SneakyWheatBoi

Evening all,

I have a 2005 C2s, it's been sat in the garage not moving for two weeks and tonight I took it for a drive. Pulling away and switching into second it would cut power, until I depressed the clutch and it came back all OK.

It did this a handful of times then when opened up it had no issue, I took it for a 25 minute drive and haven't had an issue again.

Any ideas? No EML and no warnings, no spluttering or signs of missing, recently had coils and spark plugs changed.
Seems odd it resets once the clutch is depressed again, could it be a faulty clutch delay switch?

Thanks all

Petza914

I see 3 possibilities :

1. Do you keep it on a battery maintainer when it's parked for extended periods of time like that. 2 weeks without one is enough time for a 997 to lose enough voltage from the battery where it can cause runnability issues as they are very sensitive to proper current and voltage. Locking the car will lower the parasitic drain and put the systems to sleep if you're not doing that currently. I leave mine unlocked but on a Battery Tender whenever they're not being driven and got 12 years out of the last Optima battery in my 914, am at 6 years on the one in my 997, and at 5 years on the one in my wife's 997.
2. If the car sat for 2 weeks this time and you don't drive it very far or often, when was the fuel that's currently in it purchased? If more than a month or 6 weeks ago, that's enough time for it to get stale and start causing a shut down when you're driving. It has happened to me two separate times in my car when the same fuel was in the tank for 2 months or longer. I now put Stabil 360 into each tank of gas since I don't know when I might use up a complete tank in one of them. Hasn't happened again since I started doing that.
3. OK, here's the one you might not have thought of - brake pedal switch. For safety, modern cars are designed so that the brakes have to be able to override the power in the case of a malfunction and if you press the brakes while accelerating, electronically engine power delivery is squelched. Try a test where your accelerating and at the same time, push the brake pedal with your other foot and see if that's what you experienced. When that switch goes bad it can happen at any time and it's dangerous since you can be pulling out into traffic and then have no ability to accelerate. It's a simple swap as it's a button switch right on the brake pedal itself. Turn it 90 degrees and it pulls out. I have had to replace this on both my 2005s when they started exhibiting this behavior, and oddly, they both failed within about 2 months of each other.

Good luck.

Bruce In Philly

This has been reported before... google around... it may be your PASM cutting throttle due to a faulty sensor signal such as a wheel, steering, brake or other sensor. Best to read your codes as soon as it happens as the code may reset after some time.

Many years ago with my 2000 Boxster S, I was having a tricky time releasing my clutch... thinking I was "loosing my touch". Here the clutch switch (a large plunger switch) or maybe it was the brake plunger.... don't remeber which.. wore out so the computer was getting conflicting information as to what I was doing. Mr Petza may have it.... I disassembled the switch and the contact patch actually had a hole worn into it. No dash light, but the dealer computer picked it up. I then went ahead and prophylacticly replaced the other plunger (brake or clutch.. can't remember) simply because they were the same age.

Peace
Bruce in Philly