philhan

Hey Izzy thx. for the reply and I will let you know what happens. Funny thing this morning, it was a two hour ordeal and had two AAA guys come out in two tow trucks to get my car on the flatbed. Because I didn't drive it after it was just washed we had a hell of a time trying to get the thing unstuck and of course the tow hook wouldn't screw in from the back so all three of us were trying to push that thing. But I had to commend the two AAA guys they really knew what they were doing. But on our way to the dealership the guy was telling me that he has been towing a lot of 911's recently, most of them being 05 and newer models with total engine failure. Of course that didn't make me feel good.

Hi Scouser: I can't stop thinking what went wrong....and the only thing I can think of is the car wash. I re-read what you wrote and while I just used a regular hose I did rinse the rear archwells really well. I took a real close look and everything seemed to have dried out. I have a tow truck scheduled for tomorrow morning at 7 and I will try to start it before he comes. Man what a way to start a Monday; My other guess as to what's wrong is that the car is pissed off at me for not having driven her in a week. I won't make the same mistake again. Thanks for everyone's replies it's nice to get some advice and also to vent. Phil

I think it's a fuel delivery problem. When I start the car, with new battery, and give it gas the engine seems to fire but when I let go of the gas the car dies. Car has half of tank of gas, always used Chevron Super, idled and ran perfectly just the day before so I have no idea what happened. So I'm thinking it's beyond the scope of what I can fix so I guess I have to take the car to the dealer. :(

Ok changed to a brand new battery...same thing WTF! :cursing: Any ideas?

IMHO, you are lucky it started at all with a 6 year battery. Whether it turns out to be the problem or not you needed a new battery. Hey Loren...yup your right, so I will replace the battery tonight and report with results, hopefully my luck will continue and it will just be the battery. From what I've been reading taking out and replacing the battery is pretty straightforward. But are there any special or unique tools I need to do this?

The way I understand your post, you have NO problem with the battery. The engine cranks fine but will just not catch and keep going? Yes the engine cranked fine the first time and felt like the engine was about to catch but nothing. I tried it the second time and the engine did not fire up and the third time even less so. I stopped after that. The reason I pointed to the battery was the fact that my two front headlights didn't light up and I thought my battery, while not totally drained since it did crank, was too weak to fire up all the pistons. I am going to AutoZone this afternoon and just pickup a new battery--it's been six years on the original one, so i think it should be replaced anyway. Hopefully that will solve the problem.

Ok Loren sorry I answered my own question by searching, found this thread: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...446entry14446

Thanks for the replies guys: So if I do need a new battery you suggest aftermarket? What type of Napa battery did you get Mike?

Ok, I have a MY 99 996, six speed manual that has been my daily driver for most of it's life. My daily commute to work is around 80 miles but LA traffic has been so bad that I have been driving my automatic Land Rover instead. So I haven't driven the 996 in about a week. I started her up yesterday, Sunday, to pull her out of the garage into the drive way....no problems. Shut her off, spent some time giving her some much needed love washing and waxing, then I start her up. :jump: No problems drive her 10 feet into the garage and shut her off. I was looking forward to driving her to work, got in this morning and I started it. The engine fired and right before it was about catch it just dies. I tried two more times and nothing. I check my radio...no problem, all the interior lights are on, the flashers work and I turn on the headlights the sidemarkers come on but the two front lights are out. I read the voltage meter and it reads 12. Which I think it was before but would always be up at 14 when I got her fully warmed up. My thinking: Its got to be a fuel problem or electrial problem and my suspicion is the battery. Any thoughts? I plan on calling AAA later this afternoon for them to check my battery and if that's not it I'm having her towed to the dealer. Anyone experience something like this before? I am so sad. :(

Hi Guys: Thanks for everyone's experiences. I just wanted to give everyone an update on what happened. Had CEL light checked out. It was the Fuel Carbon Canistar. It was leaking and I had it replaced at my local dealer. It was $810 including parts and labor. I also asked my Service Advisor who was very familiar with my car to give everything a once over. He replaced the Fuel Carbon Canistar ran a diagnosis and it was clean. I was curious to see what his opinion was on high mileage 996s and I asked him if I should be planning on selling my car sooner rather than later. His opinion on my car was that my car is in great shape. Usually whenever a check engine light comes on and a fix was made they have to usually figgle with the car a couple of times since in most cases another error code will appear but on my car it came out clean the first time. He had one of his mechanics inspect and drive the car and the only thing that they recommended I get done was a brake flush when I come back for the 90K mile service. In his opinion my car, especially considering it's clean history, should experience no major problems until 200K miles. I do trust him and believe he wasn't just telling me what I wanted to hear. I must admit I have taken some sips off of the Porsche Kool aid and even after driving it on a daily basis for this amount of time I am still in love with the car and I couldn't wait to get back into after not having for a day. I do realize that this is NOT indicative of all 996s...as evidenced by the number of people having blown engines after only 30K miles but I just want to shed a positive experience on this post for future 911 owners who are hesitant about buying one due to reliablity issues. The 911 is the only car that I know that I can use as a daily driver w/o the issues of maintenance and reliablity issues that come with owing an exotic. I plan on buying a gently used Ferrari 355 within the year but that will be my weekend driver and I plan on keeping my 996, my baby, as my daily driver as long as possible. :D Just my 2 cents.

