choogenboom

While repairing a failed fuel pickup venturi pump in the fuel tank of my 996 C4 I ran into a new problem. Inside the tank are several quick disconnect fuel connectors that are retained by plastic clips. During the repair I had to disconnect and then reconnected the fuel lines in the tank. After that the connectors that were under pressure would no longer stay on, they kept popping off. The cause was the retaining clips had lost their spring, and the reason for that is the connectors are not designed to be immersed in fuel. This, according to tech support at Rayconnect, the supplier of the connector.
My short term solution was to swap the clips with clips from fuel connectors used on the exterior of the tank and on the low pressure side of the fuel system. Since they had never been exposed to fuel they still had their spring and worked fine. I then contacted Porsche North America looking for clips and they referred me to the dealer. The dealer said the clips are not sold individually and I had to buy a $300 fuel line to get the $0.10 clips I needed. I then contacted Porsche in Stuttgart and they flat out refused to disclose who their supplier was so I could get clips direct from them.
This all happened about two years ago. Flash forward to last week and the car once again dies on the road. This time I knew where to look, and with only the tools that come with the emergency tool kit I opened the tank, found that again a fuel line quick disconnect had failed, and I again swapped its clip out with one from a connector external to the tank to get me home. It was a pretty funny sight to see as I had the fuel tank parts (Level sender + venturi tubes) dangling from a fence on the roadside (to keep them from getting dirty) like they were on a clothes line.
So last week I once again attacked the problem of finding replacement quick disconnect clips and I finally found them. The connector had the word "RAY" stamped on it and after some Googling of "RAY" and "Fuel connector" Rayconnect came up. I called their US operations customer service and got a voice mail and left a message, thinking it was not likely I would get a return call. I was pleasantly surprised when they called back, and even more surprised to find out that the guy that called me back knew a lot about the connectors and the clips I needed. He sent me a bunch and today I replaced all of them both inside and outside the tank. Rayconnect customer support went above and beyond to help me, unlike Porsche.
Most interesting was that the guy from Rayconnect customer support told me the connector was not designed to be submersed in fuel which confirmed my theory on the cause of failure. I think this is a design error by Porsche and they should do a voluntary recall to correct it. I am Curious if anyone else has had a similar experience with these fuel connectors? He forwarded information about the clip failure on to the Rayconnect factory in Germany which is the supplier to Porsche, so it will be interesting to see if Porsche does the right thing and initiates a voluntary recall.
Bottom line is if you have a Porsche with these Rayconnect connectors being used in the tank, once you remove them they will not stay on after that and you will have to replace the clips. Don't expect any help from Porsche other than they will gladly sell you new fuel lines for $300+ so you can fix their screw-up.
Porsche, do you have a response?

RPMulli

I replaced my pump about 2 years ago and I don't recall the quick disconnects for the fuel lines losing their "spring". Even if the spring inside the connectors may "deteriorate" over some time due to contact with fuel, I don't think it is causing fuel lines to inadvertently disconnect. This case almost sounds as silly as asking Ford to recall all the plastic tabs on interior panels that break when you try to remove them. Just my .02

choogenboom

r1de23, the pressurized fuel lines in question (as in the ones that will pop off causing the car to die miles from home) are the ones that feed the Venturi pick up pumps that are ONLY used in 4 wheel drive 996's. The 4 wheel drive uses a inverted U shaped tank that fits over the front differential and therefore requires the venturi pick up pumps to lift fuel from the low sides of the tank up to the surge tank. A very complex and failure prone system. Your C2 has a much simpler setup and while it DOES have 2 quick disconnects in the tank, they are at the top of the tank and therefor not constantly soaked in fuel, hence you did not have this problem.

Your analogy to "sounds as silly as asking Ford to recall all the plastic tabs on interior panels that break when you try to remove them" is way off base. The car will not run unless you replace the clips (which Porsche does not sell) or replace the Venturi Pumps which Porsche sells for about $300. The import of "will not run" is not quite as silly as "my trim panel is loose", IMHO.

RPMulli

I understand what you are saying. What will stop Porsche from saying that you didn't damage the connector while trying to remove them? Maybe that Ford analogy was not the best at the time... How about a plastic connector for the AOS or fuel vent system in the engine bay that is exposed to hot and cold temperatures that suddenly cracks when you try to disconnect it? In this case, I am almost positive that the entire line w/ connector need to be replaced if that connector piece is broken (and it probably will cost $100+). I am not trying to discredit your concern with the fuel connector. I just doubt at this point Porsche will have anything to do with it. I could be wrong though.

BTW: Good job hunting down the connectors from the vendor and saving yourself a couple bucks. This post will be useful to other C4 owners that may run into the same problem in the fuel tank.

choogenboom

As we speak, Porsche in Stuttgart is being told by Rayconnect that they are using their fuel connectors "out of spec" as in they are using them in a application (in the tank, constantly exposed to fuel) that they are not specified for. If they continue to use it "out of spec" they will no longer have a "we did not know" legal excuse, so I am guessing that while they may not initiate a voluntary recell, or even a TSB, they will very likely change their design. I think Porsche would be wise to do at least a TSB so that cars that are seen by the dealer get a fix but I am not holding my breath as I have seen my share of premium product manufacturers (Boston Whaler and Volvo, to name two I have direct experience with) do dumb things, ie alienate their core base of supporters, by ignoring reasonable requests to step up and fix design defects. But one can hope.

DevinxCO

Sorry to totally resurrect this thread from 2012.. just wanted to say a quick thank you! The "RAY" quick connector that holds the fuel filler line into the top of the fuel sending unit has completely died, and was essentially spraying fuel into the dish causing a loss in fuel pressure and fuel to leak into the small dish the connector sits in. Just reached out to Rayconnectors to see if they can point me in the right direction as far as fittings go (couldn't find a part number stamped anywhere on the connector). Thank you for saving me the trouble of either buying a whole new line just for the connector, or having to replace the whole fuel sending unit! Much appreciated.