stevek-o

Hi all. I bought a 2012 C4 GTS a couple months ago and I'm really enjoying it. I have moved the 2005 987S to dedicated track duty, taken out some weight and added a race exhaust, but that is a different story.

I have found the driver side PSE valve never closes. It is always on Sport. That would not be a real big problem, but I plan to replace the center muffler with a bypass, so I need the PSE valves to work.

I got the car on ramps and got a better look at the exhaust system. Everything is there for the sport exhaust: button on dash, vacuum solenoid on the engine, two vacuum actuators attached to two exhaust valves. For the 997.1 these were at the center muffler, but for this 997.2 they were on the side mufflers so I could not find them for a while. The passenger side exhaust valve works fine and moves properly as the dash button is selected.

The driver side actuator and exhaust valve just don't work. The mechanical exhaust valve is not stuck, I could manually operate it. It is spring-loaded open. When the vacuum is applied, the actuator is supposed to close the valve, but it does not move. It has failed open, so I did not notice it at first as I put on the sport exhaust almost all the time. The vacuum line is correctly attached to the actuator. I could not find the where the two vacuum lines connect up to the solenoid vacuum output, but if the driver one was disconnected there would be no vacuum and the passenger side valve would not work either. Likely the vacuum actuator on the driver side has failed.

Here is a link to a forum post for what appears to be the same issue:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/...=230&t=1475593

Anyone else have this problem? Can anyone confirm the 997.1 actuator will work on my 997.2? For the 997.2, Porsche only sells the PSE actuator with the entire side exhaust! If anyone can help me, I will post pictures of the GTS AND reveal which center section bypass I ordered!

Thanks, Steve

Fined

Congrats on the GTS.

Not a direct answer but I must say.. I have a GTS with sharkwerks bypass and PSE (of course).. and I keep mine locked open at all times. It's not loud. The sharkwerks bypass just makes it so you can actually hear it. It's completely subjective, but I don't think you have anything to worry about with the sharkwerks bypass + PSE open.. goes. With regard to early morning cold starts (when the car is loudest) or riding in a quiet neighborhood and wanting to be discreet. You'll need to be above 4500-5000rpm to note a difference in the amount of volume of the sharkwerks bypass.

stevek-o

Thanks for sharing your experience on this. I did order a Shaerkwerks crossoever bypass and it should arrive next week! Glad to hear you like it.

I would like to get PSE working though. My wife REALLY dislikes loud exhausts, so I want to be able to use PSE at times.

ManoTexas

WantA997

Failed actuator. Common problem. Mine has failed 2 or 3 times in my GT3. But I like my cars loud, so even with GMG headers and RSS bypass I still opt to keep the valves permanently open by disconnecting the electrical connector in the engine bay.

love2drive

My 2012 GTS has PSE standard, and I added Sharkwerks center muffler bypass. Still, the sport exhaust valve was stuck closed..meaning in quiet mode all the time. Acording to Town Porsche in NJ, it required an engine drop, no less than 7 replaced vacuum actuators, and 2 weeks to diagnose and repair! Luckily, this was all covered by CPO and it's been two years with no problems.

The sound is certainly louder with PSE active. On top of this, if you disconnect power to vacuum actuator in engine bay, its a little louder all the time even at start up. Seems, the ECU modulates these valves to comply with noise laws in Europe.

I definitely don't want the exhaust loud all the time. While fun at times, it becomes stressful and is a bit unrefined when you want to just cruise around town. A working button is certainly of value.

Good Luck

itsdem

can you pls show me with a picture were the elecrtical connectir is located in the engine bay?
My car is a 997.2 c4s convertible.
thank you.

Centerlock

Sort of related: I accidentally disconnected the vacuum hose from the left exhaust valve in the engine bay. Does anyone have an idea where the counter piece is located in the engine bay?

Best,
Dennis

scorcherjf

Hey just bumping this because I have a problem with PSE on my GTS. My valves are always closed (quiet mode). At first I checked the vacuum lines to the valves on the exhaust, and I saw one had popped off. Reattached it but the button still didn't do anything, still stuck quiet. I actuated the valves with my fingers, and they spring back open when the car is off. The valves close as soon as the car starts, so the physical valves seem fine and the vacuum lines seem fine. I checked the engine bay and found two vacuum solenoid/actuators (circled in red and blue) and figured I'd try disconnecting the wire to either one to see if that would get the valves to open, but still no dice. Any idea what could be wrong?

krazykarl

Not 100% sure since I have a 997.1, but I believe the blue solenoid is for the Helmholtz resonator on the airbox. The red solenoid could be for the PSE, and it might have failed in the open position. In that scenario, it will build vacuum almost immediately after engine startup and put the exhaust into quiet mode.

scorcherjf

Thanks. I think you're right, I see a Y connector off of the red solenoid that looks like it goes down to each of the valves. I looked at the part number on both of them and they're the same, so presumably I could try swapping them to see if it works? (Unless both are dead... which is unlikely)