mechanics go to training school for a new model this is given to them.

The 987 intake is a new design.  There are drawings of it in the booklet.

At the local 987 tech session last month I wanted to take the filter out to see how it changed but Peter said it was a pain to get out.  I went to the parts department but they did not have one in stock.  The drawing of the filter on the parts list shows it as a round filter.  The 986 is flat.  Loren has the drawings.  I do not know if the 987 filter has foam on it like the 986.

What is interesting is that the part number for the 987 filter is the same as the 986 special edition, unless there is a mistake on the 986 parts list.  One of these days a special edition and 987 will show up at our work on cars days so we can check it out.

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Are these Technical Booklets still available? Please post the new ones as they become available. These Tech Booklets are the most informative publications Porsche produces. Thanks-Gary

Hey, for the first time ever, my battery is dead on my 996TT.

It's been sitting for weeks, and before parking, I washing and listening to radio.

Well, it has enough juice to turn on interior lights, etc.  It just can't turn it over enough to start.

I've heard and read that using cables can be bad on an elec system even when used properly.

What is the best way to charge it back again or start it?

  Disconnect the battery cables and charge the battery with a 2 to 10 amp charger. Monitor the battery temperatuure and monitor the specific gravity. When the SpG is 1.275, the battery is fully charged.

Does Sears have a charger?  Something that goes through the cig lighter maybe?

Yes, Sears has many chargers.  I think it would be best to disconnect the battery cables when charging the battery.

2nd part... How do I know if I need a new battery after it's started?  (I'm guessing I can figure it out, but looking for rule of thumb)

Recharge the battery with a Battery charger, not the vehicles alternator.  It may take 3 or more days to fully charge the battery, depending on how discharged it is. 

3rd and last part...

What's the best replacement battery if I need one?  I was told a gel battery if you track your car at all.  Any suggestions?

  Interstate sells excellent batteries, Model MTP91, 700CCA, exact fit.    Worldpac now has exact fit AGM batteries pt# AGM48.

Thanks!

Scott

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Hey, for the first time ever, my battery is dead on my 996TT.

It's been sitting for weeks, and before parking, I washing and listening to radio.

Well, it has enough juice to turn on interior lights, etc.  It just can't turn it over enough to start.

I've heard and read that using cables can be bad on an elec system even when used properly.

What is the best way to charge it back again or start it?

Does Sears have a charger?  Something that goes through the cig lighter maybe?

2nd part... How do I know if I need a new battery after it's started?  (I'm guessing I can figure it out, but looking for rule of thumb)

3rd and last part...

What's the best replacement battery if I need one?  I was told a gel battery if you track your car at all.  Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Scott

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The best way to know if your battery is fully charged is to use a battery hydrometer. You do not want to use the vehicle's alternator to recharge the battery. The alternator was never designed to recharge a dead battery, and the alternator can be damaged attempting to recharge the battery.

A Maintenance battery charger will turn itself on when the battery is low, and will turn itself off, when the battery is charged. It is so much easier using a Maintenance Charger, then to attempt to revive a dead battery.

It is very risky using jumper cables to start your car, even if everything goes correctly, you may have damaged an electronic component from the surge. The battery's #1 purpose is to start the car, #2 is to act as an electrical shock absorber (capacitor). A weak battery can not absorb the everyday common surges in the electrical system.

Hey, for the first time ever, my battery is dead on my 996TT.

It's been sitting for weeks, and before parking, I washing and listening to radio.

Well, it has enough juice to turn on interior lights, etc.  It just can't turn it over enough to start.

I've heard and read that using cables can be bad on an elec system even when used properly.

What is the best way to charge it back again or start it?

Does Sears have a charger?  Something that goes through the cig lighter maybe?

2nd part... How do I know if I need a new battery after it's started?  (I'm guessing I can figure it out, but looking for rule of thumb)

3rd and last part...

What's the best replacement battery if I need one?  I was told a gel battery if you track your car at all.  Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Scott

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It is not unusual for the battery to go dead if the car sits unused for 30 days. Loren's suggestion of using a maintenace charger is excellent. WorldPac has just come out with a new line of "exact fit" batteries that use the AGM design similiar to the Optima batteries (no fluid to leak or vent). The WorldPac batteries are also "reasonably" priced.

