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Starting Problems

ollyporsche

ollyporsche

New member
Now its got cold I seem to have a problem starting the 993. I know it's not the battery as I had this problem before and it is fully charged and replaced since the last problem. I haven't used her much in the past 6 months probably only doing a 1,000 miles.

On this fully charged battery she will turn over until the battery is flat but just won't start. About 4 weeks ago I had the same problem but eventually she started and once warm seemed okay.

Are there any obvious areas I should check/change before calling in the experts? The alarm is operating as it should and it has been serviced every year regardless of millage although it is due in March.

Thanks for all you help as always.
 
The obvious thing to check is the DME relay. It is located in the main fuse box, buy a new one and replace. It is the most likely suspect for the symptoms you describe.

pp
 
Hopefully it's that simple! I carry a spare DME in the glove box just in case (at Maruice's recommendation elsewhere)

If it's not that, it may be similar to a problem I had recently which I think was probably a combination of things. I had new dizzie's last Jan.

When it was cold and damp it wouldn't start. 9M narrowed it down to the crank sensor not telling the brains that it was turning, so that got replaced. It did it again, they connected the PC to it and it reported a hall sensor in te dizzie failed. So the dizzies got replaced (again!).

It still wasn't too happy in the cold and damp, so I replaced the battery as I'd run it flat quite a few times in the past few weeks. When it was removed, I discovered whoever had replaced it in the past had used a standard car battery (40AH). So none of the sensors or dizzies had been getting enough power when the battery was cold and miserable, and had probably failed in response to that.

Whichever chump had stuck a 40AH battery in needs a kick up the bum, if you're running a 993 you're daft if you skimp on the silly cheap things like that
 
My 993 4S has a drain on the battery which so far we have been able to trace. From my experience of trying to start with jump leads it is possibly just a flat battery. It would seem that you need some charge in the Porsche's battery for it to work at all. The garage had to leave their starter/ booster pack attached for 1/2 an hour allowing the battery to drain down some power and then she would turn over and start.
 
When my DME relay died, the engine still turned over on the key, so I don't think it is that. Good to have a spare though (993 part number). Second what James has said above - with all due respect to your girlfriend, in cold weather it may take more than a quick tickle from her battery to excite an 80 amp 993 item, even on Valentine's day. [;)]
 
Depends on what the battery is like on your GF's car and also the quality of the jump leads/connections - the flat-6 needs some decent amps to get it to turn.

I had to leave my battery on charge all day to get enough charge to get it to turn. Now have new Bosch battery recommended in 993 section of PP a few months back. Now look forward to turning key every frosty morning.

I also just replaced the battery in my 10 year old RAV4 and that looks very weedy compared with the 993 spec battery.
 
My jump leads are not the best quality perhaps I should invest in some better ones? Sounds like a job for Saturday though as I will not be too popular if I spend tonight with the car rather than my girlfriend [;)]. Failing that I guess we are in new battery territory?

Out of interest assuming the battery is not completely dead, does anybody have an idea how long I would need to drive the car for to charge it at least enough to be able to restart it the following day?
 
I'd invest in a new battery anyway, if yours is old or of uncertain age. If it still dosn't start, at least you'll have eliminated that problem.
 
I do not know how old the battery is as I have only had the car for two years. If I do need to change it are there any issues with alarms that I need to be aware of when changing the battery?
 
S'pose it depends what alarm you've got fitted. I have a Cat 1 item which didn't seem bothered. All I did was disarm it normally, and disabled automatic re-arming. (Permanently).
 
Doesn't help you now, but once sorted I would invest £40 or so in a trickle charger. I keep my 993 linked up to it during long weeks of inactivity to keep that battery charged.
 
I think the best solution has to be to drive the car more [:D].

Thanks everyone for your help. Hopefully everything will be sorted come the weekend.
 
I'd say battery too. Possibly a dead cell, in which case, it won't retain charge. I would get a Bosch and change it religiously every 3 years (for the fairly minimal cost, you should always then have a good battery in the car).

You could try a Discarnect (about 15 quid) and disconnect the battery earth until you find the source of the drain on the battery (if you think there is one). Check the interior light switches, mine got a bit corroded and the interior light would sometimes stay on when you weren't expecting it!

Cheers,
Roddy
 
Just put the battery on charge tonite. Try it again tomorrow. If still the same duff battery. Nothing gained nothing lost either way. I'd hedge my bets and say it will be okay.

I tried jumping my friends 996 the other month of my 993 in a petrol station and my car had no affect on the 996. AA arrived, juicer battery, started it & then off to opc to replace it with hell of a charge. Nice.

Best of luck..

Stu
 
Afraid so, OPC for battery. Cant remember exactly what the full cost was but i remember it was an awefull lot. Car has a warranty to from there but item isnt covered. Chap was desperate as needed the car there & then as we were both going to an event at kirtlingotn. oh well, deserves him right having a 996. ha ha....
 
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