997 turbo issue?

[Markymarkglos]

Hi, long time lurker looking for advice.

I have a 2006 997 turbo and I have recently had an issue where I received a 'failure of engine compartment blower" message come up on the dash whilst stuck in a queue of traffic along with the yellow exclamation mark and a flashing warning light for the water temperature. Interestingly the water temp gauge never went over 80 although the flashing light continued. The oil temp light barely went over 90 either. Being stuck in traffic there was little that I could do other than to keep moving slowly and try to get some cool air into the vents.

Eventually the traffic cleared and I managed to get sufficient speed for the flashing light to stop although the yellow exclamation mark remained illuminated. However, soon after getting enough speed to cool the engine I came to a road where I was descending a hill at no more than 40 mph when all of the power cut out...... no PAS........ no servo assisted breaks..... and a wall approaching! I managed to bring the car to a halt and after wondering WTF! I turned the ignition key, dash lights up, no warning lights and the engine starts ok.

Although in a quandary as to whether to call the AA or risk driving home I went for the latter option and covered over 100 miles with no further problem. The following day I covered another 50 miles with no problem.

I am at a loss as to what could have caused the engine to cut out but am wondering if it is possible that the crankshaft position sensor is on its way out and the heat in the engine compartment could have contributed to this? This seems to be a possible answer judging by the content on some of the USA forums.

I did have the rear engine compartment warning message illuminate 12 months ago during a similar situation when queuing in traffic. On that occasion I upgraded the fuse below the rear parcel shelf as recommended on some forums and that appeared to resolve the situation until now.

However, the loss of power is very concerning and I am hoping the collective wisdom on this forum can provide a few pointers as to what may have caused the problem?

Thanks,

Mark

 

[IMI A]

Nothing like that has happened to me 16 years driving same 911. I'd have recovered straight to my Porsche garage after first failure and engine cut out thats pretty dangerous what if you were at speed on motorway? Probably a faulty sensor and code reader will tell you whats wrong immediately. If you like DIY maybe get a durametric or fault code reader.

 

[Mezgerite]

As IMI says, get it code read.

 

[Markymarkglos]

Thanks..... it's booked in to get the codes read as I am not sure my basic reader is up to the job. I expected the engine check light and the rear fan light to remain lit but the fact that there is no visible evidence leads me to think that this could be an intermittent fault which is going to be tricky to diagnose.

And yes, it was a very careful drive home 😬

 

[MarkFoster]

Check all your earth connections; a loose or failed ground can cause all sorts of weird electrical gremlins to emerge.

MF.

 

[Markymarkglos]

Well, as expected, a read of the codes didn't uncover any all telling fault code that would point to the issue. However, the tech did find that the rear wiper seal had cracked and was letting in water which was then gathering on the relay board under the rear parcel shelf.

Fuse replaced, car dried out, new seal and wiper arm fitted....... Hopefully all ok.......

 

[Fat Porker]

OCCAMS razor :?: