Menu toggle

Flood damaged 996

Right, bit more progress today. Sort of... Finally received a matched dme/immob/key set yesterday (after being sent one without a key) from a Porsche salvage yard. The set is from a 2000 3.4 tiptronic, so I have my suspicions as to whether it will do the job or not. Quite aside from the fact that it's from a tiptronic and mine is a 2001 manual, it seems to be missing the brass connector from the immobiliser control unit. Does anyone know what this is? It looks a bit like an antenna connection. Is it vital? Undeterred, that has been installed and I put some power through the system. Driver door unlocks and various clicking and clunking noises, so things are at least beginning to show signs of life. I removed the coils and plugs (that's a fun job!) and noticed that one of the plugs seemed to be damaged, with one of the legs touching the insulator. On closer inspection, it doesn't seem to have been hit by anything (eg a cylinder!) but I've never seen a plug in that sort of shape (image attached). I've turned the engine with a bar on the crank pulley. No water came out, so that's encouraging. At this point, I thought it might be worth trying to get the engine to turn with the key. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to want to do anything. The ignition lights come on, the clunking and clicking happens (mostly from the immobiliser unit) and then nothing. First schoolboy error was not depressing the clutch, but that doesn't seem to have made any difference. I suspect the lack of coils and plugs is preventing anything working at the moment, so that will be sorted tomorrow morning, but am I missing something simple? One thing I did notice whilst I was doing the plugs it that there seem to be drain plugs on the underside of the exhaust. (images attached) I removed those and about 250ml of water trickled out It's almost as if Porsche meant the car to be flooded...
B29FA219456541FBBE0A67437A2B210E.jpg
 
The brass connector on the alarm/immobiliser unit is for the remote antenna. Strange that it has a remote, but no antenna..... I think the DME being for a Tiptronic will be a problem. It has a different map, and the DME and Tip units talk to each other. It could be re-programmed, BUT you would have to know the VIN of the donor car, in order to get the security codes - that's if Porsche would give them to you. They usually require sight of the V5C in the owner's name. Unless you got them really cheaply, you might have been better to buy a new alarm unit, and have it programmed to your car. When you turn the key in the ignition, can you hear the fuel pump running for a couple of seconds? If it does, then the immobiliser has connected to the DME and all is good. When the immobiliser is active, it inhibits the fuel pump, ignition, and starter motor. It could be that because the DME is from a Tiptronic, it is looking for a signal to say that the transmission is in Park or Neutral. The plug on the exhaustis a bung they put on the opposite side of the pipe to the O2 sensor. I think it is for some kind of test probe, but I'm not sure.
 
ORIGINAL: Richard Hamilton The brass connector on the alarm/immobiliser unit is for the remote antenna. Strange that it has a remote, but no antenna..... I think the DME being for a Tiptronic will be a problem. It has a different map, and the DME and Tip units talk to each other. It could be re-programmed, BUT you would have to know the VIN of the donor car, in order to get the security codes - that's if Porsche would give them to you. They usually require sight of the V5C in the owner's name. Unless you got them really cheaply, you might have been better to buy a new alarm unit, and have it programmed to your car. When you turn the key in the ignition, can you hear the fuel pump running for a couple of seconds? If it does, then the immobiliser has connected to the DME and all is good. When the immobiliser is active, it inhibits the fuel pump, ignition, and starter motor. It could be that because the DME is from a Tiptronic, it is looking for a signal to say that the transmission is in Park or Neutral. The plug on the exhaustis a bung they put on the opposite side of the pipe to the O2 sensor. I think it is for some kind of test probe, but I'm not sure.
Click to expand...
Thanks Richard. I got the VIN of the donor car, but was really just trying to get it running this weekend to see where I was engine wise. The tricky part is that because the car was an insurance write off, the insurance company has the V5C of my car. Once I'm at the stage where I can get an MOT/VIC check etc. then I may be able to get things sorted at a Porsche centre, but for the moment, just plugging in a matched DME/Immob seemed like an easier solution. There doesn't seem to be a fuel pump whirr, but there is a very high pitched electrical noise from the engine compartment with the ignition switched on. Your point about the DME searching for a P or N signal is a very good one. I'll return the set as it was supposed to be an exact match for my car. Third time lucky maybe!
 
