Cranking, no start . seen this before?

[toolmonkey]

2000 cab 996 tiptronic.

Background:

vehicle has been in storage closed non heated storage for last 7 years. left about 1/4 tank of fuel and would start it every 3-6 months  and run till hot (in place-not on road). always check that fuel doesn't go to full empty.... but never had to add.

about a year ago it seemed to have trouble firing up immediately- would only crank and would fire up after ~10 seconds, sometimes on second try (i would never crank for more than 15-20 seconds at a time). I told myself it was due to aging gas and or bleed out in lifters as they would rattle a few seconds on startup. 

6 months ago i ran down theold weak battery cranking. Changed out, then when it started i had no headlamps. all other lamps work ok. figured the low voltage cranking blew my aftermarket HID projector installation. no worries, put on my todo list and  would deal with that when i put back on road

Last month: cranks fine (btw- cranking sound is always normal , good compression sound. even. etc) but never fires up. figured maybe empty or Very Very old gas so i added 20l fresh gas with stabilizer in it. 

same NO start (cranks but doesnt fire). everything works; door locks on key fob, in car, cabri top, all lights less headlamps. oiul pressure goes up on cranking.

NOTE: my gas guage goes only to up a tiny bit and stays on the reserve orange? with 20 l it should be at least a quarter tank??

I also seem to remember a buzz sound long time ago (I think it was this car) i figured gas pump. Now I only hear a relay click a few seconds after i let go of key.

 

Bottom line- more worried about why gas guage not going higher- is this an indication of something? 

should i look more at diagnosing ignition switch? or imobilizer alarm module (even though its in kind of  dry storage) and all other functions work.

any advise welcome. 

rem: is access to gas tank level sensor done from above or below. and fuel pump? 

 

[JFP in PA]

This is a poster child for how not to store one of these vehicles.

 

Gas that old is more varnish that fuel, and I would suspect is part of your problems, along with the fuel pump.  You need to test the system's fuel pressure and delivery rates for a start.

[Loren]

I would also look at these in order of known failures...

- ignition switch

- wet/damaged immobilizer control unit (under the drivers seat)

- positive lead from battery to starter/starter solenoid

- crankshaft position sensor (can usually be found with a Porsche specific scan tool).

[toolmonkey]

On 9/22/2023 at 6:38 PM, JFP in PA said:

This is a poster child for how not to store one of these vehicles.

 

Gas that old is more varnish that fuel, and I would suspect is part of your problems, along with the fuel pump.  You need to test the system's fuel pressure and delivery rates for a start.

Chuckle! yeah!

I know better than to store a car  like this. I just got lazy and procrastinated! Got me a new car and new project back then and just ignored this 996.

At the time I drove it into my  garage and wasn't planning to be storing it.... it just happened... I lost the enthusiasm to drive it again.....and too lazy to be bothered to sell it.

It got brand new brakes (all 4) and rear tires the  week it was stored...was  ready for next season that never happened.....after sitting,  the tires are likely scrap now too! oh well. 

good news : headlamps fixed. wasn't a biggie.... forgot to connect a relay feed after replacing battery. everything works again.

 

So i scanned vehicle with a good generic scanner- all ok.  Had  codes: 33, 10, 23 in alarm.. erased and never came back. l (i figure they set because i keep battery disconnected all the time. hint: would be nice to have alarm codes and meaning stickied on some thread on forum.

I had  rpm showing while cranking in my DME data; and fuel pump gurgled when activated so next step I checked and had no fuel at all..... 

Had power  at the pump cover...... so I ordered a new pump. project for next week

will suck our old fuel and hopefully all will be ok..... hopefully no gum at injectors..... 

maybe i'll run it with injector cleaner canister..... clean  the lines and  system before reconnecting new pump. 

what's the regulated running fuel pressure of these 3.4l NA systems?  ) 

 

 

 

[JFP in PA]

Engine off: 3.8 +/- 0.2 bar (55 PSIG) 

Engine idle: 3.3 +/- 0.2 bar (48 PSIG)

 

Fuel delivery rate: 850 ml in 30 seconds