I have a 2001 996TT.  Anyone else have any problems with sensor failures (MAF-mass air flow sensor, boost pressure sensor, etc.).  Causes boost pressure loss until you key off and key on.

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Not that specific issue....sorry.

But I was drawn to your post because I also have an 01 and recently replaced the bank2 O2 sensor (upstream, before the cat).........now today I'm getting PO175, PO155, and PO172 (in that order of priority).

I'm not seeing any of those on the Renntechs OBD list but the generic meaning on those is too rich on bank1, the O2 heater circut bank2 sensor 1, and then system too rich bank2.

I'm probably going to reset and fill up at a dif filling station.......see if they pop up again.........other advice welcome & appreciated.

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It has been a while since you posted this, what finally happened?

I've owned a 2001 TT for six months now, and it now has 8400 miles. I've had to add a quart of oil every 1000 miles. Is this typical of these cars? The salesperson at Carlsen Porsche warned me about this as I was buying the car, but this rate surprises me.

I know it's apples and oranges, but my 99 carrera never needed extra oil between changes.

TIA,

John :drive:

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What type of oil are you using and how often do you change it?

When I changed the plugs on my 01 turbo I noticed several small surface cracks (maybe 1mm deep) on all the coils, particularly on the round part covered by the rubber boot. I don't think any cracks were visible on the external part of the coils. No carbon tracks. The car runs fine, including in heavy rain. When I had the car apart I called the dealer tech and he seemed to think it was a big problem. When I took the car in for warranty work they replaced the MAF and fuel pump and cured the full load high speed miss it was having. I don't think they pulled a coil and actually looked at the cracks. The tech said he checked the coils and they were OK. I'm 99% sure he did not pull a coil for inspection. I was not mentioned on the final work order. Is this anything to worry about? My warranty expires in June. Should I ask to talk to the regional PCNA rep? There were also a couple of other issues with the car the dealer could not replicate that were never addressed.

I noticed on the Boxter forum that cracked coils were found as a fault on a PPI.link

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In the future, mark the coil hold down screws with nail poilsh paint. If the paint is not cracked or broken, they did not remove the coils. If they don't tell the truth about one thing, when are they telling the truth?

When my engine gets warm and I have it on around 1k RPM and just touch the gas so it goes toward 4k RPM without any gear in it start to make this screaming sound sometimes and sometimes it stops after I do the samt thing again.

It sounds like the real high pitch noice come from the hydralic for steering/Clutch box but Im not 100% sure, I have checked the fluids and it looks ok.

Does anyone know what the problem is?

I have checked so it isnt from the AC

Best regards

Jonas

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I am assuming your car is a 996tt? The air pump is electrically operated and will only operate on cold starts, and will only operate for approximately one minute. If the noise goes away completely, after one minute, it could be the electric air pump. If the noise verys with rpm , and does not go away, I would suspect the serpentine belt rollers. Lets us know what you find. Thanks-Gary

When my engine gets warm and I have it on around 1k RPM and just touch the gas so it goes toward 4k RPM without any gear in it start to make this screaming sound sometimes and sometimes it stops after I do the samt thing again.

It sounds like the real high pitch noice come from the hydralic for steering/Clutch box but Im not 100% sure, I have checked the fluids and it looks ok.

Does anyone know what the problem is?

I have checked so it isnt from the AC

Best regards

Jonas

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I have had this problem on a few 996tt, the noise sounds like a bad power steering pump. Sometimes the noise is so bad you are afraid to drive the car. The problem is the serpentine belt roller. If you remove the belt, start the engine, and the noise goes away, then turn or spin each item, you should be able to feel the bad one. Tell us what you find. Thanks-Gary

I just found out that I can get 100 octane racing fuel by my house and was wondering if this will help performance on my 03 X50 TT Coupe, should I mix it to 93 or would it hurt to use 100? Any suggestions are welcomed. Price is not a concern. Only interested in performance and benefits or disadvantage to the vehicle. Thanks,

Alex

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Is the fuel NO LEAD, or does it contain LEAD ? If your knock sensors are retarding the ignition spark on your present fuel, then adding higher octane fuel could theoretically improve performance. How about trying it and tell us what you feel? Thanks-Gary

Today something strange happened, after the light started to flash a few days ago I have not driven the car more then a couple of time and I will leave the car on 120000km service tomorrow with exchange of ignition coils if needed.

