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| *** Before I find someone with a PST2... *** matthiasworldwide - Saturday, 11 June, 2011, at 7:32:47 pm |
Hello... ;-)
2003 Boxster with Tiptronic, 65k miles, all services, started acting up last night. Noticed high idle (about 1000rpm) when engine warm, which results in vibrations from the gearbox when stopped with brake pedal depressed while "D" is engaged. Goes back to normal idle (600rpm) when engine cold, no vibrations. Also requires slightly longer cranking of engine to start (about 3-4 seconds) when hot vs. when cold (about 1-2 seconds). After the proverbial "2 full cycles" the check engine light came on and now stays on.
Any experience around here that helps pin-point the cause or will I need the PST2 to know what's going on (O2 sensors, MAF, etc.)? Would a generic OBD II reader be good enough to pin-point the cause and to reset the ECU after correcting it?
Thanks,
Matthias
2003 Boxster with Tiptronic, 65k miles, all services, started acting up last night. Noticed high idle (about 1000rpm) when engine warm, which results in vibrations from the gearbox when stopped with brake pedal depressed while "D" is engaged. Goes back to normal idle (600rpm) when engine cold, no vibrations. Also requires slightly longer cranking of engine to start (about 3-4 seconds) when hot vs. when cold (about 1-2 seconds). After the proverbial "2 full cycles" the check engine light came on and now stays on.
Any experience around here that helps pin-point the cause or will I need the PST2 to know what's going on (O2 sensors, MAF, etc.)? Would a generic OBD II reader be good enough to pin-point the cause and to reset the ECU after correcting it?
Thanks,
Matthias
Boxsterra - Sunday, 12 June, 2011, at 3:09:43 pm |
| Re: Generic OBD2 reader will suffice matthiasworldwide - Monday, 13 June, 2011, at 12:21:03 am |
Boxsterra - Monday, 13 June, 2011, at 12:15:32 pm |
| Re: Bad crank position sensor signal matthiasworldwide - Monday, 13 June, 2011, at 10:34:23 pm |
Okay, so my Porsche shop (where I am a really good customer - in their service department!) offered to check out the code and then some "for free." They confirmed the issue but didn't find any wiring or connector problems, so it did point to a sensor going bad. We agreed to reset the OBD and to have me drive around a day or two to see if it would return.
Mechanic lowers vehicle from lift, jumps in, and... - nothing. Engine won't even start now.
At home with a Mercedes rental, waiting for the special parts order to come in - sensor for about $225, plus one hour of labor at $165, so in a day or two I'll be able to take home my thing and be another 400 bucks shorter. But, hey, I got a free diagnostics!!! The independent wanted $125 just for that.
:-(
Matthias
Mechanic lowers vehicle from lift, jumps in, and... - nothing. Engine won't even start now.
At home with a Mercedes rental, waiting for the special parts order to come in - sensor for about $225, plus one hour of labor at $165, so in a day or two I'll be able to take home my thing and be another 400 bucks shorter. But, hey, I got a free diagnostics!!! The independent wanted $125 just for that.
:-(
Matthias
| Re: Bad crank position sensor signal boxster99 - Tuesday, 14 June, 2011, at 6:38:09 am |
| Re: Bad crank position sensor signal matthiasworldwide - Tuesday, 14 June, 2011, at 12:14:37 pm |
All, thanks for the kind advice and valuable tips. Unfortunately, for someone who uses his Boxster as the daily and only vehicle, most of this will remain a learning experience - the classic "well, *now* I know" conundrum after the fact, and we all know how useful that is since I will never have another crank sensor fail on me again. All arguments except Tony's "satisfaction of DIY" are mute, in my opinion, as focusing on cost alone is unrealistic for me.
I have a camping trip planned for this weekend (yes, the Boxster has plenty of room to store my crap), which will take me to California's gorgeous Pinnacles. In other words, 2 hours from the nearest shop and absolutely zero cell phone coverage. Hence, no way I would have taken the chance driving around with the damn yellow light on.