Thanks Loren and Orient Express you guys are awesome. I will get those codes checked out. RE: Nick 49 I just did a search using "CEL" "engine failure" "check engine" and those yielded quite a bit of results. Anyone on here with a high mileage 996 like mine? Would love to hear from you guys since I know alot of 911 owners use their cars as daily drivers.

I did a little searching on engine failures on this forum and was surprised to find so many of them. I have a 99 996 with almost 90,000 miles. It's my daily driver and I drive the car hard. I have a commute of 60 miles a day and enjoy every mile of it. It's been trouble free since day one. No RMS leaks, no issues whatsoever. The only thing I had to replace was a MAF and some minor cosmetic stuff with the passenger seat. Serviced at the recommended intervals but recently this weekend the Check Engine Light came on and a little piece of me died. I did the usual checks...gas and oil caps, etc. put in a bottle of techron but the light stayed on for two days and finally went out today right before I was about to drop it off at the dealership. But after reading this post and seeing the check engine light on I feel the car is running a little rough. The car starts and idles beautifully but one thing I did notice is that whenever I turn off the AC the car tends to vibrate a little as evidenced by the passenger seat...i turn the AC on and it's smooth. So my question: Should I drop off my car at the dealer just to make sure everything is OK? Is it normal for the CEL to go off or does it cycle off automatically even if there's a problem? As I approach the 100K mark will I be experiencing significant engine problems?

I can't answer your first question...but I know for a fact that a good locksmith can cut your key. I went to my dealer, bought the blanks from him for $15 and they referred me to a local lock smith to get them cut. It was pricey about $35 but they did a good job and was a lot cheaper than having to re-order the copy of a key from the dealer.

Can't help you with an LA installer .... but it is truely a very quick DIY sort of thing. I'm not sure you can find the switched power you need in the dome lights. I followed a post from the web and found it very easy to route the wire otherwise: 1. mount the V1 very high, and to the right of the mirror. 2. you can route the V1 telepone wire behind the windshield seal simply by stuffing it in place with a credit card or equiv. Only about 3 inches (enough to lead out and plug in) will be visible. 3. take it right across the top of W/S, and down the front side of the A pillar, stuffing all the way. 4. at the bottom of the A pillar, you can force it through the seam in the dash at that location. 5. from there, under the airbag area to behind the center console. 6. waiting behind the console is a switched positive lead and a ground that are intended for cell phone use. 7. just spice two wires of the V-1 socket at that point, keeping track of which V-1 lead is the positive one. Its that simple. If you wish the mount the V-1 remote, it plugs into that same socket. Drill a hole in the back of your storage tray (if you have one in your center stack), run the remote wire from the V-1 socket into the tray, and your remote display will fit perfectly, like it was built in there. Kim 2000 Cab Hi Kim. Thank you for the instructions. As far as placement for the remote...I have a Nav system installed and there isn't any free space in the center console. Any creative suggestions as to where to put that thing?

The PCM CD Drive I have for my navigation system only reads the map cd-roms and no audio cds.

Hi Guys: I did a search and found a lot of creative hardwire installations on this forum and even installation instructions. But being the inept person that I am does anyone know of any good installation shops that can do this in the Los Angles area? I'm looking at hardwiring the unit from one of the dome lights and the V1 Remote on the dash somewhere. Thanks in advance. Phil

Jorge. If used properly the leathrique products could yield some stunning results. The ferrari guys swear by the stuff and I'm super anal when it comes to interior of the vehicle. If your seats are really damaged and fading you can contact leathrique to get a color corrected sample dye to use. If the color is good but your leather is dry, cracked and wrinkled then all you need is the oil and pristine clean. I personally use the leathrique products every six months or so and in between I use the Lexol cleaner and conditioner to maintain. I have a MY 99 996 which is my daily driver and the seats look and smell new. BTW: I don't work or have any affilation with leatherique.

First...stop wearing the belt. :D Second I found the best product for maintaining, cleaning and conditioning leather is a product called leatherique. It's a two stage and a time consuming process but the results blow away anything from Lexol or other "premium" leather care products. The first step is the oil which you massage in with your hands and let the leather absorb it as much as possible (minium at least 24 hours). It has a capillary action...the seats absorb all the good stuff and it expels all the bad stuff. Lifting out stains, salts, oils, etc to the surface. Then you use the Pristine clean to clean off.....wipe off with a moist microfiber cloth and then buff it out with a dry microfiber cloth and it gives us a reconditioned smooth matte...not shiney surface. amazing.

I live in Santa Monica but took a rode trip to Dallas and dropped off my MY99 996 to Park Place Porsche for the 90K mile service. The work was awesome and the service great. They did the 90K mile service, replaced my driver and passenger side headlights, and a 4 wheel alignment (all at my request) for a total of $1,100 out the door...plus they invited me to an extended two day test drive of the Cayman with dinner on them. I felt like I got a good deal. Phil