But tonight I took the car for a little drive and all of a sudden the light started to flash as soon as I come close or above 3000RPM so with Lorens warning words in my head (thanks Loren) I took it really soft and drove the car back home at 1000-2000 RPMs, what is the most probable cause that it can be when the car only runs below 3000RPM no matter of that it is warm or cold, and even more important, do I dare to drive the car to the Porsche center that is around 10 minutes driving from here?

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The flashing MIL means that a misfire is happening at that instant, and this misfire can severely damage the catalytic convertors. What proof or evidence is there that the problem is caused by the ignition coils?

When you bring the car in for service, make sure you ask them to provide you with ALL the codes stored in the fault memory. They had a chance to fix it right one time, now you need to be involved with the repair.

The vehicles capability for measing an engine misfire is so sensitive, you may never feel the misfire. A lean fuel mixture could cause an engine misfire, and there maybe codes relating to the lean fuel mixture.

Ask them why they think the ignition coils are at fault, or are they just guessing.

Please let us know how it turns out. Thanks-Gary

I have the fault codes P0172 and P0175, this codes could comes up if it's a problem with the purge valve, mag sensor, leaking injectors or an leakage in the vacuum system.

So I wants to check if it's any problem with the purge valve.

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P0172 Oxygen sensor adaptation (fuel trim), at idle, for Bank 1, below limit.

P0175 Oxygen sensor adaptation (fuel trim), at idel, for Bank 2, below limit.

I think this could be a code for 1) Mass air flow senosr, 2) fuel pressure, 3) Purge valve. Because the code terminology is so poor, can you look at the OBD2 "Freeze Frame" information, and report the Fuel Trim numbers? It is extremely important to know whether the fuel trim is positive or negitive.

You could remove the purge valve and bench test its operation. But if you disconnect it or plug it, you may get more codes.

Please let me know what the Freeze Frame Fuel Trim numbers are. Thank you-Gary

I have a 99 996 Cabriolet, with this exact problem (already had it to a private repair shop, who managed to fix it, but the problem is bac).  Unless you trickle in the gas, the filler shuts off (the flap to keep fuel from coming out in the evnt of a roll is being impeded).  Any way to see the details of this, or how to repair it?  tks GmG

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I have seen the 7.5 amp fuse blow and cause this same problem. In one case a cell phone charger was installed and connected to this fuse. There should be a chart on the fuse panel cover describing each fuse.

I have the "red" oil light flashing on the dash- can someone tell me the oil type I should add - '99 Porsche Boxster.

How much should I add? - My bar lights are down one

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If you check your Owner's Manual, I am sure it will recommend 5W-40, or 5W-50.

You should be able to get that oil from Castrol, Mobil, Pentosin. Was that the information you were asking?

Excellent procedure and invaluable data. Thank you - Gary

So I finally fixed this problem and it did turn out to be the MAF.  This is a 1998 Boxster with 61K miles.  The OBDII readout of the Long Term Fuel Trims were 29.7% For those who have this problem in the future this is what I tried:

Changed the plugs

Changed the fuel filter

Used a bottle of techron

Searched for intake leaks

Checked the oil separator bellows

Checked the oil filler tube

After all this I did notice a slight improvement in the fuel trim numbers.  They decreased to about 27% but I would still eventually get a CEL. 

One other symptom was that the car would stall once when cold.

I then conned Trygve into letting me use his car as a guinea pig.  I took MAF readings from his car at various RPM and got:

idle 3.6 g/s

2000 rpm 7.8 g/s

2500 rpm 11.4 g/s

3000 rpm 14.8 g/s

3500 rpm 16.2 g/s

4000 rpm 17.8 g/s

4500 rpm 22.3 g/s

On my car the numbers were:

idle 3.5 g/s

2000 rpm 7.2 g/s

2500 rpm 10.0 g/s

3000 rpm 11.7 g/s

3500 rpm 12.8 g/s

4000 rpm 15.0 g/s

4500 rpm 17.9 g/s

So my numbers were some 20-30% low.  We then swapped MAFs and the problem followed the MAF.  So I bought a new MAF, installed it and now my car reads:

idle 4.4 g/s

2000 rpm 8.0 g/s

2500 rpm 10.3 g/s

3000 rpm 14.0 g/s

3500 rpm 16.2 g/s

4000 rpm 19.4 g/s

4500 rpm 23.2 g/s

It was about 75 degrees during the first two readings and 65 degrees for the last set.

