996 still down

hi guys I have a 2001 996 convertible. I posted before but have no idea what uname/ pass I used so I�m back. Car drive fine, then at work would not start, towed home. Started fine in the drive way.. multiple times, ready to work on it in the garage, no start. Recomended changes crank pos sensor- done fuel pump- done fuel pump relay - done still no start if I spray starter fluid in she will hit so this means I have spark. duranetric is tellingg me I still have a crank pod sensor bad? - my understanding is I will not register rpms while cranking??? Durametric also says my imobalizer is active??? Does this mean it�s not allowing the fuel pump to run??? i have two keys, one with working fob to unlock doors and all, one with a not working fob but I used it to drive for the last two years. just manual unlock the door... im at the end of my rope, any help would be appreciated. last I removed the driver seat took out the imobalizer checked for corrosion... all fine and dry. thanks steve

If the durametric is saying your crank position sensor is bad, then it is probably bad...or a broken wire at the sensor? Maybe test the conductivity of the wire from the sensor.

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I replaced with new OEM. is there a way to test the harness plug? Is there voltage at the plug? I pulled the the old one out and and it ohmd out fine, the new one is good as well

When you crank, does the tach needle bounce about 1/4"? If not, either the sensor is bad or there's a wire problem. You will then need to check for wire continuity between the DME and the sensor socket.

fuel filter might be worth a change. It's under the car and not a very easy change process but worth looking into.

sQUOTE=Hurdigurdiman;15438688]fuel filter might be worth a change. It's under the car and not a very easy change process but worth looking into.[/QUOTE] How would that affect the CR reading of "failure"?

Today, tried to direct wire fuel pump, got nothing. pulled the fuel pump (new) and regulator (old) looks like the regulator was not passing current to the fuel pump. Bypassed the regulator and pump on,. will order a new regulator. ok still have the crank pos sensor issues, I’m sure. Anyone know the pins at the DME to Test harness wires? im guessing when I pulled the original Crank sensor the wire(s) broke. still curious if because she has not fired and ran since I changed it, will it report bad until it actually fires? s

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any any additional thoughts? Still waiting on a new sending unit, ordered a complete set on amazon, fuel pump only showed up. Ugh!!! i noticed that when I checked voltage at the relay, I only had 9.6v but at the battery I had + 12 v wondering now if I have other issues as well. Cant troubleshoot without the sending unit. Just makes me think that if I have voltage of any kind at the relay, that the crank pos sensor is working??? s

It's taken me a while to to get parts and update this thread. Work Done 1. New CPS 2. New Fuel Pump 3. New fuel sending unit (culprit for no fuel, no power to the fuel pump) Current conditions. When I had no fuel to the motor, I could spray a little starting fluid and the engine would hit. Now I have fuel, and starter fluid and no hits at all (it does crank) battery is fully charged. I have replaced the FP, FSU and verify / Durametric that I can turn on/off power to the fuel pump, Disconnected the fuel filter and the fuel will spray into a catch pan (strong flow) Now even with Starting fluid I get no (engine fire). Durametric is clearing all codes I had, no more CPS error... I have no faults related to fuel, engine, trans... I do have a couple of error 60, 49... looks like they are related to the door locking mechanism, but that all actually works with ket fob buttons... I started into chasing spark issues, discovered a mismatch set of Coils on the drivers side, with one being cracked. Since I'm into this beast, I ordered 6 new coil packs and spark plugs. I checked power to driver side coil packs and I have 12V I believe it's pin 3. I did not do a cont test on ground Pin 2 (to be done) Now I am stuck, why did I have spark and now I do not? I have not changed anything other than fuel pump and fuel sending unit. What could have changed, any ideas? New coils/plugs will be here Friday. Thanks Steve

You are going to have to go through some checks. These things come to mind: 1) Confirm the tach needle is bouncing when you crank. 2) Actually check for spark with a new coil and spark plug. 3) Confirm the engine bay engine connectors are not corroded. 4) Reset the DME completely by disconnecting the negative battery lead for 30 minutes. 5) The electrical portion of the ignition switch contributes all sorts of electrical gremlins. Does everything seem to power up on the dashboard? 6) Check relays in Relay Support 2 (see below) Start/Lock in particular. 7) You may have to pull the power distribution box in the passenger footwell to confirm you have not blown one of the 80 amp fusible links inside. 8) Check the engine ground wire is not corroded and firmly connected.

Power Distribution Box

A long time ago there was a thread with similar symptoms to yours and the answer turned out to be the cps gap . Could be a dead end but you might try comparing both sensors and determine if the new one is at the same position .

