Hi All,
Last month I bought a 2006 997S with 39,000 miles. I'm happy with my purchase and I love the car! I'll post pics soon, but I have a few concerns that I'm hoping someone can help me address.

First, when I place the key in the ignition, sometimes it isn't recognized and i have to either jiggle it or pull the key out and start the process over again before the car will start. I thought it could be the battery inside the key fob, but the lock/unlock buttons work perfectly from far distances so I am doubtful that is the problem.

Second, once the key is recognized, the car starts every time, however it cranks slowly and kind of weak. It doesn't turn over strong like my other cars. It's worse when the car is cold and gets a little better when the car is warm.

After a month of ownership, these problems haven't gotten any worse and they haven't gotten any better. I've searched the threads and can't find these specific issues posted anywhere. Does anyone have any insight or has anyone else experienced these same problems?

Thanks for the help!

 

Alternator, starter or in the early years the alternator cable. Usually cable is culprit if its related to heat soak.

If a manual, possibly the clutch switch is failing.

 

I had the intermittent ignition issue as well with my '06. It was the ignition itself and wasn't too costly to have repaired.
The sluggish start is common and fixable. If it's slow cranking when cold only then it's probable the battery. Get a new one and a battery tender to keep it topped up for periods of time when the car is not in use.
If the slow cranking gets worse when warmed up, as mentioned, it's heat soak related and your battery-alternator cable needs to be replaced. There is a TSB on this. It's a known problem. It's about $800 to $1,000 to remedy.
Cheers.

 

Get a new battery.

Period.

If your car was easy to start cold and harder and harder when warmer or hotter, the other advice would stand.

Do not take the other advice offered, as it is for the exact opposite scenario (for the cranking issue). Weak cold cranking that is better when warm is the primary sign of a weak battery.

.

 

Still, weak cranking when hot means also low chargeing capabilities all the time which eats batteries. Hence slow cranking is a fact after a while as well.
Most often the cable is the main problem. Both on 996 and 997. Just my analysis after owning 3 of these cars.

 

Replace battery. Batteries don't last long and when they start to go bad all sorts of problems show up. BTW, battery in key fob just powers the remote...has nothing to do with the key transponder for starting. Lots of good aftermarket batteries available with warranties and cost much better than Porsche - check Interstate, Wal-Mart Everstart MAXX, Pep Boys Bosch - proper size is H7. Good luck.

 

Thanks for all of your insight. It definitely doesn't get worse as the car warms up. It always gets a little better the more I drive the car, but it never gets to the point where it should be, that's whats been throwing me off. I thought that if it was the battery, the alternator would recharge the battery back to full power after long drives, but it never seems to start as it really should. I'll start with replacing the battery and see if that solves the problem. As for the ignition issue, do you think that is just the ignition switch itself? If so, it looks like I can get the switch and removal tool from Suncoast for $190. Thanks again.

 

Look, I am going to say this again despite at least one other person running you down some path involving the exact opposite of your problem: You should test/replace the battery.

Hard to start cold; condition improves when engine is warmer = battery is weak. Could be some damage internal to battery... could be old... could have been drained too many times... WHATEVER.

You replace the battery. The odds are exceedingly high that you won't have a starting problem anymore.

If you had the more complex Porsche problem that makes your car harder to start when it's warm, THEN you go down the whole cable/starter/etc path.

That is it. If you had a weak battery AND the Porsche harder-to-start-warm problem, the engine would be..... HARDER TO START WHEN WARM.

Ta Da!

Battery.

 

Thanks Philster. Makes sense. BTW, my daily is also a 2015 GTI. Love it.

 

The new battery will not likely solve your intermittent key recognition issue. The battery will help deliver proper current for faster cranking. But, you will probably need a new ignition to solve the key issue.

 

As Philtre mentioned already, start with measuring.
If you don't have a voltmeter or multimeter, Christmas is coming and would be a nice 50-100 USD present which will allow you to do some troubleshooting.

Maybe it is the battery, just measure the voltage and post how much volt it reads.
Check your ground connections, clean and tighten properly.
Measure the voltage drop on your alternator,

If there is little difference in starting behaviour between cold and hot engine than it is most likely that the battery is gone, but a measurement will confirm that.
If the engine starts worse when warm than expect the typical battery/ alternator cable issue - this seems not to be the case.
Starter motor could be the problem as well. Before even considering, measure your battery and alternator voltages, check earth connections - and take it from there.

 

And we've yet to claim it will resolve that.

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