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plima

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About plima

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    Male

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  • From
    Carson City, NV
  • Porsche Club
    PCA (Porsche Club of America)
  • Present cars
    2004 Porsche 911 GT3
  • Future cars
    with a GT3, why would I want another car?
  • Former cars
    1991 BMW M5
    1963 Porsche 356 SC Cab

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  1. plima
    I'm a Mac only guy, too, and have been using Durametric s/w on my MacBook Pro with Parallels and Windoze XP. Works perfectly. I'm sure Bootcamp will also work, but Parallels is much simpler.
  2. plima
    It is possibly the vacuum booster leaking down. Normally, the vacuum holds for days after running. When there is vacuum, the pedal feels normal, but if there is no vacuum, the pedal will be very hard. The brakes still are working, but there is no assist until the engine is running and vacuum is restored. It that is the case, it isn't an urgent issue, but I'd still get it fixed, since if it were to get worse, it might reduce or eliminate the power assist to the brakes.
  3. plima
    I too have a 2008 S (108k miles) and a Durametric. After a few weird codes I contacted Durametric and they told me they had problems with the Siemens ECU in this car. They gave me a beta ECU module which works well and now I get the same P2181 on a regular basis. At least with this sw you will get the correct codes. But $800 for a thermostat seems excessive to me
  4. plima
    I have an '08 "S" as well, and have gotten 2181 regularly (about 3x per year) Since it is very unlikely to be the thermostat with this infrequent occurrence, I have been happily ignoring it. I'd clear the codes and see how quickly it reoccurs.
  5. plima
    I use Michelin Latitude Alpins on my 2008S here in Carson City. They are fantastic in the snow, and, most important, they are very good tires in the dry. We get plenty of snow in the Sierra, but often have clear roads between storms. Highly recommend these tires.
  6. plima
    I also have a 2008 Cayenne S with PCM version 2.1 and the s/w version is indeed 4.1 as you found.
  7. plima
    Parallels is a great windoze solution for Mac. I've tried the dual boot/bootcamp approach and it isn't nearly as flexible (choosing a fixed partition size with which you are stuck doesn't work for me). I haven't tried the Durametric solution yet, but all other USB-windoze products I've used work fine with Parallels (I'm running version 5)
  8. plima
    I think your analysis is correct. The alternator voltage is correct, and the battery voltage is too low to charge the battery. The drop you measure is the problem, and is most likely occurring at the connection at the starter motor. Unless there has been a crimp or cut in the wire between the alternator and the starter, the connectors on the wire or, most likely, the tightness of the connection at the starter are the culprit. Good analysis, and good luck.
  9. plima
    See attached[Xenon Headlight wiring USA.jpg]
  10. plima
    There are no electronics inside the headlight assembly that affect the turn signals. The ground connection for the fog light, side marker light, and turn signal is common to the three, and is a brown wire in the connector. The power to the turn signal is a black wire with white stripe. Inside the assembly there is only the wire, light socket, and the bulb. Either their diagnostics are very poor or there might be a problem with the socket itself. In any case, it should be repairable (a good DIY).
  11. plima
    I drive a 2004 GT3, track and road, and think that the Porsche factory knows more about oil than I do. I stick with Mobil 1 0W-40 and think it is wise to do so. I do change the oil every spring before track season starts; some years this means 7K miles, other years this has been 3K miles. With 36K miles on my car including many track days, I do not burn any more than "one or two bars" of oil in a year of driving. My first 911 (1968 "L") used 1 qt in 1K-1.5K miles; technology has gotten much better in 40 years. Btw, one very good reason for the "0W" part of the oil rating is the cold start lubrication is better, and the variocam mechanisms work.
  12. plima
    I just had another thought. If, when you start the car, the starter turns over quickly (i.e. it sounds normal, not slow like a dying battery) then perhaps the voltage drop is occurring between the alternator and the starter (possibly the cable connection at either end). The charging current flows from the alternator (where the voltage seems to be OK) to the starter. From there it goes to the battery through a very heavy cable (since that cable carries the high current from the battery required to run the starter). The basic troubleshooting path is to find the "missing" volt. Starting with 13.5 at the alternator, you should see about that at the battery when all is fine. The problem is the drop in voltage, most likely from a poor connection (high resistance) somewhere in this path.
  13. plima
    Okay, this part confuses me. Are you saying that anytime the battery is below 12.6 volts, the alternator won't charge it? Meaning, for example, if I left my headlights on for a couple of hours and the battery drained down to 10 volts...driving my car would not recharge the battery after I got it jumpstarted like other cars would? The battery terminal voltage tells the story. If it is charged up and not connected to anything it will show something like 12.4-12.6 volts. If the voltage is below this, then the battery is discharging. If the voltage is above about 13.5 then the battery is being charged. The alternator provides the higher terminal voltage that allows charge to go into the battery. When the engine is not running or when there is a bad connection or excessive load, the battery terminal voltage will be below the level for charge to go into it, and thus the battery will discharge.
  14. plima
    You have nearly identified the problem in your last update. The voltage at the alternator (which, I'm pretty certain includes the voltage regulator internally) of 13.8 volts is adequate to keep the battery from discharging, and, in fact, would actually charge the battery adequately at normal temperatures. The problem is that the terminal voltage at the battery is not high enough; anything below about 12.6 will indicate the battery is discharging, not charging. There are a couple of possibilities that I can think of. First (and I think most likely) is that you have a high resistance connection "around" the battery. I'd check the positive cable connection first; make sure the cable is robust (no broken wires), connector is clean and tightens well to the battery. Check the negative cable likewise, but, in addition, check where the negative cable attaches to the body. If it is partially broken, loose, or corroded, that is the source of the high resistance. The other possibility (I think much less likely) is that there is a high current load near the battery. I'd watch the voltage at the battery when the engine is shut off; if it doesn't drop significantly from the already low voltage you are reporting, then at least with the engine off there isn't much additional load. With the engine running it is much harder to find this kind of load; an ammeter in series with one lead of the battery will show which direction and how much current is flowing. I hope this helps.
  15. plima
    That behavior sounds very much like a nearly dead battery. If you can get it charged I'm pretty sure you are ok to go. The battery may be near end of life, but the immediate problem is just that it got discharged while the blade was in the ignition switch.
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