It's a open offer!
Drop me a line when you're in the San Francisco / Bay Area.

--Ken

 

Hi,

I don't know what to say about your hard start problem since you mention you did had the ECU firmware updated.
I was thinking about your coolant leak issue.
Besides the clamps to the intake hose another part that was suspect was this plastic elbow fitting on the bottom of the car for the coolant.
During the initial install of my S/C, I remember my mechanic mentioning about the loose fit of this part.
He wrap the threads in plumber tape before he cemented the piece. He use a pink color coolant for the intercooler system, my engine coolant is lime green so I can tell which system it came from if I had a coolant leak. I never had a coolant leak and don't know if this might be where your leak is coming from. I'm just putting it out there as a FYI.

--Ken

 

Any problems you are having with hard start or idling can be easily corrected. Diagois it and find the problems. You could drive my car and swear it was a stock 996 until WOT. Spend some time and look at the reading of the sensors to help you locate possible cause for problems. If you want to run a modded engine, you better start learning the in and outs of the mods or you will never be totally happy.

 

Thanks for the info Ken, after Meridian said they could'nt locate the leak, I took it to my dealer who found the leak where you described and they repaired it the same way. When I got home, 1.5 hours away, I got a different leak I'll take it back when I'm back in town and try again. Todd said I hav'nt driven my car enough for the remapping of the ecu to take full affect. Most of my miles have been from one shop to another, but, if Todd is right and the hard start will work itself out, then I just have the leak to contend with. I trully love the car and have totally modded it to my tastes, I suppose time will cure the bad experience from Meridian.

 

Was the hard starting cured immediately after remapping the ecu or did you have to drive it for awhile to take effect and if you did have to drive it, how long did it take before your car started with no problems? Does your your car start as easily now as it did before the sc? I've been told that it should.

 

Other than a slightly higher idle (around 800), you should not even know that the SC is intalled in the car. You may hear a slight whistle from the blower, but your car should idle as it did before the SC was put on. Your car should start easily from cold and hot. If you are having problems starting after driving awhile, you are probably running too rich at idle. This can be determined by looking at the secondary O2 sensor reading on your scanner.

 

Sorry to hear all this happen to you.
The intercooler system is not that complicated, they should be able to trace it down and fix the leak.
When I did my S/C install, the firmware was already at a revision level that address the hard start problem so I actually never experience this.
Hot or cold the car starts the same way as before the S/C install.
The only special mod. when my ECU was sent to EVO for the S/C program was to make sure my rev. limiter was left alone and NOT reduced to 6800.
Does driving the car around to remap the ECU really address the hard start problem? I thought driving the car around to remap the ECU was to take it out of "Granny" mode.
I hate to ask this, but are you sure the firmware was updated.
When you bring your car back to the dealer to fix the leak they might be able to help you out by plugging in their OBDC scanner to see if you are indeed running too rich per 1999Porsche911's suggestion.

Good luck!
--Ken

 

I'll definitely take the advise I've been given, if it's merely running too rich, that will be easy enough to diagnose and fix. The sc was installed about a month before the the ecu fix was found. I complained since day one about the hard start and was one of the first to have their ecu reprogrammed. Sure, I will get the leak fixed, however, not after alot of runaround and needless miles and NO help from the people I paid 10 grand to, to do a professional installation. The service after the sale really sucks. I'll surely make a post of the results after I get home and can take the car to the dealer for repair. The car is completely finished, but I've been waiting to post pics and the long list of mods until all the bugs have been worked out. Meridian set me back a few months but at last the leak and starting should be fixed soon.

 

996:

When the SC was installed, they probably installed new plugs. I wonder if they gapped them too wide or are not using the correct heat range. FYI...The plug I use is the bosch super r6-387 or equivalent which is a single electrode plug gapped to .027 inches. You shoud stick with copper plugs on a SC engine and stay away from the platinium. It might be worth pulling a plug and looking at it. You would also be able to examine it for signs of running rich.

 

Simple enough, I'll let the dealer do it since I need him to fix the leak anyway.