99 Boxster hot start problems - Vapor lock symptoms

[vipola]

Can you give us more information about what was the problem? how was that sensor failing? and what guided you to that sensor? for future reference..
thanks

[gssereik]

Frankly it was a bit of a leap of faith... I described the symptoms in detail to a couple of local German car mechanics. Both of them indicated that it could be a sensor issue. Because the car ran perfectly once it did start. There were no drivability problems whatsoever. But the Crankshaft sensor in particular needs to get a reading on the position of the crankshaft or else the computer that control things will not know what position the engine is in and so it cannot make a judment as to when to produce a spark and/or fuel or what have you. But once the engine starts, it relies on other readings perhaps? I don't know... Looking at the old crankshaft sensor, there were no visual clues indicating that it was worn out or damaged. Just a bit of black soot on it. But not much really... I also posted the question online in many different Porsche and Boxster forums and there were some posts from people indicating that the Crankshaft sensor might be at fault. There are also two camshaft sensors but a mechanic mentioned that they were a less likely culpret. And there were two of them, so more expensive! ultimately when i found the $70 price at Advance Auto parts I decided that was a price i was willing to take a gamble on. I did not have a check engine light. And none of my OBD scanners found any codes. And i was not going to invest in the right scanner that finds all of the available codes for a boxster. I almost was going to bring it to the dealer or to a good mechanic and pay whatever fee to get it plugged in and tested. But for $70 and my gut feeling that the crankshaft sensor was a likely culpret, I went ahead and bought it. And it worked! More often when i have taken such a gamble I end up being wrong and just wast money. But the Porsche God's shone upon me this time! thanks

[vipola]

nice, I'm glad it worked out so well for you, it's always a pain to troubleshoot intermitant problem.. thanks for the info and enjoy your summer

[root_werks]

I've heard the crank sensor is one of those "Replace every xxx miles" sort of part. Kinda like the MAF, often times they won't just fail, but have degrees of failure kind of working most of the time just causing all sorts of issues.

Good job on the fix!

[masterbm]

Hey,

I've got the same deal in my '99 with 140K. Think I'll try the sensor fix. Got a part #?

B

[masterbm]

Well, turns out it was INDEED the crank position sensor. Fixed, and now car runs great. No thanks to the shop that said it was the ignition.

B

[craigf103]

Where is the crankshaft sensor located on the engine? I want to replace mine but don't have a manual to find where it is located.