Flashing CEL

[Highlander]

New to me '02 TT

Last night, when I really got hard on the gas, PSM cut in, then the CEL started flashing and the display said, "Engine Fault, drive to service" (or something like that). I got off the gas and the CEL went away. Car was running fine, smooth and still lots of power.

I pulled the OBC lever to clear the error message and it has not returned.

Hooked up the Durametric and pulled the following:

Current Fault Codes

P0300
Porsche fault code 507 - Misfire detection (total)

P0302
Porsche fault code 510 - Misfire cylinder 2

P0305
Porsche fault code 513 - Misfire cylinder 5

Only 29k miles, but I have the FVD Bromacher tune and I know the car was someones track toy for a year.

Time for new plugs?

At 13 years old, maybe new coils too?

If plugs, any suggestions other the OEM?

[JFP in PA]

New to me '02 TT

Last night, when I really got hard on the gas, PSM cut in, then the CEL started flashing and the display said, "Engine Fault, drive to service" (or something like that). I got off the gas and the CEL went away. Car was running fine, smooth and still lots of power.

I pulled the OBC lever to clear the error message and it has not returned.

Hooked up the Durametric and pulled the following:

Current Fault Codes

P0300

Porsche fault code 507 - Misfire detection (total)

P0302

Porsche fault code 510 - Misfire cylinder 2

P0305

Porsche fault code 513 - Misfire cylinder 5

Only 29k miles, but I have the FVD Bromacher tune and I know the car was someones track toy for a year.

Time for new plugs?

At 13 years old, maybe new coils too?

If plugs, any suggestions other the OEM?

You definitely have miss fire issues, I would closely check the coils and go for new plugs at the same time. Non normally aspirated engines are much more sensitive to miss fires than regular air breathers, give them a reason to miss and they will.

[Highlander]

Thanks Jeff.

Any suggestions on plugs? Just go with OEM, or is there consensus on newer/better aftermarket?

I'll most probably be sticking with plain old copper as the only downside I know of is longevity and I'm not afraid of getting my hand dirty to change a few plugs :)

[JFP in PA]

Thanks Jeff.

Any suggestions on plugs? Just go with OEM, or is there consensus on newer/better aftermarket?

I'll most probably be sticking with plain old copper as the only downside I know of is longevity and I'm not afraid of getting my hand dirty to change a few plugs :)

The OEM plugs are good, but you might want to take a look a Denso Iridium's as well, we have had very good luck with them.

[Highlander]

denso pk20prp8? Gapped to? .040?

I see the IK20's getting a bad rap over at 6speed.

No idea what boost level I'm running. Not quite ready to look down at WOT! :jump:

Need to leave the Durametric hooked up and do a couple of hard pulls.

[JFP in PA]

denso pk20prp8? Gapped to? .040?

I see the IK20's getting a bad rap over at 6speed.

No idea what boost level I'm running. Not quite ready to look down at WOT! :jump:

Need to leave the Durametric hooked up and do a couple of hard pulls.

I have no idea why they are giving the IK20's a "bad rap", we use them gapped to around 0.042 and have no issues with them, and in fact they ran very well for a long period. Did they say over on the other site why they don't like them? I know several people with elevated boost levels drop the gap down around 0.30 or so to accommodate the high pressures and they have had good luck with them as well. The IK20 is a good plug.

I wonder if the problems they had were due to center electrode damage while gapping, very easy to do on and iridium plug............

[Highlander]

denso pk20prp8? Gapped to? .040?

I see the IK20's getting a bad rap over at 6speed.

No idea what boost level I'm running. Not quite ready to look down at WOT! :jump:

Need to leave the Durametric hooked up and do a couple of hard pulls.

I have no idea why they are giving the IK20's a "bad rap", we use them gapped to around 0.042 and have no issues with them, and in fact they ran very well for a long period. Did they say over on the other site why they don't like them? I know several people with elevated boost levels drop the gap down around 0.30 or so to accommodate the high pressures and they have had good luck with them as well. The IK20 is a good plug.

I wonder if the problems they had were due to center electrode damage while gapping, very easy to do on and iridium plug............

One issue reported was that the central electrode eroded away. More than one person reporting it. Could very well have been caused by careless gapping.

The other is lots of misfires with the stock gap of 0.044.

Talking about gapping. How do you gap an iridium plug?

