I just bought a T4S and when I buy a used car, I like to change all the fluids and filters, just so I know exactly where everything stands. Since the car has 37,000 on it, I am replacing the plugs as well. I have read that the starter/alternator cable tends to need replacing.

I am wondering if there would be any cost savings to replacing the cable while I am having the plugs replaced?

I have never worked on a 911, so I have no idea what is involved with replacing the plugs or the cable, so I am interested in hearing what others that know feel.

 

The cable is a big job and takes several hours. Some time during the 2007 model year they switched to a heavier duty cable with fewer problems. I have a Jan. 2007 build and had the car in to the dealer a couple of days ago and complained about slow cranking. They checked everything and the cable was fine. I was told to drive the car more and to get a battery maintainer, and one day on the battery maintainer and that has taken care of the slow cranking. The common symptom of a bad cable is slow cranking when the car is warmed up, if all is okay, I wouldn't touch it.

 

I have a 06 c2s, What would pre 2007 Carreras suffer from by having liter cable?

 

Over time the cable deteriorates do to heat and the major problem is slow cranking when the car is hot and show charging of the battery.

 

Interesting first I heard of this problem. My car seems to crank slow but is consistent whether engine is cold or warm. could be that my battery is on the way out.

 

Could be. I picked up a battery maintainer the other day and it has made a noticeable difference, no more slow cranking. I only drive the car on weekends, and I figured a battery maintainer was cheap insurance.

 

Forgot to mention, if you do a search here or on some of the sites for battery/alternator cable you should find lots of threads discussing the potential cable problem, Porsche even issued a TSB (?).

 

Hi Guys
I own a 2006 997 C4S which I bought 10 months ago. The car has now done 30 000km's. I have noticed a progressive slow cranking over the last few weeks. When I had it serviced recently I asked the dealer to check the battery due to this. They reported that the battery was fine. On Friday the car would not start at all. I removed the battery and had it tested at a battery shop where they said it was fine, just completely drained. What do I do now?? The service agent is 350km away...

I had the same problem with my previous car, a 996, last year, when I gambled and tried to drive to the agent. I made it half way before the car stopped in pouring rain with the battery dead in a remote area. Not something I would like to do again...

I would really appreciate any suggestions.
Etienne
South Africa

 

The 2006 has the same starter cable problem. Mine was replaced under warranty.

 

If it helps, the new A/S cable loom part number is 997.607.019.03. Its definately much thicker and beefier than the older model.

 

I have a 2006 C2S cab that I bought with a CPO warranty in January 2010. Since my CPO expires in March 2012, I took it to a dealer last week to check the cable, as I have had somewhat slow cranking when motor is cold, and very slow if I stall it while hot. They replaced the cable under the CPO warranty and now the car cranks twice as fast as it ever did. I had thought it might be the battery, as I don't know how old it is but know it had been drained while on the showroom prior to my purchase. But with periodic trickle charges it has held up. Now it sounds like a new battery.

 

I guess I will leave it for now. I just thought if it was not a lot of additional work to replace while my plugs are being done, I would do it then. I've had no issues, just wanted to be preemptive and use the opportunity. Thanks!!

 

I want to thank you for the great write up on replacing the Alternator Starter cable. It was very helpful and wanted to add a few comments based on my experience for those who have Tiptronics transmission as there is some differences in the cable from the manual transmissions.


On Tiptronics the cable is not bolted to the transmission, instead they have plastic pins and there is very little room or space to maneuver your hands. I was able to remove the cable with very little ease as I broke the front plastic pin. I recommend that you remove the shift linkage and the cover for the drive shaft prior to removing the cable to allow you to see the cable and give your self enough room to drive the pin out with 1/8” aluminum rod to drive the pin out.

Now that was the easy part of the job, installing it was almost impossible and thought I was going to have to drop transmission down to get the cable installed as the new cable with pin installed in the rear hole and the front pin to hole does not line up for an easy installation. The hard plastic housing has to be bent to line the hole up to get the front pin to install. I ended up using the same aluminum rod and made hook on to it and with one hand up through the backside I was able to get the pin to go into the hole 3 hours later of trail and error.

The AC rear compressor bolt is almost imposable to remove unless you have a universal Torx socket. I tried the wobble bar but was unable to get a good grip on the head and did not want to strip the head of the bolt. I ended up getting E8 –E14 universal Torx sockets through Snap-on. There are some on Amazon that are a lot cheaper but you get what you pay for and the cheap set of standard universals I purchased years ago all broke when you needed them.

If your car has more than 70,000 miles as mine you should consider replacing the Air oil separator at the same time. After I removed the plenum and the throttle body I found a considerable amount of oil residue inside the plenum. Also take caution when moving the hoses to the Air Oil separator as they are very brittle can break very easily.