Data collection effort: Calling on 987.2 users with Porsche specific programmers (PIWIS, Foxwell, etc)

Hey everyone. I want to collect a little data for the oil level system on our cars. On my Foxwell , if you go into the Porsche section, then into the Instrument Cluster, then the live data, you can see two entries for the oil level: Average absolute oil level (in mm) Current oil level (Required = 85%) I expect any other scanner with Porsche specific info can read this data as well (I've seen it, personally, on an Autel used by my mechanic as well). What I want to do is try to correlate this with the bars on the dashboard. A user on RL did this for what appears to be his 987.1, which shows very different values based on his work. I just want to generate a similar plot for our cars, if possible. (See Oil Level Sensor Values - ******** - Porsche Discussion Forums ) I have taken two measurements so far: 59.0mm = 126 % = 5 bars on dash (per the photo above) 71.5mm = 154% = 5 bars on dash I'd like to see that others match my findings, and see if we can develop a similar table for the 987.2. I guess I'm being a little lazy, as i could drain and fill slowly, but I figure I may not have to go that crazy, so I'm asking if others don't mind reporting what they find on their cars. I can then collect the data and see what we get. Just reply with the levels (as above) and I'll pull it together and share the results. (If someone wants to do the manual work of figuring this out during a slow fill, please do that and report back.) Thanks in advance!

Interesting…. Ya this could semi clear up some discrepancies… it’s such a tired old but important topic… Godd I miss dip sticks!

On that readout, IIRC - 200 = full. 100 is the first bar. One of my cars - possibly the Cayenne (newer electronics) also tells you how much more oil to add to get to full. I'll have to look at it after I get the Cayenne back (it just had its oil changed, and then sort of broke down on the way home.. for what is a very odd - but not unusual reason. Hopefully it's running again later this week.)

From my '09 Boxster S . 4 bars on dash.

I mentioned before the oil-fill screen on the Foxwell NT530 when used on my 2011 Cayenne turbo.. Here it is.. When I took this reading the bar-display was showing 3 bars. After adding ~0.2L - it was at the top of the 4th bar. It would be nice if the other models offered this sort of information, but I suspect this ability is enabled by the vehicle, not the tool.

@searocko Thanks - that's perfect info! I appreciate it. Also interesting that your reader provides the number of bars being shown (I don't see that on my Foxwell). Looks like PIWIS, is that correct? @deilenberger Very cool. It's interesting that 100% is the minimum on that car (987.2 is 85%)... and it seems to imply that it wants you at FULL = 200%, since it's saying you could add 0.2L more. Though those values aren't related to the 987.2, I am curious to know what bar-level you're seeing?

I found this in some Porsche training documents. Besides being of general interest, I would suggest that everyone should report their data based on an engine that has sat overnight. My understanding is that the software has some logic that corrects for temperature but it might be best to try and get everyone in the same general range of resting temp. Plus it gives the oil time to drain back to the sump. Oil Level Sensor - The oil level sensor consists of an electrically heated resistance wire. The sensor is installed in the oil reservoir tank. The processor in the instrument cluster determines the oil level from the immersion depth in the engine oil and the respective cooling behavior.

@schwinn Yes, it's PIWIS 3. Too bad the 987.2 doesn't give you the amount to top up like deilenberger's Cayenne. @harveyf The 987.2 requires the car to be running and warmed up before it can report oil level. I believe 987.1s can do it at rest?

@harveyf As searocko said, a 987.2 cannot measure oil unless it's warmed up and idling. That's why I am asking for 987.2-specific info on this thread... because I know it's different, and we don't have the detail here. I also don't know if 987.1 (or even 986) have access to this data. Though, if anyone is interested, they can look and see... we could collect that info here as well, as long as we keep it separated in the end, since the values are likely different.

It showed full up, all bars illuminated.

