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Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHNo spark at all, I think its about the immobilizer.
Leading reported evidence
Check ground points
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
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No spark at all, I think its about the immobilizer.
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Leading evidence: 'Check ground points' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'crummy wiring' (1 discussions; 0 report identifying it and 1 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check 12v at coil packs' (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.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
- I checked the whole engine bay for loose wires (since the previous owner claimed that it was "kinda" taken apart.)
No spark at all, I think its about the immobilizer.
Check wires
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
I haven’t checked the wires from the cam sensor to the DME, ill check it tomorrow, but I know the connectors are not switched.
No spark at all, I think its about the immobilizer.
Replace with the crank
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
The cam sensor connector was in fact swapped with the crank.
No spark at all, I think its about the immobilizer.
Use durametric and saw
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
- Used the Durametric and saw that there is no airbag codes at all.
No spark at all, I think its about the immobilizer.
Check x59/1 x59/2 connector
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Suggestion
If you are confident that you had a wiring issue that was temporarily fixed by by-passing, I would also check the X59/1 X59/2 connector to make sure they are fully connected and locked.
No spark at all, I think its about the immobilizer.
Run into now is
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Suggestion · Original poster
The main problem that I've run into now is that I fixed the only code that was on the DME which was a bad crank sensor and I still have the same issue of no spark at all.
No spark at all, I think its about the immobilizer.
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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.
26 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
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3 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Outcome without a verified action link
The code is gone and the Durametric does show the rpm when cranking (unlike before), but still I'm getting no spark at all.
About a year ago I picked up a 996 c2 as my first project car thinking it will be a fun project but so far I've been having more fun in calculus than this. I'm pretty sure that the problem is something dealing with the immobilizer and i don't know what to do.
The main problem that I've run into now is that I fixed the only code that was on the DME which was a bad crank sensor and I still have the same issue of no spark at all. I'll list the details below. Right now I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with the immobilizer (alarm 132) sometimes it shows codes other times it says it's happy. So far I've done everything that I can think of (other than the immobilizer) and I'm not too sure if I'm overlooking something or i need a new immobilizer. Right now these are some questions that I need answered.
Questions:
- Alarm 132 (immobilizer) will display errors on Durametric, most of the time it will say its happy. Is this normal?
- Will a dead passenger compartment sensor cause the immobilizer to not allow the car to start?
-When I click ready status on the engine, it says "Immobilizer Active", does that mean the immobilizer is stopping the car or just online?
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Does the immobilizer allow the starter to crank, but not allow power to the spark plugs Or will the car not crank at all?
-Currently, there is no coolant in the engine, will the coolant sensor prevent the car from starting?
-If I do turn out to have a bad immobilizer, what do I need to do? (simple if possible.)
Symptoms:
- Engine will crank but no spark. (no power to coil)
What I have done, and confirmed:
- I checked the whole engine bay for loose wires (since the previous owner claimed that it was "kinda" taken apart.)
- Cleaned and checked all ground points.
- Got all new plugs, and the coils work.
- The only thing that is missing is the cats but have o2 sensors connected just in case.
- The fuel system is working fine.
- Made sure all relays worked on both under the dash and by the DME.
- Did a compression test on all cylinders and all had around 150+
- Used the Durametric and saw that there is no airbag codes at all.
- There is no power at all going to the coils from the DME.
What I haven't done but planning to do:
- Access the immobilizer since the seat bolt in the front is stripped and it seems to have no intentions of surrendering.
- Check the ignition cylinder (thing the key goes into sorry forgot the word) if it's broken.
- Wire check from the immobilizer to everything else.
Alarm issues 1
Alarm issues 2
"happy" alarm
In order for us to help you, give us a little background on this car.
Was it a wrecked 996? Stolen and recovered? Accident? Flood damage?
How did you obtain it? CoPart? eBay? Craigslist?
When you purchased the car, did it run at all? Did the previous owner give you a detailed history of the problem.
IMPORTANT QUESTION - Do you have more than one working keyfob? When you turn the key, what happens? Does it crank?
Sorry about that, I just read through my post again and I realized that I jumped over some obvious yet important questions. I'm going to list more details bellow.
1. History.
From what the previous owner told me It's been sitting in a pretty leaky barn for the past few years but everything seemed to be there other than the cats which were stolen off the car. It was driven up until 2013 (inspection sticker lines up) before his neighbor died and he bought it from him. He told me his son which is a diesel mechanic put a few of the parts on the car when they got it a few years ago and gave up on the project and parked it in the barn. Move on a few years, barn was broken in and cats were taken, and they're planning to sell the property and listed the car on sale since no one wanted to work on it. I didn't ask many questions (i know stupid me) and bought it because everything mechanical was fine and the only code that I saw was the p0336 crank sensor. That was on Craiglist about a year ago before I had to go to college. the title was clean and the only thing that happened to the car was some small crash in 2005, but the car was running for a long time after that.
