Hi all

So for the first time in the almost 2 years with my 996 it left me stranded. It could have been worse so I'm thankful it happened at a gas station. It would crank but not start. Tried a few times but it would just crank strong, but would not start. (So I ruled out battery)
Anyways my car had been running with the "low gas light" on for a few miles (which I know is bad for these cars ). I pumped gas as the the first stop, got back in and the car would not start.
I immediately suspected that I had ruined the fuel pump. So I Towed the car home and hooked up my durametric. Had codes P0446 and P0455.
I turned on The fuel pumps with the durametric and they worked. Tried to start the car again and it struggled for half second and it started up ran good. Cleared the codes and stayed off. Had a few beers of happiness and went to bed.
This morning the car started as normal. No codes. I haven't driven it yet but I let it idle for 15 min.

What do you guys think? whats a good place to start and any tips on how to diagnose each component would be greatly appreciated.

 

There was a thread about this somewhere I remember reading. Someone had a very similar problem and it ended up being a gas tank sensor of some sort.

Car wouldnt start right after they had refilled at the gas station.

I found this:

My hard start after fueling issue was solved by replacing the regeneration valve in the engine compartment. A 5 minute fix and no problems since.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...30%35%29%20%20

Was from a member here
__________________

 

Same thing happened to me a few years ago...only after fueling. The regeneration valve was the fix. Easy to do.

 

What makes you think it's bad for the pump if it's driven with the low fuel light on?

 

I assume bcz low fuel = insufficient fuel to cool the pump. I know that is the conventional wisdom for most cars. But I think the fuel pump in the 996 sits at the top of the fuel tank, doesn't it?

 

Thanks. Thinking about it, it's very probable this is what may have gone wrong, as the cranks were always strong, could smell gas in the engine bay. I'm going to order and that should hopefully resolve this issue.


I could be wrong, but I've read multiple sources that the fuel pump is cooled and lubricated by fuel. So In a low fuel condition, pump heats up and has to work harder. Plus as far as I know, it's the original pump at 128xxx miles.-so it was my first assumption.
I was not too far from my house (~6miles) and waited to stop at a particular gas station because they have a good working air pump and my tire has had a slow leak-(so I drove the car maby 4-5miles with the gas light on). It's hard to find a good working air pump at a gas station here.

 

This IMO is one of those things that in theory sounds good but I have yet to see solid proof that running low fuel causes premature wear/failure of modern fuel pumps. Case in point, my bimmer has always ran with 1/4 tank or less it's whole life and I have over 140k on it. OTOH there are guys that have always run 1/2 tank or more of fuel with only 75k that's suffered fuel pump failure.

I'd be more concerned if your car is a track car with heavy mods using more fuel and it's living above 5k most of the time running less than 1/4 tank, but then you'll have other issues.

 

There is this:
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/somer...ng_out_of_gas/
And this
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/auto...r-myths-1.aspx

I sure if you look some there will be compelling arguments for the other side of this discussion.

here is one:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1181637

 

I avoid running my car below 1/4 tank since I've got a C4, and thus have a saddle tank. The 996 C4 doesn't actually know how much fuel is left in the tank once the fuel level drops low enough - an eighth of a tank, I believe. And the C4 is no Rain Man when it comes to estimating remaining range. I can be an obstinate learner, but a single instance of running out of gas on the freeway less than 5 miles after the fuel light was illuminated was sufficient to teach me this lesson...

 

Those articles are just one person's opinion. You need to post something a bit more scientific to prove that low fuel kills the pump. Wouldn't you think that IF this was true, the car manufacturer would not let the pump become exposed before the tank is out of fuel OR that something would at least be mentioned in the owner's manual? This pump exposed overheating is total nonsense invented by someone and beleived by those that don't know any better.