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981 Ignition Coils

elstonc

elstonc

New member
I've had the same thing happen twice, now. A "PSM shutdown" message comes up and, on the second occasion, an "engine fault" message. This is caused by an ignition coil fault with, on the second occasion, a noticeable misfire. On each occasion, the relevant cylinder coil pack had to be replaced. My car is 4 years old and done 25k miles. Anyone else had this?
 
Only got mine last Saturday and had the PSM warning and Auto/stop function message appear on the way home. I think this is the brake bush though and not a misfire issue.

 
Same as Marc981S we had the same warning lights on our first 981 and it was the brake bush issue which is a known fault on some earlier 981’s.

 
yep we had a coilpack go last year on our 14 plate 981 GTS and also one on our previous 10 year old 987S. both exactly the same symptoms described by the OP.

fortunately replaced under warranty but not impressed that, being such a common problem, porsche don't seem to be able to develop a solution.

 
mine is a 2012 981 Boxster S with 29000 miles on. No such issues, but aware of the brake bush issue. Not aware of the coil problem though.

 
Hard to tell if it's the brake bush or a coil just from the PSM warning message because you get it with both. (I've had both!)

If it's the brake bush you might notice loss of power/ auto box changing down when you wouldn't expect it - and a hot brakes smell when you get out.

If it's the coil, you might notice a misfire but if the misfire's bad enough to notice you'll probably also get the 'engine fault' message.

Neither is the sort of problem you'd expect, though.

 
2012 S with 20k miles.

I had the brake bush issue last November.

Sunny but cold day so had the hood down with the heater full blast to the footwells.

Just as I was getting home I had the "PSM fail" first and then then "auto stop/start deactivated" messages.

OPC changed the bushes under warranty.

If its a known fault, why isn't there a recall?

 
5 years on and now I am getting something similar again....

First of all the PSM fault and Auto stop/start warnings were issued pretty well at the same time as one another. When I stop the engine and restarts the engine a little later, the errors are removed only to re-appear sometime between 10-30 minutes into the next journey. This happened 4-5 times. Then after a few days of experiencing this a new warning light came on. This time the Engine light. This warning light is not removed by stopping and re-starting the engine. I also briefly noticed a misfire on one occasion that lasted for 10-30 seconds (thinking back maybe this happened the first time the engine warning light came on - cant be sure though). I haven't experienced the misfire again since. My Indy things I have a faulty Coil pack but cant explain why I am also getting the PSM and Auto star/start warning lights? Just a coincidence and a separate problem or for some reason faulty coil packs also trigger these other fault lights??

I had the brake bush done ages ago and I dont believe I am suffering that problem again as the car has no problem free wheeling and no sign of sticking brakes and being the end of summer I am not using the heater on full blast which was the trigger for the bush to seize originally.

PS. Not sure if its related but just before the 3 warning lights saga, I started having problems with the roof fully opening - the last 30 cms of opening. The windscreen hook does not retract back into the roof when opening and so the system stops it trying to fully open. Question is though, why is the hook not retracting?? Is this related to the above issue or something else? Indy seems to be struggling to track it down.

Happy to hear from anyone with some good theories or even similar experiences.

 
Have you checked for water ingress under the passenger seat? Electrics playing up randomly can be a sign of this due to blocked roof drains.

 
8 years but always turns the engine over quickly for starting and normally the stop/start routines work as expected. Can standing low battery voltage cause these warning lights even after the engine has been running for a while (ie alternator charging the battery)?

 
I think that may be your issue - easy to eliminate by getting the battery tested. Eight years is quite an old battery - agm don’t last as long as lead/acid.

 
It seems that the Indy put it on charge overnight but it was still showing only 50% charged?? So maybe you're right about needing a new battery - do you recommend any specific replacement battery?

 
Sorry no - mine had to be OEM due to warranty constraints when I changed. Your garage should be able to source for you? Just needs to be the same spec and a decent brand. Theoretically the car needs to be told it’s a new battery so that the charging regime is adjusted, but I think there are plenty of people successfully running round without this having been done. If it’s a Porsche outfit your indie may be able to fix this for you.

 
Mike,

I’d take David’s advice and change the battery, even though it has no problem cranking the engine. My guess is that the stop-start system increases battery degradation, leading to all sorts of seemingly unrelated electrical issues. The battery needs to be in tip-top condition, and if you can, invest in and use a battery conditioner regularly.

The online battery providers will be able to guide you in your choice, but Bosch and Varta are recognised quality brands offering good guarantees. As David has said the system needs to be reprogrammed to recognise that a new battery has been fitted and this can be done by a Porsche dealer or a reliable Porsche Independent with Porsche-compatible diagnostics, although it’s possible to purchase relatively cheap OBD2 diagnostic analysers which will do the job plus other things.

Jeff

 
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