No start or crank advise
 

Hi Boxster family!

I was wondering if anyone can just help me go over my troubleshooting steps (I've searched previous forum posts). My 2004 Boxster 550SE will not turnover. For the past month or so it would take longer and longer to crank over (I know this is a common issue due to heat soak). A few days ago it quit turning over. So far I've:

Had the battery load tested
Checked the Battery wires
Checked the relevant fuses (E1,B8, C1, C2, and C4)
Jumped the clutch safety switch
Jumped the starter relay in the rear trunk
Checked the starter ground wire in the Engine Bay
Replaced the Crankshaft Position Sensor again (I had replaced this a year ago)
Checked for codes using a Durametric (no codes stored)

Any steps I've missed or what to check next? (I haven't a 2004SE so it has a newer ignition setup so I haven't replaced the ignition switch)
My battery was reading 11.4 volts after I replaced the CPS. I'm currently charging it.
If charging the battery doesn't work my next step is to change out the starter. Is this the next step I should do?

Thank you!

Is the ground battery cable clean/tight?

Hi Gilles,

Yessir, I checked it twice. Once the is battery is done charging I'll unbolt it completely from the chassis and reattach it to triple check. Thanks for the suggestion!

Thanks

The next thing you need to do is a "VOLTAGE DROP TEST"
If you don't know how to do it go to "YOUTUBE" and study up on how to do it.

The starter may or may not be the issue.... a "voltage drop test will tell you if it is or is not the issue.
No sense pulling the starter just to find out it is not the problem.
With a "Voltage drop test you can test the entire starting circuit as well as the starter with everything in place.

All you need to do the test is a Digital Voltage Meter and the know how.

Many times removing and or replacing good parts or connections creates more problems then it solves.
Try to isolate and identify the problem before attempting to fix it.

Do you have fuel in the tank?

Is the car "getting" gas?

Thanks Blue62. I have DMM so I'll try to give it a shot.

Hi Starter986,

I have 3/4 of a tank of gas in the car.

Thanks

But is the pump delivering it? Fuel pressure? Fuel delivery rate?

Time to get your fingers dirty...................

Thank you all for your suggestions. I did charge the battery (and tried jump starting the car with another running car) and the car still will not even crank. When I attempt to crank the car the tach gauge doesn't even move (which I thought might indicate a bad CPS, which I've replaced. The next steps are to to a voltage drop test on the starting system. I might as well pull the starter since to test the full system I'll need to access the connections on the starter. Anything else I might look at before I start testing the starter?

Haha guess so! My question is would a fuel system issue cause the engine to not turn over at all? The engine doesn't crank and the tach gauge doesn't move at all. The car was running fine except for an issue over the past week where it would be slow to crank when hot.

Thank you JFP in PA!

Many years ago, my 987CS was having a similar issue and the culprit end being the positive battery cable, where attaches into a connector right at the firewall.

I did a quick test of the fuel pump by removing the relay and bypassing it with a jumper. I can hear the fuel pump turn on, still same issue.

Gilles, thanks for your suggestion. I do recall reading your post about it. I'll take a further look.

The CPS is a Hall effect sensor so it will not generate a signal if the engine is not spinning.
So you will not see anything at the tach. if the engine will not spin.

The fuel system has nothing to do with the starter circuit.

You stated that the engine cranked over slower when it was hot.
That is a strong indication of high resistance in your starter circuit.
Resistance can be caused by corrosion in the wires, cables, or connections of the circuit.
That resistance increases with heat soak.
The same can be true of an issue with the starter it's self.

So if you do a proper "voltage drop test" that test will tell you where the voltage is dropping out of the circuit.
But the test has to be done "correctly" that is why I suggested looking up how to perform the test on Youtube.

Hi All,

Thank you so much for all the advice. I learned a lot these past few days (how to bypass a relay, do a load test, etc.) I was able to start the car after replacing the starter.

Thanks!

Thanks for posting the resolution to your issue

Of course :cheers:

Good for you! Welcome to the club! :cheers:

Thanks Starter986, I appreciate it!

Good to hear you got it going.
I hope learning how to do voltage drop tests was helpful.
It is a good test to know how to do.

Thanks for the tip Blue62!