TrackJunke

Today I washed the car. After I finished 15 minutes or so the car would not start. Sound like a dead batter with the clicking sound. The ignition was on the on position while washing. However, after waiting about 20 minutes the car started up right away and drove fine. Any ideas???

Miller_arch

Washing the engine I presume?

jimq

battery recovered enough to start. You might want to get it load tested.

Mike J

Just out of curiosity, why was your ignitiion on while you washed the car?

Sounds like a weak battery to me. Put the car somewhere where you have access to a battery charger and put the ignition on like before for the same time..see if its repeatable.

Cheers,

Mike

Mike in Switzerland

Hi

this

(i) used to happen to me when I "jet washed" the car with a high pressure hose

(ii) still happens if the car is standing in heavy rain at the train station.

Basically the electrics get wet and even when the car starts it splutters for a while and has some flat spots in the lower rev range,

I now don't go any where near the rear with a pressure hose when washing it but would be interested if anybody has had similar issues in heavy standing rain and can suggest a "fix".

Regards

Mike

Mike J

Do you have any changes to the rear grill? These engines are designed to a certain extent to get wet because water will fall through the deck grill onto the engine. However, they are not designed for high pressure washing directy on the engine. The most that has ever happened to me is a temporary squeal if I get the pulleys soaked and the fan belt slips when the engine is first started. Heavy ran is OK.

It sounds like the distributors/coils/wires are getting wet. Its werid since mine does not do that (not that I have said that it likely will...).

Cheers,

Mike

Garth S

On a very dark night .... take a close look at the ignition wiring with engine running. If there is a faint blue light show, new wires are in order. Also, check inside the distributor caps for moisture: a cracked cap will both 'carbon track' and short circuit/cross fire due to water.

Mike in Switzerland

Thanks Mike and Garth.

I have a GT2 rear wing although I am super careful about water ingress to the rear. I think general dampness might be the cause which would support Garth's suggestion.

I had assumed it was symptomatic of the model but as I will be dropping the car into the Porsche delaer over the border in Germany next week (they have a 20% discount on parts & labour for cars older than 10 years) I will add it to the already long list of items to check!

Best Regards and a happy New Year to all of you from Switzerland.

Regards

Mike

WHB Porsche

Very interesting policy. Never in a million years would a US Porsche dealer do something like that, hell, most of 'em look down on anything before a 996.

Mike in Switzerland

It's apparently a national thing on offer only within Porsche Germany from Dec to March. Porsche Switzerland are'nt running it.

I find in Germany that both Porsche and Mercedes are very pro-heritage within their main dealer network and do everything to keep the customers coming back.

When I dropped my 993 off 2 weeks ago to have all of the brakes & rotors changed prior to the regular Swiss road test (MFK) I spotted 5 Swiss cars ranging from a 356 to a 911 SC, a 964 and two 993's.

The service manager could not have been nicer and after going through my extensive list of what will need to be done during the two planned visits he took me past the 997 Turbo and 997 Targa S in the showroom to show me "something special" (his words) that his dealership had just bought.

In the service area there was a black 993TT that he gazed at longingly......

I collected the car 1 week later with my wife and 3 girls and after giving us machiatto's and apple juice he brought out 3 complimentary hexagonal porsche crayon and paint sets for my daughters that have photos of the current porsche range around the sides of the hexagonal box.

He's certainly won me over!

Regards

Mike

TrackJunke

Well it ends up the battery was very borderline. Actually 5 yrs old almost, what got me was the fact it recovered enough to start. I did not know they would gain charge like that. Thanks for the help guys.

WHB Porsche

Mike,

Sounds like the kind of place I wish I could take the car!

brucec59

I had a rough running problem (not a starting problem) after cleaning my engine bay. I had sprayed it down with Simple Green, let it sit, then hosed it off. I shoved a few rags in the air box opening, but otherwise did not cover any areas to keep them dry. Yes, I took them out afterwards.

When I went to start the car, it turned over fine, but had a hard time starting. I ran really rough and would die. Seemed like it was running on 3 cylinders, then 4, then 5 as I modulated the gas pedal for several minutes sitting in my driveway. It got better after driving around the neighborhood for a few minutes, but it still wasn't hitting on all 6 all the time, even after 20 minutes. I was a bit freaked out until I drove the car several hours later and all was well. Whew!

Lesson learned: don't hose down the engine bay!

briefescape

I hose down my engine bay and many other makes n model cars and never had one single problem , mind you I blow dry the engine afterward with a shop vac.
and the engine compartment ends up shiny and drier then before .

just don`t stick a garden hose in the air intake that`s all .

Cheers Guy

Mike J

Guy does scare me when he does this...but it seems to work fine for him and he has never had any problems. It must be that large horseshoe up his ... since, if I did it, I woud have to dissassemble the entire engine and do a rebuild to get it to work again!

Cheers,

Mike