Silver_TT

JFP is spot on. Do not replace your dual mass flywheel. The harmonic dampening it provides is key....and a potential recipe for a very expensive disaster if you remove it. Also, I previously owned a 3.6L manual transmission and never noticed a rattle at idle. Are you sure this is the dual mass flywheel causing the noise?

Problem is if the water pump impeller chips and you end up with one of those chips getting stuck (especially in a thin-walled area) you can get a hot spot crack. The cost of replacing a water pump is a lot less which I believe is why Excellence Magazine recommended changing this preemptively. Like a lot of risks in life, just because it doesn't happen to you doesn't mean the risk isn't there. Some people like having insurance, others like to let it ride....

RE #6: Just to be clear, the design key does not come with a new circuit board and is only the plastic shell so i don't think it will help much -- it just looks a heck of a lot nicer. In essence it's a $113 piece of plastic. If it's not the battery, which I would try first as Loren suggested, it's likely this circuit board. I had responded to one of your previous posts telling you how to fix this and pointing you to the thread this is discussed if you want to fix it. It's not very expensive and will save you the embarrassment of your alarm going off occasionally when you open the door with the key. http://www.suncoastparts.com/product/911design.html?Category_Code=gtdesignkey From that page: NOTE: This keyhead is empty, you must transfer your current key "guts" to this keyhead. This is a shell only, no electronic internals are included.

ROW and USA are designations. ROW = Rest of World ......ie non-USA. The configurations (specifications, emissions, etc) are different between USA and ROW cars.

Yep, it sounds like you have an electrical issue related to what was described above. I'm guessing it's not the battery since you said above that you just had it replaced, but this wouldn't be the first time a battery had a shorter than expected life and it never hurts to test it since it's so easy and fast to do. As Loren stated, strange things happen when you have a battery that's not 100%.... and similarly when you have a faulty wire/connector all the way down to each respective component. Again, regarding it only happening when it's hot -- that's not a surprise at all for reasons stated above. If it's not at the front-end of the downstream electrical flow, as I alluded to, I think RFM brings up some good points in his post #7 above. It definitely feels like you have resistance in one of the wires leading downstream to these components throwing errors. To troubleshoot you are going to have to check each segment in the electrical flow leading downstream, starting at the battery, to narrow down and isolate where the issue is.

In my case it was definitely the wiring harness.... and the alternator was working well except for at certain RPM ranges (which made it a little difficult to troubleshoot). The alternator had 85K miles on it anyway, is only about $350 for the Bosch replacement reman, and needs to come out when you do the wiring harness I'm referring to (#21 if you read Ahsai's post in the link I shared with you above) anyway. In your case and the case of many others, it could definitely be just the alternator alone or just the wiring alone. p.s. The test, as Ahsai described in that post, is very simple and should not take long. They can also psedo loadtest the alternator with it in the car and this takes just 5 mins.

I will let others chime in but to start here's a little information. First, the "limp mode" you describe is normal when the computer detects a "serious" problem. Specifically this is to keep the engine and other components from being damaged as you drive it in to service. Second, while not completely the same, I can't help but to notice some very similar symptoms to when my previous car (a Carrera 4S) had a bad alternator and/or wiring harness. For one, you say this seems to happen the most when the weather is hot. Specifically with respect to that wiring harness, resistance builds as heat increases....and this problem also occurred in my situation on one of the hottest days of the year. That's no coincidence. The wiring harness is a known culprit in these vehicles (been revised at least a couple times and I think there's even a TSB on it) and if you do a search on this you will find tons of info and posts. A failing alternator or bad wiring harness, like many electrical issues, can manifest itself in a number of odd kind of ways. With mine I got the "ABS/PSM" errors you are describing as well as some other weird gremlins like that. These components can throw errors when they aren't getting enough juice. See what others have to say but this would be the first thing I would check. JFP and Ahsai recently just posted some really good/simple information on how to test this that I think you would find really helpful: http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic/44471-voltage-regulator-affected-by-heat-hence-low-voltage/

Richard is one of the best posters around here and I agree with everything he's saying. I just want to be clear though that with respect to this particular issue you don't need to buy a new DME. If you want to buy a new DME for another reason everything he's saying is correct and applies. But you don't need to buy a new DME strictly with respect to your question about passing emissions.

You don't need to buy a DME. The DME is the Porsche computer that contains flashable memory, which means it can effectively be erased and reprogrammed some finite number of times (on my 2002 TT it can be flashed something like 1,500 times). What you would need to do is either contact Protomotive and tell what version of their software you have -- and ask if there is a newer version that addresses this issue you can upgrade to. If there isn't a newer version that addresses this from them you will need to reflash the car to stock (and then possibly drive a few days to get the readyness states set, assuming they truely are "not ready"...if they really are "ready" as mine were, then as soon as you flash back to stock it will pass). After you pass emissions you could then reflash back to Protomotive until the next time you have to pass emissions..... To reflash you would need a PST2/PIWIS, or in the case of my Revo tune they told me they are the only ones that can take off the software (I didn't have a chance to verify that -- it seems like just reflashing would do the trick but without understanding what part of the memory is flashed I can't say anything about this definitively). Your best bet is to contact Protomotive about this issue and see what they say. If they don't have an update you should ask your local Protomotive dealer to reflash you to stock so you can pass emissions. These aftermarket tunes often try to "defeat" a number of the systems associated with the exhaust system so that the car will pass emissions, however internally it usually shuts off things like the post-cats so that the car isn't throwing CELs related to cat efficiency.

