Rat3d M

I am feeling frustrated with this car for the first time today. I didn't mind all the little issues, but it's getting ridiculous.

I decided to test my windshield washers today on my way to inspection to get my permanent plates, and they are not working. There is no sound from the pump whatsoever, and the headlight washers do not work. I stopped to fill the reservoir, and after putting in about half a gallon, it still wasn't full but I figured that was good enough and it should work. Nope, still nothing.

I checked the plastic lines behind the battery, and all seem good. There was no fluid leaking from below the car that I noticed, so I don't think the tank is cracked (though I can't rule it out). I checked the fuse in the footwell panel, and it's good.

Where is a good place to start? I am going back through inspection to try and get the car to pass on Wednesday and it will 100% fail for this which is such a small issue it's just annoying me more than anything.

jhbrennan

No sound from the pump tells you where the problem is. Headlight washers won't work either if pump isn't working - headlight washers activate automatically after every 10 times the windshield washers are activated. Maybe have someone inside activate washer and you stand outside just to listen closely and confirm pump not activating. May be that the pump is toast - if tank was empty, running the pump dry might have caused the failure. Also, if tank or a hose were cracked you probably would see evidence of this on the ground. Good luck.

saabin

Dude, as someone (or maybe you) mentioned in a previous thread, it sounds like you "inherited" someone else's neglected project car.. I remember when you were posting prior to your purchase all the red flags that seemingly came up, and multiple people advised against moving forward.

At least you seem to have made peace with the decision and have the right attitude.. good luck sorting it out. You sir have more patience than most.

Take care.

Rat3d M

Unfortunately my patience is wearing thin, but I am typically a very patient person, you are correct. I don't mind the little problems, it gives me something to do to the car (one of my passions is working on/modding cars). The reason it is beginning to frustrate me, is my upcoming inspection. Right now I have temporary plates on the car which are good for 30 days. If I do not pass inspection and transition to permanent plates, I have to pay to register the car as non-operational, which means I cannot drive it, and then I have to pay again for temporary plates which are good for another 30 days, and then try going through inspection again. All of these little problems have to be fixed by the 16th of May, so I am on a bit of a time crunch, otherwise I wouldn't be so bothered right now.

So in the next 2 weeks, I have to:

1. Source an OEM exhaust because my current setup is too loud (over 95dB)
2. Troubleshoot and fix a windshield washer issue
3. Replace two torn front outer axle boots
4. Possibly source some OEM springs to raise the car to factory height (more on that in a minute)

These are just things I know the car will fail inspection for, but that's okay, because I took the car for inspection today and they won't even inspect it, because the car is too low. The lowest part of the car has to be a minimum of 9cm from the ground. I am just below 9cm on the front lip (and the fender liner goes much lower). They won't inspect my car on base until I raise the car up, but even if I install factory springs the car still won't be above 9cm at the fender liner, because Porsche didn't build the car like that.

In addition to all of these headaches, I have a damaged fender that I can't get fixed because the shipping company won't cooperate, and I've had to replace blown fuses and multiple bulbs in the car, not to mention I am trying to troubleshoot an electrical issue with my aftermarket wing that came with the car, and the OEM wing doesn't go up and down and throws error codes. Oh and let's not forget the small coolant leak that I still have to worry about when I get everything else sorted and get it through inspection.

Sorry, this is and irrelevant, but I wanted to share my frustration. I was 100% happy with the car despite all the minor issues but my impending inspection due date and the little issues piling up (the windshield washer fluid and denial for inspection because the car is too low pushed me over the edge) are putting me at my wits end.

I sincerely hope that things turn around soon. I am going to remove the front lip and fender liners Wednesday and go to a different inspection station, and see if they will at least inspect the car so I know what I need to fix to get this thing on the road permanently. Regarding the windshield washers not working, I will take a look at the pump on Wednesday when I get the car on a lift and see if I can troubleshoot it further.

monty007

Hang in there bud. I know you have gone through a lot with the car. I was wondering if you might have rodents around where the car is parked. I had a friend of mine who had a slew of issues with his R8 and they were mostly electrical. He finally pulled the motor and found a family of rats living in the car just in front of the motor and they had eaten lots of the wires. I hope that is not the case for you.

jhbrennan

Here's one OEM exhaust - there were a few more with prices all over the place. Maybe source a new one in Germany from FVD (or others) that is TUV approved for sound?? Good luck.
https://www.ebay.com/p/?iid=11238581...pp=true&chn=ps

nzskater

Have you checked the fuses?

Edit. Ignore me. Just read your post properly. You could try attach a 12v source to the pump directly to see if you can activate it.

Rat3d M

I wish it were that cheap for me. I'm in Germany so shipping from the US isn't possible and they are a lot more expensive here. You would think they would be cheaper but nope. The cheapest on eBay right now is about $500. Average price is around $650 and some go up to $2000. And that is without the tips for the cheaper ones. Hell they charge more for just the tips here in germany than the entire exhaust in that ad. I love my current setup and don't want to change it permanently. $600 just for a temporary solution for a day to pass inspection is hard to swallow.

The fuse in the front driver side panel is good. Not sure if there is another one somewhere.

Terry Adams

Rat, you are a brave man submitting your US spec Porsche to the German Tüv.

It is mostly the German 19% VAT causing your pricing issue.

Rat3d M

Oddly enough, they started working. I pulled the wheel liner out, and tried to test voltage on the connector. I wasn't seeing a change when the stalk was pulled to the rear. Upon reassembling everything expecting I needed a new control stalk I tried it a few more times, and it finally started spraying out water. It's worked fine ever since. My guess is there was a bad electrical connection at the pump.

And on a plus note, I did an off base TUV "inspection" and passed, so I got the car registered and am good to go for another year.

estrellajon

I was about to say, you may want to get it inspected at a different facility.

jhbrennan

What about the exhaust and lowering issues??

Rat3d M

the place I went off base "don't look so closely". They are real sticklers on base but my off base inspection was easy. Very, very easy in fact.

Terry Adams

Ah the good old days of off base TüV inspection. Took our old Beetle in Nürnberg in 1974, that had an exhaust pipe hanging from a coat hanger. With benefit of a carton of Marlboros, passed.