Starting Problems - Cayman 2.7

A bizarre problem which was occasional, but now happens constantly. Insert key, depress clutch, turn key, dash lights illuminate as expected, ignition clicks. Then everything goes dead. No mechanical or electrical power at all. Literally nothing works. So, I open the bonnet/hood (love Dr Porsche 's procedure for this; great on a dark morning, and what is the mad rationale about not being able to quickly and easily remove the key when there is ignition failure - my house keys are now stuck in an unlocked car!). I then slightly move the main lead connected to the +ve battery terminal, and the car will then come alive. I've had the battery connection changed, and it has made no difference. The battery itself seems to be fine. Could this be caused by a probem with the ignition barrel shorting? I've noticed a few other electrical faults - odd isolated dimming of the air conditioning panel lights, occasionally slow fuel guage reaction after filling up, odd window behaviour. Porsche mechanics have not cured the problem.

some of the issues sound like an ignition switch BUT i dont like the part where you move the batt cable. check both terms. and make sure the batt post isnt broke inside the batt.

What year is your car? I had some electrical issues with my car that appeared to be related to rusting of the (+) electrical system terminal/post (not the battery terminal but the other end of the (+) cable in the battery compartment) - it was severe enough that it actually prevented the car from starting. Might be something to look at . . .

Will check that - thanks. But only the slightest touch to the cable (not the terminal or the battery) resets everything. And the cable has been replaced. The original cable was found to be in perfect condition.

Early 2007.

You must have the magic touch. Your early 2007 was probably built in late 2006, so the battery is 4 yrs old. I say have it checked as Porsche OEM batteries are known to have short lifes especially if you don't drive enough.

Possibly a break or poor connection, either internal to the battery, or in the power distribution block that the battery +ive cable connects to. A battery load test might show the problem if it's in the battery, and maybe a good volt meter or continuity tester could show the problem at the power distribution block. Good luck!

Thanks for all you help folks. Problem has not been resolved yet. But garage has found a problem with resistance readings in a distribution block somewhere in the bowels of the front hood, perhaps related to a corroded earth connection in a rear wheel arch. Thoughts anyone?

Bad ground (earth) connections cause all sorts of mayhem, certainly a possibility. Bad connections or faults on the hot side can, too. Sounds like the garage is on the right track. Any updates?

No progress. Earth terminals in rear wheel arches now sorted. Ignition switch replaced. Starting problems continues exactly as before - car completely dead on ignition attempt, yet slight touch of main battery cable is sufficient to bring car to life. Battery leads have already been replaced and battery itself seems fine. Connection at the terminal is good. What is at the other end of the main battery lead? Why is there only a major problem on ignition? When opening the car, there is never a problem with power to actually unlock the car, and the windows lower themselves slightly as they should. But starting her up makes everything go dead, until a slight touch on the battery lead. Electrical power never goes once I have managed to get the car going. Surely this unusual pattern of electrical problems can be relatively easily explained?

I have the same problem with my 2006 Cayman S .... I even replaced the battery...that seemed to work great for 2 months ..then out of the blue it stopped working again...what was the end result for you ?? Porscheless :helpme:

Hi. Do check that the symptoms match those I have described, otherwise it could get expensive. Your symptoms point towards a faulty ignition barrel rather than the problem I had. However, if it is not this, then get the distribution box looked at. This is where my independent Porsche specialist located the problem. On a British car (ie right hand drive) the distribution box is at the bottom of the glove box. There was bad corrosion in this area. It was not the electrical box itself but how the main cable accessed the distribution box. Get this checked out and let me know how you get on...

You may also check the clutch switch. I complained the start issue at the Porsche Service and changed my clutch switch. The advisor told me that it's common problem with the old style switch. You can search around and other had reported with this issue.

Just a long shot, but if touching the cable starts everything and the battery posts are ok, try some thermal grease (conducting gel), on the posts to make a better connection.

I realize that this thread is now several years old...but, for what it's worth, I recently experienced the exact same problem on my '08 Cayman . Brought it in to dealer, and after 2 days of trying to diagnose to no avail, they finally found the issue - it was a corroded distribution box (and cable leading from distribution box to positive terminal on battery). Hope that this helps someone. Is this a problem that's relatively endemic to Caymans ? I'm curious to see if others have had the same issue. Also curious to see if that was ultimately the problem that this thread covered?

Thanks for posting. Did you happen to get a picture of the corrosion? Is the distribution box accessible without any secret Porsche tools or super powers?

I have had something remarkably similar with my '07 Boxster S , first couple of times it went completely dead, did the +ve battery lead wiggle and started, now and again though the dash lights all go off (info panels) when starting and the clock goes to 1200 then back to 12hr settings and fuel gauge resets to "check remaining range" or whatever the wording is and only reads properly again when refilled, really bizarre, the thing I do which works most of the time is switch the ignition on then wait a second or 2 before starting the engine, if I go straight from "off" to turning the engine with no delay the dash resets as above, very strange! Gary

These are exactly the symptoms I'm getting on my 08 Cayman . Its had a new battery and clutch switch, but it wasn't them causing it. I think I'll get the dealer to look at the distribution box behind the glove box and also consider replacing the ignition switch. Thanks for the posts, really useful.

Just to follow up on this. The box was replaced at the OPC 5 weeks ago and the car is now working perfectly. They didn't like taking advice from a forum, but it has worked!

It's a corroded Positive power cable and Power Distributor Module. This due to bad design and placement by Porsche . They placed it directly under the windshield cowling with the drain from that cowling directly over the Power Dist. Module/ Power cable attachment point.Just had mine replaced (with an updated version by Porsche ) at the tune of $1,930.48. Obviously Porsche knows of this problem in design due to the fact that the new parts are integrated without a point where water can get to the metal pins. Wonder where the RECALL is??? Have pics

Great info. Do you have a breakdown of the costs you can share?

having this exact same problem currently, will be checking the power dist and the + cable today