Got a P0302 Cylinder 2 misfire code last night as the wife and I were about to arrive at our date night location. Car was, and still is, running fine. It's always been lumpy at idle and I keep meaning to clean the MAF sensor. I replaced the plugs 5 weeks ago and inspected the coil packs and tubes at that time and everything looked good. No running through water recently.

So, I'll start with the MAF and go from there. The car did have an O2 sensor code, though no light, when I brought it home. So there may be something going on with that bank. Headed out of town tomorrow am so I'll deal with everything when I get back. Oil change will be done then along with the fuel filter and MAF sensor cleaning. If all goes well, may have the time/energy to giver her a good polish too!

Cleaned the MAF sensor and while I had it up for an oil change I checked the coil pack plug and it came away extremely easily. In fact, the coil pack plugs for cylinders 1-3 all did, though cylinder was the easiest. I didn't disconnect them when I changed plugs, so I didn't check them at that time.

Finally had the chance to finish the oil change yesterday, the drain plug was stripped so had to wait on another, and took her out for a spin. It does idle much smoother now, but I also noticed some pulsing when at higher throttle/rpm's. So I'll be looking into that while having my fingers crossed that the misfire is fixed.

Tookit for another drive after disconnecting the battery. Ran perfect the entire time. Hoping the easy fix works.

So far so good on the car. Runs much better, feels stronger/quicker.

Also ordered a Durametric today; Enthusiast Edition. Was able to snag a refurbushed unit direct from Durametric with full warranty for a nice discount. Happy Birthday to me! First thing I'll do is try to enable the on board computer :)

If it pops up again, one trick to diagnosing the misfire would be to swap the coil pack with the coil pack from another cylinder. If the error code follows the coil pack, you know it's the pack, and not something else.

Yep, that was the plan. The CEL only happened once, but the engine had been rough at idle since purchase.

In other news, my attempt at replacing the instrument cluster LED backlight bulbs with LED's has been a failure lol! I ordered a 5 pack of the regular ones and they should be here end of this week or beginning of next. Thankfully removing the dash cluster isn't hard at all.

Also ordered side mirror trim piece replacements as both of mine came broken. I also ordered a 12v outlet replacement so it will fit US spec devices. I use it to hold and charge my phone until I replace the HU.

New trim pieces fit perfect. I no longer have to press them back in every so often. The 12v outlet was also an easy fix and now holds my phone holder perfectly. I won't feel the need to update to a CarPlay unit for a while. I also have all the lights back on for my cluster.

Got the Durametric in July and just got around to using it yesterday. Activated the OBC, yay me. Ran a diagnostic and have the P0134 O2 sensor signal error. No CEL. I'll need to swap it to see if it's the sensor or the wiring. Praying it's the sensor lol! Otherwise, all seems to be okay.

Had a light paint correction done that really brings out the shine but sadly there are still some spots that just can't be fixed without professional paint assistance. A very deep scratch on the hood and spot on the rear deck as well. I'll have to live with it for now.

Ordered some Christmas goodies for the car. The radio I've been eyeing, Sony XAV-AX1000, has been discontinued so I picked one up sooner than planned. It has an actual volume knob which is important to me given the lack of steering wheel controls. And, of course, it has CarPlay to make everything else easy.

I also picked up some budget, but with decent reviews, Rockford Fosgate speakers to replace the dash and door speakers. I don't think the dash speakers have ever been touched, but I know the door speakers have. No idea what quality they are so we'll see what happens. Chasing high quality sound in this car is likely useless so I'm aiming for good enough lol! I will try to fit a subwoofer either under the seat or behind one of them at some point.

Otherwise, still enjoying the car thoroughly. It is such a joy to drive.

DISCLAIMER: try this at your own risk. Your results may vary.

I've never had any luck with the Dr Colorchip dab and swipe method. But here's what I've found works well for me, esp with deep scratches.

