It went bang then it died

Hi Driving this evening, battery light started flashing, followed by ABS light a few seconds later, then airbag light, then a loud BANG from the engine, a lurch like I had suddenly braked (I hadn't). Speed dropped to a crawl (on the motorway), needles on dials stayed in the same positions except the battery which dropped to zero just before the bang). Tip display flashed on 4 and D together. Limped along hard shoulder whilst on the phone to porsche assistance before it finally came to a stop. All electrics totally dead. Spoiler still stuck up , needles still showing 75mph and 3500 revs. Now on the back of a transporter going to Porsche. Help my baby is sick!! Devastated is it covered under extended warranty I hope!??! Thanks

Sounds to me like the polyrib belt has broken or the alternator has thrown in the towel. All the flashing lights are typical of low voltage.

Is it covered by warranty? When should the belt be replaced I have only done about 1500 miles since it was last serviced? Thanks Richard I had the joy of waiting on the hard shoulder for an hour counting the number of white vans going past beeping with delight.

Well on page 13 of the warranty booklet it clearly states what is covered On Engine Parts it does say drive belts and in electric parts it does say Generator, voltage regulator etc So if its any of these parts it looks like you are ok anything else and its all on that page of the booklet

The polyrib belt should be changed at 48000. I'm just speculating with this "diagnosis" from your description. I hope it's not more serious, but if it is you should be covered.

I dont think it is the polyrib belt..Mine went..(preceeded by squeeling) and all I had was loss of power steering and loss of coolant pumping through the system for a few seconds, no bang, and no symptoms such as yours.....it sounds more serious....but I'm confident it should be covered by your warranty....maybe it's an intermediate shaft failure....they go bang! That's also covered.......

Sounds unlikely to be a significant mechanical engine problem as that wouldn't have stopped things like the spoiler staying up ... that's totally electrical isn't it ? Do keep us informed and fingers crossed.

If it was the intermediate shaft there would have been oil everywhere, and the engine would have stopped fairly suddenly. I still think it's electrical from what Vron has said. As Martin said - fingers crossed.

Richard you were spot on with your diagnosis! The car is fixed! [ ] It was the alternator only charging at 8v. The tech said if the battery is not being charged by the alternator you have about 10 mins due to the amount of electrics on the car before the battery is totally flattened which fits exactly with what happened yesterday. The bang / lurch was the car trying to jump start itself again as I was travelling down the motorway at the time. £800 for the alternator but covered under warranty phew. I have to pay £22 for the polyrib belt as that is intact but recommended that it is changed when they change the alternator (should this be done under warranty???). Need new front wipers which I knew, quoted me £40 said no thanks - Bosch wipers are £15 on Ebay. Also been told I need new discs and pads all round [ ] Porsche Sheffield price £1300. I have had a quote from 911 Sport of £930. Anyone know anyone better?? Thanks

Vron, I don't know how fond of working on your car but you can save yourself a good deal of money by doing this job yourself. It is a straight forward task aided by some excellent technical assistance by the articles posted on this forum and others. Take a quick look in Richards technical articles at the top of the 996 page. I had a go on my C4 and found it easy and I was delighted with the cost saving. RB

Thanks ArBee - doesn't the car need to go on a lift platform though? Does anyone know how much it is just for the parts? Thanks

The list price of an alternator for a 2000 Tip is a whopping £804.41+VAT+fitting at an OPC. You can get reconditioned exchange units from eurocarparts a LOT less. The alternator is on the top of the engine, so no need for a lift. Book time is exactly one hour.

£800 for an alternator? [8D] Is it made of platinum and encrusted in diamonds? One can only assume that fitting an alternator of the flat-six is somewhat labourious...

Crossed post with Richard... In that case, £800 + vat for an alternator without fitting is ridiculous.

Slightly OT, reading some of the above, if one has an OPC warranty, but changes worn pads/ discs oneself, using OE parts, is the warranty voided in any way?

How would they know? As it's a consumable item I don't see how it can void the warranty.

Vron, Fantastic result! I bet you're feeling over the moon! As I understood it, your alternator is being paid for but you're asking advice as to how much pads and disks are? Have a look on www.Eurocarparts.com for the Sebro disks and Textar pads. That's what Richard and I use. For an axle it will come in at around £100. Aas has been said, look in the technical section for how to do it yourself....I've done it many times now, and usually it's very easy! Good luck, and great result![ ]

Just collected the car (its perfect!) and saw the invoice for the alternator plus fitting was £1300!! I had to pay £26 for the polyrib belt but I have disputed it and am waiting for Porsche to ring me back. I argued that this component had not failed, Porsche were replacing it because they were replacing the alternator that had failed which is a warranty item. Will wait and see. Porsche have quoted me £900 just for the parts on the disks and pads and said these are factory trade prices! 911 Sport have only quoted me £30 more than this for genuine parts including fitting at around 5 1/2 hours.

No it's not voided. You can even have the car serviced by an indi, adn as long as they use Porsche approved parts the warranty is still valid. It even says so in the handbook.

Fitting at 5 1/2 hours!! I could do it with an orange and a tea cup instead of real tools in less time than that! [8D]

Get them to check the book times for the job. It should be under 1 1/2 hours.

Hmm.. looks like someone has read "1 1/2" as "11/2" which is 5.5

Before you rush off and buy Bosch wiper blades, ask the OPC how much for supplying the blades only, they were cheaper than the Bosch blades when I got a set this year. The £40 includes the OPC labour at usual rates. You can swap the wipers in less than 5 mins.

I bought a pair of Bosch wipers yesterday £15. Rather disappointingly when I looked under the bonnet this afternoon the battery plastic cover had just been thrown into the boot. Not even fitted back on and Porsche Sheffield are surprised I am not spending £1300 with them having the brakes done. Not what you expect from a prestige marque.

Do your disks and pads really need changing? I'd get a second opinion if I were you. I know the disks are prone to corroding but it seems to me that whenever a car gets anywhere near the OPC straight away it's in need of disks and pads. This is an old Kwik Fit trick - they tried it on me several times. Probably makes sense since most of the mechanics at an OPC probably used to work at Kwik Fit[ ] 1.5hrs is more than enough as Richard suggests above. I'd take it to a decent specialist - if the OPC are going to try it on and only reduce their price when you shop around then they don't deserve your custom. 5 hrs is nothing more than a con - even with a brake fluid change.

I'd agree with you on the Polybelt, it has been changed due to the failure of an item under warranty, however they could of left the original on the car and it may have failed causing other issues, for the sake of the £26 odd I'd pay it and be happy in the knowledge the job is fully completed.... It might save further issues down the line if the need should ever be.. Don't ask, don't get also springs to mind [ ] garyw

I know how you feel; I had a major service at the local OPC on Monday and was a bit put out to discover that the oil level is now showing about 4 bars below full ! Feel like going back and demanding a top up, especially at the prices they charge.

Sorry Vron, I meant the brakes as a DIY not the alternator!!!! I had my alternator replaced under warranty and the polyrib belt was never mentioned. Either I got a new one in the way you expected it or they re-used the old one. RB