Originally Posted by KirkF

I was also thinking of doing the mold that way, (in fact I bought a book on it for another project). Looks like you did a nice job on yours!

Originally Posted by KirkF

Did the 993 use the same 19 pin plug?

Originally Posted by dfinnegan

Following are a few first impressions on the Bosch Pocket System Tester, KTS 300 (a.k.a. the Hammer) diagnostic tool which I recently purchased from John Speakes of JDS Porsche in the UK. Porsche calls this the System Tester 9288 in their Shop Manual and include operating instructions for the unit therein.

John was a pleasure to deal with and can be reached via the web at http://www.jdsporsche.com and via email at info@jdsporsche.com. He has these units in stock and sells them refurbished. I'm not sure what the refurbishing includes aside from new batteries.

I paid $1800 US for my unit all in, shipped and insured, to my door. I've read here on Rennlist that the unit takes 6 AA rechargeable batteries worth ~$50 US (thanks Jason!). It came with a power cable, various adpaters for different "mains", a Porsche 19 pin connector cable and a Porsche module. A manual is back ordered, but I received an electronic version, and a paper copy of the English pages. This is sufficient, but I would like to have the official manual. I'm sure it'll arrive in time.

I've had the unit for a couple of weeks, now. Although, due to travel and other commitments, I've only had a short time to work with it.

My first reaction was surprise at how large it was. The case is roughly 18" x 14" x 6" (45cm x 35cm x 15cm) and the unit, itself, is approximately 11" x 5" x 1" (30cm x 10cm x 2.5cm). The case is well designed to protect the unit with a formed plastic insert in which the unit fits quite snuggly. There is space for the power chord, Porsche 19 pin connecting chord, power adapters for various "mains", and documentation. Still, it came in a cardboard box with packing material around it and I'll ship it the same way when the need arises.

The unit can only be run from the battery because the charging cable and the Porsche connector cable use the same port on the unit. There is a second port, but I'm not sure what it's used for. Perhaps a different cable.

The manual is a bit terse and generic, but with a bit of time I came to understand the basic operation of the unit. Once the arrow keys ('<' and '>'), the Next button ('N') and the Help key ('H') are understood, the operation is really quite straight forward. The operating instructions for the Hammer provided within the Porsche Shop Manuals are specific to the 964 and are, therefore, a bit easier to read. Really, they are the same instruction set, just with examples specific to the 964, which was nice for, me, the beginner.

The unit has a four line display and is menu driven. Menus have at most three options selectable via buttons '1', '2' and '3'. Optionally, the '>' key can be used to select more menu items. The '<' key moves back within longer menus. The '>' key is also used to continue when there no real options. The 'N' key is used to complete an operation. The 'H' key brings you to a help screen most any time and the unit can be shutdown from there.

Menus are provided for each of the main systems covered. From memory, they include the DME, PDAS, Alarm, and Heating (CCU) systems. System serial numbers and version numbers are available. Within each system menus are provided to access Fault Memory, Drive links and Inputs.

The Fault Memory menu allows you to retrieve any logged fault conditions within the various systems. These faults can then be cleared, or kept in place. The faults indicated are spelled out in terse english, and the Porsche error codes are available to cross reference with the Shop Manuals.

The Drive links allow you to test various bits within the system. Individual injectors, for example, can be cycled, door locks triggered, etc, etc. Very nice for diagnosing problems. There are quite a few options here.

The Inputs include individual sampling of the values returned from various items within the car's systems. For example, I could test the idle switch and move the gas pedal and read 'open' and 'closed' values to check the switches operation. Same for the Wide Open Throttle (WOT) switch. I could read the Cylinder Heat Temperature (CHT) sensor value, etc, etc. Some inputs can only be read with the engine running, while others can be read with just the ignition turned on. There is a significant difference between what can be done with the ignition alone, and with the engine running. There are also options to sample run-time data such as the Knock Sensor test which samples knocks on a test drive.

My usage so far has included a simple pass through most of the menus. Both with the ignition alone, and with the engine running. I then spent some time trying to diagnose a door locking problem that I'm having. The Hammer reports, within the Alarm System section, a "Position of drives unplausible" error with a DTC code of -14-. A bit terse, to say the least. Cross referencing this with the Shop Manuals, it appears that I have a lock drive motor position sensor problem. That is, the micro switch is not engaging. Or so I believe. Any way, this is the sort of experience that I've had so far as regards a door locking issue. Not significantly more information than what I had assumed through searching Rennlist, but certainly more to the point and removes other possible causes. I expect this will help reduce actual wrench time.

I have also worked through a poor idle condition which I have had for some time now. I believe it was initially caused by an oil overfill by a Porsche Specialist (or his junior mechanic, perhaps!). I tried to clean the MAF/ISV (a couple of times) which did not solve the problem (despite my numb headed fumbling around). I also tried to reset the system by disconnecting the battery (on several occasions). Still no joy. With the Hammer, however, I was able to run a System Adapation and this solved the problem straight away.

What I had was an idle that I thought was low (reading 800rpm on the tach) and dropping to ~600rpm when allowed to fall (e.g. when stopping). The idle recovered, but made down shifting difficult in tight, slow turns and was generally annoying. I also had a bit of hesitation at low rpm. This was very annoying and worse when cold.

With the Hammer I learned that my idle is actually right on at 880rpm even though the tach shows 800rpm. Intereseting. And, after the adaptation, the idle is now nice and steady. Perhaps just a bit higher than before, and can scarsely be seen dipping at all. The hesitation is completely gone; cold or hot. I'm thrilled.

I've also pulled a couple of faults which have confused me. Perhaps I'm using the unit incorrectly, but I've seen a fault from the Heater system which indicates 'rear blower motor stage 1 seized' with a DTC code of '-43-'. Yet, I know that my rear blower runs when the temperature gauge reads ~9pm. It ran while I was testing! I've also seen an 'inside sensor motor signal unplausible' with a DTC of '-45-' from the Heating system. However, it seems that my heat is working fine. Perhaps this is an ignition-only vs an engine running type of thing, or perhaps I actually do have problems. I just don't know yet.

In summary, I am very pleased with the unit and look forward to looking at all of the possible systems, values, inputs and checks.

Cheers,
Dave