Alternatives? Well, let's skip the flatbed-to-home for now and assume the car was still driving, breaking down in my warm garage, and no camping trip was planned. I'd have to wait for the weekend to have a friend's OBD reader available (which I did!). Then I plug the code into this trusty forum or Google, hoping for answers - they are great but that takes another day or two. Correct part number and awesome DIY instructions from this board, and faith that that's the only issue at hand, I can now order the part, pay some extra overnight shipping, and can get cracking about a week after the light first came on. Oh, and I still would have needed to find a way to get to and from work, worst case the cheapest 1-week "economy" rental for about 120 bucks.
Not complaining, but saying it's "50 bucks plus 5 minutes of elbow grease" truly isn't realistic for me - that works if you have a fully equipped garage and another vehicle. True, I could have probably saved half of the 400 bucks I will be short now by going the route of DIY satisfaction. However, factoring in the uncertainties and that I will now have (a) a written service record and a warranty, (b) two days in a "free" Mercedes rental car, (c) a bit peace of mind that I didn't screw up - all this might be worth a little something... perhaps not to everybody else around here but certainly to me. Even if it wasn't, I didn't really feel like I had much choice this time around...
Thanks again,
Matthias
I have a camping trip planned for this weekend (yes, the Boxster has plenty of room to store my crap), which will take me to California's gorgeous Pinnacles. In other words, 2 hours from the nearest shop and absolutely zero cell phone coverage. Hence, no way I would have taken the chance driving around with the damn yellow light on.
Alternatives? Well, let's skip the flatbed-to-home for now and assume the car was still driving, breaking down in my warm garage, and no camping trip was planned. I'd have to wait for the weekend to have a friend's OBD reader available (which I did!). Then I plug the code into this trusty forum or Google, hoping for answers - they are great but that takes another day or two. Correct part number and awesome DIY instructions from this board, and faith that that's the only issue at hand, I can now order the part, pay some extra overnight shipping, and can get cracking about a week after the light first came on. Oh, and I still would have needed to find a way to get to and from work, worst case the cheapest 1-week "economy" rental for about 120 bucks.
Not complaining, but saying it's "50 bucks plus 5 minutes of elbow grease" truly isn't realistic for me - that works if you have a fully equipped garage and another vehicle. True, I could have probably saved half of the 400 bucks I will be short now by going the route of DIY satisfaction. However, factoring in the uncertainties and that I will now have (a) a written service record and a warranty, (b) two days in a "free" Mercedes rental car, (c) a bit peace of mind that I didn't screw up - all this might be worth a little something... perhaps not to everybody else around here but certainly to me. Even if it wasn't, I didn't really feel like I had much choice this time around...
Thanks again,
Matthias
| Re: Bad crank position sensor signal matthiasworldwide - Tuesday, 14 June, 2011, at 12:18:40 pm |
| Re: Bad crank position sensor signal matthiasworldwide - Tuesday, 14 June, 2011, at 2:08:09 pm |
Boxsterra - Tuesday, 14 June, 2011, at 9:18:53 am |
Retail cost on the part is $198 (though, as pointed out above you can get it for much less than retail) and it really is only a few minutes to change. Here is the procedure:
-Remove right rear wheel
-Unclip sensor electrical connector
-Undo M6 screw
-Remove old sensor
-Put in new sensor
-Tighten screw to 7.5 ft. lbs.
-Push electrical connector back together until it clicks
-Reinstall right wheel (torque bolts to 96 ft. lbs.)
-Remove right rear wheel
-Unclip sensor electrical connector
-Undo M6 screw
-Remove old sensor
-Put in new sensor
-Tighten screw to 7.5 ft. lbs.
-Push electrical connector back together until it clicks
-Reinstall right wheel (torque bolts to 96 ft. lbs.)
| Re: Diagnostics on PB are always free matthiasworldwide - Tuesday, 14 June, 2011, at 12:16:01 pm |
Thanks a lot for the detailed instructions... I will certainly file them "just in case" and to have a curious look around the next time the wheel comes off!
;-)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/14/2011 12:16PM by matthiasworldwide. (view changes)
;-)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/14/2011 12:16PM by matthiasworldwide. (view changes)
Clif R - Tuesday, 14 June, 2011, at 10:36:06 am |
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