FearTheAardvark

Unfortunately my closest Porsche dealer is about 90 miles away, which makes a car that won't start a bit of a disaster... I'm relatively handy, but haven't had much experience diagnosing problems like this and hope someone could help.

I drove the car yesterday, it was struggling to start up and when I got home it refused to start at all. I put the battery on a trickle charger all last night and this morning it showed green (battery is about 3 months old).

The car makes a 'tick tick tick' noise while the headlights lights flash if I try and turn it on. I tried again today with the battery I trickle charged and it didn't work. Then I hooked the car up to the jumper cables and still, no change on the noise. It didn't even attempt to turn over, other then the tick noise which I assume is the starter.

Where do I go from here? I've taken out the battery with the intention of getting it tested at an auto shop after work. Do starters go from working to never working again that instantaneously? Is there a way to coax the car into starting so I can drive it the 90 miles, or should I plan on fixing this myself? I've got the DIY starter replacement sticky up on one monitor, but I'd hate to spend the time and money on something I'm not sure I'm qualified to diagnose.

Thanks for the help

mcfisticuffs

"Ticking" sounds like the starter solenoid... so if the solenoid is working, it's likely the starter.

Manual or Auto?

If it's a manual you could bump start it, if you have a hill, or someone who likes pushing cars.

FearTheAardvark

It is indeed a manual, I hadn't even considered bump starting it... that's a great suggestion.

LonestarPorsche

How long did you try jumping it for? I had to let it charge off my other car for half an hour before I could get mine to turn over. When the battery is dead, its really dead... Had to replace the battery after that.

FearTheAardvark

Hmm, I left it for maybe thirty minutes? But the truck leads I connected it to were super corroded. It also didn't spark when I connected the cables which seemed odd. I can try again with my wife's macan tonight.

Will the local parts store be able to determine if the battery is the problem? I took it out at lunch and threw it in my truck, I was planning on checking it after work.

LonestarPorsche

After I finally got it started, i drove to have it tested and it read as a bad battery. Installed a new one from WalMart and havent had any problems. I went with the Everstart 94R/H7.

FearTheAardvark

So I just had the battery tested at a local auto shop, they told me it was 100%. So what's next? Mcfisticuffs mentioned the ticking is a sign the solenoid is working. Do I order a replacement starter and try that?

I'm seeing a couple threads suggesting a starter cable could be suspect. Would that prevent the car from starting completely?

With the battery no longer under scrutiny, what should I be checking next?

DC911S

Could be your clutch lock out switch is bad.

FearTheAardvark

Would the car attempt to start with a bad clutch lock out? If I try and start the car without the clutch being in at all it makes no noise what-so-ever. However, when I try again after depressing the pedal it attempts to start by the ticking noises and the flashing headlights.

yvesvidal

It is the starter. I had the same issue a few months ago, on the parking lot of my company.
Do not bang on the starter with a hammer, it is not going to help.
The AAA "expert" tried that on my car, and we started seeing smoke come out of the engine bay. May work on a Toyota but not with a Bosch starter.
All you need is there: http://murenae.com/FTP_Files/997.1-Starter.pdf

Good luck.
Yves

FearTheAardvark

Excellent resource Yves, thank you. I've got this downloaded and ready to go for tonight. The starter is waiting for me to pick it up after work, andit looks like there's a couple tools I need to pickup.

Torx set including E-10 and E-14, Universal Joint, and 3/8 extension 18" or so. Anything else you can think of that would have been valuable in the tool department?

Hopefully I report back tomorrow saying how great it is to have my car running again...

Petza914

I've seen cases where the negative ground strap that goes from the negative battery terminal to the chassis has come loose. A loose ground could cause other things to still work but the starter demands so much current that it won't work. I'd check that before shelling out a few hundred dollars for a starter. If you haven't had the harness wire replaced yet, that should also be on your list. My Indy diagnosed my wife's car as needing a new starter, but being a member here and knowing about the harness wire with the bad crimps, I told him I wanted that replaced first (did the AOS at the same time since it had 75,000 miles on it) and the same starter is still in the car and working fine 15,000 miles later. The 1 difference is the harness usually results in a slow crank, not a no-crank but it could if it deteriorates enough

FearTheAardvark

Interesting... I should probably replace that while I'm in there as well, but I suspect it's not the culprit. Wouldn't the jump provide a viable ground to my truck and allow it to start?

Petza914

Depends on how you did it. A proper jump should be done positive terminal of 2nd car to positive terminal of your 997 and negative terminal of 2nd car to a chassis ground point on the 997 not too close to the battery if that can be avoided. If you went to the 997 negative battery terminal and the ground strap on the car from the terminal to the chassis is loose, you're still not getting a good ground for the jump.

FearTheAardvark

Good suggestion, I'll try that tonight before I get too wild. I went negative terminal to negative terminal. After I correctly ground it (and give it ample time) is it safe to say that there is something else wrong if it still fails to start?