She has had no attention lately, Completed all the recommended tasks DBJoe996 recomended. (thank you to all that have helped so far) Added a few things, using my long jumper cables, ran a ground directly to the motor and to the motor compartment. read in a very old post, a driver had to start his 996 in neutral. Guess something was up with being in Park. Durametric says I need to reprogram my keys, weird, Car cranks, key fob unlocks/locks my doors... Dashboard lights up/ everything looks right. I do not get a tack needle bounce (not sure I ever had a bounce) New CPS (x2) and continuity test CPS to ECM is good. (My old CPS did not have any burns/rubs so spacing should be ok) Called an independent garage, asked about reprogramming my keys, he said, that Durametric is not always correct, and the car should not crank if the keys are disabled. Mine appear to be working. If I can't narrow down this issue this week, off she goes to the garage. I'm at a complete loss. Any other ideas??? Thanks in advance.... Steve

The new sensor gap ( spacing) was the issue .He had to shim it out .Assuming the tach was operational before the episode -if it isn't bouncing when turning over the crank signal is not there .

What are the actual error codes from Durametric? If the starter cranks, your keys/immobilizer are fine. You need to verify spark and fuel. Still no tach needle bounce? The bounce will be like only 1/8" or so. Have you tried e-gas recalibration?

Sorry to hear that this is being so troublesome to you but I am thinking its time to take it to a pro. You will probably cost yourself more money by throwing all these parts at it than it will cost just to fix it professionally. Good luck!

I buttoned up everything last night, I'm done. @DCdrechsal, I found the CPS shim thread that you mentioned, that was the last thing I did last night. 30 thousands shim was recommended. no help there, I did play around from 30 to 80. still no go. Durametric still kicking out immobilizer error and reprogram keys.... Fuel supply has been fixed, and I can smell fuel in the exhaust. No Spark... or so it appears. all parts were actually needed, maybe a few coils packs, but when changing 3 change them all. What is strange about the entire project, when I had no fuel to the motor it would fire on starter fluid. when I replaced the fuel pump and sending unit, no spark??? chasing the gremlins has been discouraging. thanks again all, time to go to the shop. Steve

I�m back, pushed the 996 out of the garage yesterday it�s been sitting since my last post, going to give it a bath before I drag it to the shop. wahsed it top and bottom, thought I would hit the ignition one last time to check if the battery was charged, She fired right up, ran a little rough for a minute or two, settled down running smooth. shut it down and tried this morning, nothing. Since it was wet when it started figured it helped narrow down to a few spots. checked all the grounds, cleaned them up, still cranks no fire. One last ditch effort took the CPS cable harness side gave it a counter twist (opposite of the natural twist, car fired up running like a top. ran it for the past hour with shut offs/ wait 5 minutes fires right back up. ( btw I have done this before with no success) chasing ghosts means check your grounds as well. Looks like a combo issues. But the CPS cable is tepremental for sure. should I rebuild the harness or cut and patch with a new connector??? Any one have to do to do this in the past? checking before I try something stupid!!! thanks all steve

Progress ! It might not be the connector could be a pinched wire that is intermittent .More inspection will probably uncover what is broken .

have not posted in some time, started it up somewhere around February of this year still had Durametric telling me emissions fail. walked away till about June, fired it up, have the coke bottle sound so I replaced the evap switch at the fuel port. still had the sound, drove it a bit, let it idle a bit (between the two operations about a full tank of gas)no more sound, ran the test again, all passed so I rushed her down to get a smog test. PASS, registered.... all good. So after about 2 years in the garage giving me one issue after another, replaced- new battery evap switch O2 sensors, coil packs (upgraded) 2 x fuel pump relay fuel pump fuel pump sending unit 2x for the RPM sensor ... probably a few more items, after all that my wife said she doesn't like it anymore. :-( now what, hell hate to get rid of it, runs like a raped ape. one last thought, there has been a few mentions of evap failures; with comments like it needs to be driven ~200 miles etc. so my troubles have gone away (knock on wood) is there really something to this 200 mile thing or is it motor hours time...? Anyone have any thoughts for the next discouraged wanna be do it yourselfer like me? Thanks everyone for the help.... S

Wow... sounds like a frustrating situation. Glad it's running well again!

I'm back... Well, I passed smog no problem, have been driving locally, put about 1k miles on it, and then she shut down on me at a stoplight. restarted after a few tries... fast fwd to a few more rides the same thing every time I would slow down and stop. My thoughts were correct, the CPS harness side plug was bad but not just that, as I tried to slice in a new plug, I found that the #2 (tan wire harness side was indeed broke further back) UHG!!!! with the harness wire (tan) way too short to get some good wire to splice in, the other two, White and Black are good, does anyone know what the tan wire is? (is it ground, voltage or pulse?) I'm currently looking for an alternate path, (found one) to run a new cable wire up to the ECU harness plug. Has anyone done this before if so, how did you route the cable? I have proper cable(industrial sensor cable) I really do not want to drop the entire motor to fix one little wire.

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The Euro spec for wiring says that solid brown is ground, BUT the engine speed sensor may have been grounded direct to the DME for noise suppression. So you need to track down that specific ground wire and patch it in. The wires should go over the top of the engine and to some connectors in the right hand side of the engine bay.

Theprf, Wow thanks for the quick response, I could not find any specific details on the cps sensor. The harness does flow to the rear, over the motor, (looks like it almost lies directly on the head and under the intake manifold.) if there is a plug somewhere under the manifold, I'll probably break more items... Some of the plastic is brittle. thanks again. S

The plugs are way over to the right side above the frame rail behind the tail light. DeJeeper has his engine out, perhaps you could ask him for some pictures - even though he's got s 3.4 the plugs are in the same spot.

