34 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHCEL Issue / Updated/Updated further
Reported or suspected cause
100% gone
Reported cause
No successful repair reported for this finding.
1
Identified cause
0
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
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 report identifying a cause
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.
Reported cause
Just b/c it went away does NOT mean the problem is 100% gone.
Leading evidence: '100% gone' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is '100% gone' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check gas cap, and do not think' (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 report identifying a cause
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.
Reported cause
The system is quite sensitive, but the problem is rarely anything like some people are promoting.
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 report identifying a cause
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.
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 report identifying a cause
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.
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
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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
I checked the gas cap, and do not think that is it.
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0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
In the case of more serious ones, such as, I dont know, maybe a water pump failing or something the circuit that sets off the CEL has a warning level associated with every code and if that level is high enough, it will not just set the CEL off, but will also set it to blink, which means it is a potentially catastrophic failure.
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.
Suspected cause · Original poster
Their initial reaction was "when the CEL is blinking that is usually very bad, but if it is a serious problem it would continue doing it, but since it goes away after you turn off the car and restart it is likely a bad sensor of some sort." WHo knows at this point.
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.
34 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 3 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
2 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Outcome without a verified action link
When your car cooled back down, the belt pulled itself back to normal and after a while your CEL was reset.
About a weeks ago I was driving and got a flashing CEL warning followed by take to workshop message. I was low on fuel so I stopped the car, fueled up and was going to take it to the shop. However, after fueling the light went away, I ran a check and got no errors so I cimply drove home. I have driven each day since with no issue until yesterday. I got a flashing CEL and take to workshop message again. I turned off the car, turned back on and the error went away and no errors when I ran a check, and car runs fine. I am concerned, and on the one hand think I should take it in, but on th eother hand there are no errors reporting when I run the check. Any opinions on this?
Dealership saying misfire on the #4 cylinder caused by a bad coil. Sound reasonable?
I got them to check the spark plugs, and they came back clean. The moved the coils and the problem follows the coil. The other problem is that the new coil is bad too so they are ordering a new one. Should be fixed and back on the road tomorrow.
A flashing CEL is more serious and the computer is telling you to stop driving because serious engine damage can occur. If it was just a loose gas cap I would assume the CEL would not flash.
I checked the gas cap, and do not think that is it. Also it at time is very slow to start up. I thought perhaps bad gas, but I have refilled many times since each time with a different brand. It turns over and cranks but the engine is barely alive. I give it a few taps on the gas pedal and things are fine. It runs fine, etc.
Yes, flashing cel is bad news. What diagnostic software are you checking with? Some will not be able to read factory fault codes (or reset) the bad ones.
Here is what is strange to me. It would seem if something we really badly wrong wouldn't it happen more than twice within a week? Also when I turn it off and turn it back on the take to workshop message disappears, and if I run a check it comes back all clear.
Can someone tel me why the flashing light is such a "bad deal" in terms of what might be wrong? The car is a 2004 that I bought new this past December. It now has about 4,400 miles on it, and is my daily driver.
Once again, RTFM, this is something the maual clearly states. Personally, I woudln't gamble with a flashing CEL. Just b/c it went away does NOT mean the problem is 100% gone. The code has been logged and a flashing CEL is major and to not me ignored. A solid CEL is emissions based and you can drive it. Get your code read immediately.
i wouldnt gamble with it either. But FWIW, it sounds like a bad sensor or something silly... usually, the dreaded "flashing" CEL, is accompanied by some unhappy engine sounds or other symptom.
A CEL could be hundreds of possible things - there are thousands of fault codes that could be triggered by the many sensors around your car.
Here's a possible example, say your timing belt is getting old and slips a little when it gets hot. The cam position sensor would detect something was wrong and throw a fault. When your car cooled back down, the belt pulled itself back to normal and after a while your CEL was reset. That might be a situation you might only get every couple of weeks or so, but it is still not good. It would mean the timing belot could break at any time and cause some valve/piston collision, which could ruin your engine.
So, anyway, in many cases the fault could be a warning like the one above, it could be that an O2 sensor is bad, which just means your emmisions is non-optimal. In the case of more serious ones, such as, I dont know, maybe a water pump failing or something the circuit that sets off the CEL has a warning level associated with every code and if that level is high enough, it will not just set the CEL off, but will also set it to blink, which means it is a potentially catastrophic failure.
For any other CEL, I'd say go to autozone and get the fault codes read and figure it out yoruself. I have done that a bit - and saved money in the process. For a blinking CEL, I would waste no time getting it to a dealer to investigate.
Their initial reaction was "when the CEL is blinking that is usually very bad, but if it is a serious problem it would continue doing it, but since it goes away after you turn off the car and restart it is likely a bad sensor of some sort." WHo knows at this point. I'll report back later when they hook it up and read any codes.
Well I just spoke with them and they say a misfire on the #4 cylinder caused by a bad coil. They are replacing the coil and will test. Sound reasonable?
Nope; a bad coil will cause problems across all cylinders not just one.
Your problem is similar to one I had.
The problem was the spark plug end caps. Get them to pull them off and inspect them properly for cracks and arcing (electrical spark going in the wrong direction). Look along the square section on the top of the cap. If you see two lines which are a copper colour this is further proof they have been arcing.
They are quite expensive to replace, but it has to be done. All of mine were shot by the way.
Ciao,
Adrian.
I would think that should be covered under warranty for me since the car was purchased jsut this past December. It was a brand new 2004 that was a left over, but I have 4 years of warranty plus CPO.
Yup, that is totally warranty work. Let us know what that end up doing when it's all said and done.
rcg....yup, too soon. Bad sensor would have been better
We have some people betting he has a serious engine problem, oh man that's classic.
Hopefully the dealer is correct and your issue can be fixed quickly.
An intermittant flashing CEL is usually caused by the detection of what the DME (ECU) thinks is a misfire. The system is quite sensitive, but the problem is rarely anything like some people are promoting.
Most of the problems I have seen have been related to misfires have been found in the igntion system such as spark plug leads or hot weather and too low octane fuel.
There seems to be a recurring theme across all Porsche owners nowadays to immediately jump to the worst case scenario conclusions based on little or no evidence or by comments on web forums. The old "lets take a look" and start with the simple bits first has slipped out of view.
As an example: Recently I was driving around England. I stayed with a cousin and his family on partof the trip. His wife reported a problem with their car. My cousin told her to take it straight to the dealer. She decided to open the owners manual and read it. Just using the owenrs manual she was able to diagnose the problem and deal with it. She only needed brake fluid.
first.
Ciao,
Adrian.
Who exactly was "promoting" that there was SERIOUS problems? What was said is the the manual states the differences between a solid and blinking CEL, and that a flashing CEL is much more serious and it is "suggested" to get to your nearest service center immediately.
Do you want to roll the dice on a flashing CEL and discount it? I didn't think so.
996s use a coil over plug style ignition, so there is in fact one coil per cylinder, unlike your 993. If you swap the coil to another cylinder and the misfire moves to that cylinder, its pretty safe to say the coil is bad.
Yes you are right of course. I actually own a 964 and a 996, but my mind was elsewhere when I answered this. Thanks for setting me straight, I need to concentrate more sometimes
All my coils (end caps) were shot and why I did not convey that escapes me.
Ciao,
Adrian.
This is a source reference. Confirm exact model applicability in the original material.