I'll carefully paint in the scratch with DC paint. It will leave a ridge above the rest of the paint. Use as small of a brush as possible and just fill the scratch, no need to slop over onto good paint. Let it dry thoroughly. Next, take some 1500 sand paper and water and wet sand the scratch, being careful to sand as little of the good paint as possible (ie, a 1/4" on either side of the scratch). Go slow, go easy - you don't want deep sand scratches. Use plenty of water. You may need to repeat painting some areas if the paint hasn't fully filled the scratch.

Once you have the surface smooth and the scratch is filled and gone, use rubbing compound on the sanded area, going out an addl 1/4" on each side of the scratch (so now 1/2" ea side of the scratch for a total of 1" across). Focus the effort on the scratch area with some blend out from the sanded area.

Step up to a swirl compound (a mild rubbing compound) and expand another 1/2" on each side of the area. After this step, the area should have a decent shine and the scratch should be gone.

Finish with a polish and then wax, expanding the blend area out even further. These steps work best with a polisher but can be done by hand, they just take a bit more elbow grease.

Take your time, be easy, work in as small an area on ea side of the scratch as you can. It's always easier to go back and repeat than to go too far - no going back then.

This method also works on rock chips, just in smaller doses.

I've had great results with this method on scratches and chips.

Thanks for the advice! I have tried very light sanding but not with water. I may need to try different touch up paint. It does to appear to be a little bit of a lighter shade. Works great for small spots, not so much on larger rock chips and scratches such as this. This particular scratch was down to the metal.

The spot on the back is compromised clearcoat somehow and looks like the deck was slammed shut on something that dented it from below. I've made minor improvement there as well.

+1 on husker's tip.

I've used the "Paint to Fix" scratch/chip kit, and the colour match is dead on.

My A4 had a bunch of good sized chips on the hood that needed attention.

Step 1 -clean the area well, use a degreaser (brake cleaner works good).

Step 2 - use 1500 sandpaper to lightly go over the chip / scratch to make sure the edges are not too jagged

Step 3 - dab the match paint into the scratch/chip...fill it up so it is slightly above the good paint. Several passes/coats/dabs may be needed to fill it. Leave it alone for a couple of days to fully cure and flash off. (you don't add hardener to this stuff)

Step 4 - using a sanding block with 1000 wet sand, 1500 wet sand, 2000 wet sand, gradually fan out. Light, FLAT pressure, lots of soapy water, rinse often. This will level the paint in the chip / scratch to the rest of the panel. Be CAREFUL...the factory clear is thin, plus its 20 years old. You don't want to burn through it.

Step 5 - Get some 3M or Farecla compound...buff, buff, buff. Note: when using Farecla especially, keep the cloth/pad moist as it really cuts sanding scratches.

Step 6 - polish the area...then polish the whole panel.

Step 6 - wax her up and crack a beer and admire your work

DISCLAIMER: I'm not a doctor, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night...results may vary as husker says. Just my method.
:cheers:

There are 2 keys to success with these processes:

1. Fill the scratch or chip in so there's new paint just above the surrounding area. Not a huge blob, not a valley between the good paint areas.

2. Sand as little of the surrounding area as possible. You don't want to burn thru the clear coat.

For #1: I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a pkg of paint brushes that came in various sizes. Some were very small and work great on thin scratches. DC used to come with just 1 brush and it was generally too big and stiff for small stuff. They now send 3 brushes (for SIXTY bucks they should!) but they still may not be the proper size. Having the proper size will make the job easier and better in the long run. (That's what she said.)

For #2: The idea is to sand the minimum you can to get the new paint to the level of the existing paint. If you did a good job with #1, you shouldn't need to do a lot of sanding to get it smooth. The more you sand, the more surrounding clear coat you take off. If you find a spot that needs more paint (you don't always get 100% coverage in a scratch the 1st time thru), paint in the low spot and sand just that area when it's dry. Once you get the chip / scratch filled in and smoothed over to the good paint, stop sanding.

