"root cause" of problem found!
 

I wanted to give you the “final update and root cause resolution” for the cold start problems I was having. The warm up regulator (also known as WUR or pressure control regulator) was bad and had to be replaced ($329.00 for new Bosch part) and 3 hours of labor to troubleshoot fuel system, CIS, ignition, wiring, install WUR and readjust mixture, idle and pressure, for a grand total of $558 (including tax). The car was in the shop for 8 days and starts easily now. I still need to fix the hand throttle and the part I need is on order. All in all, I’m very satisfied with the quality of repairs and I believe the 3 hours labor charge to be very reasonable considering the fact that the wiring was in such bad shape. I could recommend the shop and I’m glad I’ve found a place where I can take the car when I’m in over my head and need a professional to take a look. Thanks for all of your help, I really appreciate it!

Hmmmm, cold start problems.....the WUR should have one of the first things to look at. "I" changed out a WUR in fifteen minutes.

Oh well, at least it is running to your satisfaction.

If you are happy and satisfied that the mechanic checked your entire system, 3 hours is not unreasonable labour, IMHO. Some mechanics are so backed up they cannot get to a job for a long time. A local wrench told us that he would be happy to check a wiring harness on a truck that was 300 miles from home. He apologized that he was so backed up and over promised that he would not look at the harness for two days. The truck limped to the next town.

I used to be a management consultant and just finished my MBA at Columbia University. "Root cause" is a big buzz phrase but it's just consulting babble. The folks who would charge you to find the root cause just rename things:
Root Cause = Cause
Cause = Contributing factor

It's like the roofing company we just hired. They can't put on a new roof but rather, they can install a new "roof system." What CR@P!

GSpreeman,

I agree. I'm in IT (network and computer security) and "root cause" is one of my least favorite terms and I used it to get attention (like "win-win"). We bought a "pool entry system" this spring and it's a very expensive ladder! Whenever you call something a "system", just add a "0" to the price!!

I paid $390 to have the WUR Replaced here is South Carolina where everything seems to be a little cheaper when fixing a 911. My wrench let me order the WUR myself. It cost me $189. from Vertex. This was before I started dealing with Pelican Parts.

8 days and a 3 hr. labor charge = 7 days of test driving!!!! Wooohooo!!

I 10,000% agree with Mike!

Speaking as an MBA myself, I just have to say I'm thrilled to hear another MBA acknowledge that a lot of the lingo they teach is CRAP! :D

Congratulations on the degree!
Colin

Root cause is like "irregardless". Look up irregardless in the dictionary and let me know if you find it...

"root cause".....

Isn't "root" the main head booger programmer....?

root cause=the admin screwed up again....?

I recently had a cold start problem, but the root cause in this case was inadequate metering orifices in my Weber-manufactured fuel atomization and delivery system....

SmileWavy

The management consulting firm I worked for (no, it wasn't Porsche...to keep this on topic), made a living off buzzwords. I remember when "Who moved my cheese" was published and we had executives clamoring to take seminars on the concepts covered in the book. What's worse, a lot of HR people just love new jargon and lingo. It makes them seem like they're doing a lot more on an intellectual level than they really are.

In my area, the key word is "6Sigma". It seems you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a "6Sigma Blackbelt"!!!!

6 Sigma, Who moved my Cheese, and a little ISO9000 rolled in there and you've got my employer...LOL...

Man, I hate that crap, nothing boggs down a design project than a boss with a mouth full of buzz words. My list of favorites:

Paradigm shift
low hanging fruit
6 sigma


If I could get rid of that and these guys making timelines for everything, we might be able to get something done.

I too am part of the MBA crowd and I can tell you that, as many Thinker Toys as they show you in class, far more will be encountered in the real world. Management just loves to popularize idiotic but clever-sounding sound bites. It makes them feel like they are doing their jobs. "irregardless" is a good one, but unfortunately my pet peeve buzzword is actually a word. "Problematic."

Aw well. If management were a little less clueless than they are, then they wouldn't need me. My employer and I make a nice living promoting concepts that everyone should already know. For example, we get the parties in a dispute to talk with each other. I know, I know. It's a strange concept, but (surprize surprize) it works.