As posted previously the best source for the MAF appears to be:

http://www.autohausaz.com/catalog/lookup_p...FToken=80622876

The part I got even had the Porsche Part number (996 606 123 00) on it.

You can get a set of security or tamperproof bits (you need a Torx T20 security bit) here:

http://www.harborfreight.com

Item number 91310 for $7.

I would suggest that if you have an OBDII reader that you take baseline readings of your car so that if you have a problem in the future you know what your readings are for when the car was running properly.

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Where is the EVAP purge valve located?

Anyone that have a picture, there is valves everythere in the engine compartment!

The car is 996 TT-03

See atachment if anyone can understand that better than me....

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These 3 pictures show the Purge Valve located on the engine of a 2002 996 tt.

The purge valve is part of the fuel vapor system, that is why it is not in your vacuum hose diagram. Why do you want to know about the Purge Valve?

I have never used them,but it sounds like a bargain. How did you find them?

What are the two error codes?

I just changed the oil filter and swapped out my coolant tank at the same time.  Upon start up, oil level read full on the gauge but pressure went almost to the 5.  I turned it off and returned about 10 minutes later to repeat the process.  At that point after about 2 seconds of running, the check engine light came on flashing. 

Any ideas?  There were no leaks and everything appears to be tight.

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If you ran the engine with the oil filler cap off, or if the cap did not seal, this could cause the MIL (Malfunction Indicator Lamp - offical SAE term) to turn on. You will have to read the code to be sure. If the problem has been corrected, the MIL will eventually turn off. You would think with all the technology these cars have, there could be an LED screen to display the OBD2 codes.

Do you want to open the front trunk because the battery is dead?

I have had this problem numerous times, the front trunk will not open when the battery is dead. I connect a full size battery to the cigarette lighter socket, then close all the doors, lock the car with the remote, wait one minute, unlock the car, then pull the front hood latch. Tell us how it works out.

The best way to perform this is with a "coolant exchanger" machine. The machine gets hooked up to the engine coolant hose and you visually watch the new coolant go in and the old coolant come out. Usually you exchnage it past the specified volume, so you get all the old coolant out. I doubt there is any other way to do this, especially with the radiators up front and all the plumbing. You can do a Google on Coolant Exchangers, companies like RTI and SnapOn sell them. Tell us how you make out.

Assuming the engine stopped running because you ran out of fuel, it should have restarted after your numerous attempts. I wonder if your immobilizer is preventing the car from starting? If you turn the key off and then turn it on, you should hear the fuel pump run for a few seconds. If you cycle the fuel pump a few times, that should prime the fuel rail, and the car should start, if the only problem was you ran out of fuel. Lets us know what happens.

I saw this posted on another forum and thought it would be a good topic to address here.

<<<My Boxster is now over four years old, which here in Illinois means going in for an emissions test.

When I took it in yesterday, I ran into a problem. The OBD reader could not read two of the fields it was looking for. Here they are:

CAT Catalyst Efficiency Status: Not Ready

EVAP Evaporative System Status: Not Ready

All of the fields that could be read were fine. However, I can't pass the test until all of the fields can be tested.

I already made an appointment to take it into dealer next week, but was wondering if any of you might have some ideas of what the problem and solution could be.

The car runs fine and has never thrown any check engine lights.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. >>>

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Hi Sinbad; Did you have your battery go dead, or did you disconnect your battery? Going in for repair will not get your car to pass the OBD2 Monitors. You need to drive a special "drive cycle" for the CAT and EVAP to pass. I recoomend you try driving your car on the highway at a steady 55 to 60 mph and the RPM at approximately 2500 rpm. Drive like this for over 3 minutes and try not to vary the postion on the accelerator pedal. If you can drive longer then 3 minutes as described, that would be better. Then go to your State Inspection Tester, I think you will find that the OBD2 Monitors passed. Tell us how it went.