Gent's / Ladies it's been awhile since I've had to dig in the swamp for answers. I've been blessed. My 06 CS with 106K has been... well a GREAT CAR. Lately I've been doing more than fluid changes (struts, attending to sticky interior etc) but I'm frustrated with an annoying cold start issue. Battery was the first thing to check and change. Moved on to a video found on the net of the behind the battery connection to the firewall, which I didn't really see an issue or corrosion there either. Replaced the Cam Position Sensor. Still No Joy. Plugs are relatively new and I have run a couple rounds of fuel injector treatment. Could it be Coils?? Starter???... She runs just fine after starting. No skips, hesitation or noticeable loss of power. Growing up working on Mustangs and the like, starter issues didn't come from starters slowly fading. They just stopped working, so I'm skeptical with it being the starter. Electrical issues are always the most irritating to find and fix. It always seems you wind up replacing tons of crap that is probably fine when tracking down the actual problem. She just doesn't fire in the sub 2 second realm anymore. Is it just age? I sure don't fire at the sub 2 second realm anymore!!!.... Thanks for any guidance..
At the age/mileage of your car, I'd be looking at the cold start functions.
The ECU is supposed to enrich the mixture to allow for easier starts when the engine is cold. I would be curious if that is actually happening. To really test this you'd have to be able to monitor the fuel mixture (aka "fuel-trim") on a real-time basis. Luckily - that's pretty easily doable with a decent diagnostics tool (
Foxwell NT530
will do this.) If the mixture isn't being enriched (indicated by fuel trim going higher than 100%), I'd be looking for why (bad engine temp sensors, bad fuel pump, a number of things could cause this..)
Ownership of some sort of dedicated
Porsche
diagnostics tool is really a start to intelligent DIY efforts. Perhaps all the parts you replaced on past electrical issues could have been avoided through the use of a diagnostics tool. Remember - when "shotgunning" a repair (replacing parts more or less at random hoping to solve an issue - sometimes guided by Facebook-like comments of "I had this once.. and..") - the LAST part you replace is the defective part. The trick is to make that last part also the first part you replace. That's where the diagnostics tool (and perhaps some advice on using it from here) comes into play.
I'm assuming from your comments that the car starts OK when the engine is warm. Despite it seeming like a starter won't slowly fail, unfortunately, they actually can. The pinion gear that moves in the nose of the starter to engage the ring gear on the flywheel can become sticky - the bearing supporting it is an oil-lite bearing, and it can cause the starter to run slowly when cold with age and drying out of the oil in the bearing. The usual fix is to remove and replace the starter. If you're like me - I've been known to remove the starter and lubricate the oil-lite bearing (soak it with engine oil for several hours - it's a porous phosphor-bronze bearing that will absorb some of the oil). Most mechanics won't bother - they'll just put in a new starter.
So that's two possibilities I can think of. You've addressed the other possibilities pretty much. I suspect one of the above will be what resolves the issue for you.
Thank You. Some really helpful pointers to consider. I've got a Durametric tool but outside of re-setting CEL's and confirming codes I'm not too versed in using it. Fortunately the Germans make a really good car!. The old days of Shotgunning a fix was in relationship to the 1980's in high school. I was relegated Haynes and Chilton's manuals and the process of elimination. There really wasn't much technology (affordable anyway) and YouTube would have be a BIG help (regardless of the bozo's that have no idea what they are doing). Working on things back then like distributor points and condenser was a fine art of feeler gauges. Closest "tech" tool I had was a timing light!! LOL... With 106,000 miles on this Cayman replacing parts that may still be somewhat functional isn't as much of a bother as in my opinion its likely beneficial at some point anyway. Consideration of course that replacing a new part doesn't cause issues with accompanying parts (i.e. not jamming a new cam in an old motor etc. etc.). I do like your points on the starter. I'm going to look into this. I like you enjoy making things work if possible. Taking a look at the starter or considering the cost of just replacing it will be my next move.
Thx again!!
