inkatouring

Not possible that there was such a thread? But you are wrong again -- there was such a thread.

Or maybe you meant to say it was not possible to rewire around the immobilizer. If so, did you read the thread? Did you try the work-around it suggested?

PS -- OP, I would put in the new ground strap. Doing so either cured or masked a few electronic gremlins in my car and it seems to be a weak spot for the car. Cheap and easy attempt to cure the probem. Nothing wrong with those...

Juha G

Yes it can be done. PM me with your e-mail address and I can send you the instructions.

kilodawg

Thanks everybody. I called Steve Weiner at Rennsport Systems this morning and even though he is in Oregon and I'm in Florida Steve spent over 30 minutes tutoring me on immobilizers and electrical issues in 993's. What a great guy. Suffice it to say that Steve is not yet convinced by the data on the table that the immobilizer is the culprit. First, he wants me to thoroughly investigate all the battery connections and cabling and then the grounds on the alternator (replaced a few months ago) and the starter. Only after that and a few other easy checks do we look further.

My biggest fear was that the flashing immobilizer icon while driving could only be induced by a failure of the immobilizer itself. However, Steve said that system voltage fluctuations could also be a cause of that condition.

So hopefully I can get the car on a buddy's trailer this afternoon and to my wrench where he can work his magic. Again, I'll keep you all posted.

joe 997

I believe Steve Weiner can deactivate the immoblizer for around $1000 I would do that before spending the same on a new one. I am going to have him do mine in the spring. I would seem as old as these cars are getting this will be a growing problem.

kilodawg

Well I talked to Steve this morning and unfortunately since I have a '96 that can't be done. He could do it on a '97 or '98 but I would have to switch to the later ECU which new are about $1800 and then he would have to do the $1000 (est) mod.

techman1

It appears Bill Verburg also came up with a workaround, but only for the '95. Search for his post "They said it couldn't be done"

It appears the '96 you have is another challenge.

I still feel the ground cable, at $10 is your best bet. It was explained to me that over time the cable and crimps build up a resistance to current flow.

Not sure of the actual theory behind the cause of this, maybe Loren could chime in and explain this. (Not said in jest)

CorrdoBrit

You need a removable chip in the DME which is why Bill V's solution won't work for the OP's 96 car.

Lorenfb

"Well I talked to Steve this morning and unfortunately since I have a '96 that can't be done. He could do it on a '97 or '98 but I would have to switch to the later ECU which new are about $1800 and then he would have to do the $1000 (est) mod."

As I said: "Not possible".

And for the '97/'98, one risks having OBDII problems, e.g. monitors/readiness
problems, and/or Porsche Tester interface problems with a re-flash of the DME ECM.

kilodawg

Oh the ground strap will be the first thing we check (perhaps even later today) I'm all about cheap easy fixes but based on my past track record that's rarely if ever the case.

See Below:

CorrdoBrit

Whats the German word for immobilizer? I'd be checking out ebay.de and maybe some of the other Euro sites.

Juha G

Guys, should I post the info here or just send to those that need it?
It's a double headed snake really; on one end it would be nice to share this information to other enthusiasts but then again, someone might use this information to wrong purposes...

kilodawg

Juha,

See my PM.

911Dave

I vote for putting it in a new thread. I just want to find out what's wrong with Kilodawg's car.

ca993twin

kilodawg,

Please describe the story with that targa. Is that your 1974? How did it get there? Was it saved?

NC TRACKRAT

That may give you some potential solutions to the problem but I believe the Euro cars are on a different frequency, therefore the control units are not interchangeable.