It sounds like we all need to drive our cars to get these frustrations out of our systems. I look at my driving time in the P-car as "therapeutic"! Maybe I can work out a pseudo-technical term for it and write a book!!

The real question is, when you drive, do you feel your paradigm shift?

Funny thing is how buzzwords change over time. Who remembers...?

BPR (Business Process Redesign)
TQM (Total Quality management)
Synergy
e-learning
Balanced Scorecard
...

I am also part of the Business Consulting industry (I sell smoke as my friends say) but it pays the bills and the P-Car...

Sometimes my paradigm grinds.....:(

Sounds as if you need a paradigm clutch adjustment. But, it's easy...you're a self-starter!

That will cost more than a paradigms, though.

Don't forget to tip your waitress. I'll be here all week!

Okay, I'm not posting any more to this thread, I promise :cool:

We as threadmates should be forming a stategic alliance P2P in order to become interdependant for the foreseable future. Blame storming at this point would be detrimental to our collective partnership and is non-value added and can only lead to a 404 exit stategy.
With better peer to peer interaction we can think outside the box and pick the low hanging fruit which will ultimately lead to avoidance of a regime change.
Remaining lean and mean and deconflicted is the only real way to protect ourselve from being voted off the island.
My suggestion at this time is that we get off the bubble and with extensive data mining we can reach agreeance with our SME's and develop a going forward attitude and create a culture of empowerment for our associates.
Sorry, I can't help myself sometimes :)

and then you can bonus and buy that Porsche "branded" car.

The original starting problem has returned. I managed to start the car after about 50 cranks and several loud backfires, then it started and ran great. I drove it about 60 miles to a Porsche event and I stopped at a gas station. Restarted the car with the first crank. After letting the car sit for 30 minutes, it's extremely difficult to start again. I'm goint to test the pressures using my recently acquired gauges. I'm going to search the PP archives for the testing procedure and take it from there. I'm not going to start replacing parts again and evidently my mechanic didn't fix the problem, so I don't think I'll be taking it back to him.

you need a more proactive paradigm to grow the synergies while maintaining a prophalactic approach.

A favorite Simpson's moment:

Krusty: So he's proactive, huh?
Lady: Oh, God, yes. We're talking about a totally outrageous paradigm.
Meyer: Excuse me, but "proactive" and "paradigm"? Aren't these just buzzwords that dumb people use to sound important?
[backpedaling] Not that I'm accusing you of anything like that.
[pause] I'm fired, aren't I?

This post resonates with me :D

As a marketing guy with an MBA, and as both management and a consultant - well, I'm responsible for creating and disseminating a fair amount of verbal fertilizer.

Try this site for a dose of automatically generated web economy BS - quite fun.

Many of you have followed my intermittent "cold starting" problem that eventually became a constant starting problem that caused my to have to crank my car 20-30 times, with several loud backfires, prior to the car starting. Once the car started, it ran great but the starting problem was driving me nuts. Needless to say, I replaced alot of components (fuel filter and accumulator, cold start valve and thermotime switch, throttle microswitch, plugs, CD unit, rotor, coil, Pertronix unit, WUR, etc...


Each replaced item improved the situation temporarily, but the problem still persisted. The cold and warm pressures were within acceptable limits and I had good spark at plug #1, but the car just cranked and refused to start. To make a long story short, this is what the mechanic found:

- The plugs were improperly gapped (too wide) even though I followed the instructions on the PermaTune CD unit for spark plug gapping specs.

- The plug wires and their "boots" are bad and I will replace them

- The "new" throttle microswitch that Jordi Riera sent to me worked perfectly and the old one was bad

- One of the wires coming off the Pertronix unit had rubbed until the insulation was off and bare wire was showing.

My mechanic "fixed" these things and the car starts on the first crank, idles at 950rpm and runs great. I REALLY appreciate all of the assistance so many of you have provided. I have learned alot from you kind folks. I'll post this update on the other posts that I have been on so that anyone with a similar problem may be helped. I had checked the spark at plug #1 and had a nice spark, but my mechanic showed me that others were weak. I hope this helps others out there....