Beezr

Haven't driven my car in many weeks (shame) due to weather... Started up this morning, slowly, but started... Drove a mile to the bank. Came out, tried to start up again but now I get a fast clicking, maybe a rat-tat-tat kind of noise. Thought maybe the battery was drained too low to start...

All of the dash lights are on, the blower is going, etc. but it won't start. Tried to jump start off two separate cars... but it won't start - again with the rapid clicking or rat-tat-tat sound. Guy at the nearby service station said it might be the starter, but who knows...

I've searched and read some threads. How can I tell if it's the starter or DME relay (uh, what is that and what does it do?) or the battery?

I'd rather not have the local guys start tinkering with the starter, etc... but if I can avoid having it towed to my shop, that would be great.

Help please...

Ron

Just a thought but maybe the jump didn't work if the cables were of thin gauge wire.

Beezr

Thanks. They were the cables from the service station - well used and seemingly medium- to heavy-duty...

I don't get even a weak revving sound - just strong, rapid clicks/tats.

-Eric

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Eric:

The starter is not getting enough voltage/current to engage,.....

I would:

1) Charge the battery.

2) Thoroughly clean the battery cables/clamps at the battery terminals and the neg cable ground attachment point.

When you jump start ANY car, connect the batteries in parallel (pos to pos/neg to neg) and raise the idle speed of the "donor" car to 2000 RPM for 3-5 minutes to handle the load and charge the dead battery up to a minimal voltage (12.5V).

Then, it will start unless the cables and clamps are corroded,....

peterf

Based on my experiences it sounds like the battery, battery cables/contacts, or even a ground strap (no experience with this on a 993 though). Personally, I would make sure that I had a good connection on the battery terminals and that I had good jumper cables. I would turn all other electricals off and let it wait for a minute or two while the cables are connected.
Good luck and let us know what happens...

Beezr

Thanks Steve!!! By the way, the battery terminals look brand new - pristine, actually.

I connected Pos to Pos, Neg to ground - is there a specific ground attachment point I should look for? I clamped on to a piece of the (painted) sheet metal near the battery.

Cheers.

IanUK

I have had similar experiences with low voltage from the battery when the battery has reached the end of its life. What seems to happen is that there is not enough voltage in the battery to power both the starter motor and the rest of the electrics on the car (in particular the immobiliser).

When this happens you get the click click click sound when turning the key and all the lights on the dash flash on and off rapidly.

I don't drive my porsches much and I have killed a few batteries in the past through lack of use. Once the battery has fully discharged a few times it is basically knackered. Even managed it with a brand new battery from Porsche after only 3 months in the car.

I found my problem by investing in a cheap voltmeter and found the battery would only charge to 10 volts because one of the cells had failed.

I now keep my batteries connected to a conditioner when not in use and have had no further problems in this area.

Apparently some 993s are just more heavy on batteries than others when not in use.

Hope that helps.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Beezr:

As long as the battery terminals and cable clamps are clean, thats where both jumper cables should go.

LOL,......painted metal is a fine insulator,..

Lorenfb

It's not a good idea to leave the "donor" car running during the
jump operation, as a bad starter or "locked" engine could damage
the alt./wiring in the "donor" car.

Good Luck
Loren
'88 3.2

Derrick B.

The thing to remember is that all your accessories combined add up to squat when compared to the hundreds and hundreds of amps needed to crank over the motor.

Sounds like a bad battery, even though a jump start was unsuccessful.
After that's eliminated, it's the DME relay as the next most likely culprit.

Good luck, and please let us know what fixes it.

Beezr

Solved.

I hooked up my Land Rover battery to the Porsche, cranked RPM to 2000 for 5 minutes, turned the key on the Porsche... started right up, no questions asked.

Then we went for a celebratory 25 minute ride.

I left the cars connected when I started the Porsche - hope I didn't mess up anything in the Rover... But it's still under warranty...

Thanks all!

Barney

When my car war jumpstarted by our version of the AAA, the guy advised me to switch on some current-drawing things in the porsche, e.g. rear-window heater, heater fans, BEFORE disconnecting the leads from the donor car, thereby avoiding surges in the porsche. A weak point I found in my jumper cable was the connection between the cable and the clamp: they were just pressedd together, I took them apart and soldered the connection. Of course leave donor car running (even at increased rpm's if necessary, or you'll drain that battery.

Agro1

Will an Optima Yellow or Red Top fit in the 993 ? You can kill a Yellow top about a hundred times before they die. As opposed to a regular lead/acid battery that can only be killed/re-charged 2 or 3 times.

Derrick B.

Beezr,
Thanks for letting us know what fixed it.