19 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
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YOUR RESEARCHCheck Engine Light
Reported or suspected cause
corrected
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
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Reported cause
Not to scre you or anything, but just because it went away does not mean the problem is corrected.
Leading evidence: 'corrected' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'corrected' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check fuel/oil caps, no luck' (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.
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1
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Reported cause
To my knowledge - and I just had a cat CEL that turned out to be finally a MAF caused CEL - the cats on the 996 have 8 years/80,000 miles warranty, not 10 years which is critical as the early '99 models are starting to drop out of the warranty.
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.
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Reported cause
Turns out that one side of the engine was misfiring, which was caused by a malfunctioning chain tensioner.
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.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
Disconnected the battery for two minutes, reconnected and................
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Reported cause
To my knowledge - and I just had a cat CEL that turned out to be finally a MAF caused CEL - the cats on the 996 have 8 years/80,000 miles warranty, not 10 years which is critical as the early '99 models are starting to drop out of the warranty.
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.
19 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 · 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: 20261027T031046Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
59,761 miles and the "check engine" light just appeared. I was moving her from the driveway to the garage for good night sleep and the check engine light appeared. Oil level is fine, never abused, never overheated. Is this just the warning that I am due for the 60,000 mile service? Any ideas before I take her in for a service?
Sometimes it can be something as simple as a loose gas cap or oil filler cap. Try those first, disconnect the battery for two minutes ( make sure you have your radio codes ) then restart it.
dwccfp,
I'm thinking that you might be able to put your mind at ease by consulting the owner's manual, and seeing what conditions can cause the "check engine" light to activate. These things certainly make us nervous, but keep in mind that a yellow warning light is typically not as serious as a red warning light (which often means that you should stop driving your car immediately).
Good luck!
Thanks Rennlisters, Took advise from Rob in WA. First checked the fuel/oil caps, no luck. Disconnected the battery for two minutes, reconnected and................ no check engine light!!! Thanks VGM911 for the info with the yellow/red issue, trust me I was nervous. If it appears again cdodkin I will check it out at the Autozone, although I will be in for service in the next 300 miles.
Thanks to all.
dwccfp
I'm about to spring for one of the OBD II meters from Harbor Freight, just so that I can have my own fault code trapping equipment on hand for the 996 and other cars.
I have an occasional CEL code pop up on my 986, which is non critical (fuel filler purge valve), and I need to reset it when it pops up every few months.
Worth the few bucks that they charge at HF, and it'll come in handy for other vehicles I'm sure.
Might be worth a look for you too.
were you moving the car when the engine was still cold? that's happened to me before (not on my p-car) when i started the car to move it and then turned it off quickly thereafter. i was told by my mechanic prolly due to unburned fuel or something. CEL went away shortly after that.
Everone should have a cheap code reader. Saves a trip to the dealer. Look up the code, decide if it's a fluke, erase it if you want and you are on your way!!
i agree, you can go to any autozone and get OBDII reader for 50 -100 bucks or buy online a nice one with all the bells and whistles for under 200, really a must have for all 95 or later cars,
codes are easily pulled and turns the CEL off,
A must have for anyone with or without car experiance for so cheap,
CEL's in 996 cars are almost always emissions related. The emissions system is still covered 10 years/100,000k miles by law. My cats went at 30k miles after a CEL.
Not all code readers are equal and not all can clear all codes. The best consumer software for this is Durametric...will even clear air bag lights. Cheap is not always best here. And guesing and playing the I think its this is just costly.
Not to scre you or anything, but just because it went away does not mean the problem is corrected. I had CEL issues and ended up with a new engine. Yes that is extreme, but my experience is do not mess around with this if you have eliminated the basic things like gas cap, etc as possibilities. You may have a misfire of a cylinder, may have who know what. Get it checked out.
This is a good point by blk on blk. I had a similar problem: I had sensed a slight engine vibration when the check engine light came on. Turns out that one side of the engine was misfiring, which was caused by a malfunctioning chain tensioner. Because cams were then "off," valve timing was then also "off."
Moral to the story: As blk on blk said, get it checked out.
To my knowledge - and I just had a cat CEL that turned out to be finally a MAF caused CEL - the cats on the 996 have 8 years/80,000 miles warranty, not 10 years which is critical as the early '99 models are starting to drop out of the warranty. Does anyone know for sure?
cats and dmes are 8 year 80k miles federal law .........cali may be more i dont know
what cat fault did you have that was determined to be a bad maf sensor?
After installing the K&N CAI and having a CEL, my indie read an error code P0420, �left bank cat inefficiency� and advised me to go directly to Porsche if the CEL comes up again - because of the warranty.
The CEL came again (sure as I've the K&N CAI!) but Porsche read the error codes: P1128 and P1130 "Mass Air Flow Sensor".
The first code didn't come up anymore and the CEL is now gone after replacing the MAF.
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