I recently had a very similar issue with Revo tuning software that came on my 2002 TT. I took that garbage off because the SPS-3 switching device that it came with that's supposed to change it back to stock didn't seem to work and I couldn't get a pass at emissions here which is simply a plug into the OBD2 port and read from the computer (as is the case virtually everywhere now, it's all a read from the computer rather than a "real" test). So anyway, if you can get the latest stock DME flash and load that to the vehicle through the OBD2 port that will probably fix your problem. The tuner that you used should have the stock flashes for sure. The state I live in does 5 readyness checks in total and I was told by the software company that makes the emissions software for my state that they recently added more checks, which is why the previous owner is Texas might not have had a problem. As a result, I think you're going to see more and more people having problems like this trying to pass emissions with flashed DMEs containing aftermarket tunes. Another interesting thing to note is that the generic OBD2 reader the state was using showed 4 ready states, 1 not ready (cat converter efficiency)...however, the PIWIS/Durametric showed all 5 as ready. The stock flash is a ~ 500KB file that takes about 2-3 minutes to load. If you go to the place that put the software on your car they should be able to put the flash stock back on there in no time. p.s. for what it's worth, I can't tell any bit of power/torque difference with the stock flash back on there. I think most of these aftermarket tunes are BS

Congrats, they are a blast to drive.

Car looks sharp. I would focus on the 1st key to begin with. Try a new battery first and if that doesn't work order that keyhead from Sunset. There's a high probability that one of these two will fix the problem. Let us know how it goes.

Regarding the remote on the key not working, my first advice would be to push this back to the seller and tell them to fix it. That said do a search or checkout my thread: http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic/42683-intermittent-issues-with-lockunlock-button-using-key-remote/?hl=%2Bremote+%2Bkey+%2Bworking First try to just replace the battery in the keyhead. If that doesn't work the problem can likely be solved by purchasing a new keyhead from Sunset (~ $125 + shipping), switching it over to your key, and programming the car with the code that will come with it (requires a PST2/PIWIS, cannot use Durametric). Pretty easy.

Learn something new every day......... I just spoke with Sylvania and they told me the industry standard is to test 12V bulbs up to 13.5V (because of fluctuations in auto electrical system, etc). They said this often causes confusion because the information on the packaging and the product itself is inconsistent, but that the bulb is in fact a direct replacement and compatible in the stated vehicle. I love this car so I adopt Jim Harbaugh's motto.... "stay paranoid" ;)

2002 911 TT (US) Coupe While doing some other work in my car this past weekend I noticed the bulb that becomes illuminated in the front trunk did not work. Took out the bulb (see first attachment, it's a "12866 Phillips 12V 10W K25673") and figured I would just start out by replacing it -- fair enough. Went to Auto Zone's website, typed in my vehicle model, and it came up with the Sylvania 6411 (see second attachment). As a side note, oddly on Amazon.com it says this bulb is not compatible with my vehicle. Well I put it in and it works. After coming back upstairs I happened to notice on the packaging it says 13.5V, 10W. But when I looked on the bulb that was in the packaging it says 12V 10W. Anyone have any insight as to why the bulb itself says it's a 12V but the packaging says 13.5V? Are these somehow equivalent?

Very nice writeup, Ahsai.

Ahh, missed that this was a convertible. Thanks RFM!

You might want to take a look at this thread I started when I was making a similar decision some time back: http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic/43424-flaws-996-vs-996tt/?hl=%2Bflaws+%2Bturbo In short, the 996 TT is an awesome car and the best I've ever owned by a long shot. Its Mezger engine is legendary and many say one of the best -- if not the best -- engines that Porsche ever made. You will find that the interior and many components of the car you're looking at are the same or similar to the 996 Carrera, but the difference stops there. For all intents and purposes the 2002-2004 model year TTs are pretty much the exact same and the 996 TTs don't really have a lot of serious issues like the Carrera/Boxsters (IMS, D chunk, cylinder scouring, etc, etc). Post a picture of the new car if you pull the trigger.

Contacting Jake Raby at Flat 6 would be a good start:http://www.flat6innovations.com/

One last thing to note is that for most of these jobs you don't need to actually take the seat out (which saves the trouble, plus you won't have to worry about the airbag light being tripped, etc). If I recall there are 4 torx screws that hold the seat in, and once these are unscrewed you can simply lean the seat back and prop it up so you can work under it.

As temperature increases, resistance increases...so no, that's not a surprise and if the wire is corroded this would exacerbate the problem. Definitely sounds like the wiring harness given that you replaced the battery and your alternator tested ok, but you should follow the prescribed steps to isolate the problem for sure. While very annoying (went through this myself a year or two back), this is not a very difficult or expensive problem to fix. If it's the voltage regulator it's pretty easy to fix as well, and you can buy them for ~ $30. As JFP would tell you, these are the same as used by various other vehicles including some VWs, Audis, and even Fords.

It wouldn't be a good bet to make a determination without doing further due dilligence. If the CPS was bad, the fuel pump wouldn't be activated -- no matter if you replace it or not. In other words, just because it's not being activated doesn't mean it's bad and is what's causing the problem. Better to troubleshoot this one properly rather than just throwing parts at it.

Here are the drains 6 - you might consider cleaning the throttle body 7 - this is normal

Hah, what can I say? I learned from some of the best......

It's here (circled in red) in the Turbo. I included two pics, one is zoomed out to show where in the engine compartment... the second is showing specifically what it looks like. p.s. Sorry, noticed this is in the Carrera (non-Turbo) section of the site after I posted this (I was dealing with something related on a Turbo for the last week)...but this could still be informative for someone in the future nonetheless. Thanks