Many of the systems require oil above 90F and below 99F before it will measure the level. I believe they're figuring at that temperature it's expanded a certain amount, and they want it at a certain level. Going for a cold reading would inherently be less accurate since cold could be anything from below freezing to above 100F, adding the temperature expansion variable to the read value. Their way does make sense - it's just annoying since you can't read the level as you fill the oil, so the best bet is - to go at least 1/2 L low on fill, and then top-up when the temperature allows for a reading.

If it helps, the images below are what I see with my 987.2 Cayman and Foxwell NT530 .

Thanks - that helps. Can you also pull the mm value from the foxwell at the same time? I'd like to get the % value and mm at the same time, as these are likely related. THANK YOU!

Huh. The car is actually running at idle when you check the oil. Interesting. So the heat thing makes sense, you are right, cold ambient will be a range. Does it refuse to make a reading if the engine is too hot?

The Foxwell tool won't read (on my Cayenne) if the oil is above 100C. So it has a 10C range over which it will report the oil level. I'm not certain what the built-in oil level display would do. I also can't say on the 987.2 , I'd have to hook it up and see.

Not to get too wonky about this but I marvel at the part about the system being able to check the level while the car is running. Even at idle, I just imagine a fairly chaotic state of affairs that would tend to disguise the level of the oil in the sump. Whatever, Porsche tends to know what they are doing so I guess it all works out.

... assuming for the 987.2 , this will all correlate to the generally agreed 400mm per bar?

987.1 can do it at rest while cold (takes about 10 seconds) and at rest while hot (takes about 30-45 minutes … no that’s not a typo there is a little timer on the dash LCD gauge that counts down before it will show you the bars… 🙃)

My Foxwell NT530 is only showing oil level in volts, can’t seem to find any other units. Thought maybe it needs a software update so went into their website to update the flash card with my PC, put the flash drive in the scanner, hit update and tells me to insert in a flash drive (!) which is already there. Must be doing something wrong but gave up after a few back and forth between PC and scanner.

That's not how it's done. In the case your Foxwell came in there should have been a plastic envelope with two items. One is a USB-B to A cord - which you don't need. The other is a little thing that looks like a key fob of some type - that you do need. That opens up - and looks like a large USB connector. It's an odd connector in that the SD card from the scanner is supposed to be inserted into the slot in the fob, then the fob into a USB port on the computer the software update program runs on. Insert the SD card into the USB device, plug that into your computer, and start the support program on your PC. It will find the SD card, read it, check it against what you're registered with, and tell you what downloads/updates are available for your tool. As far as only reading voltage for oil level - something isn't right. Please do a series of photos of the Foxwell screen showing how you got to the oil-level check section, and then a photo of the screen showing volts. Something odd is happening - I've used all the iterations of the Porsche software and can't recall ever seeing that. IIRC, there is a reading from 100%-200%. 100% is the bottom of the scale on the dash, and 200% is the top. Then I believe there should also be a scale showing how many liters (or partial liters) need to be added to reach the 200% point (but that's possibly on my '11 Cayenne, which has newer ECU software than the 987's do.) Anyway - let me see the screens and we'll figure out what's going on with yours.

Measurements from a 2008 987.2 Cayman S . Both readings taken from a cold engine first thing in the morning. Per my Owners Manual: 1. Difference between the min/max marks on the segment display is approximately 1.26 quarts. 2. Each segment of the display corresponds to approximately 0.42 quarts. I will take a "hot" engine reading after my next drive. If different, I will report back.

Thanks @MidLifeFix but it looks like 987.1 has different readings from 987.2, so they are not comparable, unfortunately. I was hoping there would be some consistency but you're showing 153mm on 4 bars, while my 2010 showed 5 bars at 59 and 71.5mm... I'm not surprised by the difference, especially since your can take measurements at cold, while 987.2 cannot... I kinda gave up on the project at this point... I was hoping to get some data to plot and make sense of it all, but with a limited audience and variations between models, it doesn't seem worth the effort. So be it!