Merry Christmas to me....

I went to start my 2005 Christmas eve and it wouldn't start. The car is kept on a Battery Tender this time of year so it had plenty of cranking power, but it wouldn't fire. I got a few random fires but not enough to get it fired up. I tried again this morning and same thing.

Background: The car was driven about 9-10 days ago and all was fine. About 5-6 days ago I started it and moved it a few feet in the garage to access something, so it only ran for about 20 seconds before I shut it off. The car is kept in a weather tight garage that never gets close to freezing temps.
About 2 years ago I backed the car out of the garage, washed it, then drove it back in. That time the car only ran for 20-30 seconds. The next time I went to start it after that incident it wouldn't start. Seems like the same situation this time. Last time, I ended up having it towed to mechanic who replaced plugs. That was about 18-19,000 miles back so plugs shouldn't be bad.

Any ideas?

 

Always start with the battery...are you sure it is OK?

 

I'm not convinced that the battery is good. But, I was able to get the car started. I'm not sure but what it may have gotten flooded. So, I cranked it with the gas pedal depressed and ultimately got it to fire up.

 

Can you flood a car with fuel injection? Glad to hear the car started, have you tried restarting it?

 

Be careful about how you wash it and keeping water out of the engine bay.

 

That was information from my mechanic's shop, which is highly respected around here.. I think 'flooded' in this context is not the same as a carb'd car. The started to fire and then when it didn't and I kept cranking it, there was fuel in there which (I think) may have not dissipated or perhaps even done something to the plugs.

But, it was a singular event and the car starts and runs fine since then.

BTW, the time when this occurred after being washed had (IMO) nothing to with washing. I've always been careful about where the hose is pointed, especially around the air intake.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. It's interesting how these cars affect our lives. The car was practically all I could think about for the couple days until I got it resolved! It's amazing the sense of relief I felt after it was all said and done.

 

I hear you on this. I bought my first Porsche about six weeks ago, a 2006 C2S Cab. 35,000 miles. New water pump. All dealer service records. Great condition. But something was in the back of my mind that it was not under a warranty of any kind. So, I went ahead and purchased a warranty yesterday, and the sense of relief was really nice. Good luck. RJ

 

Cracks in the coil packs? letting water in

 

No, The one time where it wouldn't start after it was washed was almost 3 year ago. I don't think that had anything to do with water. I'm very careful with the spraying water around the engine vents and that was in August which is very dry around here.

I take the car to my mechanic once a year for an oil change and any mileage related service. They also go over it closely and drive it. Last year they found a leak at the water pump, so a new one was installed. This is a very highly regarded shop in the local Porsche community and they've been absolutely great to me. Other than the water pump, there have been no problems with the car. Maybe it was the cold weather that led to the starting problem this time but I think it likely was flooded an then it wouldn't start. Cranking it with the gas pedal held to the floor did the trick and it started. Some smoke for about a minute, but it cleared right up and runs great. Weird stuff....

 

It sounds like your car doesn't get driven very much.
Keep in mind that when any fuel injected car is cold cranked, the computer goes into open loop for a minute or two to assist in warming up the 02 sensors.
Open loop is best defined as the computer running the engine on a specific set of computer parameters rather then utilizing the MAF to measure incoming air and adjusting fuel accordingly and is also what happens any time you go WOT. These parameters are alway run 'rich'. So yes, in a sense, a cold cranked car could slightly 'flood'
the engine or lightly foul the plugs if only run 20-30 seconds at a time. Especially if several short engine runs occur in between a drive.
On cars that are not driven very often, always let them run for at least a minute or so when moving them around in the garage.