Flooding the engine

[juliany27]

Being strictly a non-techie I made a stupid mistake last week; this is a warning to others of my ilk.

I had moved my Boxster for a very, very short distance and then turned off the engine. On the next morning I discovered that I could not start the car; a lot of whirring sounds but the engine would not 'fire'. I called Porsche Asssitance and a helpful young lady named Nicola arrranged for the RAC to come along to help me.

Their representative arrived and quickly established that I had flooded the engine. He removed the fuse cover, found the fuse for the fuel pump [?] and got the car started very quickly. I was warned that starting and moving the car for even a short distance adversely affected the computer based electronics and meant that the engine was flooded with fuel.

The moral of the story is to take your Boxster [and probably any other modern car] for a short drive if you intend to move it for even a short distance.

Incidentally, the RAC man said that it was extremely rare to find a Boxster with any type of problem!!

 

[Guest]

I'd thought that with electronic multipoint fuel injection, flooding it was impossible. Perhpas not.
I have done as you describe in the past without any problem.

 

[Michael Downing]

ORIGINAL: juliany27
Incidentally, the RAC man said that it was extremely rare to find a Boxster with any type of problem!!

Nice to hear. And as independent an opinon as you can get.

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

Sounds like a dodgy diagnosis to me too. I have done the same on many occasions - after washing the car and putting it straight in the garage, for example.

 

[juliany27]

If this means anything to the technical experts out there, the RAC man removed the fuse for the pump [at least I assumed that it was for the pump - he said something about the 'third row' of the fuses] and help it gently against the connections whilst he turned on the ignition several times.

After a few whirs, the engine 'caught' and then I was advised to take the car for a longish run - about 20 miles or so because the battery had been used a lot to try to start the car. The fuse was replaced and the car ran perfectly.

That is all I can explain - but the moral of the story is, I expect, the same. Do not move a car over a very [a few feeet] short distance and expect it to start easily the next day.

 

[Guest]

I always drive the car out of the garage then switch it off to shut doors and set the house alarm. Never had any problems in almost a year now.

 

[THX911]

I did it last Friday; car was parked in the car park unmoved for 3 weeks as I was overseas. I had to briefly start the car to move it into a different parking slot (did a couple of forward/reverse braking to clean off the pads) so it was on for only 5 minutes or so; had no problems starting it up later that evening for a proper drive.

This was a rare occasion though, I don't think I have ever turned on the engine for such short interval from cold before...

 

[oliver]

I've never heard of, or experienced, this on any Boxster or modern 911. Although, out of mechanical sympathy, I try to minimise the cold starts on any engine.

ORIGINAL: Richard Hamilton
Sounds like a dodgy diagnosis to me too. I have done the same on many occasions - after washing the car and putting it straight in the garage, for example.

Aren't you supposed to dry the discs first[]

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

ORIGINAL: oliver

I've never heard of, or experienced, this on any Boxster or modern 911. Although, out of mechanical sympathy, I try to minimise the cold starts on any engine.

ORIGINAL: Richard Hamilton
Sounds like a dodgy diagnosis to me too. I have done the same on many occasions - after washing the car and putting it straight in the garage, for example.

Aren't you supposed to dry the discs first[]

Only if you aren't using it the next morning! []

 

[sailor]

If you are mechanically sympathetic, and wish to wash your car, just PUSH it out of the garage. After washing, take it for a run.
nb the push only works if you have a level driveway.

JohnC
993turbo

 

[Alex Postan]

ORIGINAL: sailor

nb the push only works if you have a level driveway.

JohnC
993turbo

Downhill drives are great to get the car out but can be a b*gger to push back in. Bitter experiences....

 

[gorobbie]

This has happened to me aswell. The RAC man said that he has had to attend to several Boxsters in relation to engine flooding.