kosmo

the car wouldnt turn over this am. Just getting the clicking sound. Here are some facts:

1. Suddenly the CLUTCH has become very hard to engage. Feels like air in the system (accumulator?).
2. The battery is less than 2yr old and is FULLY charge. I have a maintainer and charger.
3. All the electronics are operational.

I suspect its the clutch. Perhaps the computer doesnt does recognize that its engaged??


Any thoughts would be appreciated!

kosmo

mattyf

1st things first. Do you get the "depress clutch pedal" warning when the pedal is engaged and you try to start?

That would indicate a potentially bad microswitch in the pedal mechanism.

kosmo

Nope

mattyf

Hmm... So that means the switch is working.

Let me ruminate a bit.

mattyf

What's the clicking sound? Starter solenoid sound?

Macster

The clicking noise suggests low voltage. Thus the battery's bad.

Now it may be just a wild goose chase but just recently in looking into low battery events from my 03 Turbo with a new battery -- the events are from a special data logger/tracking device in my car that I'm testing -- I spoke with some Porsche techs about how low battery events could arise given the battery is new, and appears to be in good health, the charging system in good health, and I drive the car regularly and for long distances, and I was told that what can happen is where the negative battery lead connects this connection develops some corrosion.

It was recommended to me that I take a 13mm (in the case of my 03 Turbo) wrench and just loosen this connection at where it connects to the body/chassis just enough to rotate the connector to remove any corrosion. No need to take apart and sand the connection surfaces or anything like that. I have not yet done this having decided to wait and do it at the office Tuesday when I return to work.

You might consider the above before you condemn the battery.

Ignition switches also come in for some blame. About all I can suggest is when you try starting the engine to wiggle the the key in the ignition switch to see if there is any change in the behavior of the car's electrical system.

In this same vein, if the engine doesn't crank, turn the key off, release the clutch pedal and then pump the pedal rather vigorously several times the last time holding the clutch down firmly against the the floor or as far as it will go down and seeing if the behavior changes. While I do not think the clutch interlock switch is to blame -- my experience in going through two of these is the starter does not even make a peep if the interlock switch is not closed -- the above is what I observed a tech doing when he tried to confirm the interlock switch was the cause of an intermittent no start problem with my Boxster.

Anyhow, a hard to depress clutch in a Turbo is a sign the accumulator is bad. The Turbo has a power assisted clutch.

I was not aware the N/A cars had a power assisted clutch so if you car doesn't have a power assisted clutch the hard to depress clutch pedal arises from something else and is probably (probably...) not related to the starting problem.

kosmo

Tks mcaster. I do have an 08 turbo. Just like to post here as there more activity.
I'll try the steps above.

Macster

Ok an 08 Turbo. The hard to depress clutch could be a bad accum. or the car has just sat too long without being used or in attempting to start the car you have depleted the accum. I'm not sure how long a healthy clutch accum can hold boost and repeated depressing the clutch pedal will deplete the accumulator's stored boost assist.

Get the starting issue resolved and then there are tests to determine if the accum is bad or if the power assist system is the problem.

n1gels

That clicking noise sounds familiar. I recently had a battery failure. The battery maintainer indicated that the battery was healthy, the electronics all worked fine, but the engine wouldn't turn over at all. The dealer diagnosed a dead cell. The disappointing thing was that the Porsche battery maintainer didn't flag a fault with the battery.

kosmo

The voltagemeter reads 13.4v. So the battery is ok.
Should i be checking any fuses?

kosmo

Check that. The radio isnt working. I do get a bevy of errors "psm" "abs" failures.
Also get "depress clutch"

However the voltage meter says its healthy and the jump starter wont work either. Ive disconnected the terminals and cleaned everything despite no corrosion.

Is there some sort of "reset" button??!! Tks

n1gels

The voltage was fine on my dead battery too. It's not the voltage that matters for high load tasks like starting the engine, it's the battery's cold cranking amperage. Have the specific gravity of the battery cells checked out. Of course, if could be a grounding issue or the starter motor problem, but I'd start with the battery - rule that out first.

fskof

The battery-starter cable is a well known issue. Do a search here there are a bunch of posts about it.

Per Porsche's technical bulletin:

Issue: Battery discharged and/or will not charge properly. Voltage drop due to alternator-starter-battery harness damage at starter terminal. This issue is often mis-diagnosed as a bad battery, bad alternator, or bad starter, and these parts are often replaced in multiple repair attempts before the harness is determined to be the cause of the issue.

Before ordering or replacing other parts, have the car professionally inspected. Check the voltage drop between the alternator and battery. Bring the car to normal operating temperature. Turn on as many power consumers as possible (AC, headlights, radio, defroster, etc.). Use the same grounding point for the following voltage measurements:
- Measure the voltage at the "B+" terminal on the alternator.
- Measure the voltage at the battery positive terminal.

If there is a voltage drop of greater than 0.5 volts between the alternator and the battery, and all of the connection points are tight, check the harness terminal at starter. It is possible that the crimps on the starter terminal where the two cables are joined together incorrectly, causing an excessive voltage drop between the alternator and the battery. This voltage drop does not allow the battery to charge properly, and as a result, the battery will continually discharge until it will no longer start the vehicle. There may be no visible damage to the harness, and more measurements may be necessary to determine which cable or part of the cable is responsible for the voltage drop.

red996

Check your voltage when you try to start. If it reads low it's the battery. It might read 13.4v when it's just "resting".

Papa Fittig

Did you try to jump start it with properly charged battery or proper jump starter?