You can use a buffer with the rubbing compound, but keep it contained to the sanded area as it will be removing clear coat too. But it's really overkill using a buffer if you've contained the sanding to a small area. If possible, I'll try to do the rubbing compound step by hand. You just want to get the scratches from sanding smoothed out. It probably won't shine much. The shine comes back when you use the swirl compound. That's when you want to look for any remaining marks or sand scratches. If you find some, try rubbing compound by hand or use a higher grit sand paper to smooth them out and start the process again. As stated before, go minimum with these steps and only repeat if necessary where necessary. The polish & wax steps are when you're happy with the result. You only do these steps once.

Seal brings up a good point - the area needs to be free of wax before you start. Paint won't stick to wax. I use bug & tar remover to clean an area. Whatever you use, be sure it's dry before you paint. Paint won't stick to wet surfaces either. Patience and nerves of a cat burgler are necessary. Take your time.

A friend wanted me to polish his Basalt Blk 07 Cayman S. It had an 8" scratch across the top and side of the rt fender. Someone had filled in the scratch with paint but it looked like a scar because it was overfilled. He hadn't mentioned anything to me about this scratch, but I figured I could "fix" it. When I was done, the fender looked perfect. He was very happy. I was too.

Yup...take your time.

Don't be tempted to check if it's dry yet for another coat/dab...walk away for a while or you may end up starting over.

Speaking from experience lol.

So I need patience? Oh boy lol! I'll give it my best shot lol! Thanks for the feedback.

As a graphic designer, my friends have always asked me to help touch-up a lot of their cars. All of the procedures previously mentioned will work fine. Although I've never sanded the area first I just make sure the surface is clean and free from wax.

As another mentioned, the type of brush is a very important part of the process. Most art stores or hobby stores sell a variety of brushes. I have some brushes that literally have just a few tiny bristles. In fact they're so fine that once "wet" with a tiny bit of paint (less than a drop) I can slide the wet bristles into and along the scratch. With several repeated steps of application, dry time, and re-application I can bring the thickness up to the same height as the rest of the car.

The "trick" is using the absolute finest set of brushes you can get....a large magnifying glass also helps. But slow and steady is the key. Once done and dry I wax, wax, wax.

Prob not the best quality, but I do have a hobby lobby right down the road from me so I'll check about getting better brushes there.

Truly appreciate the advice guys!

Bonus: you can use some of the bigger brushes in the pkg for detailing in the interior. They work great for knocking dust out of the cracks between panels.

Has anyone applied a clear coat over a large scratch or rock chip? I have clear coat available.

Sorry, just noticed your reply...

Are you thinking of adding clear after you fill the scratches/chips?

Not a terrible idea, however getting it to blend with the rest of the panel will be a pain as there will be overspray.

Normally you'd paint the repair, then sand/tape and respray the full panel with clear. A much bigger job, IMO.

For simple scratches/chips I wouldn't.

Too late lol!

It’s a brush on clear so wasn’t tough to do but still didn’t look right. I still think the issue is the paint matches we’ll enough on very small chips but not on the larger ones. Just too light.

Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

Per my radio issues thread I finally got the double-din Sony installed when I discovered a previous owner had monkeyed with the Porsche wiring harness. The constant 12v was no longer receiving power and they had run a new constant 12v, which was tied into the 12v switched, and a new "ground" which may have been the cause of my alternator whine.

Everything is now working, the new speakers sound great(though still lacking bass), and I did not experience alternator whine when I took it out for a drive yesterday.

Oh, and I replaced their jury-rigged parking break switch as well.

[QUOTE=Radman;638164]Yep, that was the plan. The CEL only happened once, but the engine had been rough at idle since purchase.

In other news, my attempt at replacing the instrument cluster LED backlight bulbs with LED's has been a failure lol! I ordered a 5 pack

Hey Radman

Can you tell me what leds you ordered please?

