Intro-I bought Cobalt's '04 Turbo
12-01-2017, 11:22 PM
#31
Brake booster is more than likely a cracked hose, the most common place is the tube attaching to the one way check valve. If you remove the engine cover on the passenger side you'll see the vacuum hose and the check valve. I had the issue a while ago and put tape around the crack, it lasted for a short while so i bit the bullet and bought the complete hose. However i couldn't get one part of the hose to detach with out breaking another part of the system, so in the end i cut the cracked section out and slipped fuel hose over the section. Been working fine for 6 months and i returned the hose.
12-04-2017, 11:00 AM
#32
Instructor
Thread Starter
I tried the JB Weld method from Renntech and it has held up well. Had the darn brake booster light three different times before I tracked down all the culprits. The plastic formed hoses tend to split at the joints/connections as it looks like they are thinner in these areas. The common failure points are right by the brake booster (driver's side behind the firewall), at the back of the firewall on the passenger side, and under the electric brake booster vacuum pump (there are several here). Maybe an hour or so and a tube of JB Weld should get you all set.
Two questions:
I have looked quite a bit but is there a thread with pictures to show exactly what vacuum lines I need to be looking at?
Will the fault clear itself after I fix the vacuum leak or does the computer need to be reset?
On another note, I must have angered the German car gods somehow-stereo has been acting wonky and two bulbs burnt out all of a sudden. The stereo issue (no sound)was fixed by restarting the car so I'll just keep an eye on that. The bulbs burning out (signal bulbs) was just weird, bulbs burning out on a car this age makes sense but going from just having the booster fault to having multiple faults appearing was really disconcerting--it all happened at once.
12-04-2017, 12:42 PM
#35
Instructor
Thread Starter
12-04-2017, 03:45 PM
#36
Thank you for posting the links. Reading through them inspired me to take mine apart again and fix it once and for all. My fix details are documented here:
https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...is-back-2.html
Message #19.
cheers,
c
https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...is-back-2.html
Message #19.
cheers,
c
12-05-2017, 04:44 PM
#37
Nordschleife Master
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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-The lock/unlock of the doors is one of the most annoying things I have ever dealt with. Why they designed the lock and unlock to utilize the same button is stupid. I have already been caught outside the car a couple times trying to get the doors unlocked looking like an idiot. I suppose I will get used to it.
12-05-2017, 07:11 PM
#38
Agreed. It gets a little bit better in time, but you will always be amazed at how poor of an engineering decision it was to defy keyless entry fob design best practice of separate buttons! I love the CTT, but I can not give Porsche credit for waking up every morning and exclusively pissing excellence.
12-06-2017, 09:35 AM
#39
Rennlist Member
It was one of my biggest peeves about the car the wiper blades were another but they improved over time. They interviewed me after I first purchased it and the first thing I commented on was the unlocking of the car. ( seemed to get a snicker when mentioned) They later got wise and fixed it. I found it easier to just unlock the drivers side and open the car then unlock the passenger side by using the button on the door. You would think they would have realized what a bad idea it was before they released it.
12-06-2017, 11:59 AM
#40
It was one of my biggest peeves about the car the wiper blades were another but they improved over time. They interviewed me after I first purchased it and the first thing I commented on was the unlocking of the car. ( seemed to get a snicker when mentioned) They later got wise and fixed it. I found it easier to just unlock the drivers side and open the car then unlock the passenger side by using the button on the door. You would think they would have realized what a bad idea it was before they released it.
1. Unlock driver's door only
2. Unlock both doors on driver's side
3. Unlock all.
Before I found this, my family members were always tugging on all the door handles and complaining that they needed to get into the car while I scrambled for the button before they broke something (my 968 has a broken door handle). Mode 3 makes it much less annoying, but yes, other manufacturers have handled this far better.
cheers,
c
Last edited by vandal968; 12-06-2017 at 03:06 PM.
12-06-2017, 02:00 PM
#41
You can change the behavior of the locks from the dashboard menu. Three choices:
1. Unlock driver's door only
2. Unlock both doors on driver's side
3. Unlock all.
Before I found this, my family members were always tugging on all the door handles and complaining that they needed to get into the car while I scrambled for the button before they broke something (my 968 has a broken door handle). Mode 3 makes it much less annoying, but yes, other manufacturer's have handled this far better.
cheers,
c
1. Unlock driver's door only
2. Unlock both doors on driver's side
3. Unlock all.
Before I found this, my family members were always tugging on all the door handles and complaining that they needed to get into the car while I scrambled for the button before they broke something (my 968 has a broken door handle). Mode 3 makes it much less annoying, but yes, other manufacturer's have handled this far better.
cheers,
c
12-08-2017, 10:55 AM
#42
Instructor
Thread Starter
LOL, I did that the first day.