Not with one of these I assume :blush:

How about this tool?

http://www.carid.com/accel-ignition-systems/accel-ignition-systems-12710255.html

[JFP in PA]

denso pk20prp8? Gapped to? .040?

I see the IK20's getting a bad rap over at 6speed.

No idea what boost level I'm running. Not quite ready to look down at WOT! :jump:

Need to leave the Durametric hooked up and do a couple of hard pulls.

I have no idea why they are giving the IK20's a "bad rap", we use them gapped to around 0.042 and have no issues with them, and in fact they ran very well for a long period. Did they say over on the other site why they don't like them? I know several people with elevated boost levels drop the gap down around 0.30 or so to accommodate the high pressures and they have had good luck with them as well. The IK20 is a good plug.

I wonder if the problems they had were due to center electrode damage while gapping, very easy to do on and iridium plug............

One issue reported was that the central electrode eroded away. More than one person reporting it. Could very well have been caused by careless gapping.

The other is lots of misfires with the stock gap of 0.044.

Talking about gapping. How do you gap an iridium plug?

Not with one of these I assume :blush:

How about this tool?

http://www.carid.com/accel-ignition-systems/accel-ignition-systems-12710255.html

Center electrode erosion does not make sense, iridium is the hardest metal you can get in a plug; if it erodes, everything else would do so as well, only quicker.

The Accel tool, or similar is excellent for controlled bending of the side electrodes, but not for setting the gap; the gap measurement tool needs to be something like this:

The open wire design is flexible, and will not pull or distort the fine iridium center electrode.

We use a tool like this to bend the side electrodes:

[Highlander]

<snip>

We use a tool like this to bend the side electrodes:

That looks nice. Which tool is that? I see two MMR spark plug gapping tools.

PN#900985 MMR Spark Plug Gapping tool

Item# 900985/234

MMR Spark Plug Gapping tool/93-2014 2V, 4V, GT500 & TiVCT 5.0 (NON 3V)

PN#900985 MMR Spark Plug Gapping tool

Item# 900985/235

MMR Spark Plug Gapping tool/2005-2008 3V

[JFP in PA]

<snip>

We use a tool like this to bend the side electrodes:

That looks nice. Which tool is that? I see two MMR spark plug gapping tools.

PN#900985 MMR Spark Plug Gapping tool

Item# 900985/234

MMR Spark Plug Gapping tool/93-2014 2V, 4V, GT500 & TiVCT 5.0 (NON 3V)

PN#900985 MMR Spark Plug Gapping tool

Item# 900985/235

MMR Spark Plug Gapping tool/2005-2008 3V

Our is not actually a MMR tool, but looks just like it. I got it at a Porsche swap meet from a guy who made them. There are aftermarket companies that make them, like MMR, you just need to find one that is for 14MM thread diameter plugs.

[JFP in PA]

Interestingly, the MMR tool is a 14MM plug tool, so it could work.

[Highlander]

Non normally aspirated engines are much more sensitive to miss fires than regular air breathers, give them a reason to miss and they will.

Back in my youth, I autocrossed a Grand Prix GTP with an underdrive pully on the supercharger. Blew more than 1 tip off the end of a spark plug with that car :)

[White987S]

I think it should be noted here that a flashing CEL is a very severe warning. And should be treated different than just an illuminated CEL. A flashing CEL means get to the side of the road safely ASAP and turn off engine ASAP, and call the flatbed. You do not drive on a flashing CEL.

[Highlander]

I think it should be noted here that a flashing CEL is a very severe warning. And should be treated different than just an illuminated CEL. A flashing CEL means get to the side of the road safely ASAP and turn off engine ASAP, and call the flatbed. You do not drive on a flashing CEL.

You are correct of course - thanks for the remindier that driving on a flashing CEL is a "bad thing".

However, in this instance, I only caught something flashing out of the corner of my eye. I originally assumed it was the PSM light as the effect was very similar to PSM cutting spark. Then the message came up on the information center to "drive to service". It was at that point that I took a good look at the warning light positions and determined it was the CEL that had been flashing. Back to driving like a normal human being (not my usual technique :D ), the car is well behaved - for now.

Parts are on order and will be installed ASAP. There are some decent write ups on how to swap coils/sparkplugs on a 996TT, but none I have found with good pictures. I'll attempt to docment how it goes and post a writeup when I'm done.