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The internet does help, with posts like this which mimics my problem pretty much perfectly. I've got the parts for that should it be needed.
Had some time today, put the car up on jacks to replace the disc valve and such... Only to discover that the entire cooler is missing on my car. Maybe this was a part only included on Tiptronic/PDK trannys?
Expected this:
Found this:
Tore the rest of the underside of the car apart to see if it was moved somewhere else. Nope. But I did find a couple more missing screws.
What makes you think that? The coolant temperature gauge is controlled by the ECU, not the sensor. If the ECU thinks that anything's wrong with the coolant system, it just flat out disables the gauge so as to not give a false reading.
And yup, OEM sensor.
yeah and it gets it reading from coolant temp sensor. A bad thermostat is not going to just make the gauge drop like that.
Stuck open thermostat would make it take a while for it to get up to temp and a stuck thermostat would cause it to over heat.
Had some time today, put the car up on jacks to replace the disc valve and such... Only to discover that the entire cooler is missing on my car. Maybe this was a part only included on Tiptronic/PDK trannys?
Expected this:
Found this:
Tore the rest of the underside of the car apart to see if it was moved somewhere else. Nope. But I did find a couple more missing screws.
you have a 6speed that is a cooler for the auto cars
yeah and it gets it reading from coolant temp sensor. A bad thermostat is not going to just make the gauge drop like that.
Scenario: Thermostat stuck open. Engine coolant temp is 100*F. Sensor reads coolant temp as 100*F. ECU expects coolant temp to be 120*F as seen in the below chart:
In that scenario, the ECU will say "Something's wrong with the engine temperature. Disable the gauge." It won't say "Put the gauge to 100*F". It will just flat out turn the gauge off (as shown in the video).
The codes I'm getting are:
P3081: Engine coolant temperature implausible
P2181: Thermostat stuck open
So... Why should I not think that my thermostat is bad?
Originally Posted by Johnny DB
I believe the GT2 also has a similar cooler to the one pictured
That's the reason I thought it might be the issue. The GT2 and Turbo are pretty similar. But I guess the AWD tranny just doesn't need the cooler.
Scenario: Thermostat stuck open. Engine coolant temp is 100*F. Sensor reads coolant temp as 100*F. ECU expects coolant temp to be 120*F as seen in the below chart:
In that scenario, the ECU will say "Something's wrong with the engine temperature. Disable the gauge." It won't say "Put the gauge to 100*F". It will just flat out turn the gauge off (as shown in the video).
The codes I'm getting are:
P3081: Engine coolant temperature implausible
P2181: Thermostat stuck open
So... Why should I not think that my thermostat is bad?
That's the reason I thought it might be the issue. The GT2 and Turbo are pretty similar. But I guess the AWD tranny just doesn't need the cooler.
you could be getting a thermostat code cause the sensor is not working right....I know you replaced it could be a wiring issue
Replaced the two front fog lights. Germans don't really consider basic maintenance when they design their cars, do they? It took me two hours to replace two bulbs, and required bending the lower lip just to get everything out. For reference, it takes me about the same time to remove the entire engine from a Subaru. Between this and the thermostat, I'm rapidly loosing interest in doing any of my own work on this car.
you could be getting a thermostat code cause the sensor is not working right
That is possible.
Both the old and the new OEM sensor are both reading the same values in a glass of boiling water. The values (for ohms expected @ various temps) for these thermistors are not available online, unfortunately. I could have replaced one bad sensor with another bad one. But that's fairly unlikely, and wouldn't explain the symptoms I'm experiencing. Personally I think it more likely that the old sensor was working perfectly fine, and the thermostat was just stuck open.
edit: I see you edited your post to mention a wiring issue. This is another possibility, as is a bad ECU. I've got a Durametric Pro coming in on Tuesday and I'll be logging the values with that to see if maybe the ECU's losing connection with the sensor at some point. If so, I can cancel my appt. with the dealership and track it down from that angle.
Can’t bear to read all six pages. I can’t even imagine a dream car showing up that disgustingly dirty.
No ppi pictures?
anyway, hope you get it sorted.
You're a better man than I for putting up with all of this!
If I bought at a significantly discounted price as a fixer upper then I wouldn't mind as much as if I thought I was getting a great condition ready driver based on the PPI.
As much as I like working on cars at my stage in life I barely have time to drive them let alone fix them a lot.
I appreciate your enthusiasm for the situation you are in. Seems like we are in a similar boat as new owners of high(er) mileage turbos. I'll be following along.. hoping these issues get resolved and adding my two cents when I feel like I may be helpful.
FWIW I also fell prey to a **** poor PPI on my previous 911, luckily I was able to get a Fidelity warranty and escaped major financial unhappiness. There's just no substitute for having your own eyes on the car during inspection. Lessons learned!
Edit: I might be interested in those techart side skirts if you decide to go back to stock.
I decided to try and see if maybe it was an air bubble. Basically, my AirLift coolant system tester came in and I wanted to try it out. Unfortunately, my little pancake compressor couldn't pull more than 15PSI of vacuum, so I went out and bought a new 30 gallon compressor with almost double the SCFM. This one couldn't pull more than 22PSI of vacuum. But 22PSI is RIGHT on the border of what's acceptable, so I ran with it. Took out the old fluid, put in 2 gallons of new stuff and about half a gallon of the old. System ended up right in between the min and max lines. Perfect. Cleared the error code, went for a drive, and watched it pop right back up.
Dang it. Well, I didn't really THINK an air bubble was the problem, but I guess it's good to know that my coolant system can hold a vacuum and that my fluid's (mostly) fresh!
And for anyone wondering, the Kobalt compressor that claims to be "80% quieter!" IS actually pretty quiet! It's quiet enough that I wouldn't worry about using it at midnight with a neighbor sleeping 10' away. Well, as long as the garage door's shut, anyway.
plan and simple someone was touching this car that should have been....also IMO did not take of it at all
Best of luck to you in getting everything working as it should. If you need any help or wiring diagrams just message me and I can send you what you need
03-31-2019, 05:06 PM