2. What happens when I crank.
When I crank the car, the engine cranks but I get no spark at all. After I crank I can smell the fuel since I have the exhaust headers off and the fuel system has pressure. I've fixed the crank sensor (and confirmed that it works), but I still have the same problem.
3. Keys
When I got the car, I only got one key and I'm pretty sure that it is working. I'm planning on pulling out the pill and test the key by itself just to see if it will do anything different, but I don't think that the key is at fault. Also, the lock button works fine.
I would start here. How did you confirm the the crank sensor is working?
I don't know what year model you are working on, but on a 99-01 the crank sensor and cam sensor wiring can be accidentally switched, the plugs are close enough to be pluged in and even though they are different colors, I have seen people accidentally switch them.
The way that I confirmed the crank sensor was working with the oscilloscope, I think there was a post about doing it but can't find it right now. It took me a day, but I've made a direct wire from the crank sensor to the dme. The code is gone and the Durametric does show the rpm when cranking (unlike before), but still I'm getting no spark at all.
So, you have by-passed the wiring for the crank sensor?
Have you confirmed you are getting cam sensor bank 1 signal to the DME?
The cam and crank sensors have the same potential and ground sharing but the signal goes to separate pins on the DME.
I still think you should verify that the wiring is not switched.
Also, I still don't know what year model you are working on...
The 996 I have is a 2000 c2 with a 6-speed manual.
Yes, I confirmed that the cam bank 1 sensor is working and there was no code for it.
I haven’t checked the wires from the cam sensor to the DME, ill check it tomorrow, but I know the connectors are not switched.
What I mead bypassed, is running a wire from the crank sensor directly to the DME and fixed the crank shaft sensor issues.
If you are confident that you had a wiring issue that was temporarily fixed by by-passing, I would also check the X59/1 X59/2 connector to make sure they are fully connected and locked. If OK then check for rodent damage on wiring harness on top of engine, also check for 12v at coil packs.
Ok, ill check if the rats attacked the car or not. I know this is a dumb question, but do I need to measure for voltage when I'm starting or can I do it when the key is on the 2nd click?
Ok, I just did that today and got the 12 v between the brown and black. I also went through my immobilizer and found out the codes were due to me cranking the car to a low battery. Right now the problem is that the ECU is not sending a signal to the coils when I crank them. There are still no ECU codes that popped up yet so I'm a bit lost.
OK, the immobilizer is not the issue because when you turn the key, the starter engages. If the immobilizer was the problem, the starter would not engage.
To start and run, the DME must "see" signal from crank sensor, and also from bank 1 cam sensor, and at the correct time. (note; the bank 1 and bank 2 cam sensors send a signal over the same wire to DME, the DME determines which is bank 1 by the timing of the signal compared to crankshaft signal)
How did you determine that the cam sensor was functioning/sending a signal?
It turned out the codes that i got from the immobilizer were due to me cranking on a low battery. The fuel system is working fine, I found out the problem is that I'm not getting a fire signal from the dme to the coils.
Sorry, I didn't reply earlier. But I've tested the cam sensor on bank 1 by cranking the engine and hooting a voltmeter and see if it getting anything (which I did get a little bit of voltage.) I'm going to check it again today, and do a temporary wire reroute to the dme so I can make sure that the signal is reaching is good. (My crank sensor code was caused by crummy wiring, so that might be the problem on the crank sensors.)
Daniel, my advice is to get the RFID inside the keyfob checked out or purchase another keyfob from Porsche and have them program it to the car. I know Porschetech3 is the expert here, but I like to rule out the obvious. I've read so many thread similar to yours and in the end it was simply a faulty keyfob not properly "hand-shaking" with the ECU which in turn, prevented the car from starting. It couldn't hurt. If you didn't want to tow your car to a dealership, then send the keyfob and immobilizer to ECU doctors. Good luck!
If there was a problem with the key, the starter would not be engaged as noted by someone else above. I believe you would need the car at the dealer for them to program the key to the immobilizer (actually they code the immobilizer to the key), so this would be costly as well.
Well, problem solved. The cam sensor connector was in fact swapped with the crank. The previous owner seemed to have the engine out and it was an obvious problem which was overlooked when I did a continuity check and the crank connector and it passed.
Seems like a pretty smart guy mentioned that in post 5 and again in post 7.(<<patting myself on the back "you can lead a horse to water"..
Glad you got it fixed !!!
Hi Daniel
I see you took my advice when I spoke with you on Facebook and asked the guys here!!
I told you they would sort it, actually had porschetech3 in my head for being the one to solve this one , good job ??
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