Dan V

My '97 Carrera Tiptronic just turned 90K and is up for smog - "Test Only" sez the DMV notice. I got a coupon for $39.95 Test Only, so I head over today. Car has been "Honda Reliable" for the past 3 years, and especially after I changed the spark plugs a year ago. Not too worried about smog. So at the test place I get right in, no waiting. Guy sez normally 15 - 20 min, but Porsches take a bit longer. (2 years ago the other guy took damn near an hour, it seemed). After running the dyno test and visual, he plugs into the OBDII port, and can't get the connection working. Tries many times over 1/2 hour, and can't ever connect. Turns out they have another shop in town, so he calls over there to see if they can get me right in, and they can, so he suggests it might work on a different machine, so I drive right over there. (couldn't possibly be MY car, must be the stupid machine, right?)

So the 2nd shop guy connects the machine right off and it connects no problem. 20 minutes later I'm certified -- suck it smog *****! I drive off and one block from the shop come to a red light and the engine abruptly stalls. I'm stunned because in 3 1/2 years this car has never so much as hiccuped. Try to remain calm and restart, cranks strong but never fires. Try 3 more times and give up -- thankfully there's a quiet side street right were I'm stalled on a busy blvd, so I push it right down the side street without any drama. The weather is mild and dry. A few more futile attempts at starting - cranks normally but never fires. Cell phone call to the wife to let her know I'm stuck. Then try the DME relay swap -- no joy. Thinking to myself, is it heat related, vapor lock or something? No the engine isn't overheating, it's been much hotter without any problem. Check fuses, swap out the fuel pump fuse, but no change. I walk back to the smog shop and ask if he has a hand held OBDII reader I may borrow. He pulls one out and says "you can give this a try". I study it for a moment, never used one before. He tells me just plug it in and it'll power up itself. So back at the car I remember from Rennlist the ignition must be switched on to get a reading so I turn the key until all the dash lites come on and connect the reader. After pushing the green button it trys for a minute and flashes "ERR" on the display. Repeat 4 times and still get the "ERR" so I give up on this reader. I begin to suspect there's an electronic glitch afoot. I return the OBD reader to the shop, and decide maybe I need to 'reboot' the car, by disconnecting the battery cable. I couldn't remember any reason not to do it other than wiping out the readiness codes, which hopefully would resolve themselves in 2 years. So I opened my Official Porsche Tool Kit and took out a wrench and removed the ground cable from the battery terminal for about 30 seconds then reconnected it. As an after-thought I checked the + cable, and imagine my joy when I discovered the nut has worked itself completely loose. It's a lovely spring-like dry day in Hayward. I properly tighten down the battery cables, put my tool kit back in it's nook, get in the car, start right up and drive away.

The end.

goofballdeluxe

Boy, do I love a great story and a happy ending. Congrats!

Ed Burdell

What a relief! Great story.

My own car was kind enough to turn off its CEL long enough to pass the smog test and earn a renewed tag. Not a week later, the little orange light returns.

Stealth 993

If the immoblizer is armed, the ODBII is blocked & not accessible. So you got to hit the remote button before you connect.

Mine passed with out the reediness codes reset, they just did a tail pipe sniffer & it was 100% good to go!

g_murray

Excellent!

Yes, the 'alarm/immobilizer' must be *OFF* for the OBD-ii reader to 'connect'.
Every year, when I leave mine in for its annual inspection, I leave a 'post-it' on the dash - words to the effect -- as a reminder.

Gerry

Texas993

Great info. Thanks for sharing this tip.

ppashley

That's a cool story - thx for sharing!