15 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHstarting issues, switched out ignition switch - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Leading reported evidence
Use big charger, its pushed the starter around enough
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
My one friend thinks when I use the big charger, its pushed the starter around enough to catch a good position and thats why its able to start the car unlike the conventional car to car charging.
starting issues, switched out ignition switch - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Frequently discussed work
Check alternator
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
3) To quickly check the alternator, with the engine running attach multi meter across the battery terminals and check voltage - it should read 13.8 - 14.5v @ 1500rpm.
starting issues, switched out ignition switch - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Read full discussion summary
Leading evidence: 'Use big charger, its pushed the starter around enough' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Check alternator' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
starting issues, switched out ignition switch - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Check alternator
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
3) To quickly check the alternator, with the engine running attach multi meter across the battery terminals and check voltage - it should read 13.8 - 14.5v @ 1500rpm.
starting issues, switched out ignition switch - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Check battery cable
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
Check the battery cable for severe corrosion under the insulation- slit the insulation along the length of the cable several inches and check.
starting issues, switched out ignition switch - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Check starter relay by
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
I am presuming you already checked the starter relay by using a small jumper wire and the clutch interlock is by-passed??
starting issues, switched out ignition switch - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Frequently discussed actions (10)
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
Check alternator
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
3) To quickly check the alternator, with the engine running attach multi meter across the battery terminals and check voltage - it should read 13.8 - 14.5v @ 1500rpm.
starting issues, switched out ignition switch - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Run attach multi meter across the battery terminals
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
3) To quickly check the alternator, with the engine running attach multi meter across the battery terminals and check voltage - it should read 13.8 - 14.5v @ 1500rpm.
starting issues, switched out ignition switch - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Run couple of tests
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
It takes about 3 hours removing the old & fitting the new, but if you are uncomfortable its probably wise to get your local mechanic to run a couple of tests on the existing starter system.
starting issues, switched out ignition switch - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Use big charger, its pushed the starter around enough
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
My one friend thinks when I use the big charger, its pushed the starter around enough to catch a good position and thats why its able to start the car unlike the conventional car to car charging.
starting issues, switched out ignition switch - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Coverage and how to read this overview
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
15 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
986Forum: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261026T200546Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
Advice needed. Car sat for 3 weeks. Tried to start and nothing. So used friends 900MA charger and it started up. A couple weeks later started it again, nothing. Tried to jump it with standard cables. nothing. Replaced with new battery, since old one was 6 years old. Tried to start it. nothing. Even tried to jump it with regular cables.nothing again. Grabbed my neighbors 900MA charger and it started. Drove for 30 minutes on highway and came home. Dead again. Jumped it with cables, nothing until i left it running with donor car for over 10 minutes and it started.
I even switched to a new ignition switch nothing.
SO, is it my starter or alternator?
THANKS guys in advance. Going to take it to Porsche mechanic next week.
This could be :
1. an intermittent fault
2. a high resistance in the starting circuits.
Let's assume it is high resistance.
Use an Ohmeter ,starting at the battery terminal and work through the system.
It is a tedious and pains-taking process. Flailing/guessing not recommended.
Check the battery cable for severe corrosion under the insulation- slit the insulation along the length of the cable several inches and check.
Ground connections corroded?
Horrible work when it is cold/wet.But so is walking !
Do you have a multi meter - even a cheap one? If so proceed as follows - its not too difficult:
1) Check the battery voltage across the terminals - should be +/- 12.6v fully charged.
2) If less than 12.6v (which I suspect - it sounds like the battery has lost a cell) then the battery requires charging. Driving for 30 minutes is NOT enough to charge the battery fully - it requires 6-8 hours on a battery charger. If the battery still won't hold 12.6v after charging it needs replacing.
3) To quickly check the alternator, with the engine running attach multi meter across the battery terminals and check voltage - it should read 13.8 - 14.5v @ 1500rpm. Anything less than 13.5 and the alternator / voltage regulator is suspect.
These are just quick checks just to verify its something simple (like a new battery required) before giving the car to a repairer which can = big $$$.
Steve, I borrowed my friends voltage meter and its higher than your described readings, so I'm suspecting its my starter, which I'm hoping is not too expensive
anyone have any idea how much that is? I purchased new battery and its still struggling starting. My one friend thinks when I use the big charger, its pushed the starter around enough to catch a good position and thats why its able to start the car unlike the conventional car to car charging.
Thank you for your thoughts! I was hoping it was just the battery but it seems its the starter.
If the problem was the starter - why does it start when you use the big charger?
Just connect the good(?)battery with a very long jumper cable to the starter +ve .Be careful ! Chances are it turns the starter really well !
So we are back to high resistance in the wiring .
I am presuming you already checked the starter relay by using a small jumper wire and the clutch interlock is by-passed?? Both well covered if you google.
I purchased a rebuilt Bosch starter from Pelican last year & they sent it to Australia cheaper than I could get one here. They levy a core charge up front which is redeemable on returning the old starter. I looked on the Pelican website for you and a rebuilt unit is $227.
It takes about 3 hours removing the old & fitting the new, but if you are uncomfortable its probably wise to get your local mechanic to run a couple of tests on the existing starter system.
Let us know the outcome.
Steve, I ordered a new one from eBay, 70$! vs a refurbished one $200 with core charge. They eBay one didn't even have a core charge !
I also know a reliable porsche demantler, who quoted me a working one for $45.
Which option do you advise?
Im leaning towards the new one from eBay.
RESOLVED: Defective battery from Advanced Auto! They saw a big drop in voltage immediately after the engine was off. Switched to another new battery and it started just fine!
Thank you for everyones thoughts !