12-08-2017, 11:09 AM
#43
Instructor
Thread Starter
My passenger's side front turn signal has burnt out three times this week, any idea of cause? I'm assuming I must have disturbed something when I swapped out the other bulbs. Searching yielded some chatter about signals not working but this is different because once I swap the bulb it works again for a short while.
Also, I took a close look at the vacuum lines associated with the brake booster--no cracked lines, at least visually without removing a lot of stuff. I sprayed the hoses in the problem areas with soapy water, nothing. I also turned the car on and depressed the brake pedal with a pole and listened, no hissing. The vacuum pump runs intermittently. When I clear the code, it comes back within a few minutes of driving, but sometimes immediately (my logic here leads me to believe this is related to a leak). Are there any relays or sensors related to this that I should check? I was really hoping I would see an obvious cracked line which would have made this fix a slam dunk. I can have my shop look at it but I'm afraid this will be a long rabbit hole of diagnosis.
Also, I took a close look at the vacuum lines associated with the brake booster--no cracked lines, at least visually without removing a lot of stuff. I sprayed the hoses in the problem areas with soapy water, nothing. I also turned the car on and depressed the brake pedal with a pole and listened, no hissing. The vacuum pump runs intermittently. When I clear the code, it comes back within a few minutes of driving, but sometimes immediately (my logic here leads me to believe this is related to a leak). Are there any relays or sensors related to this that I should check? I was really hoping I would see an obvious cracked line which would have made this fix a slam dunk. I can have my shop look at it but I'm afraid this will be a long rabbit hole of diagnosis.
12-08-2017, 12:08 PM
#44
@kraeburn
I'd clean the electrical contacts behind the headlight and smother them with silicone di-electric grease to prevent current leakage between pins. I'd also use the di-electric grease on the base of the bulb.
other than that I'd look at how they're mounted, vibration could damage the bulb. There's a TSB on preventing the headlight assembly from bouncing https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...ml#post3302881
Also some bulbs burn out faster than others. The Sylvania Silverstars, for instance, didn't last 2 weeks in one of my cars.
I'd clean the electrical contacts behind the headlight and smother them with silicone di-electric grease to prevent current leakage between pins. I'd also use the di-electric grease on the base of the bulb.
other than that I'd look at how they're mounted, vibration could damage the bulb. There's a TSB on preventing the headlight assembly from bouncing https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...ml#post3302881
Also some bulbs burn out faster than others. The Sylvania Silverstars, for instance, didn't last 2 weeks in one of my cars.
12-08-2017, 12:51 PM
#45
My passenger's side front turn signal has burnt out three times this week, any idea of cause? I'm assuming I must have disturbed something when I swapped out the other bulbs. Searching yielded some chatter about signals not working but this is different because once I swap the bulb it works again for a short while.
Also, I took a close look at the vacuum lines associated with the brake booster--no cracked lines, at least visually without removing a lot of stuff. I sprayed the hoses in the problem areas with soapy water, nothing. I also turned the car on and depressed the brake pedal with a pole and listened, no hissing. The vacuum pump runs intermittently. When I clear the code, it comes back within a few minutes of driving, but sometimes immediately (my logic here leads me to believe this is related to a leak). Are there any relays or sensors related to this that I should check? I was really hoping I would see an obvious cracked line which would have made this fix a slam dunk. I can have my shop look at it but I'm afraid this will be a long rabbit hole of diagnosis.
Also, I took a close look at the vacuum lines associated with the brake booster--no cracked lines, at least visually without removing a lot of stuff. I sprayed the hoses in the problem areas with soapy water, nothing. I also turned the car on and depressed the brake pedal with a pole and listened, no hissing. The vacuum pump runs intermittently. When I clear the code, it comes back within a few minutes of driving, but sometimes immediately (my logic here leads me to believe this is related to a leak). Are there any relays or sensors related to this that I should check? I was really hoping I would see an obvious cracked line which would have made this fix a slam dunk. I can have my shop look at it but I'm afraid this will be a long rabbit hole of diagnosis.
In addition to what as already posted, examine the insulation of the wires to the headlights both inside the housing and the external harness. The insulation deteriorates which obviously can cause some weird problems when things get jiggled around underway.
Brake Booster
I had a tricky problem like that as well. Replaced all lines and tested the booster itself. It turned out to be the brake booster vacuum pump itself which was working, but not creating enough vacuum with age. The brakes never had any signs of a problem, I just don't like warning lights. The car would intermittently throw the error and it got more frequent as the pump ran worse and worse. I have posted a part number for the identical Audi part in the past which is a fraction of what Porsche proudly marks up for their ingenious work in re-labeling/re-numbering stock VAG parts.