DIY or send to dealer

[bluescoot85]

i have a 2000 986 2.5. 2nd owner since 2000 with 19k miles. had required 15k service about 4 years ago. driven very little and now have 4 cylinder misfires according to obd code. last couple of years have had problem starting after sitting. dealer recommended flooring gas pedal to signal computer for full fuel at startup last year after about 5 months of non use which worked and car ran ok. haven't touched the engine and was wondering if my problem is because car sits for long periods without use and this year encountered misfire problem.

does anyone recommend i simply change plugs or straight to dealer for repair? what other maintainence do you recommend for such a car with limited use?

thx

[juniinc]

DIY always,,,I would check for plugs & cracked coil packs first.

[kr1572]

What is a good way to check the ignition coils ?

Measureing resistance of the coil ? which pins, and what value should I see ?

Thanks,

J.

[Loren]

Use a good ohm meter.

Resistance between terminal 1 and terminal 15 at 20° C 0.3 - 0.7 ohms.

[kr1572]

Thanks - I will try it this week.

I am reading many of the posts here right now, as my 98 Boxster has a slight problem:

After engine is fully hot (>180F) it shows heavy hesitation and stumble when accelerating below 2000 rpm.

Slight acceleration is fine, but pushing the throttle more (or suddenly) will cause the engine to caugh, hesitate, almost like misfire.

Above 2000rpm everything is fine.

Have checked and cleaned throttle body + ICV. Have replaced MAF (Bosch). Checked spark plugs on left bank - all fine.

Planning to double check all plugs and coils (thats why my question).

OBD codes do not give any faults (besides the secondary air codes which I have since last year).

Problem occured only in the last few weeks.

Would you have any ideas what to look for ? Perhaps I should start a new topic...

[Wayne R. Dempsey]

I just published an article on replacing the coils, you might find it useful: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Boxster_Tech/07-ENGINE-Plugs_-_Coils/07-ENGINE-Plugs_-_Coils.htm

Indeed, your problem could be old or bad fuel - having the car sit for a long time is typically not a problem, unless the fuel is bad. You might want to add some fuel stabilizer.

-Wayne