Cheers

[QUOTE=jarjar;648239] They were B8.4D-NWHP from superbrightleds. They didn't fit though so I wouldn't repeat my mistake.

Are you still happy with the Powerflex? Is it this one?


http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1660618327.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1660618266.jpg

Yep, that's the one and I'm still very happy with it. I can't really compare it to stock though as my original mount was completely shot.

Having some warm start issues. From reading it seems the CPS is usually the culprit so I now have one in hand. Am also getting a P0446. I ordered control valve. If that doesn't work I'll order the evap cannister.

Took a buddy out the other night and under acceleration the car started losing power and then getting it back rapidly. A little embarrassing but thankfully the buddy is a car guy and understands **it happens with older cars lol!

I've had O2 sensor codes off and on since I bought it. I have a new MAF and 4 new O2 sensors to go with the CPS, control valve, and fuel filter to replace. Hopefully get that all done next week. If I still get symptoms I'll replace the fuel pump.

Realize to a certain extent that I'm just throwing parts at it, but, it's a 23 year old car and could stand to have some parts thrown at it lol!

I have also added a MB Quart 8" slim subwoofer behind the passenger seat. It really rounds out the sound. For a convertible, it now sounds very good with the top down which is all I could really hope for anyway.

If you're losing power under acceleration, the ECU may be pulling timing or going rich. The former can be caused by knock sensor activation, the latter may be from flipping to open maps if your O2 sensors are bad. Hopefully it sorts out with the planned repairs, let us know!

Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

I've replaced the MAF and it seemed to make a difference on the short drive I took it on. I have 2 of the O2 sensors but waiting on the other 2. I've had some error codes in the past that indocated O2 sensors or MAF.

I have a Durametric so may take it with me for a spin and do some recording. It's idled rough in the past as well. Beginning to think this is why the owner before me let it go lol! Just need some patience.

On the knock sensor, I do have a PowerFlex bushing for the motor mount. I don't think that would be enough to activate it and the car certainly doesn't feel like it's vibrating excessively at any point.

On the bright side, I am impressing the hell out of my wife with my mechanical skills lol! I was a nuke mechanic in the Navy, so I have the aptitude but she loves that I'm repairing the car myself vs paying someone else to do it. I can't do much these days due to neck and back issues, but at least working on the car is one of them I can do. It's therapeutic for me, after the f-bombs are done anyway.

Still have only replaced the MAF and the issue has returned. Seems to go away when the car is warm and does not manifest when the clutch is pushed in when it's cold and I rev the engine up.

The O2 sensors are narrow band O2 sensors.
They operate in a extreamly narrow band.
To accelerate (other than a very mild acceleration) the engine needs a richer mixture.
That mixture is outside of the O2 sensors ability to read.
So your DME/ECU fueling strategy will always go to open loop fuel mapping under acceleration.
It will do the same thing under closed throttle (deceleration) from higher RPM.
Why???? because the engine is on a lean mixture when decelerating.
That lean mixture is outside the narrow band O2 sensors ability to read
So it is very doubtful that your O2 sensors play any part in your power loss under acceleration.

Your knock sensors are activated by detonation or pre detonation in the cylinders.
Things like Poor fuel .....ignition timing off.... valve timing off... something that affects combustion or combustion timing within the cylinder.
Knock sensors are activated by sound within a frequency range not vibration.
So they (knock sensors) will not be activated by a stiffer engine mount.
Nothing external will activate the knock sensors.

Maybe a vacuum leak?

If your referring to a vacuum leak as a possible cause of power loss under acceleration???
Probably not the cause of power loss under acceleration.
common vacuum leaks have there greatest effect at closed or near closed throttle.
Less and less effect the farther the throttle is opened.

The reason for that is:

As you open the throttle greater and greater amounts of (metered) air enter the engine.
While the vacuum leak.... be it a lose hose, cracked hose, or what ever remains the same size and can only allow so much (un-metered) air into the engine.
So the ratio of metered air to unmetered air changes as you open the throttle.
So the vacuum leak has less and less effect the further you open the throttle.