I dont have a good pic of the x51 connectors and the motor went back in last night. Basically the wire goes from the sensor into the harness that goes under the plenum to the passenger side and then up to the large round connector. It is possible to jumper or test continuity to this point. Someone has to check the bentley manual to tell u where that wire goes in your car. I can try to remember to do it when i get home.

De Jeeper Thanks for the reply, Yes I did locate the two, barrel plugs (Top and Bottom), I could route a new cable to them and hopefully abandon the original three (assuming the grounds are not spliced together somewhere along the way.) I also located a grounding point with 3 brown wires and same gauge, just to the left (looking fwd) of the original CPS plug location and about even but set back from the Camshaft sensor. They appear to come from the same harness, by chance do you remember what that ground point supports? Thanks S

I have a 3.6 in pieces (2004 C4S). I can take pic of the harness, plugs whatever you need. My harness is in a box under the workbench at the moment..... Let me know!

That ground point is also on the 3.4l. I have not tested those wires but it should also be shown in the bentley schmatics. Is the main engine ground clean and tight? Its on the passengerside where the cam lock tool would bolt to on the 3.4l.

Thank you I'll look them up, glad I noticed them, I pulled the 10mm bolt and that ground was corroded badly. Cleaned it up getting ready to put it back on S

Looking at my bentley for a 2004 car i think it calls the crank position sensor an engine speed sensor. a1 - white goes to pin 9, x59/2 connector, to c45 on the dme a2 - brown goes to pin 10, x59/2 connector, to c46 on the dme a3 - shield goes to pin 18, x59/2 connector, to c32 on the dme i home this helps, i would start checking continuity.

awesome Thank you. Steve

You really want (all of) the sensor(s) to connect to ground at their factory locations, i.e. the appropriate terminal in the wiring plug inside the engine bay or the terminal at the DME in this case. Not doing so can cause all sorts of erratic behaviour. Edit: I appreciate you posting the causes for your problems and admire your dedication to the car!

De Jeeper Excellent, after cross-referencing in the Bentley all morning... seems that although I have a 2001 911, the 2002 wire diagram is correct.???? You sir had it right, also tested and verified. for someone in the future looking for this... Crank Position Sensor (documented as Engine Speed Sensor) Bentley EWD114 A11---EWD113 A6 &A7 Black pin 1 - x59/2 pin 9 - DME 32 Brown pin 2- x59/2 pin 10- DME 46 White pin 3- x59/2 pin 18- DME 45 Now, how the hell do I replace the female side pin???? with my non-luck of clean splicing, this will prove to be a challenge.

Sorry i would have checked the 99 snd 02 diagrams if i knew it was an 01. making the crimp for a pin is easy with the correct tool. Finding the correct pin and plug is the hard part. We share a lot with vw so maybe u can find it through them. U may be able to get a pig tail from a dismantler and u can solder it in. here is a decent kit with a bunch of tools, if u can figure out what pin it is u can just just by the single tool. Amazon Amazon

Ran a new speed sensor shielded cable from sensor to x connector, routed it away from the motor and around the back O2 sensor connection areas. Done. Results--so far... The motor idles smooth at about 695- 720RPM after warmup (was idling about 800 + rpm) The Triprotic transmission actually will start out in first gear and shift up smoothly and accelerate like never before. ( it would always start out in third and was a dog.) So far no random loss of power/ shutdown... Planning a longer ride this week to see how the car handles. Bentley Wire diagram for my 2001 was actually the 2002 diagram as reported above. My X connector needed a good cleaning. What I actually found was the original shielded cable wires are stranded aluminum, multiple breaks as far back as I could cut back the outer shielding. the wires would just pull out. contact was good enough while the car was cold, but once the motor warmed up the cable must soften enough to allow the breaks to airgap. I completed conductivity tests several times and always passed, never thought to do one while the engine was hot. again, to all that helped, a big thank you...

OP - Well played, sir! Seems you did a lot of excellent troubleshooting along with our RL brain trust. Go enjoy the car in good health.

Awesome, i wish the weather was warm enough and snow free to drive mine.

This is by far the best thread I've come across in my search for the cause of an electrical issue in my 04 6GT3. To summarize, when I started my car yesterday after a month in storage it ran well but none of the AC units worked (i.e. no fan and no compressor even though the dash indicator lights illuminated properly). It drove normally. When I started it again in the evening none of the headlights worked except for the parking lights. Drove home, restarted the car and everything worked perfectly. This morning the same issues occurred, i.e. no headlights and no AC/fan. Do these intermittent issues suggest a single cause which might be remedied by a DIYer with minimal automotive electronic expertise? Thanks in advance for any advice!

The remedy to my issues lies within the ignition switch. The key needs to be manually turned a few degrees away from the ignition position due to a weak return spring. When I do that all is well. BTW the cost I was quoted for replacement (P &L) was $875 plus tax. That can be avoided for now.