Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi guys,

I regularly drive my cayman at least 2-3 times a week, but over the last month or two it has struggled to start when I turn the key in the ignition, it sounds like it is really struggling, all the lights and pcm flash on and off a few times, then eventually the car starts. At first I thought this was due to the cold weather, but then the other night it happened after I had pulled into a petrol station off the A3, so by that point the car had warmed up, it was only switched off for the 5 minutes I filled the engine and paid, then it took 3 attempts of depressing the clutch and turning the key to get the engine to start. On a side note the pcm 2.1 on a few occasions has restarted itself while I have been driving, Im not sure if this is related or not. Any suggestions of what might be the problem would be fantastic thank you.

My guess the battery is on its last legs, modern CANBUS cars are very sensitive to voltage & I suspect that the battery is starting to flag.

Cheers mate. Is there any way for me to test it myself, or is it a take it to the garage jobbiie?

I agree with Jim, Porsche batteries are not the best.

I bought one of these (at the old higher price boohoo) which tells you how the battery's performing - good piece o' kit seemingly.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-12V-Batt ... ery+tester

If the battery's good then get an Indie to check that the voltages in all the connecting cables are what they should be BEFORE considering alternator / starter motor as I replaced both (duuur) which only slightly improved it (a similar situation). It turned out that one of the cables was performing incorrectly - they made me a new cable and then everything came to life - didn't cost me a penny. Sorry I can't be more technical - little know how here.

If you have a Porsche Warranty then you'll need a Porsche battery otherwise they'll get excited. Otherwise my Box has £100 of 5 year warranty Halfords on it!