You could still have a vacuum leak but it is doubtful that it would cause power loss under acceleration. unless it is a huge leak.

If it is a vacuum leak associated with something like your evap system they can act a little differently.

If you going to try to fix your power loss under acceleration issue you need to fix "ALL" OBDII codes issues first.

Fair enough. Thanks for the feedback by the way. It truly is appreciated.

Replaced the crank position sensor, upstream O2 sensors, and the purge valve under the left side intake manifold.

P0446 code went away but I get O2 sensor codes without a CEL. Hopefully it's not an issue with the wire harness but once I get new anchors installed for my lift I'll start rotating the O2 sensors and see if any codes follow particular sensors or not.

On the bright side, the car drove much better. Very happy to be able to take her out for a spin again.

If you do a little research on how the Durametric or rather "Porsche" portrays or interprets fuel trims you can use the Durametric to tell which O2 sensor or sensors are causing the codes.
Not hard to do you just have to understand Porsche's fuel trim methodology and the relationship between O2 sensors and fuel trims.

If you have access to an OBDII scanner that shows fuel trims as a percentage rather then the Porsche Durametric method it is a little easier to interpret the fuel trims.
fuel trim data can be very useful in diagnostics of engine performance (running) issues.

Although switching sensors around to see if the signal or code follows a sensor is a common practice it is not a good one. It can cause other issues.
Everything on these cars and any modern day car is electronic so they can be tested with a scanner or Oscilloscope or something as simple as a Digital Multi Meter.

I take it that if your not getting a check engine light but your seeing codes....So your looking at pending codes???? What are the codes specifically.????

How many miles on the O2sensors????
They tend age or the signal from them tends to begin to slow down as they age.
Usually starts around 100000 miles

Yeah, I had to google how to find fuel trims on the durametric lol!

The 2 precat O2 sensors are brand new, but not Bosch. Basically bought them for troubleshooting purposes. No idea if the others have ever been replaced but the car only has 75k miles so I doubt it.

Yes, the codes are pending.

They are:

P0131
O2 sensor ahead of Cat conv. Cylinder (1-3)

P0137
O2 sensor ahead of Cat conv. Cylinder (1-3) short circuit

P0151
O2 sensor ahead of Cat conv. Cylinder (4-6)

P0157
O2 sensor behind of Cat conv. Cylinder (4-6)

I don't need emissions so in a perfect world I could just get rid of the O2 sensors and the cats.

You mean in an "imperfect world". Why do you want to purposely pollute our air?

So first things first;)
Generic O2sensors are well known for their non compatibility with Porsche systems.
Secondly:
All four codes are pointing to the same thing: This is how it is described in the Bentley Book.
"Short to ground/below lower limit/lean mixture threshold."
So basically three possibilities.....but sense you have used generic brand sensors I would suspect an electrical issue with the sensors......the short to ground.

So first replace the 02sensors with Bosch.....
They developed the first automotive O2sensors so they know what they are doing.
Then go from there as a good starting foundation....

If you eliminate your cats and post O2sensors you will likely always have a check engine light on unless you find a work around..So if you have an OBDII issue you will not know it because the check engine light is already lit.

If you want to learn about "fuel trims" or O2sensor signals and how to read them and how they are related to each other. Go to youtube and look up "ScannerDanner" he is probably one of the best on youtube for teaching automotive sensor diagnostics. And automotive diagnostics in general.
That will allow you use the Durametric to much greater potential.

Thanks again for the feedback.

I'll throw the old ones(Which are Bosch) back on and see what happens. If the codes stay I'll order one new one to move around and see if the codes go away. Don't want to spend the $ for all 4 in the hopes it makes the car run better. But, if this is a dumb idea, please let me know lol!

Screw it, just ordered 2 new Bosch units. Will report back.