stairmasterman911

I'm taking my baby in due to a check engine light tomorrow. It runs fine. Sounds fine. Oil level good. What common things that don't require huge cash outlays could it be? Also looking for suspension suggestions (while we're in there).

tbil

CEL can come on for so many different reasons, very simple to plug in a scanner and read the falt code that is behind the CEL. Most auto parts stores will do this for you no charge including turning the light off. Could be secondary air injection issue (SAI), ogygen sensor related, simple misfire or any of a hundred things. Without knowing the service history it's largely impossible to guess at what could be the cause. Best of luck with the repair!

csmab

A bad O2 sensor will trip the CEL. This could be your cheapest bet. You should buy a diagnostic reader to plug in to get a read on the problem. There are many different issues that could trip the CEL.

e9stibi

I am using the previous version of this product for years and with 4 cars in our household, it paid for itself multiple times:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/111245997787?lpid=82

I just used it this week to get my 993 ready for state inspection and confirming that the IM monitors are ready after I disconnected the battery and driving the "drive cycles".

cdmdriver

Good advice, owning a decent OBDII reader is a good investment.

ca993twin

1995 cars are OBD-I, 1996-1998 cars are OBD-II. Huge difference in causes for CEL. You need to specify. And I suggest a separate thread to ask for suspension ideas... after you do a search on this oft-repeated topic.

nine9six

First course of business is to find out what codes are throwing your CEL...As stated, there can be a number of causes for a CEL and this does not necessarily mean you have an SAI issue. Could be misfires, failing O2 sensor, SAI issue; just to name a few.

I too, own and use an Actron scanner...A must have quality tool for any OBD II equipped vehicle.

With regards to your suspension...Lots of guys go with ROW M033 springs, Koni FSD shocks. Others choose to install adjustable Bilstein PSS10 suspenders...The former is less expensive than the latter of the two mentioned.

The OEM Monroe shocks are usually done at around 30k miles and for the price, many alternatives are better suited for your 993.

stairmasterman911

So, took it in yesterday-- they didn't have the correct reader... kinda got me worried now. supposedly a great porsche indie. highly recommended by the local porsche club folks, etc.. if I got my own what the heck could I do with the info it gave me other that be forewarned? Can that gizmo reset the light? That might be handy.

e9stibi

You post the code here. Depending on the "reader" you can reset codes but if the false condition continues to exist, it will come back. The Acron reader can reset codes.

Just strange that your shop could not read the code. Every autozone can do it for free ...

ca993twin

As I mentioned in my earlier post... you never mentioned what year car you have. Big difference between 1995 (OBD-I) and 1996-1998 (OBD-II).

Hoserpilot

I've got a fake durametric reader I could sell for $50. Bought it from a fellow rennlister. My wife is out of town so we haven't had Xmas yet. The mailman delivered a new reader from Norway. (-: I can't wait to "open" my Xmas present!! My old reader read all the codes and reset most. I could not reset the airbag light though. If interested let me know.

Jason

Falcondrivr

On a '95, the car will give you the code without a reader. Hold the gas pedal all the way to the floor with the car off. While keeping it there, turn the key to position 2 and then release the pedal. The cel will flash the code at you.

Ed Hughes

His sig shows it's a '98......

Edit-just noticed that's "gone"

nine9six

+1 on what Ed said ^ But I just figured my memory was failing

Mike J

If they do not have a PST-2 or equivalent, I would not go to that shop - perhaps they are specialists on the earlier cars, but that is a basic piece of equipment for any Porsche 993 mechanic.

There are code and functions that only the Porsche specific ODB II tools can get to. I do not know much about the functionality of Durametrics, but I have the PST-2, and it does pretty well everything I want it to do. I also have a basic small reader I keep in the car for trips, it's good enough to read the common codes - that has helped on a few trips as well.

Cheers,

Mike