Massive progress! Finally got a spare couple of days and the right ecu/immob combo and the starter solenoid started trying to work, which from what people had said meant that the immobiliser headache was over! The starter was removed and tested - dead. Liberal sprays of WD40 and a few gentle taps with a hammer and it stuttered back to life and eventually it seemed to be fully working. Once the starter was put back, the engine turned on the key! Very sluggishly at first, but on the second try, it very nearly fired. At that point, I rang my dad as he wanted to witness the first starting. He arrived, turned the key and it spluttered into life! The n/s bank of cylinders all seemed to be working (with a lot of steam from the exhaust), but the o/s didn't appear to be doing anything. After 5 minutes of idling, I prodded the throttle and it was definitely only running on 3 cylinders. 10 minutes of idling later and a prod of throttle and the o/s exhaust started steaming slightly (by this time, the n/s exhaust was completely clean). More idling and gentle revving and it is now on all six! There is still a bit of steam coming from the o/s exhaust, but that's not really surprising given what it's been through. I think another run up to full temperature (fans all kicked in, everything appeared to do what it is supposed to) will clear that side and we're in business! My only concern (well, top of the long list!) is that there appears to be a noise not unlike a coin in a washing machine coming from the o/s of the engine. It doesn't seem to be a constant noise and it might be related to the water which is still in the exhaust system, but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas? Bad weather has stopped play today, but as soon as it stops raining, I'll carry on. Frankly, I'm amazed (and ridiculously excited!)
 
Simon, you took a chance with that car, and good luck to you. I would expect it might give you a few headaches based on past experience, but I hope not. If you can fine a matching spec damaged car to get electrical components from it may be useful. Is the engine oil contaminated? gearbox? Fuel sounds like its OK If it runs, and the oils are good, I would run it for hours with all the doors and lids open in a dehumidified atmosphere to dry the life out of it. Then exercise the clutch and brakes off the public road ideally. A few difficult access things like the clutch bearing may suffer, but if dried and used it may be ok. again, good luck with the project. It sounds encouraging, keep us posted George 944t
 
Some more progress... The engine has been run for approximately 3 hours in total now (several warm ups to normal temp). The running levelled out after about 2.5 hours and has continued to be quite lumpy (running on four or five cylinders). All the untoward rattles seem to have settled down now. Following a brief and very slow drive around a field (not ideal, but the car is not legal on the road and the field is as level as they come!) the CEL came on. I plugged in my trusty fault code reader and it came up with codes P0302 and P0306. A quick look on the forum showed that those codes were cylinders two and six misfiring. I strongly suspect the coils have gone (I'm kicking myself for not changing them when I did the plugs!) so those should hopefully be done this week. The great news is that from that first run, the brakes, clutch and gearbox all seem to be operating very well indeed (well, as much as you can tell from a field!) It's getting so close now!
 
Simon, What a great result. 'Hat off to you' for what you have achieved in quite a short space of time. Look forward to the next installment!
 
Just another thought: the variocams are controlled by solenoids which will have been below the water line. If one of those has failed, that will lead to rough running. Worth looking at when you're checking the coils, maybe.
 
ORIGINAL: Gimme Shelter Just another thought: the variocams are controlled by solenoids which will have been below the water line. If one of those has failed, that will lead to rough running. Worth looking at when you're checking the coils, maybe.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that. I was hoping that they would be OK as the water didn't get in to the engine and they look pretty integral. I'll have a poke around when I finally get a chance to do the coils!
 
Well, it's been nearly five months since my last post and I'm very pleased to announce that the 996 is fully back on the road! It's all MOT'd, registered, taxed and number plated. There are still a few small electrical niggles (rear de-mist and drivers' door lock are still on strike), but other than that it is absolutely fabulous. I'll do a full write up shortly, but for now, I'm off for a drive...
 
Congratulations, you should have a medal, for persiverance if nothing else. Can't wait for the full write-up. Puts me into shame - like most things related to Porsche - as I pay others to maintain mine. Paul.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Posts made and opinions expressed are those of the individual forum members

Use of the Forum is subject to the Terms and Conditions

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed on this site are not necessarily those of the Club, who shall have no liability in respect of them or the accuracy of the content. The Club assumes no responsibility for any effects arising from errors or omissions.

Porsche Club Great Britain gives no warranties, guarantees or assurances and makes no representations or recommendations regarding any goods or services advertised on this site. It is the responsibility of visitors to satisfy themselves that goods and/or services supplied by any advertiser are bona fide and in no instance can the Porsche Club Great Britain be held responsible.

When responding to advertisements please ensure that you satisfy yourself of any applicable call charges on numbers not prefixed by usual "landline" STD Codes. Information can be obtained from the operator or the white pages. Before giving out ANY information regarding cars, or any other items for sale, please satisfy yourself that any potential purchaser is bona fide.

Directors of the Board of Porsche Club GB, Club Office Staff, Register Secretaries and Regional Organisers are often requested by Club members to provide information on matters connected with their cars and other matters referred to in the Club Rules. Such information, advice and assistance provided by such persons is given in good faith and is based on the personal experience and knowledge of the individual concerned.

Neither Porsche Club GB, nor any of the aforementioned, shall be under any liability in respect of any such information, advice or assistance given to members. Members are advised to consult qualified specialists for information, advice and assistance on matters connected with their cars at all times.

Porsche
Lockton
Pirelli
Officially approved
Oracle Finance
WEX Esso
Collecting Cars
Back
Top