Need advice...car runs horribly

[986S_in_SF]

Hi all,

Newbie to the forum, and for my first post, have CEL issue while the car was/is at the body shop. Here's the backround... 2000 986 S, 27,000 miles got rear ended a little while ago. Car went to the shop and had both front and rear bumper covers replaced. I go to pick the car up today, and the shop owner says "the throttle doesn't seem to be working..." He starts the car, it idles very poorly, and even when you push the throttle all the way down, it revs slowly to about 2000rpm. For whatever reason, the battery was disconnected and the code must be entered on the radio. It seems like the engine is missing on at least two cylinders, then it smoothes out, still not revving.

Ideas? I know I need to figure out what the CEL codes are, and I'm assuming this will shed more light on the topic. Any help would be appreciated! The car ran perfectly before this trip to the body shop.

Thanks!

[Lil bastard]

Could be many things. My guess (and it's just that) is that the MAF got dusty in the body shop and either needs cleaning or replacing. Disconnect it and see if engine performance improves, if so, that's the villain.

[Ike]

Welcome to the Forum,

I read a thread some time in the last week that discussed poor performance after battery disconection. The brightest gearhead in the box suggested that the ECU needs to re-sample and digest the current engine data....ie.. Run the motor for a while to allow the brain to engage.

There is a search function on this site that I've never used that may help you find the thread.

Good Luck,
Ike

[986S_in_SF]

Thank you guys for the responses. Hopefully today will shed more light, and may it not be bad news...

[23109VC]

car goes into body shop w/out CEL
car comes out of body shop WITH CEL.
accident that put car into body shop did not cause CEL

have you ever gone "behind the scenes" at any body shop? half the guys working there are either illegal or on parole. okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea.

I had my last car at the body shop and when I got it back my alignment was totally out of whack. AFter taking it to an alignment shop I was advised someone had used one of the rear trailing arms as a jack point on my car and bent the hell out of it. Idiots.

For all you know some dummy that works there took it out for a spin and messed it up. maybe not - but it's always possible.

good luck. did you check odometer in/out. I always check that stuff b/c I don't trust anyone...

[tboyer]

After a battery disconnect you'll need to drive/run through the RPM range for a bit to re-engage the proper mixtures (as already noted) Hopefully that's all it takes.